Thread: Help with 130 tyre sizes, wheel offset etc

The old which tyre question hey? in my opinion, **** off the fat tyres and 15 rims and get a set of factory steel 16" 130 wolf rims and 255/85/16 tyres. Either BFG km2, toyo open country or maxis make that size. the tyres are slightly bigger than 33" and suit the defender. Some do find they can rub on full lock and can rub the rear spring mounts, but solution is get offset changed or buy aftermarket rims with about zero offset. the factory rims are way stronger.
Cheers

Gday,
Tyres as above but i prefer a 0 offset rim.
Paul.

well there isn't an open money pot I can dig into, so replacing both the rims and tyres are out.


If I'm understanding what you are saying, my 15 inch rims which are approx. -3mm offset, which is as near as damn it to zero as you suggest, with a 33/10.5 (only 1/2 inch wider than your suggested 255/85r16) should be ok? Or will that 1/2 inch make a massive difference?

You could alway go the other way and put on wider flares?
Apt, among others on here supply them.
This way you have the better stability of a wider footprint, without having to buy the wheels. Yes ,before other lawyers come in I know spacers are illegal here, but their legal in the U.k.
With the current setup your at about -33 offsett which means you could fit 35in rubber in the future. I have factory alloys with 30mm spacers and 255/85 tyres which rub the rear spring mount at full articulation, but it's much more stable than with the standard offsett. With your -3mm wheels and removing spacers you would be similar to my 110 so the tyres should only rub spring mount with one side of the rear fully down , other pushed up.

Originally Posted by frantic

You could alway go the other way and put on wider flares?
Apt, among others on here supply them.
This way you have the better stability of a wider footprint, without having to buy the wheels. Yes ,before other lawyers come in I know spacers are illegal here, but their legal in the U.k.
With the current setup your at about -33 offsett which means you could fit 35in rubber in the future. I have factory alloys with 30mm spacers and 255/85 tyres which rub the rear spring mount at full articulation, but it's much more stable than with the standard offsett. With your -3mm wheels and removing spacers you would be similar to my 110 so the tyres should only rub spring mount with one side of the rear fully down , other pushed up.

The truck already has extra wide flares, but I think because the wheels are so wide and pushed out from the hub so far, they are still rubbing them when going over bumps. More so when the wheels are turned rather than traveling in a straight line. Maybe I'm concerned about this when I don't really need to be however it is annoying me.
Also as I said the front wheel seemed to get caught up on the inner side of the arch when it was pushed fully up causing the drag link to bend. It was exerting so much pressure that it twisted the cab somewhat so much so I couldn't open my door to get out of the vehicle. On full lock there is minor rubbing to the control arms. I cant feel it but there is slight scuffing visible. The combination of all the above is why I want to go a little narrower.
Am I going to benefit by keeping the spacers if I drop to a 10.5 width? I just worry about the legality of them

the spacers are illegal.

I'd go either 255/85r16 or for more widely available size and a little more width 285/75r16. Both of these are similar in diam. with the 255/85r16 being marginally taller.

The 255/85 will fit on a standard rim with some spring perch rubbing. the 285/75 will need wider rims to be legal and to prevent rubbing also.

I run 285/75r16 tyres on 16x8 +3mm offset rims.

Cheers

12.5" wide rubber is the imperial equivalent to a 315 metric. Your rim combo is +\- neg 33 offset. Most people with a 315/75 or 285/75 rubber use a neg 25 rim. Without seeing your rubber in its travel through the arc you might be catching the panel or flare simply by the extra 8mm of offset and 12.5" rubber.

10.5 is the imperial equivalent to a 255/85 so you should be fine with the neg 3 offset of the rim. The 3mm won't make a difference.

MLD

I use 33x12.5x15 on 10" rims with -32mm offset. Your offset would be similar with the spacers considered.
This is in my opinion the best setup on a Defender. Looks good too!

On a standard Defender there should be no rubbing. Standard wheels measure 32".

You might want to check if the springs are sagging or where exactly the tyres are rubbing. No point in buying stuff you don't need to replace.