Who has 285 tyres on there Defender?

[MacFamily]

Just wondering who has 285 75 tyres on there defender....

Have you done any suspension mods eg 2" lift or coil spacers?

Also did you use 16 x 7 or 16 x 8 rims?

Was looking at a set of disco 1 rims 16 x7 as I wanted to stick with landrover rims and also prefer to use steel wheels in case they get damaged eg.. bent eaiser to repair in the bush.But I think when I lower the presure for offroad no lower then 18psi there would be a greater risk of the bead rolling off the rim on a 16 x 7 rather then a 16 x 8.
I also relise it is mostly likely to be illegal to have this size tyre on a defender. Iam not sure what size they come out of the factory with but I have 235 75 on the old girl at the moment.

Iam just doing a bit of research at the moment as i relise when going bigger tyres also cause a whole bunch of other problems eg transfer gearing, rubbing on guards and flares, extra weight on the rear door with bigger tyres (wheel carrier) ect ect.

Any help would be good, done a search found a couple of post with 35's and even 37's ...

Cheers Azza

[Slunnie]

285/75-16 need to go on 8" rims for just about all of them. Some Mickey Thompsons might be an exception.

[rar110]

235/85, 255/85 and 265/75 should all fit on 7 inch rims, and are all taller than 235/75. AFAIK 235/85 or 7.5R16 are standard size for defender. 265/75 is wider but about the same diameter depending on brand/tread. 255/85 is taller and wider than 235/85.

The only thing putting me off 255/85 is availability in the bush if one gets destroyed. 235/85 and 265/75 are much more common.

[Yorkshire_Jon]

Just wondering who has 285 75 tyres on there defender....

Have you done any suspension mods eg 2" lift or coil spacers?

Also did you use 16 x 7 or 16 x 8 rims?

Was looking at a set of disco 1 rims 16 x7 as I wanted to stick with landrover rims and also prefer to use steel wheels in case they get damaged eg.. bent eaiser to repair in the bush.But I think when I lower the presure for offroad no lower then 18psi there would be a greater risk of the bead rolling off the rim on a 16 x 7 rather then a 16 x 8.
I also relise it is mostly likely to be illegal to have this size tyre on a defender. Iam not sure what size they come out of the factory with but I have 235 75 on the old girl at the moment.

Iam just doing a bit of research at the moment as i relise when going bigger tyres also cause a whole bunch of other problems eg transfer gearing, rubbing on guards and flares, extra weight on the rear door with bigger tyres (wheel carrier) ect ect.

Any help would be good, done a search found a couple of post with 35's and even 37's ...

Cheers Azza

255x85 are about as big as you can go on 7" rims, but you need to check with the tyre manufacturer to be sure.
At that size you need a bit of a lift to stop rubbing under articulation. You will also need wheels with a small offset. Disco steels will rob most of your turning circle as the offset on them is (relitavely) massive.


If your worried about low pressure's you could always fit a set of Staun beadlock's.


As for wheel carriers; yes you need to take it off the back door. A swing away is your minimum, and possible also look at something like a Kaymar carrier where all the load is on the rear crossmember.


If you go upto 255x85's then the grearing shouldnt really be a problem, so long as you havent got the Disco 1.2 gears in the T/Box as well, even if you have you'll be OK, it'll just be a little more lethargic.

[Bushranger]

seriously!

What's wrong with the ones that LR selected?

[rick130]

seriously!

What's wrong with the ones that LR selected?

and what's wrong with changing to a different size ?

285/75's gain you more clearance under the diffs, and more traction all round as there is more rubber on the ground compared to 7.50/16's or 235/85's.
Also potentially more wear/greater chance of breaking something, but as in everything, you don't get something for nothing.

[Col.Coleman]

What's all the hoo ha about wide tyres? They make your car drive like crap, aquaplane and swerve when you hit puddles, you rip the sidewalls out on ruts and rocks and generally look naff. I'll take my skinnies any day. As the pressure drops they elongate rather than widen giving a better footprint, you wide guys make wide ruts so my sidewalls don't suffer and in anything other than sink hole slop actually dig down to the hard stuff underneath instead of floating all while slinging less crap all over my pride and joy. More mud means more weight. Case in point is have a look at pro mud racers or mud rally tyres. sorry guys but they are large diameter and skinny. Widies are for street cars and poofters in landcruisers. Ooops did I say something wrong?

[rick130]

What's all the hoo ha about wide tyres? They make your car drive like crap, aquaplane and swerve when you hit puddles, you rip the sidewalls out on ruts and rocks and generally look naff. I'll take my skinnies any day. As the pressure drops they elongate rather than widen giving a better footprint, you wide guys make wide ruts so my sidewalls don't suffer and in anything other than sink hole slop actually dig down to the hard stuff underneath instead of floating all while slinging less crap all over my pride and joy. More mud means more weight. Case in point is have a look at pro mud racers or mud rally tyres. sorry guys but they are large diameter and skinny. Widies are for street cars and poofters in landcruisers. Ooops did I say something wrong?

And pray tell, what do you consider the 'right' size ?

How wide is too wide ?

What height ?


ALL tyres elongate the contact patch when deflated.

A larger contact patch gives more traction on a hard surface. Period.

Sidewalls more prone to ripping if a tyre's wide ?? Please.

You keep talking about mud, but what about rocks and sand and the thing most people send time on, Bitumen ? A bigger contact patch equates to better cornering and braking.

By your reasoning, we should all go back to 6.00/16 bar treads, we'd be better off.
When I was a kid, a 7.50/16 was considered a big tyre, 235/85/16's didn't exist and would have been considered big and the then new 31/10.5/15's were considered a US aberration. (anyone remember Desert Dogs ??) These days 265/75/16's is a standard size on most all large 4wd's, including the 90 and is at least an inch taller than the old 31/10/15. 235/85/16 is the standard LT/farm ute size.

Times change, 4wd's get bigger and much, much heavier. Tyre technology, both construction and compounding forges ahead in leaps and bounds. Old stereotypes fall by the wayside.

[gf110]

G'day Azza

I'm running Mickey Thompson 285/75 MTZ's on my Defender. Set up with ~1.0" lift and procomp 16x8 rockcrawler wheels with 4.25" backspace. With this backspace the turning circle is better than std but you will need to extend your wheel arches if you want it engineered. On full articulation the tyres just kiss the outside lip of the original wheel arch flares.

In my experience and on the terrain I drive the 285's walk all over the 235/85's I previously ran.

Cheers

[discowhite]

And pray tell, what do you consider the 'right' size ?

How wide is too wide ?

What height ?


ALL tyres elongate the contact patch when deflated.

A larger contact patch gives more traction on a hard surface. Period.

Sidewalls more prone to ripping if a tyre's wide ?? Please.

You keep talking about mud, but what about rocks and sand and the thing most people send time on, Bitumen ? A bigger contact patch equates to better cornering and braking.

By your reasoning, we should all go back to 6.00/16 bar treads, we'd be better off.
When I was a kid, a 7.50/16 was considered a big tyre, 235/85/16's didn't exist and would have been considered big and the then new 31/10.5/15's were considered a US aberration. (anyone remember Desert Dogs ??) These days 265/75/16's is a standard size on most all large 4wd's, including the 90 and is at least an inch taller than the old 31/10/15. 235/85/16 is the standard LT/farm ute size.

Times change, 4wd's get bigger and much, much heavier. Tyre technology, both construction and compounding forges ahead in leaps and bounds. Old stereotypes fall by the wayside.

my thoughts exactly! im a poofter with 285's on my 90
and they dont do any of the things you mention!
also i reckon ide be able to get a 285 75 R16 ANYWHERE in oz!

cheers phil

oh and for answers to what this topic is asking.... i have 86mm back space and a 3'' lift. but note. disco and 90 both have 6'' dia rear coils the 110 is larger in diameter, so at least 30mm more than standard would be required.