Fitting 32" OD tyres to the D3 - why or why not?

[PCH]

I'm looking to change from Cooper STT's to Mickey Thompson MTZ's.

Beside the tread pattern difference and possibly construction/rubber compound differences (yes I heard the factories are the same) the main change is with size.

Cooper STT - 245/70/17"
Mickey Thompson MTZ - 265/70/17"

The Cooper STT is a 30.5" OD tyre and the MTZ is 31.9" OD. Legally in Victoria we can increase up to 15mm (0.59") in OD but this will be greater than the maximum.

A few on this board run tyres up to 32" OD. Are you legal and what about insurance - just risk it? How do others fit bigger OD tyres than allowed and get away with it?

I heard the 32" OD tyres will fit in the spare wheel well but needs to be deflated.

Your thoughts please.

Thanks Chris

(I'm keen to give the Coopers the flick and try something else - its the second set of Coopers and I haven't been overly impressed with mileage).

[HSVRangie]

just do it.

provided they miss everything.

Michael.

[peterpam]

Chris,
I don't know why you didn't get good mileage from your Coopers. I got 130,000 km from my last 2 sets. I contacted Coopers for the correct pressures for the relevant terrain as the pressures that the tyre dealer told me were completely wrong. If the pressures aren't right it won't matter what type of tyre you have, they will wear quicker.

Peter

[gghaggis]

I've run the MTZs on my D3 - I naively assumed that as they actually measured out to 31.5", I'd be fine :)

They're a great off-road tyre and (as long as they don't scallop - so get your alignment checked!) remarkably quiet. But they _are_ a soft compound tyre, so don't expect a lot of mileage from them.

I still have them for playing off-road, but I use the ATZs for touring and day-to-day.

Cheers,

Gordon