Thread: 18" Rims for Disco 4 3.0L : Sign up here!

Originally Posted by tempestv8

Yes, that was one of the deciding factors for me too, when I was in the market late last year. I settled for a Land Cruiser 200 Series. Yep yep, it's not a Land Rover but at least I can get tyres for 17" wheels more easily.....

Whilst it has higher fuel consumption than a 3.0 TDV6, it can be chipped to produce more torque without loss of economy, and whatever the higher fuel consumption is, it would be offset easily by the cost of cheaper tyres. That's my thinking, anyway, but of course it's not a popular opinion here, which is entirely fair enough.

Speaking as a mod I'm quite happy to see fair and reasoned arguments in favour of the 200....made a few myself. This board has its favourite car but the people here are not one-eyed about it.

tempestv8 has just done what most Aus 4wd mags have said folk will do when concidering the D4.

LR still won't listen.

Horses for courses- I still maintain most owners will not get near the potential of their vehicles, and the difference in tyres/rims from 19 to 17" will have minimal impact on their use.

If the intended use is more serious.....a judgement call is required.

So many posts about wheel sizes. I think that allot of people are forgetting the D4 3.0's capabilities with the 19" rims. Experienced 4WDers like gghaggis have seen first hand and compared other vehicles.
You need to weigh up the percentage of time that you are on the road and also when you are off road, what percentage of that time would be an advantage with larger tyres (same tread pattern).
When I did the sums and drove the 200 for a period of time, I went with the D4 3.0.

I agree to an extent, but it is not the percentage so much as what you do with it when you are off road (if you go offroad that is of course) and what reliability and sheer ability mean to you. If you require the utmost of both reliability and ability then there is no argument that the higher the amount of black stuff on the rim and the better the choice of tyre patters AND carcass (eg Light Truck) means the smaller the rim the better.

Cheers

PS. Dont get the impression I/we are knocking the 19's per se, its just that you cannot argue that they are as good as smaller tyres for serious off road use.

Originally Posted by ozscott

I agree to an extent, but it is not the percentage so much as what you do with it when you are off road (if you go offroad that is of course) and what reliability and sheer ability mean to you. If you require the utmost of both reliability and ability then there is no argument that the higher the amount of black stuff on the rim and the better the choice of tyre patters AND carcass (eg Light Truck) means the smaller the rim the better.

Cheers

PS. Dont get the impression I/we are knocking the 19's per se, its just that you cannot argue that they are as good as smaller tyres for serious off road use.

Exactly right.

Lets look at a real world plan here.

My car is a 3.0l D4 with 20" wheels.

Next year I am planning a Savannah Way trip towing a 22' Off Road Van. I want to do some off road work but given that I have a 22' van in tow my options are limited as to what tracks I can take. However I may unhitch and explore.

Now I don't want to damage those nice 20" wheels which is why I am interested in the 18" wheel group buy.

But what if....

I buy a second hand set of 19-20" wheels and put some decent tyres on them. Now if I keep the pressures appropriate to the conditions am I really any worse off for not having 17's or 18's?

I wont care about some cosmetic rim damage because the bling wheels will be at home.

Originally Posted by mowog

Lets look at a real world plan here.

My car is a 3.0l D4 with 20" wheels.

Next year I am planning a Savannah Way trip towing a 22' Off Road Van. I want to do some off road work but given that I have a 22' van in tow my options are limited as to what tracks I can take. However I may unhitch and explore.

Now I don't want to damage those nice 20" wheels which is why I am interested in the 18" wheel group buy.

But what if....

I buy a second hand set of 19-20" wheels and put some decent tyres on them. Now if I keep the pressures appropriate to the conditions am I really any worse off for not having 17's or 18's?

I wont care about some cosmetic rim damage because the bling wheels will be at home.

Your choices in 20" off-road rubber (or at least decent touring/light off-road) are a little limiting, unless you're willing to go to a larger diameter tyre - std size limits you to something like the Cooper Zeon LTZ in 275/45/20 (29.7" diameter). The same tyre in 285/50/20 size has more sidewall (around 5.6") and is a little larger (31.2" in dia), but there were some concerns regarding the width - it will fit a D3, but I'm not sure about the D4 (I know it won't fit a 2010 RRS). Seems the front control arm is different in the 2010 models. But if you can try before you buy, consider it. On the D3 it's a fabulous tyre, in terms of comfort and grip.

In the 19" range, you're currently limited to Pirelli ATR and Goodyear MTR, both in 255/55/19 (sidewall = 5.5", diameter = 30"). Both would easily suit your purposes, the MTR is stronger, but noisier (being a mud tyre).

General Grabber have pushed back their 255/55/19 AT2 release to "late 2010", so not an immediate possibility, but a pretty good tyre (owners have reported that the Pirelli has a stronger sidewall).

Cheers,

Gordon