Originally Posted by
ScottyD
Hi Babs, Lots of opinions flying, I'll add mine on tyre size... I went from a Defender 110 with standard tyres to a D4 with Standard Tyres and in some situations it struggled: 1 - Mud, I needed at least proper all terrain tyres to get through even light mud on inclines. OK, not a size related issue. 2 - Tracks where other solid axle 4wds had dug out wheel ruts (hope that makes sense). Most of the time the rise was large enough to collect normally the exhaust or the front/rear suspension arms. Yes I had/have LLAMS. 3 - Rim scratches - endless rim scratches right on the lip of the rims. 4 - I was too scared to lower pressures on the low profile tyres in sand/mud/generally off road. Moving to the 265/65r18 ATs (I went BFG KO2's) made a world of difference to the above (came from 255/55r19). They are not a mud tyre, I still touch on the rutted tracks, I still get rim scratches but nothing as bad as I did before and I have no issues lowering pressures (I realise that the difference in sidewall between the 265/60r18 and 265/65r18 is minimal, but everything adds up). Power wise (I've got the SDV6) I've noticed very little difference in performance and fuel usage, there was a difference though and it was for the worse on both. I spent about 9 months touring (and daily driving) before the new tyres and 9 months after, that includes long trips and boys weekends and there is no way I am going back to standard size tyres. I should say in general, that the car in standard guise was still AMAZINGLY capable off road. The grip it could extract from tracks is phenomenal, I just needed a bit more. Also, they look awesome :)