All Terrain Tyres 17” or 19”

[Webz]

So I got some Freelander 17’s today with 265/65/17 AT on them and they look great on the disco sport, almost like they should’ve looked! Instantly stood another 1.4” higher off the ground with plenty of side wall for sand driving. However I struck issues with the rears not the fronts although it was a tight fit on the front they didn’t rub. However that size with the smaller offset wheel (FR2) they didn’t fit on the back at all - hit the inner wheel arch behind the back seat.

So looking for a new strategy as we can get at least 30” on them and will be targeting 65/70 series tyre. Want to push the boundaries a bit, keen to hear if anyone has tried something bigger than just 255/55/19’s.

[Mamil]

So I got some Freelander 17’s today with 265/65/17 AT on them and they look great on the disco sport, almost like they should’ve looked! Instantly stood another 1.4” higher off the ground with plenty of side wall for sand driving. However I struck issues with the rears not the fronts although it was a tight fit on the front they didn’t rub. However that size with the smaller offset wheel (FR2) they didn’t fit on the back at all - hit the inner wheel arch behind the back seat.

So looking for a new strategy as we can get at least 30” on them and will be targeting 65/70 series tyre. Want to push the boundaries a bit, keen to hear if anyone has tried something bigger than just 255/55/19’s.

How about putting spacers on the back to increase the offset?

[Webz]

How about putting spacers on the back to increase the offset?

I tried 8mm spacers but the standard wheel studs aren’t long enough (can only get just on 2 full turns of wheel nut) with the standard wheel nuts which isn’t enough. Even then the wheel was basically still touching the inner front part of the wheel arch (back seat) and my concern any wider spacers start to push the wheels outside of the guard.

Surprisingly they fit the front perfect although close to the struts base plate but it drove without scrubbing. I would never have thought the rears would be the issue.

It seems everyone’s fitted much smaller tyres but my curiosity is to see if I can get a 30.6-31” tyre on with limited changes.

[BradDS10]

Webz,

Seems we appear to be doing/ planning similar mods...

The idea of the 265's interests me...

I have two sets of 18's the second set are from an Evoque so offset etc is the same as std. I have one set of wheels with 255/60r18 HT's on them that fit great (albeit 7mm smaller diameter than what you're talking about). The 265/65r17 and 265/60r18 that we'd respectively be looking at opens up a fair few more tyre options as they're stock sizes for Toyota Prados.

Trying to get my head around the clash location? is it with guard at the front of the wheel?

I have a couple of thoughts:

a) Can you obtain longer wheel studs to permit use of the spacers (I would probably do both the front and rear to keep the wheel track change consistent)?
b) From memory, the inner guards seem to have a liner which you may be able to modify. If it is the guard roughly parallel with the side of the car you may be able to cut sections of the liner and apply a paint-type underbody protective finish to the exposed chassis/ body (not ideal but could work).

One other thing to consider is if you're running that close to the guard is it risky if you get a build up of mud on the tyres?

[BradDS10]

Also, meant to mention. Do you think the lift you're looking at might resolve this problem?

[Webz]

Hey Brad

I think the Freelander 2 rims I tried has a closer offset causing the issues. The tyre is hitting the inner front left part of the rear right hand tyre - effectively the chassis section holding the back seat structure, then the inner liner on the left hand rear of the rear tyre which is easy to fix as you said.

If the correct offset wheel is achieved I believe a 245/70/17 or 265/255-65/70-17 is achievable. BFF KO2 or General Grabber AT3 can be supplied in the above size. I also think an 18” wheel with 245/65/18 will work and achieve the same outcome in lift/circumference.

The 265/65/17 fitted perfect on the front although close but didn’t scrub. With 8mm spacer on the front worked well but would need to change wheel nuts or extend studs when doing the springs as suggested. Decisions!

The lift will help a bit but I’m sure it’s down to the offset of the FL2 wheels I was using.

Brad - I think your in Brisbane as well, maybe we’ll find a workshop that will do a deal for both cars!? 🤔

[Webz]

Try the link below when calculating wheel size from metric to imperial:

Tire Size Calculator | Quadratec (https://www.quadratec.com/c/reference/tire-size-calculator)

[Webz]

Webz,

Seems we appear to be doing/ planning similar mods...

The idea of the 265's interests me...

I have two sets of 18's the second set are from an Evoque so offset etc is the same as std. I have one set of wheels with 255/60r18 HT's on them that fit great (albeit 7mm smaller diameter than what you're talking about). The 265/65r17 and 265/60r18 that we'd respectively be looking at opens up a fair few more tyre options as they're stock sizes for Toyota Prados.

Trying to get my head around the clash location? is it with guard at the front of the wheel?

I have a couple of thoughts:

a) Can you obtain longer wheel studs to permit use of the spacers (I would probably do both the front and rear to keep the wheel track change consistent)?
b) From memory, the inner guards seem to have a liner which you may be able to modify. If it is the guard roughly parallel with the side of the car you may be able to cut sections of the liner and apply a paint-type underbody protective finish to the exposed chassis/ body (not ideal but could work).

One other thing to consider is if you're running that close to the guard is it risky if you get a build up of mud on the tyres?

Which wheel size are you looking at moving forward with? I’m looking for a new set of wheels if your looking to move either the 17’s or 18’s on? The way I see it the 17’s open more options of tyre brand up but with either size you can achieve the same clearance by going 65/70 series tyre, so I’m looking for either size wheels (only to use for off-road use). I’ll swap back to my 19’s for road use as it’s my wife’s daily driver but she loves the look and feel of the 265’s when I put them on!

[BradDS10]

Which wheel size are you looking at moving forward with? I’m looking for a new set of wheels if your looking to move either the 17’s or 18’s on? The way I see it the 17’s open more options of tyre brand up but with either size you can achieve the same clearance by going 65/70 series tyre, so I’m looking for either size wheels (only to use for off-road use). I’ll swap back to my 19’s for road use as it’s my wife’s daily driver but she loves the look and feel of the 265’s when I put them on!

Hi Webz,

Bit of confusion, I have 2 sets of 18's (originals with 255/60R18s and Evoque with 235/60r18's). As you are planning I have the original 255/60R18's with HT's on them for daily driving and the plan is to use up the remaining life on the 235's on the Evoque wheels before moving to 255/60r18 All Terrains for occasional use (I am currently looking at Comforser CF1000's as these are economically priced and also LT rated). 265's would be nice for the occasional use AT set if I could be confident of the clearance.

Definitely agree there are considerable more options for the 17's but obviously not mcuh use to me with my current inventory [bigsmile]

[Mamil]

Hi guys, apologies in advance for the unashamed plug, but if anyone is looking at getting a set of all terrain wheels/tyres for their Disco Sport I have mine up for sale in the marketplace section of the forum.

Unfortunately it seems my off-roading days are over and the boss says the wheels have to go as they're cluttering up the patio [bigsad]

Discovery Sport or Evoque A/T wheels & tyres (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/wheels-tyres-suspension-for-sale/267381-discovery-sport-evoque-t-wheels-tyres.html)

[Webz]

Why are you selling, didn’t you have springs as well and intended to be off-road a lot?
I managed to find a set of the same OE wheels and have 265/65 rubber ready to go - pity I didn’t see this a few weeks back!

[Mamil]

Why are you selling, didn’t you have springs as well and intended to be off-road a lot?
I managed to find a set of the same OE wheels and have 265/65 rubber ready to go - pity I didn’t see this a few weeks back!

Yes, it's a shame. I had a few forays off road in the DS with these wheels but have decided it's not something I'm going to do very often as I've now bought an 'on-road' caravan, and for the occasional sandy track 18" road tyres deflated to 15psi are probably just as good. The BFGs would come into their own on corrugations, rocky tracks, or mud, but I don't expect to be doing much of that in the future. Then the clincher was that the wife is planning having a few friends around over the hols, and my 17" wheels are currently taking up half the patio - so they have to go [bigsad]

[gneissdiscosport]

So I got some Freelander 17’s today with 265/65/17 AT on them and they look great on the disco sport, almost like they should’ve looked! Instantly stood another 1.4” higher off the ground with plenty of side wall for sand driving. However I struck issues with the rears not the fronts although it was a tight fit on the front they didn’t rub. However that size with the smaller offset wheel (FR2) they didn’t fit on the back at all - hit the inner wheel arch behind the back seat.

So looking for a new strategy as we can get at least 30” on them and will be targeting 65/70 series tyre. Want to push the boundaries a bit, keen to hear if anyone has tried something bigger than just 255/55/19’s.

Mine are 30" and the front left just starts to rub in reverse at full left lock. It rubs on the vent slats inside the wheel arch at the front. Only in reverse and full lock - which isn't a problem as the wheel rotates with the "grain" of the vents and won't rip the wheel arch lining off.

I feel pretty certain that if you go to 31" (and probably 30.5" as you have mentioned) that the tyre will rub without much lock on and/or under compression in a forward gear - which I think could dismantle your wheel arch lining if you're unlucky.

I'm also not really sure that you need to push the limits of tyre dimensions for sand driving in the DS anyway? If you get some 30" AT tyres on 17/18" rims I think you'll be amazed and the performance difference for the extra sidewall height will become negligible. I have the GG AT3 255/55 R19s and have been flogging my DS, fully loaded with camping gear, all around the SEQ/nNSW beaches at 40psi. I started out lowering to 26psi each time i left the bitumen but i just haven't been able to get the thing stuck yet. Now if i'm just day-tripping and it's mostly foreshore and a bit of backshore i'll often leave it at 40. save the time to re-inflate afterwards.

I will say that the ride is more stable at high speed with the psi dropped, though. So you can definitely feel the difference in grip. Overall, though, I couldn't be happier with the sand driving performance - still weighing up that spring lift though....

[Webz]

Mine are 30" and the front left just starts to rub in reverse at full left lock. It rubs on the vent slats inside the wheel arch at the front. Only in reverse and full lock - which isn't a problem as the wheel rotates with the "grain" of the vents and won't rip the wheel arch lining off.

I feel pretty certain that if you go to 31" (and probably 30.5" as you have mentioned) that the tyre will rub without much lock on and/or under compression in a forward gear - which I think could dismantle your wheel arch lining if you're unlucky.

I'm also not really sure that you need to push the limits of tyre dimensions for sand driving in the DS anyway? If you get some 30" AT tyres on 17/18" rims I think you'll be amazed and the performance difference for the extra sidewall height will become negligible. I have the GG AT3 255/55 R19s and have been flogging my DS, fully loaded with camping gear, all around the SEQ/nNSW beaches at 40psi. I started out lowering to 26psi each time i left the bitumen but i just haven't been able to get the thing stuck yet. Now if i'm just day-tripping and it's mostly foreshore and a bit of backshore i'll often leave it at 40. save the time to re-inflate afterwards.

I will say that the ride is more stable at high speed with the psi dropped, though. So you can definitely feel the difference in grip. Overall, though, I couldn't be happier with the sand driving performance - still weighing up that spring lift though....



Really interesting to hear the feedback that you haven’t got stuck at all on sand and ground clearance hasn’t given you grief either, which beaches have you ventured onto - Bribie, Fraser etc?
29.2” diameter to a 30” (basically 235 to a 255 tyre you’ve mentioned) wouldn’t give you much of a lift in clearance which is why I’m surprised as well. My genuine DS 17” wheels turn up tomorrow actually and have 225/70/17 MT on them currently (what was already on them - I didn’t purchase, so no diameter increase but it will sit higher) so will be interested to see how they go off road before playing with new tyres.

How do you find the “sand” program when on the soft sand, or do you use the mud program?

[Webz]

I made a trip up to Bribie on the weekend taking the DS with 225/70/17 mud terrains on it through a very chopped up and deep sand track as well at high tide on the way back just to test things out on the very soft stuff and have to say it transformed the DS!
Didn’t look to have any issues getting bogged at all and the extra clearance the higher tyres provided was invaluable as I didn’t bottom out at all. Although a narrower tyre (and less radius) than I wanted (I got these with my rims) I thought I’d try them out and I think the narrower tyres helped with the soft sand.

A hint that I’ve found invaluable if you intend to do beach driving is - 1. Turn off the dsc before hitting the sand 2. Select sand mode at same time; & 3. Select “S” and use the manual gear selection using the paddles for better control, never automatic due to losing control of acceleration

[Stux]

I found the Cooper LTZ 255/55R19 fit nicely. Helps having the spring lift.

Photos taken immediately after the lift. They did fit previously, but just.

147688147689147690

[gneissdiscosport]

Really interesting to hear the feedback that you haven’t got stuck at all on sand and ground clearance hasn’t given you grief either, which beaches have you ventured onto - Bribie, Fraser etc?
29.2” diameter to a 30” (basically 235 to a 255 tyre you’ve mentioned) wouldn’t give you much of a lift in clearance which is why I’m surprised as well. My genuine DS 17” wheels turn up tomorrow actually and have 225/70/17 MT on them currently (what was already on them - I didn’t purchase, so no diameter increase but it will sit higher) so will be interested to see how they go off road before playing with new tyres.

How do you find the “sand” program when on the soft sand, or do you use the mud program?

I fully expect to get stuck eventually, because of the clearance as you said, but I think it's simply been such a consistent summer so far for rainfall that not much out there is too dry. It has seemed like whatever I have driven into or up has had a firm enough sand pack underneath to keep some momentum going. At this stage, though, I can't fault those tyres.

Sand mode and command shift, with DSC off, has been working great for me and S-auto on the long stretches of foreshore to drop the revs a bit and save some juice. So far, beach driving in Northern NSW and Sunny coast and inland tracks around Cooloola and tentatively around Moreton. Straddie is coming up for me soon and then hopefully do inskip to Fraser later in Feb.