Thread: Tyre sizes for my '96 Discovery td auto..

Ben

I'm no expert on tyre sizes, but I think the sizes you are mentioning may be either illegal or cause some issues with rubbing on guards etc. There's sure to be one of the tyre gurus along shortly to enlighten you better than I can... and do a search on the various threads along these lines if you want a good read!

BTW Welcome to the forum!!

Cheers

Andrew

do you have a lift?

I think 245 75 16 is good size on D1 if you want to keep it looking stock.


Or if you want bigger 235 85s or 265 75s. similar height tyre just different width.

I believe it way need what people call a 'Camel cut' to run the larger size tyres.


but im sure one of the disco boys will know more then a me (defender owner ) and add their 2c to the thread.

ben...

Depends if you want to change the gearing at the same time. 245/75s will be fine. Anything bigger and you start to run into dramas with both gearing and clearence. Being auto I would say that you get a little bit of give there. But without a lift you are going to struggle

I am running 235/85 16's (BFG AT) on my 95 D1, but it has a 2" spring lift - tolerances are fairly close, did do a small cut and pushed out the bottom of the rear guards a bit - I have 30mm offset wheels so with standard offset should fit inside OK. Biggest thing I have noticed with this tyre size is at 80kmh - 4th gear lockup on the auto is exactly there, where before with 245/75's (Maxxis 751) it wasn't an issue - in retrospect this was an ideal size for the TDI. I am fine with the 235's but just so you have the info to make your decision. Good luck with your choice.

I have a 96 TDI Auto with HD springs at Std height and I run the std 235 tyre with factory alloys however when I go bush I run 10.5 x 32 x 16 Mungrels on range alloys (cheaper than steel). The guy who sold them to me said they would fit no problems well driving around the road was fine. My first outing and the gaurds hit and chopped some side nobs off
To over come this I performed a mild camel cut and made up a Z braket to push the rear guards out at the mud flap.
They still rub a little under extream articulation but I get a 2" lift. Std gearing does suck the power out of the TDI on the highway and I wouldnt want to tow any thing to heavy otherwise it would be a very slow trip because I run std alterains 95% of the time I can tow 2 1/2 tonne trail of fire wood still fine.
When I run the large tyres I only get 500km off roading, loose about 150km per tank. But the extra clearance is worth it and traction for week end trips.

I have 265x70x16's with no lift and the guards are very close.I am planning to fit a 2 inch lift before any off road work though as they will most certainly hit the guards in the rough.IMHO as stated by previous posts 245x75x16's would be a good choice with no lift.

thanks everyone for your info..! very helpful.. ended up going for the new coopers AT3 for $320.oo..fit nicely..!
regards,

ben

Originally Posted by Lariens

I have a 96 TDI Auto with HD springs at Std height and I run the std 235 tyre with factory alloys however when I go bush I run 10.5 x 32 x 16 Mungrels on range alloys (cheaper than steel). The guy who sold them to me said they would fit no problems well driving around the road was fine. My first outing and the gaurds hit and chopped some side nobs off
To over come this I performed a mild camel cut and made up a Z braket to push the rear guards out at the mud flap.
They still rub a little under extream articulation but I get a 2" lift. Std gearing does suck the power out of the TDI on the highway and I wouldnt want to tow any thing to heavy otherwise it would be a very slow trip because I run std alterains 95% of the time I can tow 2 1/2 tonne trail of fire wood still fine.
When I run the large tyres I only get 500km off roading, loose about 150km per tank. But the extra clearance is worth it and traction for week end trips.

add at least an extra 10 per cent to that for the bigger tyres mate... or have you alreay done that?