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Cupboard

Member Since: 21 Mar 2014
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 2971

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 HT Corris Grey

L110CDL wrote:
Many many thanks for the great information Cupboard

I read the info, will have to read it again to get my head round it so the way i see it ( i'm most probably wrong ) that 265's are good for going around corners and letting the pressure down for off road use ? what you use on your landy, suits your choice, i get that but do you think that the 235's would be as good or better than the 265's that i have got on and what i use my landy for ? once again, many thanks

There's nothing wrong with 265s, however there's nothing (for most normal Defender usage) to be gained by having them over 235s other than the look. There are plenty of disadvantages, like more mud up the sides and a worse turning circle. I believe that 265/75R16 is standard on some Toyotas so it's possible that you might get a better choice if you need them in a hurry. I've needed tyres in a hurry before, and found that I either can't get any 4x4 tyres in a shop or they stock everything you're likely to want to fit to a Defender.

As for wider tyres increasing stability... well kind of. With wheels of the same offset the wider tyres will give a slightly increase overall width and therefore stability, but you'd get a similar effect with increasing the offset of the wheels or adding (shock horror! gasp! lol) spacers. I guess with bigger tyres being slightly heavier you'd lower the centre of gravity slightly but that's really clutching at straws. My Defender is not tyre limited when it comes to cornering and I'm running 7.50s. When I drop them to ~25-30 psi then I start to reach their limits because of sidewall flex but that's me being lazy and running off road pressures on the road. It should be noted that 30psi would probably not seem like a particularly low pressure if you had 265s but it is quite a drop from normal for me.

If I was running a rallying Bowler that was doing lots of very high speed off road work then other tyre sizes (or indeed other vehicles entirely) would probably make more sense for me. But I'm not.

3rd May 2018 5:59pm

Arierep

Member Since: 13 Apr 2013
Location: Portugal
Posts: 258

1995 Defender 90 300 Tdi SW Alpine White

While I agree with most of the comments in this topic, I think something should be added.

First many of us use wider tyres because that's what's available when you want a taller tyre. A taller tyre it's the best answer to both a longer footprint and a better angle of attack.

I've gone from 6.00R16 on 6J rims to 235/85R16 on 7J rims to 255/85R16 on 6.5J rims and then on 8J rims. At each step up I got a big improvement in offroad ability but the 235/85R16 were the best ones on the road. The 255s start to fold on corners even with 8J rims and the wider track by the -25 offset. It's just a lot of sidewall height for the tyre width.

Another problem I get is that on rock gardens (and we have lots of them here) the narrow-ish 255s fall to much in between the rocks. This gives a very rough, unstable ride. When I'm with friends on wider tyres they stay more on top of the rocks and get a much smoother ride.
I wont get another set of 255/85R16. I want something a little wider and taller. A good size would be 285/85R16, but that's not widely available.

The comments on the narrower tyre applying more pressure on the ground and, therefore, more friction/traction for the same air pressure and tyre pattern is obvious correct, simple physics. However, what sometimes happens in the real world is that the wider tyre is in contact with a more diverse array of ground features which can provide traction. While the narrow tyre contact patch is in that traction-less loose earth, the wider tyre touches that earth but also the embedded rock right besides.

One thing that always pops out during these discussions is the:
A) "but the Camel Trophy guys only used 7.5R16"
or
B) "but the guys at Dakar use mostly 235/85R16s or similar"

Please don't forget that:
A) it was a promotional event for the stock vehicles, the last thing marketing wanted to do was to show off very modified cars
B) they use them because of technical rules. So much is the advantage of big tyres (37X12.5R17) that together with more suspension travel (and some more specs like inbuilt jacks and lower weight) it is worthy for the teams to drop 4WD

3rd May 2018 10:40pm

L110CDL

Member Since: 31 Oct 2015
Location: Devon
Posts: 10476

Thank you both for the reply's, really helpful

1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.

Clayton.

3rd May 2018 10:52pm

LandRoverAnorak

Member Since: 17 Jul 2011
Location: Surrey
Posts: 11240

2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Orkney Grey

Jose.Pereira wrote:
One thing that always pops out during these discussions is the:
A) "but the Camel Trophy guys only used 7.5R16"

Please don't forget that:
A) it was a promotional event for the stock vehicles, the last thing marketing wanted to do was to show off very modified cars

Whilst I don't disagree with the rest of your post, I think you're mistaken on this point. Firstly, the Camel vehicles were very modified by any reasonable standard - roll cages, winches, lights, underbody guards, etc. The Discoverys used on the event were also fitted with very non-standard wheels and tyres - 7.00 x 16, IIRC. However, those tyres were simply chosen for the expected terrain, which was predominantly muddy jungle in many events.

It's long been known that in heavy mud, a narrower tyre tends to cut through to more solid ground beneath, which is clearly very different to the conditions that you're having to face.

Generally, of course, there's a big difference between what's good off-road and good on-road. For a vehicle like a Land Rover there's always a compromise and the extent that anybody will tolerate in either direction is dictated by needs. Darren

110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia

4th May 2018 8:50am

Cupboard

Member Since: 21 Mar 2014
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 2971

A fortnight after the discussion has ended, this may be of interest:

I realise this doesn't exactly help the OP but as background information for anyone else reading in the future...

19th May 2018 6:58pm

L110CDL

Member Since: 31 Oct 2015
Location: Devon
Posts: 10476

Thanks for that Cupboard, that was very interesting, made a lot of sense

1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper.

Clayton.

24th May 2018 10:39pm

JOW240725

Member Since: 04 May 2015
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 7873

2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Orkney Grey

Good choice r21! But I might be biased

Click image to enlarge James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html
MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641
MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557
Instagram @suffolk_rovers

24th May 2018 11:03pm

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