Thread: Searching for 17" wheels

rob - this is part of my post in august 2011 - "I have just purchased a set of 5 x 16" x 6.5" - OE land rover alloys (price at the time was about $400 per rim)and have had them fitted with Maxxis Buckshot full muds (225/75 x 16) the 18's fitted as std are fine for road use - but are expensive if you wreck a tyre - The spare fits ok in the well and the diameter increase is 4mm (FL2 2010 model TD4 HSE) these 16" rims will not fit a petrol - larger discs than the diesel - also please read my post on the victrian high country - the buckshots work really well in off road conditions

dave

Someone else on here is running 17" wheels off a Mondeo I think? There was a guy in Perth who did get a set from Speedy Wheels as well. The 16's would be the go off road though.

From introduction with pics...

Wheels took some finding but what you see are Ford Mondeo/Focus 17x6.5 (pcd 5x108, cb 63.4, offset +45) and tyres are 255/65-17 Maxxis Bighorn. I umm'd and ahh'd over every tyre on the market but when it all boiled down, i wasn't prepared to fork out $400 per tyre for BFG and the Coopers range are too controversial for me to 'trial'. So, in the end it came down to the Maxxis for these reasons;
Great price - 25% less that the rest
Perfect Size - 23mm larger in diameter than stock
Availability - fitted within 18 hrs of ordering
It's a pity that the Kumho KL71 don't come in a similar size as they were a good balance for my needs. oh well

The difference in the ride is fantastic. The extra 3" of sidewall has made it into a cushioned (yet not soggy) beast with the expected and tolerable whirring of a mud tyre.

Start to finish i spent less than $1400

Freelander Dave,
I noticed on the wheel and tyre placard in the door that they can have a 16" but i've never seen them nor could i find them on the net. Do you have pics?

I wish i could have gone to a 16" for the great range of tyres, but it seemed like a bit of a gamble. I almost bought a set of 16x7 Volvo mag wheels but read of people having calliper clearance issues. I did try on a volvo 16x6 steel wheel and i believe it would happily run 235s with no rubbing.

Thanks Dave and Mike

Haven't quite come to terms with the protocols of the forum so forgive newby reply...

Dave I hadn't considered 16". I guess I was influenced by the general talk surrounding 17" wheels. I imagine it would be a much softer ride too. Out of curiosity, does it have much of an effect on economy. Think I read a post where the author commented on the increased fuel economy going to a smaller wheel?!

Like Mike, I would be very interested to see them fitted. Could you please post a picture (or whatever you do). Would prefer to stay with a landrover rim and could live with the sort of cost you mentioned.

Thanks again fellas.

Regards
Rob

On 10 january 2011 i received an email from luke tonkin product manager speedy wheels corporation pty ltd re 17" alloys to fit a td4 2010 model fl2 -at that time speedy did a Cross-5 alloy in 17x8" that would fit the fl2 td4 oe 18" (19" ??) and have an off set ET55 and require load rating capacity of 875kg - the Cross -5 wheel was off set ET48 load 955kg - this may help

rob / mike - the 225/75 x 16 buckshots have a diameter 4mm greater that the oe 18" with goodyear wranglers - i wanted a wheel that gave almost the same diameter as the original - the tyre plackard states you can run a 215/75 x 16 tyre - the diameter of this 215 is slightly smaller that the original 18" - my best runs with the 16" have returned highway travel 7.5L/100km - identical to the 18" - i will try to post an image of my td4 where you can see the rims/tyres - havent had much luck so far with attachments - on hols from today until 21st may - will try after this date

dave

Fuel economy in reality doesn't really change, it's just the car computer getting tricked by the larger diameter tyre. The computer assumes a set circumference and counts the revs. If the circumference is larger then the wheel will do less revs over the same distance so the computer thinks you haven't gone as far for the same amount of fuel. Your Speedo will show slow as well.

Rob I was having the same issue with my FL2, and decided the price LR quoted me for the 17" rims was nothing short of comical.

I ended up opting for the cheaper option and bought a new Defender!

Having said that, the most affordable option I could find was to put on a set of 16" Volvo XC70 rims like these. They come up quite often and you should be able to pick up a set for less than $200. The FL2 hub is slightly smaller than the Volvo's so I intended to buy a set of Spigot Rings to ensure the wheel load was evenly distributed. The offset and stud pattern suit from memory, but I'm not 100% on the rims clearing the calipers - might be an idea to go to Swedish Auto Spares and see if they've got one you can try it with.

I spent ages looking into this (evidently all for no reason), I have all sorts of info lying around somewhere if you need anymore help.