S2A tyre sizes

[Indiana Jones]

Hey guys,

I am trying to find out the original tyre sizes that were recommended back in the 60's for a '65 88inch S2A.

I bought the thing a few months ago and it has bigger tyres than what are on my Defender. I suspect the speedo is out.

I thought maybe 6.50X16 tyres would do the job, but I was told that they don't make them any more. Is there something that would be available that would be as close as possible to original sizes?

Cheers



1954 86" Series 1 Soft-Top
1965 88" Series 2A Hard-Top
1975 109" Series 3 Trayback Ute
1981 109" Series 3 Stage 1 V8 Station Wagon
1995 Discovery 1 V8i
1999 Defender 110 Xtreme TD5

[Shonky]

To my knowledge (most of it garnered from JDNSW)

SWB variants wore 6.00x16 Bar treads (still available) where as LWB versions had 7.50x16 Bar treads or radials.

If you drive it regularly and aren't after originality, I wouldn't recommend bar treads. They are very noisy and reputedly appaling in the wet.

A popular choice for daily shorties seems to be 205R16 Dunlop Super Grippers. I have a set on my (currently dismantled) SII SWB and they are a good tire.


I'm sure someone will set you right if I am incorrect. :)

[JDNSW]

Standard tyres were 6.00x16. First thing you should check probably is what wheels you have - for the 88 they should be 5" rims, but are likely to have been exchanged for 5.5" lwb rims. Of course, it is possible that the wheels are neither, but some third party type, which may be wider, and some Rangerover and Discovery wheels will fit, although most need modification to go over the larger hub.

Having established what wheels you have, you perhaps should talk to a local tyre supplier (or several) out what is available to fit in a suitable tread pattern depending on the use you plan. To match the speedo, you should look for an overall diameter the same as the 600-16, or about 28". Note that while it was originally fitted with crossply tyres, I doubt anyone will recommend this today for normal use. Note that the original wheels are not recommended for tubeless tyres.

When I had or used swb Series 1, 2 and 2a (a long time ago) they were fitted with 7.00-16, 7.60-16 or 6.50-16; I doubt any of these are available today!

John

[PAT303]

The 6.00x16 to me are a little small and look funny but common 7.50x16 are a good fit and radials are much better than cross plies both on and off road and would be my choice. Pat

[Indiana Jones]

Thanks guys,

These tyre sizes would fit a Series 3 SWB as well, wouldn't they?

I'm rebuilding one for a mate and he is keen on putting Disco 1 steel rims on it - would it affect the turning circle?

Cheers

Robbie
__________________________

1954 86" Series 1 Soft-Top
1965 88" Series 2A Hard-Top
1975 109" Series 3 Trayback Ute
1981 109" Series 3 Stage 1 V8 Station Wagon
1995 Discovery 1 V8i
1999 Defender 110 Xtreme TD5

[JDNSW]

Thanks guys,

These tyre sizes would fit a Series 3 SWB as well, wouldn't they?

I'm rebuilding one for a mate and he is keen on putting Disco 1 steel rims on it - would it affect the turning circle?

Cheers

Robbie
__________________________

1954 86" Series 1 Soft-Top
1965 88" Series 2A Hard-Top
1975 109" Series 3 Trayback Ute
1981 109" Series 3 Stage 1 V8 Station Wagon
1995 Discovery 1 V8i
1999 Defender 110 Xtreme TD5

7.50 x 16 was an option on Series 2/2a/3 swb, but should have the lwb speedo fitted. They increase the turning circle however. As mentioned, unless you have a good, specific reason (e.g. originality), do not use crossplies.

Wider wheels such as the Discovery 1 (not 2) wheels can be fitted - I'm not sure whether the centre needs modification though. The advantage of them is that they are designed for tubeless tyres, but the disadvantage is that unless I am mistaken they substantially increase turning circle due to the offset. There is no advantage to the increased width of this rim for 7.50-16, and if you increase the width of tyre beyond this, bear in mind that you are increasing the steering effort - and you do not have power steering.

John

[JDNSW]

The 6.00x16 to me are a little small and look funny but common 7.50x16 are a good fit and radials are much better than cross plies both on and off road and would be my choice. Pat

The vehicle was designed to be fitted with 6.00-16, so will look as it was originally.

Fitting larger diameter tyres such as 7.50-16 will increase offroad ability and reduce engine revs for a given road speed, but will reduce acceleration and introduce speedo error.

Fitting wider tyres increases steering effort and the effect of bumps on steering kickback, and increase turning circle. In theory they improve cornering by increasing the track, but given the Series suspension this is more theory than real. For the 25% increase of 7.50-16 this is not a major problem, but I would not go wider for normal use. And 7.50-16 are fairly widely available.

I agree that for all normal use, radials are preferable.

John

[PAT303]

Robbie if you are fitting disco rims you will have to go up in size as 6.00x16 are too narrow for the rim.As john said I would fit a good radial.John with the speedo do you change the spiral gear on the handbrake or the speedo unit itself?. Pat

[JDNSW]

Robbie if you are fitting disco rims you will have to go up in size as 6.00x16 are too narrow for the rim.As john said I would fit a good radial.John with the speedo do you change the spiral gear on the handbrake or the speedo unit itself?. Pat

No, with the Series you have to change the speedo. Gears are all the same on all of them, except of course for the Stage 1.

You can probably get conversion gears that fit on the back of the speedo - I know I had one of these when metrication started here, but it only lasted a few thousand kilometres.

John

[PAT303]

It's good your on the forum John. Pat

[Turtle61]

I'm rebuilding one for a mate and he is keen on putting Disco 1 steel rims on it - would it affect the turning circle?

Mate, Disco 1 steelies will fit with out the slightest fuss. I have them on my SII and did Cape York on them without a hitch.

However, these rims are 7inch wide and are too wide for 7.50 let alone anything smaller. Best tyre to use on D1 steel rim fitted to a Series is 235/85R16. Very similar diameter to 7.50s but a tad wider. Turning circle, at least in my experience, wasn't effected too badly as most of the extra width goes out - tyre/rim combination fills the wings quite nicely.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

<snip> ... wasn't effected too badly as most of the extra width goes out - tyre/rim combination fills the wings quite nicely.Are you sure that you have your offsets calibrated correctly?

The Disco I 7" rim has a positive offset (goes in).

[Turtle61]

Are you sure that you have your offsets calibrated correctly?

The Disco I 7" rim has a positive offset (goes in).

Since when do you calibrate offsets? Whatever the case (positive or negative) the rim/tyre combination seems to fill the wings quite nicely, unlike SWB rims and 7.50 which always looked too far in.

Anyway, I once did a comparison of various LR rims (wolf, disco 1, LWB and SWB) to see where the extra width of rims go and (I need to find my spreadsheet) there wasn't much of a difference in the distance between the wheel mounting surface to the inner edge of rim between the various rims - called BACKSPACE. This means that the extra width of the most of the rims would have to go outwards.

[Indiana Jones]

The problem with my mates Series 3 SWB is that it had a buggered rim that must have been hit with incredible force by the previous owner.

That leaves it with only 4 original Series 3 rims on it and no spare.

I've been told that the Series rims are hard to come by - would the steel rims on most County's and base Defender's fit the 7.50X16 tyre without increasing turning circle?

I like the idea of putting bigger radial tyres on it, as long as I can keep speedo accuracy.

Robbie
__________________________

1954 86" Series 1 Soft-Top
1965 88" Series 2A Hard-Top
1975 109" Series 3 Trayback Ute
1981 109" Series 3 Stage 1 V8 Station Wagon
1995 Discovery 1 V8i
1999 Defender 110 Xtreme TD5

[PAT303]

I changed all four of my series models I owned to 7.50x16's or 235/85/16's and all four were the better for it.Series are very easy to work on. Pat

[Turtle61]

I've been told that the Series rims are hard to come by - would the steel rims on most County's and base Defender's fit the 7.50X16 tyre without increasing turning circle?

I like the idea of putting bigger radial tyres on it, as long as I can keep speedo accuracy.


Pretty much all Series and Defender rims are interchangeable, including Wolf rims as well as D1 steel rims. As for speedo accuracy - LWB Series speedos were calibrated for 7.50s which is almost the same diameter as 235/85s. SWB were calibrated for smaller tyres (6.50s?) and I think (someone can correct me) 205s were a good match.

There ways of correcting speedos and I am sure someone here knows how. My SWB runs of 235/85 with the speedo being out, but that never worried be a bit.

[JDNSW]

Pretty much all Series and Defender rims are interchangeable, including Wolf rims as well as D1 steel rims. As for speedo accuracy - LWB Series speedos were calibrated for 7.50s which is almost the same diameter as 235/85s. SWB were calibrated for smaller tyres (6.50s?) and I think (someone can correct me) 205s were a good match.

There ways of correcting speedos and I am sure someone here knows how. My SWB runs of 235/85 with the speedo being out, but that never worried be a bit.

All Landrovers up to (but not including) D2 plus all Defender after that have the same stud pattern. A lot of the alloys though, will not fit with Series (or early 110/Defender rear) drums, and some will not fit over the hubs without cutting out the centre (particularly RRclassic). Also, in some cases the studs will not be long enough for alloys. Offsets are a bit of a mixed bag - generally speaking wider rims have at least part of the extra width inwards, limiting steering, but late S3 lwb and 110/Defender wheels have less offset inwards than earlier lwb wheels, and restrict steering less.

Swb speedos are calibrated for about 6.50 as you say, although 600 was standard. 205s are, as you say, a close match.

John

[TonyC]

I like the idea of putting bigger radial tyres on it, as long as I can keep speedo accuracy.

Robbie


Robbie,
Do you have any evidence that your speedo is accurate now?
If it is I'd put it down to good luck more than anything else.

Tony