Thread: 19" wheels off-road - wise?

Originally Posted by af3556

I'm not expecting serious offroading - aim would be to avoid accumulating "signatures" :-). I'm more concerned about the reliability of the tyre, don't want something that's going to pop the moment it sees a rock, and then be unrepairable and cost me a bomb to replace.

Definately a valid concern,

I've just been down that road (no pun intended ). I had the standard 19" Wranglers on for over a year and although I didn't do anything very taxing by some standards, had been quite impressed by how well they handled gravel/light mud tracks with a fair smattering of rocks and washouts, regardless of incline. Of course the TC helps heaps. Also had them on the beach lots of times with no issues. In thick mud....well, they suck! On the road they were quiet and gripped well in both wet and dry.

Once I got to 40% + wear the story changed. I'm certain they were noisier and the fact that I got rocks through the tread on two tyres in two days would indicate that they need the full tread depth for max strength....both tyres required a serious plug. The issue with the D3/4/RRS is the fact that they 'hide' tyre deflations due to their air suspension....I destroyed a repairable tyre, 'cause I didn't feel it deflate.

I changed to Perelli ATRs and then noticed that the Wranglers actually 'wobble' a fair bit on the road. The Scorpions are just as good on the road traction wise but feel more rigid, less flex. In the mud, even though it is not supposed to be their forte, they pooh all over the Wranglers. I've clipped a few kerbs, etc and there hasn't even been a mark....however my wife managed to tear the side-wall out of one (only a few weeks old) just parking next to a building site....LOL!!! A reinforced concrete rod will do that....

I guess the wind up is....I don't know what tyres you are running on the 19s" but doubt that they are overly soft. If they are straight road tyres, that will obviously affect your off-road travel, more on the traction side though.

On the plus side...... I had a D4 with 18's as a loner and my 19's drive so much better on the road.....really affects the tightness/performance of the ride.

Obviously the range of tyres and cost savings for the 18" ers should be considered too. Tougher tyres are harder to get in a 19....but they aren't too bad.

Scratches.....sorry, bush signatures , are probably gonna happen regardless of size...especially as there is bugger all rubber diff between the 18 and 19 in real terms.

Hope this helps,

Kev.

Originally Posted by af3556

I'm not expecting serious offroading - aim would be to avoid accumulating "signatures" :-). I'm more concerned about the reliability of the tyre, don't want something that's going to pop the moment it sees a rock, and then be unrepairable and cost me a bomb to replace.

af3556,

For the first 30,000 km of driving my D3 I had continental Cross Contact UHP (18in) listed as 100% road tyres. I took them off road, drove around the Vic High Country, Mt Walker and Newnes plenty of times.

I drove conservatively and tried to take lines that avoided sharp rocks and simply slowed down off road but I was really surprised how well they went, not one puncture. The Vic High Country cut the tread up a bit but other than that they were fine. I definitely shortened their life by using them off road but I was OK with that.

I replaced them with an AT tyre and have more confident with them off road and they offer better traction when it gets a bit slippery etc. But if you are careful the 19s will be fine off road, particularly as it sounds as if you are note going to be doing too much harsh stuff.

I believe the place most people get concerned is doing a outback trip where the dirt and gravel roads can be really harsh on tyres. Getting a replacement 19 in out there is both a major problem and very very expensive. But if that is not on the agenda I would not be too worried about 19's v's 18's.

George

Just ordered a set of 17" BB6 rims. The move opens up the availability of a large range of AT and LT tyres. I haven't decided on the tyres yet, or even the type, AT, muddie, etc.

My 5 X BB6 17" Wheels fitted with Cooper A/T3 tyres should be here Thursday. I have waited 8 weeks for these so I'm just slightly looking forward to them.
The problems I had with both the Wrangler & Conti 19's have been stone fractures mainly in the side wall.
The Coopers will be my 3rd set of 5 tyres in 2 years. A very expensive, frustrating & disappointing exercise. I have concluded that the only thing that lets the D3 down are those Bl00dy 19" wheels tyres!
I don't do hard core off roading, mainly just gravel roads & tracks with some reasonably gentle off the beaten track.
It frustrates me that LR put such tyres on such a great car.
So I will certainly let you know if the 17" don't turn out to be the solution to, what I see as, the wonderful D3's only real let down.
Jonesfam

Originally Posted by jonesfam

It frustrates me that LR put such tyres on such a great car.

EXACTLY

This is the main reason there is not a D4 3.0l in our garage.............

There is not much worse than having tyre problems on trips,particularly into remote areas

And yes i could go for the 2.7l,& fit it with 17's,but i really want the 3.0l

yep 18s and bigger are realy only for the black top, which they are great for, but dont venture to far beyond. On a dirt road alone and hit a pot hole and you will do a rim not to mention the tyres you do inbetween. Lets face it though 95% of 4x4s dont go off road , this is not a bad thing though, imagine if there were 100% off road the track closures would be herrific.
I still can not understand why people buy two gear boxes and two diffs and dont use them, or am I missing something

connock

Originally Posted by connock

I still can not understand why people buy two gear boxes and two diffs and dont use them, or am I missing something

connock

I'm happy for people to be buying 2 gearboxex and 2 diffs without any intention of using them - it makes the ones I buy affordable. Imagine the design, development and tooling costs the manufacturer would have to pass on if they were only to be fitted to the few vehicles that are likely to ever use them!

Hmm

I don't believe your generalisation holds, at least not for the 18" rims.
Although I've certainly damaged my 19" rims and tyres when I had them, I've never damaged the 18" alloys I sell - and I don't exactly hold back ....

In the year I've had them I've:

- lead12 full day off-road classes (sand/hills/rock climbs)
- lead 2 advanced 4WDing classes (mud/rock climbs)
- run the CSR, Cape Levique, Gibb River, Israelite Bay

- never damaged a rim and had a grand total of 1 puncture.

Cheers,

Gordon