245/75/16 (30.5") OR 255/85/16(33") on steel Disco

[up2nogood]

Looking to fit the aforementioned tyres to the standard 7" steel disco rims currently on my series 1 Disco.

I have read the 255's will require 'major butchering', but will be the better tyre. Will be using MD lockers, axles and t-case crawlers as well, so ratios don't matter.

I have a suspension lift of 2" and don't want to lift the body. I can handle lifting suspension further if this is the only way.

I have no hestitation in rolling the guards or chopping them if the new tyres will rub. But chopping or rolling out the back doors will be a bitch. Particularly if I have to remove the lower door seal, then I'll be eating dust all the time.

Just looking for opinions on how difficult it is to fit the 33" diameter 255's, slightly wider tyre over the 30.5" narrower 245's. And whether anyone who did this just used the 7" steelies the car comes with, or whether a different offset was needed to achieve a clearance of steering components.

Maybe the County/Defender or rangie alloys use offsets that would be better?

They're 7" rims as well.

Thanks guys!

[morkz]

what are the wheels going on to a disco?

[up2nogood]

yep.

Steel series one Disco rims on a series one Disco.

[morkz]

yep.

Steel series one Disco rims on a series one Disco.

oh ok

I had fitted 245/75/16 BFG all terrains to my disco series 1 all i had was 2" ome lift.

Problems encountered were rubbing on radius arms and small amount of rubbing on rear guard (it ended up being bent slighly) note this was only on full articulation.

i saw someone had 255/85/16 on a series 1 but he did 2" body lift and 4" spring was way to unstable i highly dont recommend u do this.

would be run wider tyres i.e. 255/85/16 would be really good for a series 1 disco, you'll have to get offset rims have a 2" spring lift and 2" body lift.

Body lift's on disco arent cheap, because mine was mannual i had to brakes lines and clutch line (clutch line was the most expensive).

however i never did the body lift in the end. (disco was stolen) i was hoping to do body lift so i could run 265/75/16 however i'am glad i never did more old 300TDi would never have coped.

i hope i answered most of this let me know if i havnt.

cheers

[morkz]

also should have mentioned the 33" size will give u more ability to get through ruts as you wont have your diff always scraping however saying that its going to put more strain on your axel's may i suggest get some maxi ones.

[up2nogood]

Going to go the Maxi stuff, incl axles.

It's beginning to sound like the 255's are bloody hard work, and I'm not going a 4" suspension lift.

Morkz, what do you mean by offset rims? Even the 245's are too close to the body? Maybe there is another standard Rover rim I could use? Disco 2? County?

Anyone else had a go?

[Micka]

Body lifts on a series 1 disco are easy. No need to do brake lines or clutch. The only drama will be finding someone to do it...if you can't do it yourself.

The 245s will kill your rear guards and your tyres. Best to cut them back as far as possible. The front wont rub, but if you go to the wider tyre you will get some scrub on the radius arms and on the spring guard.

I would go with the body lift and gut the guards back to fit the 33s. If you are running lockers and shorter gears, you may as well make full advantage of it and spend the extra $. You wont regret it.

[up2nogood]

Hmmm, might have to change the plan and lift the body 2". Bugger. I really wanted to avoid the need for engineering a tyre swap.....

but then I don't really want to go to the trouble of mucking around just to fit the 30's when if I belt it a bit harder I can fit the 33's.

Aaaaargh!! So who's cut the rear guards? Sure you can't roll the guards out?

[Aquarangie]

I personally would stick with a 2 inch spring and 2 inch body. Lifting your suspension over this would ben a dangerous excersise with your caster angle all up to shit and require considerable amount of work.

255/85's will fit on your Disco rims without offsetting them, but your radius arms will cop a flogging from full lock tyre rubbing. You can adjust your lock nuts, but you will loose quite a bit of your turning circle and this could be crutial off-road trying to get around tight corners (a 3 point turn compared to a 10 point )

I have seen 4 inch lifts before with very interesting results. If you can get it to work without it being illegal and dangerous, good luck.

Regards,

Trav

[up2nogood]

Not gonna go any further than 2" suspension and (possibly) 2" body lift.

A further offset outwards will only make more problems with the back doors/wheelarches.

Very interested to know just how much chopping is needed without body lift, or is it impossible?

What's different on the series 2 compared to the one? The stock size for the S2 id 255/65/16. Not as tall, but just as wide.

[Slunnie]

A mate is running 33x13.5" Claws on 16x7 disco rims (not sure of the modified offset) with a 2" + 2" lift and a trim behind the rear wheels. Just some very light rubbing on the inner guards and it does have a bullbar. As far as I'm aware there is no door trimming for this. Graeme Cooper in Sydney did the BL and trimming I think.

[up2nogood]

That ought to give me heaps of room then. The 255/85/16's are about 12.5cm narrower than your mates claws.

How come everyone makes such a fuss about bigger wheels on these things then, I wonder?

[Rainbow Warrior]

I had 255's on Disco rims on my 76 Rangie, 2 inch rear lift, 2 inch body lift. I lost a little steering lock but they fitted the guards well, offset rims could be worse as they only just cleared the guard edges on upward travel and rubbed on the inner guard on extreme upward travel. I also flared my guards out a bit by hand and put a 40mm spacer on the bottom edges of the front guards to flare them.

There's some pics on my site.

[Maxtd5def]

Why not go for a 235/85/16?

Its a 32", fits with a 2" spring lift, no need for a body lift, but you will need to trim the rear quarters a bit.

Its a good all round size. Highest load rating of just about any radial. A big variety around - I ran MTRs, and was very happy.

Theres a heap of info on Discoweb, if you search the archives there.

You might need to drop your gearing. 4.1 CW&Ps are within 5%. On mine I just swapped in Defender 1.4 hi range gears & Defender speedo drive.

Regards
Max P

[morkz]

Morkz, what do you mean by offset rims? Even the 245's are too close to the body? Maybe there is another standard Rover rim I could use? Disco 2? County?

Anyone else had a go?

you can get standard disco rims (steels) reversed .

when your going that much higher i'd recommend you can get a bit more stabilty you dont have to do it for 255/85/16 but offroad makes a huge difference.

i'll try and look for a photo to show u the best place to trim your guards.

but i'll try and explain in words for know, on the rear guard i.e. closes to the rear follow the contour of the guard straight down i.e. dont make it curve back towards the tyre.

but i'll tryand find a photo of a disco and draw it on for u also if i cant find a photo of my old one.

cheers.

[disco200tdi]

I have 255x85r16 coooper ST's fitted to 6.5" wide 130 rims on my 3 door disco as my road tyres. They fiited easily.
I have no body lift and about a 2" spring lift. I had to cut the rear of all guards. You will also need to mod the rear mudflap brackets and cut the front 1" of the sills off.
If you get your wheels offset 1" more without reversing, this will minimise cutting and you won't need flares. You then will still have a reasonable turning circle.

HTH

[up2nogood]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I really wanted a bit larger tyre in width so as to spread the load of the car over a larger surface to not dig into the surface too much when out.

I wonder if Defender rims will be offset enough to avoid rubbing on steering components with the 255's?

Or are they same offsets?

But then if I offset outwards I will need to trim the back arch/door too much.

Disco200tdi, you don't have any trouble with those tyres on full articulation/ travel do you? Particulalry with one right up in the guard and the other down a hole?

[Aquarangie]

Why not go for a 235/85/16?

The aquarangie runs these in MT/R's and have to agree with you there. I have a 30mm spring and a 245mm body liftr on board and they do rub only on full compression both front and rear. I find thr 32' height gives me plenty of clerance for the sort of off-roading I do. I have hit the diffs only a few times compared to my old 245/75's I had. You don't have the rub problems and they fit on the old Rangie 6" rims as a bonus if you choose to run them as a second set for off-road.

But each to there own and I didn't want to be changing diff and transfer ratios' etc...

Regards,

Trav

[up2nogood]

You've got a good point there, Trav.

The 235/85/16 will give me 31.7" diameter and is 32mm taller than the 245/75/16 (30.4").

The 255/85/16 would still be bloody good though.....

If only I could get 245/85/16. 32.4" diameter and 10mm narrower than the 255's.

Bugger!

[DaveS3]

245mm body lift

Thats

What did you use as lift blocks?



Dave

[Aquarangie]

Yes it would be good to get a 245/85 size. I think Simex sell them, while an awesone off-road tyre, not road friendly and this is the biggest advantage than the MT/R's have. Good off-road in most situations and good on-road manners (with the windows wound up you can't barely hear them. Pity the MT/R's dont come in a 255/85, they would sell a few sets

I agree, 33's would be bloody great, but can't justiofying spending a small fortune upgrading diff and transfer ratios for it to work properly. I'll stick with my 32's

Trav

[up2nogood]

1) 30.5" 255/75/16

2) 31.7" 235/85/16

3) 33" 255/85/16

Same!!!

Well, not really.

The difference between 1 and 3....25.5mm further from the dirt.

[Micka]

Taller is better than wider.

Its the length of the footprint that will get you through, and having the pumpkin higher off the ground is always a good thing.

Go with the taller tyre. Clearance is everything.

[Rainbow Warrior]

Unless you have diesel or a stock 3.5litre petrol, I wouldn't be too concerned with ratio's, I had no problems with 255/85x16 and my 4 speed 3.9V8 & 3.5:1 diffs, better fuel economy on the freeway too.

[ISUZUROVER]

1) 30.5" 255/75/16

2) 31.7" 235/85/16

3) 33" 255/85/16

Same!!!

Well, not really.

The difference between 1 and 3....25.5mm further from the dirt.

The BFG 255/85/16 is actually 33.3" diameter when mounted.

[GURU]

I got 255/85R16's on disco series I steel rims on my 84 4 door range Rover, it had a 2" suspension lift only and no body lift (I don't like body lifts)when I fitted them and had minimal body scrub, I had to flare out the bottom of the rear door alittle and I had to flare the back of the front guard and there was no scrub.

I have now got abit over a 3" suspension lift and that allows them to clear by heaps.

If you want to meet up some time and have alook your welcome, just send me a PM

[up2nogood]

Thanks Ben, I dropped off the .3" off for simplicity as it only made 3.8mm difference in height... Sorry!

Micka, I want to go taller and wider! Must be the dickhead in me!

Thanks for the offer DAS, I just don't know if the Disco panels will be in the same spots as the Rangie's. Be good to pinch one of your rims to try it out though!

I'll take you up on that offer in a couple of weeks. Thanks mate!
The engine and gearbox have to be done first. Got the rebuilt R380 to put in and I'm still sourcing parts for the engine!

[Davidh]

My first set of tyres were 265/75/16 on 16x7 alloys. I already had OME in it and all I had to do was trim a little off the rear quarters and adjust the front steering stops. When that was all done, no scrubbing even on full articulation. Wheels with more offset would have helped the turning circle though. Ratio's weren't the best with 32" tyres. Mainly on road though.

For 35s it was a WHOLE different story! Still cutting actually...

[up2nogood]

The 265/75/16 have a diameter of 31.65" Close to the 235/85/16's that a few of the guys are running.

But getting even wider!

[Aquarangie]

245mm body lift

Thats

What did you use as lift blocks?



Dave

It would be interesting to see.

Me and my typos, got too much on mind and not fast enough typing skills as usual

Trav