Thread: Test of 18" Wheels on a 3.0L D4

There shouldn't be a problem with rubbing - the Zeons are 20mm smaller diameter than what I've been running.
Celtoid, what's the tyre noise like on tar?

Hi All,


Been really slack as it was weeks ago I got to properly test my new wheel and tyre combination on the soft, deep sands of Moreton Island QLD, during a week long (or should I say, too short) camping holiday.


I posted these words on another thread a while ago but there are a few things to add....


"Just did a week on Moreton Island with the 18" Compomotive Wheels and 285/60/18 Zeon LTZs.......flawless!!!

Talcum soft, deep sand everywhere....ate it all effortlessly.

Followed a Navara (Significant lift on it) over Coffee Rocks on the Eastern beach....his mate was guiding. He chewed sand, span wheels, bumped his bottom and dragged his tail but got over after a few false starts. His mate kindly guided me over....effortless. Rock Crawl Mode....no wheel spin, no fuss. Only scary part was going through the hole the Navara had made on one side, which created a lot of lean angle and a few sweats on my behalf. The Navara crew were openly complimentary.

I had passed them earlier and they told me they couldn't believe how effortless the fat Disco looked powering through the soft sand piles and zipping down the soft sand flats...."how much does that thing weigh?.....Geez it looked as if it was doing it all easy!" Which it was. "


The best part about it all was the feeling of absolute confidence the wheels and tyres gave me. I was running the Zeons at 16psi but I recon I could safely have operated higher pressures or much lower as required. I towed a fully laden trailer to and from the campsite which is North of Bulwer Wrecks.....no issue at all.


There was only one situation, up a fairly steep incline that things got a little ugly but that was due to operator error on my behalf, due to not leaving enough space between me and my mate in front. I thought that he was clear and started following his new Pootrol but he started struggling at the top, meaning I had to slow down and then boot it hard to stop bogging (once he was clear). I still made it no worries but it was with far less aplomb than anything else I'd done all week.....lots of sand spraying and wheel spin....LOL!!!


I revisited the Desert (Sand Blow) where I'd got bogged earlier in the year, running my 19" ATRs at 18psi and just poodled over the same spot. I'm certain the sand was every bit as soft as the earlier occasion...a fact that could be attested to by the Jeep, Prado and Landcruiser that were bogged where I had been...LOL!!!


In defence of all of these vehicles, their drivers were to blame. Tyre pressures too high, trying to snatch when they had Maxtrax, then destroying the Maxtrax due to wheel spin.....say no more....


In defence of my 19" ATRs, this was the only place it had happened....first time I'd had the car permanently bogged in three years....but there have been lots of times where I have felt a level of trepidation with that size tyre...which is why I purchased the GOEs and put the biggest tyre I could fit (at the time) without modifying the car. The 285 and the 60% profile of the 285 gives quite a bit of extra rubber ... and floatation.


Another thing of note....the car gets plenty of looks and comments with those wheels and tyres on. They make the D4 look much larger and they give the car a real 'presence' for want of a better term. Even Toyota owners would wander over for a chat and a comment......much to the dismay of my wife and kids....who think I talk about the D4 way too much...LOL!!!!


Very impressed.


Cheers,


Kev.