Thread: Wheels and tyre advice

Thanks for the info Phil. It's good to hear someones first hand experience. Been thinking about it for a while. I would need to go slightly heavier onthe rear as I tow an of-road camper that weighs about 1400 kgs when loaded to the max with full fuel & full water. Thanks again,

Murray

So just to clarify, what is the general consensus or most popular choice when selecting tyre sizes for the D3's.

I'm currently about to make the switch to MT's & 17's I think- well now that I'm only a few hours from the high country anyway

I cuttently have 265/60/18's, these are pretty much spot on in terms of correct speedo reading and they easily fit in the spare wheel space.

Comparing these with the 17" sizes;
- 265/60/18 = 2438mm circumference
- 265/70/17 = 2520mm circumference as mentioned bit bigger and will scrub on full articulation / lock and will require to be somewhat deflated to fit in spare tyre well.
- 245/70/17 = 2432mm circumference so just smaller than the 265/60/18.

Is there any other preferred sizes? How much over is the 265/70/17's in terms of speedo wise?

Furthermore, has anyone got any general comments about D3 performance (I've got a SE TDV6) when changing from AT's to MT's in either sizes? Obviously gained offroad performance but change in onroad performance I.e. fuel consumption / accelleration etc.

Thanks in advance!
Rob

Originally Posted by Gords

So just to clarify, what is the general consensus or most popular choice when selecting tyre sizes for the D3's.

I'm currently about to make the switch to MT's & 17's I think- well now that I'm only a few hours from the high country anyway

I cuttently have 265/60/18's, these are pretty much spot on in terms of correct speedo reading and they easily fit in the spare wheel space.

Comparing these with the 17" sizes;
- 265/60/18 = 2438mm circumference
- 265/70/17 = 2520mm circumference as mentioned bit bigger and will scrub on full articulation / lock and will require to be somewhat deflated to fit in spare tyre well.
- 245/70/17 = 2432mm circumference so just smaller than the 265/60/18.

Is there any other preferred sizes? How much over is the 265/70/17's in terms of speedo wise?

Furthermore, has anyone got any general comments about D3 performance (I've got a SE TDV6) when changing from AT's to MT's in either sizes? Obviously gained offroad performance but change in onroad performance I.e. fuel consumption / accelleration etc.

Thanks in advance!
Rob

The popular sizes are 265/70/17, 265/65/17(factory fitted to Prado's) and 245/70/17, consumption does go up slightly when fitting MTs, but I think it's more due to the increase in size of the tyre really, because when people do fit MTs they normally go for a bigger tyre, if you fit the 265/70s your speedo will be closer to correct, probably 2kph out.

Baz.

My 3.0's consumption seemed to increase with local driving but not at freeway speeds with Duratracs fitted in the same 245/70-17 size as my usual Yoko ATS. I suspect that wind drag at freeway speeds is a far greater influence than tread patterns.

Thanks Baz!

Great to know. To me that sounds like the 265/65/17 is the berries given the speedo / fitting into the spare and also likely to be in stock for many outback tyre shops (if its the Prado standard size).

Cheers,
Rob

I just put 265/65-17s on and wouldn't go a bigger profile.

I'm going to fix my winch/replace thing before I can fit a spare to see if it fits.

The conti ats I put on seem pretty good so far (only 2 days) and very happy with the price I payed.

265 70 r17 Micky T MT give my D3 a perfect speedo reading according to my GPS. The 18 inch ATs are off or under by about 4kph. Speedo shows 103 or 104 when I am doing 100kph on the 18inch. The 265 70 r17 Micky T MT do rub only at full lock.

I do have a question around offset and rims,

To get a 285/70/17 to fit and not rub on the inside at lock on the front, what offset of the wheels can we go to within reason of not looking ridiculous hanging out of the guards, and will the tyres then rub on the outer and inner guards at all?

I do understand this won't be entirely legal, but seriously looking around at 95% of vehicles with M/T's, half an inch or an inch poking past the guards surly wont even get a look in by the constabularies on a Landie.

And going wider, a 285 or even up to a 305, I'd assume if the rolling profile is similar they can still be lowered in pressure to fit in the standard spare spot?

Thanks
Ben