 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Tyre sizes, wheel carrier issues (solved) and wheel covers. |
 
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| leeds Member Since: 28 Dec 2009 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 8582  
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We run 255/85/16 BFG M/T without spacers on standard suspension and with a 2" lift and do not have issues.
255/85/16 are 33" diameter tyres and a swingaway wheel carrier moves the wheel to the outside but it does clear standard rear lights. With standard door mount there will be plenty of room. Flat nuts or standard nuts can be used as back spacers if needed on the standard spare wheel mount. A gas strut should cope with a boost wheel OK. They struggle with a rim like the Hutchinson beadlockers fitted with 255/85/16 as that is an extremely heavy rim. Brendan |
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24th Apr 2017 8:51pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20858
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Hi Brendan, excellent to hear.
My main issue now that is clarified. (Thank you) Will be clearance between tyre and wiper to the rear, what you have mentioned is couple of ideas. However, they are likely to still be fairly thin I'd have thought and possibly full nuts reduce the available thread a lot. My issue is compounded a little extra as the wheel cover flange adds a few more mm to catch on the wiper. 
However, I have from the past maipulated the wiper arm to sit a bit closer to the body and glass which has helped. If I'm correct there is a 20mm extra width between 235 & 255. Whist I have clearance avaible now I'd only need 20mm extra. I thought maybe an actual road wheel alloy wheel spacer may work well? They seem to be mostly 30mm though, but what do you think to that? Surely that'd give the extra dia and full thread combined, and around £40 for one isn't overly pricy for a one off item. Like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-x-Bulldog-Allo...SwU-pXrD4b _\Hennessey|Venom| F5/___ ___\âï¸Lone|Star|State/___ ____\We|Will|Win/___ ____/🇬🇧🇺🇸\____ _//*⛽ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°*\\_ |
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24th Apr 2017 10:29pm |
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| DSC-off Member Since: 16 Oct 2014 Location: North East Posts: 1476 
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Hi Steve,
The thin nuts on the carrier bracket can be screwed out to adjust the position of the wheel in/out. When the wheel is fitted and clamped with nuts on the outside it is all secure enough. Alternatively you could put washers behind the thin nuts if you prefer them to be screwed up to something solid. You will only need an extra 10mm clearance if the tyres are fitted on the same wheel rims. The extra 20mm tyre width is evenly added 10mm on the inside of the rim and 10mm on the outside. I've recently picked up a Bestop cover for 33" tyres that is a good fit on KM2 255/85. Bestop part no 61033-35. It appears to be good quality, made from the same vinyl they make soft top covers from, thick and strong. I'll add a picture later. |
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25th Apr 2017 12:40pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20858
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Oh good, so not as much as an issue then as I first thought.
I went for 235's originally as I needed them fast, so didn't have time to mess around or checking figment. They have however been very very good, just fancy a change now and after getting a tyre cut a while ago it's an ideal time I think to go a little wider and fill the arches a little. _\Hennessey|Venom| F5/___
___\âï¸Lone|Star|State/___ ____\We|Will|Win/___ ____/🇬🇧🇺🇸\____ _//*⛽ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°*\\_ |
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25th Apr 2017 12:56pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17794 
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There should be no problem at all fitting a 255/85 KM2 on a Boost alloy - for a time I ran 285/75 KM2s on Boosts. The 285s were a very tight fit on the rim and seriously compromised the turning circle, but the 255/85 will fit the rim better and will have less of an adverse effect on TC.
The 255/85 is also, in my opinion, the best performing size and the the best aesthetic size for a Defender. I run 255/85 KM2s on 0 offset Blindos and there are no protrusion issues, and they're not excessively dirty (unlike the 285/75s). To fit these I had to trim a very small amount of the inside of the ROS wheel arch flare off (curiously only on the offside, the nearside side was OK! Don't you love Defender buld tolerances?) It would be completely impossible to fit tyre chains without serious panel damage with this wheel/tyre combination though. With Boosts yours would be 33mm further under the arch, so you certainly shouldn't have any problems either with clearance or with crud, although again I think it very unlikely that you'd be able to fit chains. I can't comment on the wheel carrier since I use a significant;y customised Sonic3D swingaway. You may have trouble finding a wheel cover to fit, they don't seem very easy to find at the moment. If you are currently running 235s, the 255s are only 20mm wider overall, and therefore will only be 10mm nearer the chassis or nearer the arch. 10mm is not going to cause any major issue. |
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25th Apr 2017 1:55pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17794
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Can I ask where you found this and how much it cost? Thanks. |
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25th Apr 2017 1:59pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20858
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Blackwolf - I've used a 'Cutlers' make fir a long time, to been great.
On their site they suggest you can purchase to order size gif a cost lower than you may think. These are semi rigid gloss but there are other types I think. _\Hennessey|Venom| F5/___
___\âï¸Lone|Star|State/___ ____\We|Will|Win/___ ____/🇬🇧🇺🇸\____ _//*⛽ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°*\\_ |
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25th Apr 2017 5:23pm |
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| DSC-off Member Since: 16 Oct 2014 Location: North East Posts: 1476
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Hi Blackwolf, I got the cover while in the States, from Bestop themselves, they had a stall at the Moab Jeep Safari show.
I got it at a discounted show price of $30, unfortunately they only had one in that size, I would have brought more back. Regular price is $35 + tax, available from, 4wheelparts.com, 4wd.com, quadratec.com They also have a UK and European dealers. The quality does seem good, heavy soft top material, so I expect it will last. The fit is better than it looks in the pictures, and it still has a few creases from being squashed in a suitcase. It would also fit 285/75/16 for anyone needing that size.  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge |
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25th Apr 2017 9:17pm |
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| Thon Member Since: 22 Nov 2015 Location: Salisbury Plain Posts: 696
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On an associated note, when I switched from 7.50 x XZL tyres on Wolf rims (roughly 235 size) onto 265/75 Grabbers on Evo Corse Dakars I found that they had much more tendency to tramline and follow the ruts in the road, which I find pretty tiresome on long journeys. You're constantly correcting the steering and it gets old quickly. Pressures are the same as I run on the XZLs and the suspension and steering are all in good order. Really annoying.
Personally I would be loath to go wider than 235s but that's just me and it seems i'm in a huge minority - I just don't see the appeal of anything wider. The grabbers were included with the Dakars so i'm going to use them until the winter then switch over the XZLs again. Irrespective of tread type, wider isn't necessarily better IMHO. |
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25th Apr 2017 11:02pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17794
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^^ Absolutely right.
I find that the 255/85s are very much more pleasant on the road than the 285/75s were. With the 285s you always had to be aware of the road surface in front of the vehicle and anticipate the steering corrections which were about to be required, but with the 255/85s driving is far more relaxing. To be honest there's not a lot of difference in this respect between 235s and 255s. |
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26th Apr 2017 8:01am |
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| Thon Member Since: 22 Nov 2015 Location: Salisbury Plain Posts: 696
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You know I would understand why 285s would be pretty horrible with tramlining, but these 265s seem properly abysmal too - it's such a disappointment, and if i'd paid proper money for them i'd be quite peeved. I've driven a lot of cars over the years and typically find those with wider than standard wheel/tyre combinations are less pleasant to drive. I am talking about older stuff like Mk2 Golf GTI, Skip Brown 205 GTI, Lancia Delta Integrale, Maserati Biturbo, etc but the fact remains that they were all nicer to drive on standard (sized) rubber.
I know many would consider it purgatory, but the sooner i'm back on the 7.50 XZLs the better. They're not too noisy and steer nicely, considering the block pattern. The only fault I really came across was their tendency to slide from the front (understeer) if you really take the  , but i'm not a fast driver any more, and particularly not in a 110!
I suspect once the XZLs are done I would go for a BFG A/T K02, partly due to having had the BFG A/T before and particularly now they're dual rated for summer and winter they are much more useful to me. I would be very loath to go above 235s though, based on my current experience. I've always been a bit puzzled about the benefits, other than aesthetics, of wider wheels/tyres too - my first car had 165/70 x 10 tyres (can you guess what it was?) and when I switched it back to the standard 145s it was much improved in stability and driveability. |
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26th Apr 2017 8:23am |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20858
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I think running a narrower MT on road a lot, like I do you tend to get more shoulder wear due to less footprint on the road.
Particularly with loads of roundabouts.
They also look a little narrow and don't fill the arches quite as much, but I don't like massive width or it just looks stupid imo. This is why I like the idea of the 255's as Blackwolf has, and they look really nice and much preform the same way. They aren't cheap though, but the 235's aren't far behind. Around £860 for 5x fitted I believe. Hoping to sort this out in around May sometime. _\Hennessey|Venom| F5/___
___\âï¸Lone|Star|State/___ ____\We|Will|Win/___ ____/🇬🇧🇺🇸\____ _//*⛽ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°*\\_ |
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26th Apr 2017 10:59am |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20858
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Little update for this thread.
As some of you have been interested in 255/85 wheel covers, I have emailed this company: http://www.wheelcover.com/public_html/index1.html Who is the manufacturer of my current wheel cover, I have a gloss semi rigid one but they do soft too. I have asked for quotes from them for SR and Soft delivered in that size. If and when I hear back, I'll let you guys know. I have no connection with this company, but I have been happy with the brand so thought it might be insteresting to ask. I also mentioned this size isn't on the 🇬🇧 market readily here either. Will hopefully report back in time. _\Hennessey|Venom| F5/___
___\âï¸Lone|Star|State/___ ____\We|Will|Win/___ ____/🇬🇧🇺🇸\____ _//*⛽ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°*\\_ |
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26th Apr 2017 8:02pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20858
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Okay, heard back quickly which is good.
Sadly, the gloss type I have they do not do in that size which is a shame. However, they do do a soft version which most of you are looking for in 255/85 for £55 inclusive delivered. This is probably what I'll go for. _\Hennessey|Venom| F5/___ ___\âï¸Lone|Star|State/___ ____\We|Will|Win/___ ____/🇬🇧🇺🇸\____ _//*⛽ï¸ðŸ›¢ï¸âš™ï¸ðŸ§°*\\_ |
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27th Apr 2017 10:59am |
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