D3 Tyre choice

[Redback]

OK we are choosing tyres to get prices for leasing a D3, talk about doing my head in

I found 275/65/18s in Mickey Thompson ATZ 5 rib, are they too wide and are they too tall at 814.7mm (32.1") will they rub.

What's the biggest we can go without rubbing or affecting the terrain responce (I have heard too tall will affect this)

Baz.

[~Rich~]

I run 285 / 60 R18 Cooper LTZ Zions. They are about 796mm O/A.
Cooper Tires - Tyres
Just some light rubbing at the front of the rear wheel arches at full compression.
Otherwise a great all round tyre. ( $445 each though )
You can get the spare to fit with some pushing if you deflate it first though.

[Discophil]

I fitted a set of Cooper HT Plus 265/60/18 a couple of months ago. No rubbing, very happy with them. As quiet as the continentals but hoping they will last a lot longer. Going a bit taller certainly softens the ride as well i have found.

[Bushwanderer]

Hi Redback,
I run 265/70-17 BFGs (which are bigger than standard).

As a comparison: Sidewall (mm) Radius (mm) Diff (%)
Standard 235/70-17 164 380 0.0
Mine 265/70-17 186 401 5.5
Yours
(LTZ) 275/65-18 179 407 7.1

As you can see above, my BFGs have a 21mm larger radius. They just, periodically, rubbed the rear wheel arch in "normal" height and had to be deflated to fit in the spare wheel well. Later D3s (2007 on?) had an extra protuberance in the rear wheel arch which would have made the BFGs unsuitable without some judicious "panel beating".

I believe that the LTZs (at about 27mm greater radius than standard - not to mention the greater width) will not fit - front or rear.

HTH,
Peter

[~Rich~]

Hi Redback,
I run 265/70-17 BFGs (which are bigger than standard).

As a comparison: Sidewall (mm) Radius (mm) Diff (%)
Standard 235/70-17 164 380 0.0
Mine 265/70-17 186 401 5.5
Yours
(LTZ) 275/65-18 179 407 7.1

As you can see above, my BFGs have a 21mm larger radius. They just, periodically, rubbed the rear wheel arch in "normal" height and had to be deflated to fit in the spare wheel well. Later D3s (2007 on?) had an extra protuberance in the rear wheel arch which would have made the BFGs unsuitable without some judicious "panel beating".

I believe that the LTZs (at about 27mm greater radius than standard - not to mention the greater width) will not fit - front or rear.

HTH,
Peter

Hmmm, the 285 / 60 R 18's LTZ's definitely fit!

[TerryO]

Hey Rich,

the Coopers look the goods, if you don't mind I would like to check them out on the D3. If I'm not being to cheeky where abouts in Sydney are you?

cheers,
Terry

[Disco4SE]

I run 285 / 60 R18 Cooper LTZ Zions. They are about 796mm O/A.
Cooper Tires - Tyres
Just some light rubbing at the front of the rear wheel arches at full compression.
Otherwise a great all round tyre. ( $445 each though )
You can get the spare to fit with some pushing if you deflate it first though.

Hi Rich,
How do you find the road noise compared to originals?
They certainly look good.
Cheers, Craig.

[~Rich~]

Thanks Terry & Craig,
I have a set of 19" standard Goodyears which are my "On Road" set currently on the vehicle.
I swap them over to the LTZ's when hitting the dirt. The LTZ's are oversize and are not really legal unless you get your D3 inspected by a Automotive Engineer. That is another reason to have 2 sets!
They are only slightly noisier than the standard tyres but with wear will become more noisy.
My speedo is more accurate with the LTZ's on.

[Redback]

Thanks everyone for your replys, I have finally got my head around this sizing thing and that the first number doesn't always determin the width, it's a combination of all the numbers that determin width and height (took a while I know)

I would really like those 285s, but as they rub on the inner chassis, rubbing on the plastic isn't an issue as you can usually move that, I really don't think it's a good idea being that the car will be predominantly a tourer and daily driver, and we won't have a second set of rims, well not yet anyway.

So thanks again everyone, especially the guys that PMed me,

Baz

[Bushwanderer]

Hmmm, the 285 / 60 R 18's LTZ's definitely fit!

Hi ~Rich~,
I put your tyres (285/60-18) into the calculator and came up with:
171mm sidewall, 400mm radius and 5.0% size difference
and so your tyres have no bigger radius than my BFGs.

For completeness, I also put the stock 18" tyres in (IIRC 255/60-18)
they give 153mm, 382mm and 0.3% diff, respectively, and so you can see that the size of the stock 18" tyres are virtually identical to the 17" ones.

Having said that, I'm amazed that your 285mm tyres don't rub on the chassis or front suspension. Have you, or others, adjusted the bump stops?

Best Wishes,
Peter