Mud terrain success!!!! 285/50 R20

[Wheelan]

Hi all. As with most others, Discos and tyres have been doing my head in for years. Last Disco tried the GOE wheels with and AT Toyo 2 285/60/18, ok but not as aggressive as I would have liked for a second set of wheels. And on that, the range of 18 inch aggressive, high load tyres that will fit is limited to the BFG.
Current Disco (2015 HSE)has 20s, and while I wasn't happy that it was coming with 20s when purchasing the car, after some research came across a heap of versatile tyres in 265/50/20 and 285/50/20 which several have fitted with great success. When I came across the Atturo in the 285 size with a load rating of 119 I thought I would give them a go. So do they fit?? Yes with success. Dropped it to the bump stops and had only minor rubbing in the right rear front liner, which as you will see from the photos will cause no harm. Everything above this height was clear.
SO, now you can have your second set of mud wheels, with legal wheels, legal size, great load rating for cheap. BTW picked the set of RRS 20 x 9.5 53 offset for $400 on ebay and the tyres were $290 each fitted!! I know everyone that has spent the $$$ on the 18s will say "my sidewall is bigger, and will have a bigger footprint", and yes you are correct, but for the most of us that just want a solid set of aggressive tyres, this ticks the box, and so what if I ding the rims up a bit, I bought them scratched anyway.

And before you ask......yes they are noisier than the standard tyres!!!.....funny that!

See link for pics Shared album - Paul Maguire - Google Photos note I removed the rear liner and refitted wheel for clearance pics

[Tombie]

Hello and excellent report...

Sorry to sadden you though... those wheels aren’t load rated to the Disco.... you can’t run RRS wheels on a D4...

If you are going to run that size tyre the HydroBushes and sidewall flex will likely see them rubbing everywhere from your photos... so continue to observe....

And you will need an emergency EAS kit - otherwise when it drops you will be stuck hard.

[Graeme]

The taller rear bump-stops from MY12 on-wards stop most over-size tyres from wreaking the havoc they do on earlier D4s when air is lost.

[Crofty]

The taller rear bump-stops from MY12 on-wards stop most over-size tyres from wreaking the havoc they do on earlier D4s when air is lost.

That’s interesting Graeme, I’ve been too chicken to drop mine to bump stops as a test. MY15 with 265/65/R18 Cooper STMaxx’s.

[Wheelan]

Thanks for the constructive criticism Tombie. Was not aware of the load ratings of the RRS though compared to the D4. SO from what I could tell gross vehicle axle load at the rear is 1855kg for a D4, which would make the wheels I have (900KG) just short. YOu know what, I can live with that. These wheels will prob be on the car 3 times max per year for weekend jaunts to the high country, and never at GVM. Yes not entirely legal....... .
The photos are the car on the bump stops (via the Gap tool) and I drove it on the bump stops to see where it was rubbing, which was the liner in the rear, slightly.Yes you will get a bit of flex from the bushes, sidewall but I can live with this. As I said those pics were at full articulation. As discussed I did run the 285/60 R18 at 799mm and now running the 285/50R20 at 793mm, so slightly smaller. I never really had a drama with the larger tyre, some paint missing on the chassis rails and some scuff marks on the liner.

[Owen]

I have been looking at the 18's as an option for the D4 but after Fraser Island, may go up to 20's. Reason? Well the sand that was stirred up when driving in ruts sat inside the rims and chewed the brakes out super fast.

Had a super loud horrible sound one from the front when driving to lake Mackenzie one day. Nursed it back to camp and had a mate bring some new pads over and did a swap on the island.

On inspection, the sand sitting in the brakes had got in, got hot and turned to glass inside the inner pads on both sides .

Hence I am thinking a 20 inch rim may give better free space for crap to fall out when driving.

I did 9500 Kms for the trip, up to the Cape and back via Fraser Island and have to say I have come away surprisingly impressed with the Hankooks. Kids asked me best part of the trip.....Not getting any punctures was one.

Will keep my eyes out for a nice black set of D4 rims

[Wheelan]

That’s interesting Graeme, I’ve been too chicken to drop mine to bump stops as a test. MY15 with 265/65/R18 Cooper STMaxx’s.

You may surprise yourself, I actually heated up the liner at the rear, folded a towel 4 times and placed it on top of the tyre where is was touching then dropped it down to the stops to press the liner in place. This was not exactly successful though as it split the liner! Will replace it when selling.

[Graeme]

That’s interesting Graeme, I’ve been too chicken to drop mine to bump stops as a test. MY15 with 265/65/R18 Cooper STMaxx’s.

This was discovered after having fitted new MY12 shocks to my MY10.

[Russrobe]

Thanks for the constructive criticism Tombie. Was not aware of the load ratings of the RRS though compared to the D4. SO from what I could tell gross vehicle axle load at the rear is 1855kg for a D4, which would make the wheels I have (900KG) just short. YOu know what, I can live with that. These wheels will prob be on the car 3 times max per year for weekend jaunts to the high country, and never at GVM. Yes not entirely legal....... .
The photos are the car on the bump stops (via the Gap tool) and I drove it on the bump stops to see where it was rubbing, which was the liner in the rear, slightly.Yes you will get a bit of flex from the bushes, sidewall but I can live with this. As I said those pics were at full articulation. As discussed I did run the 285/60 R18 at 799mm and now running the 285/50R20 at 793mm, so slightly smaller. I never really had a drama with the larger tyre, some paint missing on the chassis rails and some scuff marks on the liner.

FYI, I checked my wheel aligned report after noticing some scuffing on the chassis horn too (right side was rubbing not left), I stayed within the manufacturers specs and increased the castor (moved wheel forward), have never had a problem since. I now have zero rubbing up front with the 285 60 18s and only that spot at the rear where that tab is behind the guard that I was too lazy to bend back. Obvs need to have a wheel alignment machine to do this so not a diy job, but can be requested. . .

A lot of the techs won't adjust your castor to precisely where it needs to be as it doesn't affect tyre wear by being out a little bit and still within tolerance. Only problem is now the chassis horns turned orange from the lack of frequent polishing it was getting.

[Wheelan]

Only problem is now the chassis horns turned orange from the lack of frequent polishing it was getting.

Bit of WD a day keeps the orange away!! That is funny. You running the 285/60s full time?