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Keithy P38
1st May 2014, 08:52 PM
*Mods - perhaps another thread worthy of sticky-ness??*

Hey guys/gals

It’s a common question on the forum, so I went through every “tyre size” thread I could find on AULRO, got as much info as I could, and asked everyone willing to input info on their tyre size and brand on the forum so I could compile the info and put something up here to save sifting through the millions of threads on tyre size you’ll find when you do a search.
The questions? What size tyres can I fit under a P38? Will XXXX size tyre fit without modification? Has anyone had issues with tyre scrub with XXXX size/brand tyre? You get the general gist of where I’m headed here...

Here I’ll start a list of tyre sizes (including brands) used – on this very forum, with honest first hand information directly from the owners as to what works and how they made it work (not heard from a mate’s cousin’s so & so). Bear in mind, even though some tyres will be labelled as the same, they are rarely exactly the same brand-for-brand. Some tyres are known to be taller/skinnier than others, so if you find a tyre that you want to run listed below and want more info, you could PM the person related to that tyre and get more details.

We’ll start with the big ones and work down to stock size tyres:

Generally speaking, these are the low-downs with each size:

315/75/16 - 35” – You will need to fit aftermarket flares and trim the body, likely remove mudflaps and retrofit universal ones, and 2” or more of lift. Definitely not for a standard P38. It’s advised to change final drive ratios as acceleration will suffer. Tyre does not fit in the factory spare location.

255/85/16 - 33.2” – You will need to remove the front and rear mud flaps to run these tyres. You will also need a good 2” of lift. These cannot be run on a standard P38. It is also advised to change diff ratios to 4.1:1 to allow the overall gearing to return to standard. Spare tyres will not fit in the factory location at this size.

285/75/16 - 32.8” – You will need to remove the front mud flaps to run these tyres. Some have removed the rear mud flaps as well, but others have not needed to. All members running this size tyre have 2” of suspension lift. You will need lift to run these tyres. You will have scrubbing at full lock on the front inner wheel arches, and gentle scrubbing at partial lock – fixed by simply heating the inner liner up with a heat gun and relocating back a few cm. Spare tyres will not fit in the factory location at this size.

265/65/18 - 32” and 265/75/16 - 31.8” – Both around the 32” in size you will need to remove the front mud flaps and run some kind of bump stop packing if you are lowered for some reason, unless you have fitted a lift kit of some variety. Members with and without lift are running these sized tyres and neither have major concerns with rubbing – you do not need to lift your P38 to run these tyres. If you have not lifted your P38, you will need to carry packing in case you end up on the bump stops and have to drive for some reason. Otherwise, during normal driving, there are no dramas. The rears on Mud Terrain equipped P38’s scrub in the rear arches under articulation on vehicles without lift, but not enough to cause concern. The All Terrains in these sizes seem to have less scrubbing issues than the Mud Terrains. Spare tyres will not fit in the factory location at this size.

265/70/16 - 31” – In an All Terrain pattern (don’t seem to be many Mud Terrain tyres in this size) they seem to have no issues rubbing. The only info I have on these size tyres says that a well-worn one will fit into the spare wheel well without issue. Not sure on new ones. You won’t need a lift to run these tyres.

245/75/16 - 31” – In a Mud Terrain pattern the only reports of scrubbing are when hitting potholes or gutters in Low height, otherwise no issues. No known evidence of them fitting the spare in the factory location. The All Terrains have no dramas with rubbing. No lift required to run these tyres.

255/70/16 - 30.5” – You will need to remove the front mud flaps if you run these tyres in a Mud Terrain pattern. A good choice if you want a very minor upgrade over the standard sized tyres. Small (very insignificant) rubbing under flex in the rear, but otherwise fit without issue on a standard P38. These tyres do not rub on a standard P38 if you are sent to the bump stops for some reason. Spare tyre will fit in the spare wheel well when fully deflated.

255/65/16 - 29” – Standard size – no issues.

Now for individual comments on the sizes:

315/75/16
Not on the forum, but actually on the P38 Facebook group is Peter Davis. He is running these big puppies on his P38. They are huge – 35” tyres on a P38 - they look like 37” tyres on anything else! He has run two sets of tyres in 35”, he has currently got Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ 4-rib All Terrain tyre and previously he ran a set of Simex Extreme Mud Terrains in the same size. His P38 is on coils (2” lifted) and has classic Rangie flares over the guards. He reports no scrubbing. He also says that he’s running standard gearing (which would put it at around 1700rpm at 100km/h if I was to guess). He didn’t feel confident attacking the guards to fit the flares, so he had Damien Thorn at Peninsula Rangie in Frankston fit them up. He also runs 30mm spacers to put the tyres further out (I assume this is to prevent them scrubbing during sharp turning).
He did run a Hard Range 2” lift with Gen III springs, but due to quite a lot of dramas with the setup (not the fault of the lift, he mentions it was the tyres potentially throwing up rocks and destroying height sensors and springs), he went to coils. He says that even though the gearing is standard, he is quite happy with it. The rover V8 has enough power to move it at more-than-reasonable pace and the fuel consumption is not excessive. He also mentions that the CV’s and general driveline will suffer long-term if you drive hard as it takes quite a lot more energy to spin up these tyres. Best to take the slow and steady approach when off-road with 35’s – lockers and low 1st with a gentle right foot.

255/85/16
Paul (PaulP38A) ran these in both Maxxis Bighorn and BF Goodrich KM2 Mud Terrain on his Hard Range P38. He had to remove the front and rear mudflaps and run the Hard Range 2” lift kit to fit them in the guards. Paul had 4.1:1 ratio diff centres in his P38 to return the factory gearing. They measure in at just over 33” diameter. He also mentions concern over running a wider tyre at 33” rubbing quite significantly – hence his choice to run 255/85 instead of 285/75.

285/75/16
Martin (Fantom P38) has run BF Goodrich KM2 Mud Terrain tyres in this size on his P38 for some time with the Hard Range 2” lift kit. He has removed the front and rear mud flaps, but other than that has not trimmed guards or modified anything else and reports that he is confident with them if he should need to drive on the bump stops.

Paul (Hammer_H) is running these in BF Goodrich KM2 Mud Terrain on his P38 as well as a 2” suspension lift (still on EAS). He reports scrubbing when in Low height at full lock, and that the rears just bump the arch liners if you hit a hard bump in Low height. He says that driving in Access height is pretty much a non-event as they rub like crazy. He also says that the front wheel arch liner cops a little rub at the rear on steering lock – not bad enough to warrant modification, but it is happening. Using a heat gun it would be simple enough to just warm the arch liner up a little and bend it back a few mm to avoid the rubbing. Otherwise it’s not bad enough to cause dramas. He suggests running bump stop packers if you have to drive on the bump stops for any reason. These tyres measure in at just less than 33” in the old money.

P38oncoils (unsure of his name) is running Maxxis Bighorn tyres in this size on his coil sprung P38 (3.5” higher at the rear and 2.75” at the front). He says initially he had issues when turning, but has modified the sill trim (assume this is the panel below the doors). He mentions that it’s only at full lock on the front and under articulation in the rear that he scrubs (but is not bad enough to warrant mods to liners or guards).

265/65/18
Mogswoffy (don’t know his name!!) is running General Grabber AT2’s in this size and reports no issues (other than the spare not fitting in the factory spot). With minimal details in his post, I’m going to assume being a 32” tyre that there would be some minor rubbing on the front mud flaps and rear arch liners if you hit the bump stops.

Sean (Davidsonsm) runs this tyre (he measures at 31.5” ), in the BFGoodrich All Terrain tread pattern. He says it seems smoother to drive than the factory 255/55/18 tyres and is very happy with the road manners. He has removed the front mud flaps. He ran this tyre with no suspension lift, albeit a minor tweak to get 1” extra via EAS calibration, and had no issues other than rubbing at full lock in reverse with no scrubbing in standard height or above. He has now lifted his Rangie by 2” and mentions that he will be getting a set of Mud Terrain tyres for a set of 16” rims he has. He had longer bump stops by 20mm to be sure in case of a suspension failure.

265/75/16
Gary (mtb_gary) runs Maxxis Bighorn Mud Terrains in this size on his P38 with 2” of lift. He says they are noisy and slow to respond on the bitumen, but runs these as an off-road only tyre so he is fine with those traits. He says that the adjustable Panhard rod has removed the right-rear chassis scrubbing issue he initially had with these tyres. He also says that they are close to scrubbing on the front mud flaps, but lucky for him they don’t touch, so he still runs them.

Many moons ago, Ron (p38arover) ran these sized tyres in Cooper ST All Terrain tread pattern. He reports that they were not as good as the Michelin XPC’s in the wet, and noisier too. He says they fouled on the front mudflaps at full lock in Access height. They also fouled the rear arch liners when his suspension failed and lowered him to the bump stops. He changed to a 245/75/16 in the same tyre some years later.

Wayne (Wayneg) is now running this size Dunlop GrandTrek ATZ on his P38. He says they rub in the front but cannot find rub marks (he assumes the mud flaps are the culprit), but otherwise is rub free.

Wanglemoose (unsure of name) runs a Maxxis Bighorn 764 in this size on his P38. He is on coils in a +2” size, he also says that he has scrubbing issues to the point where he has removed bits of the front wheel arch liner to allow full lock steering. He says they scrape the guards in the rear under articulation as well.

RoverHse (not sure of the name) runs the Goodyear Wrangler MTR in this size on his P38. He does not recall any scrubbing issues.

Peter (Pete 38) is running these in BF Goodrich KM2 Mud Terrain on his P38. Currently not modified suspension-wise other than Arnott Gen III springs (theoretically during normal driving this should not change from standard springs other than when flexing). Peter reports minimal scrubbing in the rear arches when under cross-axle articulation and suggests that bump stop packers are used if you are planning to drive on the bump stops for whatever reason. That means that driving in Access height is limited to straight ahead only, and minimal distances. Otherwise, the front mudflaps have had to be removed, but it does not scrub anywhere else. These tyres are just a shade less than 32”.

265/70/16
Wayne (Wayneg) was running this size tyre on his P38 in Bridgestone Dueller on the rear and Nexon Rodean All Terrain on the front. He says they don’t rub at all and the spare (a well-worn one at that) fits into the spare’s factory location when fully deflated. He says they were a vast improvement in terms of tram-lining over his 18’s. He also comments that being a standard size across a vast range of larger 4wds makes these tyres a good size from a price perspective.
You would class these tyres as a 31” tyre.

245/75/16
Parasnoop67 (unsure of his name) was running Goodyear Wrangler MTR’s on his in this size. They are a true 31” tyre and he reported no scrubbing issues except bumping gutters, etc in Low height. He says they are a bit noisy on the highway but bearable for a mud tyre.
He does not mention if they fit in the factory spare wheel location or not.

Benji runs BFGoodrich All Terrains in this size. He says that there are absolutely no issues with rubbing and he’ll easily get 100,000km out of them. He also says that they start to bag out nicely at 24psi or below.

255/70/16
I am running these sized tyres in BF Goodrich KM2 Mud Terrain. I ran them for 40,000km prior to lifting my P38. The front tyres scrubbed the mud flaps so they were promptly removed. Under full articulation the rears only just touched the wheel arch liners in the rear (and I mean JUST – enough to put tiny marks on the liners). I drove over 1000km on the bump stops when these tyres were pretty much new, including 100km of low-range axle-twisting country, I can confirm you can drive on the bump stops and not have scrubbing issues. I had standard Dunlop air springs at that stage.
Now that my Rangie is lifted 2” (still using EAS), I am reconsidering putting the front mud flaps back on. There are zero scrubbing issues. Tyres do not touch the rear arch liners any more. On paper they measure in at 30.5”, on my Rangie at 40psi with no load in the back they measure 29.5” from the ground to the top (kind of sad but that’s the reality).
These tyres do fit in the factory spare tyre location when completely deflated and the valve innards removed. Even from new.

255/65/16
This is the factory size tyre. You should not experience any issues with scrubbing whatsoever and should expect the spare to fit in the factory location without the need to deflate.

Cheers for reading!
Keithy

PICTURES
RoverHSE's P38 with 265/75/16 Bridgestone Wrangler MTR's

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36215d1306300579-non-standard-tyre-sizes-img_3732.jpg
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36213d1306300492-non-standard-tyre-sizes-img_3598.jpg
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36214d1306300538-non-standard-tyre-sizes-img_3729.jpg

996Turbo's wearing 265/75/16 BFGoodrich KM2's

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36227d1306302919-non-standard-tyre-sizes-imageuploadedbytapatalk1306302873.777076.jpg
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36226d1306302849-non-standard-tyre-sizes-imageuploadedbytapatalk1306302802.752709.jpg

Redandy3575's wearing 30" (255/70??) Silverstone All Terrains.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36235d1306321578-non-standard-tyre-sizes-mt.jpg
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36238d1306321834-non-standard-tyre-sizes-image060.jpg

PaulP38a's old Hard Rangie wearing 255/85/16 Maxxis Bighorns.

http://paulp38a.com/gallery/d/3407-1/IMG_1985.JPG
http://paulp38a.com/gallery/d/5115-1/IMG-20110529-00159.jpg

DT-P38's wearing 265/75/16 Dunlop GrandTrek's

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/36256d1306421295-non-standard-tyre-sizes-09-02-08_1749.jpg

And Wayne's running the same 265/75/16 GrandTrek All Terrains

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/49137d1342577573-tyre-pressure-dscf2461.jpg

P38oncoils 285/75/16 Maxxis Bighorns

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/members/p38oncoils-albums-p38oncoils-picture3729-scenic-rim-5.jpg

Martin's wearing 285/75/16 BFGoodrich KM2's

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/50672d1346748852-yeh-yeh-another-tyre-thread-img_1062-2.jpg

My P38 wearing 255/70/16 BFGoodrich KM2’s

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/11/417.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Pete’s wearing 265/75/16 BFGoodrich KM2’s

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/76071d1398323927-poser-shots-flexing-new-sliders-20140424_134215.jpg

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/76068d1398322312-poser-shots-flexing-new-sliders-img_20140424_043506.jpg

Sean’s wearing 265/65/18 BFGoodrich All Terrain’s

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/75842-all-p38-tyre-sizes-uploadfromtaptalk1397903156344.jpg?amp;d=139790315 7

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/75843-all-p38-tyre-sizes-uploadfromtaptalk1397903211914.jpg?amp;d=139790321 2

Peter Davis’ wearing mammoth 315/75/16’s

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/76432d1398942640-all-p38-tyre-sizes-10246393_10153288503300190_7427465448234574281_n.j pg

FANTOM P38
1st May 2014, 09:13 PM
Well done Keithy,
Should provide a great guide to all considering tyre/suspension changes.
I have just compiled some photos for comparison with my std tyre setup in all heights and KM2's also in all heights with measurements from ground to wheel arch inset into photos will post up once photoshopping is done!

Pete38
2nd May 2014, 04:37 AM
Yeh great effort to bring that all together Keith. I'm sure the P38 community will thank you.

LRDan
2nd May 2014, 09:32 AM
Great write up! I must've missed the boat for input. I've just fitted 265/75/16's AT's to my stock p38 and only get slight rubbing under articulation and around corners hitting bumps in highway mode.

TheTree
2nd May 2014, 01:11 PM
Keithy

Another great write up, fantastic work :D

Steve

davidsonsm
2nd May 2014, 02:21 PM
Muddie envy. They transform the vehicle from meek and mild to aggressive and mean.

benji
2nd May 2014, 04:49 PM
Having never had mud tires before - an 'Elementary dear Watson'- question.
How much of a difference do mud tires make offroad? I've got bfg at's, to use as a basic yard stick.
Do they increase traction on dry surfaces, or only in the sloppy stuff?

Keithy P38
2nd May 2014, 05:31 PM
Yes, both sloppy and dry 4wding is improved by the larger tread blocks on muddies.

The downside is that they dig in very soft dirt (for example, climbing a soft dirt hill or sand dune).

Sand has not proved to be an issue, only when elevation is concerned do they dig in sand. The right tyre pressure has a bigger bearing for muddies than all terrain's on sand.

flathead steve
2nd May 2014, 06:49 PM
Fantastic work a great guide for those thinking of mod's in the future ; Pic's are great to, CHEER'S :D

finallyrangie
3rd May 2014, 08:19 AM
really useful collection of information here, thanks everyone for taking the time to provide and compile the info, I am thinking about 245/76 R16 muddies and I can now be confident they fit without a lift (which should be coming thanks to your last, equally great thread), but if someone could tell me if it fits in the spare wheel well I would be grateful (I am sort of expecting it to not fit to be honest)

thanks again to everyone

mtb_gary
3rd May 2014, 09:07 AM
really useful collection of information here, thanks everyone for taking the time to provide and compile the info, I am thinking about 245/76 R16 muddies and I can now be confident they fit without a lift (which should be coming thanks to your last, equally great thread), but if someone could tell me if it fits in the spare wheel well I would be grateful (I am sort of expecting it to not fit to be honest)

thanks again to everyone

As you've probably noticed, the standard size wheel/tyre is pretty tight in the wheel well. Anything larger than standard size will not fit. However, because your 245/75/16 is only marginally larger than standard size i think that could be achieved. if you carry a compressor you can deflate the tyre and squeeze it in then inflate the tyre when required.

Gary

Keithy P38
3rd May 2014, 03:21 PM
It'll be a tough one! My 255/70's only just fit when fully deflated with the valve centers out. 245/75 is bigger than mine (by about 1/2").

redandy3575
3rd May 2014, 04:34 PM
Onya Keithy. Bit of research done.

An old photot of my Rangie, here's one with the Silverstone 275/70R16. Mud terrains which only just fit without modification. As you say they do scrub a bit on full lock when suspension is lower that high mode. Here's a pick for your file.

DT-P38
5th May 2014, 12:28 AM
Sorry I missed the original. Simex Jungle Trekkers in 33' (290-70-16) work fine too.

Small am,ount of cutting for front wheel arch part of chin spoiler and all flaps removed. Still get lug rub at full lock though, and scrape from rear over high speed lumps on hwy and std settings. Also, some minor scrape from front on lock when articulating at shorter compression.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Keithy P38
14th May 2014, 10:24 AM
Just a quick bump - Mods, are you able to pin this bad boy up top please?

Hoges
14th May 2014, 11:10 AM
Sorry I missed the original. Simex Jungle Trekkers in 33' (290-70-16) work fine too.

Small am,ount of cutting for front wheel arch part of chin spoiler and all flaps removed. Still get lug rub at full lock though, and scrape from rear over high speed lumps on hwy and std settings. Also, some minor scrape from front on lock when articulating at shorter compression.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/p38a-range-rover/43430d1328840590-harden-rangie-up-image-3076937707.jpg

Tyres for the concrete jungle??:eek::twisted::wasntme:

TheTree
3rd June 2014, 11:00 AM
Keithy,

While it didn't make sticky status, it has been added to my Tips and Tricks page :cool:

Range Rover Websites (http://p38.hts.com.au/rangie_websites.html)

Steve

davidsonsm
17th June 2014, 03:54 PM
My new boots. 285/75/16 BF Goodrich muddies on 8" steel rims.

7907679077

Pete38
17th June 2014, 03:58 PM
What offset? Also, you have 50mm extended bump stops yes? Curious if they rub at all. Still a bit to go on my 265/75/16 but would like 33's and the 285 tread width.

Pete38
17th June 2014, 03:59 PM
Looking good by the way. I like black rims on big rubber

davidsonsm
17th June 2014, 07:09 PM
The rims are 2nd hand D2 so they have a 57mm offset (from memory) which matches my other 18" hurricanes.

I have 50mm lift. The bump stops have been extended by about 35mm. No rubbing at standard height on lock. Not had time to check lower heights yet. Not had time to check on articulation.

Keithy P38
17th June 2014, 07:34 PM
What height is your Rangie pictured in there?

Can you confirm (one of these days) what your speedo reads at a GPS indicated 100km/h and what revs you are doing?

Cheers

davidsonsm
17th June 2014, 09:20 PM
Keith, was that one aimed at me? If so, standard height. I've used a Truspeed to correct the speedo. Before the correction, on the 265/65/18's it's was a pretty accurate 8% over. From my playing around today in the 2nd setting on the Truspeed, the 33"ers seem to be 10% over.

Keithy P38
18th June 2014, 06:12 AM
So roughly 90kmh on the speedo to 100kmh actual? Cheers mate!

Yeah the height comment was for you!

davidsonsm
18th June 2014, 06:23 AM
When I.say over I mean the car was going faster than the speedo was reading. Bigger wheels not spinning as fast. So I.guess I really should say the.speedo was under.

Pete38
18th June 2014, 12:49 PM
Yeh my 32's pretty much meant 100km/h on the speedo was a true 110km/h when they were new... So I'd imagine a full 33 would likely be slightly over 10% when new yes? Like 12-13%.

Keithy P38
28th June 2014, 05:28 PM
I bought two BFG KM2's in 285/75 today for $120! It's not a set, but with 80% tread I couldn't pass the offer up.

I'll get 4 brand new in a month or so and use the 80%ers as spares until the new ones wear down. Still need to get a dual tyre carrier before I'll fit them up, so that's higher on the list.

Cheers
Keithy

Pete38
28th June 2014, 06:01 PM
I bought two BFG KM2's in 285/75 today for $120! It's not a set, but with 80% tread I couldn't pass the offer up.

I'll get 4 brand new in a month or so and use the 80%ers as spares until the new ones wear down. Still need to get a dual tyre carrier before I'll fit them up, so that's higher on the list.

Cheers
Keithy

Nice find Keith. That's a good score

davidsonsm
28th June 2014, 06:50 PM
I got my new BF Goodrich 285/75/16's from Cornell's in Sydney. $255 per corner. Delivered to a depot in Melbourne. Thought that was pretty good.

davidsonsm
28th June 2014, 06:52 PM
I was looking at 2x 2nd hand BF muddies in 285/75/16 at 70% for $300. So $120 sounds like a steal. Excellent find.

FANTOM P38
28th June 2014, 07:29 PM
I can confirm my 33's run out about 10% according to GPS but dont have TRUSPEED! another Gadget on my list;)

blindin
6th September 2014, 08:59 PM
Hi, just want to add another size to the list.
I have just fitted m/t 235/85/16.
They are road stone, and also fitted to discovery 2 rims which I believe are narrower.
I did get some slight rubbing on front mud guards for the first couple of km, but pushed them back and no more rubbing. I have taken it off road and no scrubbing.
Standard suspension.

blindin
18th September 2014, 09:38 PM
Edit:
After a couple of days I have decided to remove front mud guards as they continued to rub

Keithy P38
31st March 2015, 10:59 AM
Hey all

Have purchased a Nanocom Evolution recently (although I already own a Faultmate MSV-2), I thought I'd let you know that under "instruments", and in the "settings" tab, you can add a modifier number to offset larger diameter tyres. I had not looked far enough into it on my Faultmate, but did have a play with the Nanocom.

So for those of you with access to a Nanocom and who want to correct the speedo readout with a tyre size change, it can be done without needing to splice wires.

Cheers
Keithy

Pete38
3rd April 2015, 08:42 PM
No way. How did I not notice that. I thought I went through every function on the Nanacom Evo to see what was there.

Have you changed the value and found it made a difference?

Your BECM is locked as per factory I assume?

Good to know (once mine is back on the road again).

Keithy P38
3rd April 2015, 09:10 PM
I didn't change it on mine, did do it on a D2 and it took effect.

When I'm home next I'll do it to mine.

EDIT: So, go to P38 (whichever EMS yours has), then "instruments", then "settings" and it's right there as "Tyre Modifier" or something very similar (can't remember the exact words as I'm not at home at the moment).

EDIT 2: Once in "instruments", scroll all the way across to instrument setup, it's called "Tyre Coefficient".

Cheers
Keithy

Pete38
3rd April 2015, 09:45 PM
Thanks Keith.

Mines a Motronic (Bosch). I'll be sure to change it once my BECM is talking to me :)

Keithy P38
19th May 2015, 08:00 PM
Did some digging about tyre sizes today. I even made a few phone calls to both engineers, and to the VSI department of the QLD Transport.

This virtually applies to all states, but for the purpose of this post, it's purely QLD related as I've not dug further into the fine print in other states.

If you've read the VSI doc in my original post in the lift thread you'll note that they mention combined heights for lifts and tyre combinations. The lift can be 50mm (with engineering you can go higher), but tyres are a firm 50mm diameter increase. No exceptions. The engineers told me the best I could do is submit at "Intent to modify" form with the QLD Transport and hope they feel good that day. They also said that rulers and calculators are both different in real life, so depending on the copper (or anyone else who wants your blood) you could fit a 32" or thereabouts tyre onto a P38 "legally" if you can convince them hard enough that it's a very close 50mm diameter increase.

I smiled and nodded.

Then I called the QLD Transport modification department (can't remember the exact name), and old mate was very firm on the 50mm rule. He said that 4wders call up every day saying they saw a million of 4wds the same as theirs with much larger tyres. He said in no uncertain words or tone that "it is not legal, nor engineerable, to run tyres that are more than 50mm larger in diameter than the largest tyre offered in that particular 4wd".

I'm not convinced that it's any less safe to run 3 1/2" larger diameter tyres (so that's 1 3/4" or roughly 40mm) ground clearance increase over stock, compared to a suspension lift that any old backyarder can make.

I will lift the fight to the 4wd Clubs Australia level and see if something can be done about it (even if it means we need to get them engineered).

Cheers
Keithy

finallyrangie
20th May 2015, 06:12 AM
I looked into this when they first changed the rules in Qld and it seemed to boil down to

lifting the roof height of the vehicle by

50mm via longer suspension
50mm via body lift on vehicles not fitted with airbags
25mm via larger tyres (so 50mm diameter)

BUT in total the roof height cannot be raised by more than 75mm by any combination of these modifications.

I presume that as a p38 can have a lift that doesn't effect the roof height on the road we could fit 10 inch spring lifts if they were available. .

I was given the impression by main roads that engineering beyond these limits was not an option in Qld.

Just my understanding, if I am wrong or things have changed I am happy to be corrected

Keithy P38
20th May 2015, 06:34 AM
That's it!

I wasn't trying to touch on lifts in this post, more so the tyre limits. Lifts from 75mm to 150mm are engineerable in QLD but not via >50mm tyre size.

Cheers
Keithy

finallyrangie
20th May 2015, 06:48 AM
they told me the same thing, 50mm increase in tyre diameter is the maximum permitted, no exceptions, did see someone was going to try and argue that land rovers all have similar chassis and running gear and get plus 50mm on the defender standard size tyre but that was regarding a classic and I'm not sure he was going to get very far!

TheTree
20th May 2015, 11:28 AM
Does anyone have the size of an 18" fitted to a P38?

Since they were a factory option surely the 50mm increase can be based on them and not on the 16" wheels

Steve

Pete38
20th May 2015, 12:58 PM
They are also 29" wheels. I checked hoping that my 32" were legal... But not.

So I just run low pressure ha ha.

PaulP38a
22nd May 2015, 03:07 AM
Does anyone have the size of an 18" fitted to a P38?
Since they were a factory option surely the 50mm increase can be based on them and not on the 16" wheels
Steve

50mm increase is based on the Outside Diameter (OD) of the tyre, not the rim.

255/55R18 is a standard factory size for the P38 that gives 29" (737mm) OD.

TheTree
22nd May 2015, 08:18 AM
50mm increase is based on the Outside Diameter (OD) of the tyre, not the rim.

255/55R18 is a standard factory size for the P38 that gives 29" (737mm) OD.

Hi mate

I was aware it is the rim size, my thought wad that perhaps it was a slightly bigger tyre OD

Steve

TheTree
22nd May 2015, 08:22 AM
Hi

chatting with Benji from Rampt customs yesterday he mentioned the regulations were related to diff and brakes.

Eg: Certain Nissans came with bigger tyres and if you used their diffs on another vehicle apparently it is legal

Not much use to us P38 owners though I don't think

Steve

TheTree
22nd May 2015, 08:46 AM
Actually this may help us because the P38 and the Defender share the same "Rover" type diff and the Defender came from the factory with 32" wheels

So it may be possible to argue that the diff supports larger size wheels.

Getting way out of my zone of knowledge here though !

Steve

Keithy P38
22nd May 2015, 06:47 PM
To justify a Defender diff under a P38 (to the law) would require a mod plate... But it sure does open up the choice of wheels and gives those floating axles ;-)

Cheers
Keithy

TheTree
22nd May 2015, 09:28 PM
To justify a Defender diff under a P38 (to the law) would require a mod plate... But it sure does open up the choice of wheels and gives those floating axles ;-)

Cheers
Keithy

I sometimes wonder if people use the term diff when the mean the entire axle assembly

But it's worth a try; "I have a Defender differential fitted ossifer" :angel:

Steve

Keithy P38
23rd May 2015, 08:24 AM
That's my bad - in North QLD we have issues saying what we really mean ;-)

Cheers
Keithy

prelude
30th May 2016, 09:49 PM
So, I went and bought 235/85R16 tyres for my P38 after reading this sticky and went for some serious green laning at the beginning of this month. I'll post another thread to share the story but thus far I have the following experiences.

the tl;dr version: won't fit without modification.

Tyres: 235/85R16 Goodyear wrangler MT/R with kevlar
Wheels: terrafirma anthracite wheels with beadlocks (partnumber TF107)

First of, the I am not sure what the ET value or ofset of these wheels is but I suspect they are somewhat different from the stock wheels, ie. they stick out. With the much larger tyres they do tend to hit the wheel arches sooner. The beadlocks I beleive make the tyre stick out even further adding to the problems.

In short: the wheels scrub A LOT. I added 5mm padding to the front and rear axle, just testing stationary if it would prevent the wheels from touching. It did, but when the car was laden in highwaymode I would hear the tyres scrub on the larger bumps in the road but I managed to do 500+k's without too much trouble. During heavy articulation things were doing well except for the rear left. In future I think I'm going to have to adjust the bump stops further. Also these bump stops are old and probably deform to much. Polyurethane stops and a slightly thicker packing (say 1cm) will probably suffice.

As far as the tyres go, I absolutely loved them! I did schred one when hitting a submersed concrete plate with 80km/h but I guess no tyre would have survived that. They ride pretty comfortable for a muddy compared to my mates cooper SST's. My theory is that the asymmetric design whicfh is primarily to clean mud more easily also add's (positively) to the road behaviour. Have not tried airing them down since I do not yet have a compressor to reinflate them (well the car has one, but not hose yet :P)

Regarding the wheels: they look the part, seem decent (they are actually italian built, there is a brand in them I'll make pics later) but installing beadlocks is a b*tch. 24 or 26 nuts that you have to cross bolt and re-torque at least a dozen times. 5 wheels took me a whole day. They do take different wheel nuts and they do not come as standard anymore so do not forget to order a set! After hitting that concrete slab which ruined a tyre the wheel is still in tact, not sure if lucky or just tough wheels. Impressed in any case.