265 or 285 ?

Brian,

The guys out here like running 42Psi, which is so hard that you have no sidewall flex when cornering.

In the UK I trialed with the 255/85/16 BFG (old pattern) and they were awesome. I prefer lower pressures for day to day driving and I'm with you that the wider tyres give a better ride under those conditions.

Lambrover,

Whatever size you go for, stay with the BFG's. I've recently done a bit of an add up out my fuel log books over the years and I've personally done over a million kilometers on BFG's. Saying that, my last blowout (touch wood!) was back in 1998 on a very spiky road out on the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. My thoughts would be that the 255/85/16 would be the best allround tyre for a 130 (unless you want to drive around in the low 30 Psi's which might give you sidewall flex as suggested)

The 255 just look the part. I've attached a picture from a trialing day in Wales a few years back. Both are wearing 255's with my 90 on OME alloys and the 110 on "modulars" with a nicer offset.

PS - For all you guys following the thread on "County's for beginners", the 90 in the picture is a 1998 Hard Top County (spot the stripe and "county" label on the back). The word "County" is not a model description of 110's sold in the early 1980's other than the "furniture" inside!

42psi :eek:, wow that is hard. The 305's I run at 30 psi all round, the 235's are 30psi on the front and 35 psi on the rear, the 265's are 32 psi all round. Even when towing the caravan (Camper?) even then I only increase the rears on the 235's to 38 psi. The thoughts I'm having is that with the temps in OZ reaching the mid 40C then would the tyres not be running close to 50 psi once warm? we have lots of narrow windy roads here and the 305 still gives the better ride at the lower psi. Where as the 235's and 265's are a bit squirrelly even at higher pressures.

Slightly off topic here, but when I launch the boat off the beach the 305's are the only tyres I don't have to lower the psi on. The 235's and 265's need to be lowered down to around 15psi to cope with the soft sand in the dunes.

ps, the highest temp we have had in the Glasgow area this summer was 26c for one day! If me and the missus could scrape enough points together, a move to OZ would definitely be on the cards.:D


Brian.

I run my 255's at 32psi allround on my 90.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psimpson7

I run my 255's at 32psi allround on my 90.

---

I do as well. I took part in a bit of a discussion a few days ago where the guys were of the opinion that under 38Psi the Defender has a tendecy to wander or wallow on steering.

You obviously know as well as I do that a 90 will bounce and be generally uncomfortable on hard tyres.

Cheers,

Lou

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lorryman100

ps, the highest temp we have had in the Glasgow area this summer was 26c for one day! If me and the missus could scrape enough points together, a move to OZ would definitely be on the cards.:DBrian.

---

Maybe you should run them at 20psi. That's the only way you'll warm the tread up to operating temp.

I've run both sizes and personally I prefer the 285/75's.

The 255/85's roll better with the narrow tread, but the 285's handle a lot better. the 255's having that tall narrow carcass do move around in the carcass a lot lot more and because of this you do need to run higher pressures to generate the stability in the tyre but the problem is inherently there and where you will also notice it is offroading when you're driving with a side angle, particularly if there is a rise in it. The 285 will run just about any old pressure and still maintain that stability through the tyre. The 285's look more proportional and my opinion is that they give better traction but they do generally require an 8" rim - the only exception that I know of to this is the odd Mickey Thompson tyre. Aquaplaning isn't an issue with 4WD weights and speeds.

If you're comparing the 285/75 to the 265/75 then in reality the only real difference is the diameter. I think you'll find that generally the tyre runs the same tread pattern and mould width, but the additional width come from the increased bag in the tyre from the extra height. For offroading, my opinion is that the 285's perform better - not to do with the wide/narrow debate, but because the tread patterns are better. If you check the old MTR the 235 and narrower ran one tread design, the 265/285 the next tread design and the 305/315 another tread design. For touring, I'm not sure because the 255's roll better, but you cant soften them up too much for dirt roads before they start to move around.

Hello! I've just gone down this road and have gone with the 285's. They look the part, and in standard format, the Td5 pulls them ok. Add the weight and you'll notice the difference. you will need a wider rim for the 285 tyre. As many have said before me, BFG's are the ONLY option. I am running the old pattern muddies but will switch back to the All Terains as they are better on the sand. If it works, there is a pic of my 130 on 285's! Give the nose 2 0r 3 inches of lift to... It suits the bigger tyres and levels the vehicle up!.. Re pic, tried to upload one but it tells me that it's already in another thread. Grrrrrr! Why are these sites never simple!!! If you can find it, check out thread 'Chasing photos of defenders with 265 75 16 KM2's' Mine and others are there! Good luck. Found the thread, and brought it back up to the top!

Just done a few days testing, 7.50x16s(XZLs) 255x85x16 Bighorns and 285x75x16 MTZ's, hands down the MTZs are better on road without a doubt, i noticed no real difference in performance between them and the 255s, in my opion its a great size for the defender.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cal415

Just done a few days testing, 7.50x16s(XZLs) 255x85x16 Bighorns and 285x75x16 MTZ's, hands down the MTZs are better on road without a doubt, i noticed no real difference in performance between them and the 255s, in my opion its a great size for the defender.

---

Any beach or bush driving with these three?

Sitec, the 285 looks good. I will go that size. thanks