Thread: 18" Tyres on Sand

Originally Posted by Islandnomad

Yes been looking in the forums some say get rid of the 19's and 20's and get a set of 18's for best performance on D3/4/RRS in the sand. Then the D2 people say get rid of the 18's and get 16's.

It looks like the 265/60R18's are my best option as there are a lot of them around as rar110 said. Also the 265/65R18's are worth looking at too.

What kind of sand driving are we talking about? Beach and dunes? Or sandy soil?

I tend to also fall into the opinion 16" wheels in sand will give you a much better result on the beach or dunes.

However it probably doesn't matter as much in sandy soil.

The reason the D4's drop to 18" wheels is because that is as small as the can go, smaller wheels will not fit over the brakes.

18" wheels will likely give you better control on sealed roads and the 16" wheel will give you better performance off road. The real question is where do you want the better control?

16" Disco rims are not expensive or hard to find.

I see thanks!

I live on a sand island, so mainly beach work, but some of the beaches do get very soft and spongy at times, so a greater footprint helps a lot.

I've had 16's before, great no doubt, but their are other ways to solve the issue. I have one of the last HSE D2's with a really nice set of spoke like (Hurricane maybe) wheels, so would prefer to keep the car pretty original if I can. The 265/60R18's hopefully will be fine.

Originally Posted by Jazzman

What kind of sand driving are we talking about? Beach and dunes? Or sandy soil?

I tend to also fall into the opinion 16" wheels in sand will give you a much better result on the beach or dunes.

However it probably doesn't matter as much in sandy soil.

The reason the D4's drop to 18" wheels is because that is as small as the can go, smaller wheels will not fit over the brakes.

18" wheels will likely give you better control on sealed roads and the 16" wheel will give you better performance off road. The real question is where do you want the better control?

16" Disco rims are not expensive or hard to find.

Originally Posted by Islandnomad

I see thanks! I live on a sand island, so mainly beach work, but some of the beaches do get very soft and spongy at times, so a greater footprint helps a lot. I've had 16's before, great no doubt, but their are other ways to solve the issue. I have one of the last HSE D2's with a really nice set of spoke like (Hurricane maybe) wheels, so would prefer to keep the car pretty original if I can. The 265/60R18's hopefully will be fine.

I've driven on Straddy and Bribie beaches in 255/5519s a few times. I dropped to about 18-20psi when last on Straddy camping on the beach. Last time I went to Bribie for a day trip I didn't drop pressures at all just to see how it went. The tdv8 worked harder but the only time I ran out of puff was when I forgot to turn off the dynamic stability control. While the tdv8 L322 has enormous torque, the D2 td5 is lighter. I've never driven a D2.

I'm swapping over to 265/60/18s soon.

remember,, narrow taller tyres on sand.
wider tyres are bad news on sand,, its the length of the footprint that makes all the difference.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

remember,, narrow taller tyres on sand.
wider tyres are bad news on sand,, its the length of the footprint that makes all the difference.

ive never heard that. Wow. thanks.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

remember,, narrow taller tyres on sand.
wider tyres are bad news on sand,, its the length of the footprint that makes all the difference.

Is that why I struggle on sand Pedro, because I've only got little feet?

Fat tyre_Think rolling a log in sand... Big wedge front to constantly overcome... Extreme eg but you get the idea.

265 Max on D2 in my opinion.

Cheers

confused, then why let the tyre pressure down to make larger foot print in sand.