17" on 3.0 D4 legal in NSW due to placard

Coopers are apparently now doing an ATR 265 60/R18.
Slightly wider but very similar size to the factory size18

265/60-18 is not a LT tyre in any other brand so may also only be a passenger tyre. Its nominal sidewall height is less than any other LT I've uncovered. My reservations about Cooper tyres in general and my dislike of the ATR's road manners on my D2 in 235/70-16 means they wouldn't be on my list anyway.

I spoke with an RTA engineering signatory who said straight away that he will happily approve the brake change. The RTA will require a brake test so I need to arrange one after fitment. The engineer wants to be
contacted again once the conversion is done and I have the brake test results, so all systems go -yeah!

I'll be using all new genuine LR parts.

Is that just the standard pink slip brake test or more involved?

I don't know - I'll ask the RTA. I need to find out from the RTA about the GVM question and whether there are any special surface requirements, eg a wet road won't show-up very well.

Edit: No, its a special test by an engineering signatory.

The dastardly deed is in progress - the big front brakes are gone and 17" rims fitted. I'm planning to do the rears tonight and finish with a proper bleed tomorrow. A rego brake test will be done ASAP as proof that the brakes work sufficiently well before getting back to the engineer for certification.

I'll await your report with great interest Graeme - it certainly opens up some interesting possibilities for those of us considering a D4-3.0 but were put off by the inabiltiy to fit 17" rims and tyres....(my preferred size for serious off-road work)
cheers.

The warranty issue would be a major concern for me after spending $90k odd.
I'll be sticking with the bigger factory brakes and maybe looking at the 18" wheels through Gordon at a later date.
Cheers, Craig

17" fitted all round now. The X5 17" rim almost cleared the rear 2.7 caliper fitted to the 3.0 bracket and rotors but even if they caliper was shaved there would be so little clearance that anything foreign would interfere with the caliper. The rear 3.0 caliper fitted to the 2.7 bracket does not nearly allow fitment of the X5 17" rim. The rear pads are interchangeable except that the 2.7 outside one has a sticky back to adhere to the caliper fingers. The rear 3.0 pads have a slightly larger contact area but the shape of the leading edge of the pad material does not disperse rubbish as well as the 2.7 shape. My 3.0 rear calipers are the early aluminium ones, not the later cast iron ones.

I don't know how much I imagined it, but the ride improvement on the short but bumpy drive from the shed to back to the house was quite significant, albeit comparing new tyres with lots of tread with quite worn 19". I thought going to an LT tyre might counteract any improvement due to extra sidewall but maybe not - I'll get a better idea over the next few days.

I'll refit the 19" for the brake test.

Hi Graeme,

From what I know of some BMW X5 alloy wheels, I know that the wheel nuts do not wind into the studs as far as the genuine Land Rover alloys would allow.

Which would mean that when using BMW X5 alloy wheels on the D4, the wheel studs would be more stressed, as they are holding the BMW wheel with less thread.

Maybe this has changed with the later X5 wheel designs, but the first gen X5 alloys were like that, even though the PCD was the same. By this reason alone, if still valid, I would stick with LR alloys.

Congrats on fitting the 2.7 calipers on your 3.0 vehicle. Do let us know how you are going with the tests, etc.

Do keep us up to date!