18" tyres

Hi Steve
Ask yourself one question ? Go out to Bridgestone or Pete's Tyres and tyre and buy one, and I would say that they will have to get one in for you. I could not even get a 17" for the Prado in Laverton WA after ruining one in the Desert last year, and 18" will be even harder to get.

Cheers

Stephen

Hi Pesty,
I have a new Pajero and i like a lot of others, who want to do a bit of offroading, purchased the car with 17" rims and higher profile tyres. The 18" tyres that come with the car are great for shopping but not for offroad purposes in my opinion.
Check out the Pajero forum on the web.
Regards fromk Big Col.

Pesty

I did the same as Col 3 years ago, "traded down" to 17inch with my new vehicle. However, with the new Prado also now running 18 inch, I am sure they will be increasing in availability and priced more favourably.

IF he is really in doubt, take a spare tyre (not wheel) when he does go somewhere more remote.

18's are becoming more popular, Disco 3 boys apparently have had good luck with Pirrelli Scorpion ATR's in that size. You will still pay about $100 more than 17's but that will come as volume increases. Better get used to it the Disco 4 has just gone 19's.

OBT

I'd be going for the smaller rim size if possible, the smaller the height of the sidewall the less bagging and flotation you get when dropping pressures for soft terrain. With the small tyre wall it also takes a far smaller pothole to trash a tyre and/or the rim on the bitumen let alone on the dirt.

I've got the 18's and wish i downgraded to 17's. Not only are 18's hard to come by for a lot of the profiles only HT's are available ...at a price (big price); AT's...good luck, 18's out west...not a chance. Sorry to seem negative but its true. Another point of interest, letting your tyres down a bit not only aids traction but can significantly improves ride comfort (of the seal) and reduces the stress on suspension, you cant safely do this with low profile tyres as you are basically risking your rims. Like others here, it amazes me how the latest 4wd's (Prado Discovery) are coming out with supa low profile tyres, few good rocks and that's it........they should offer a realistic alternative you know?

Not a common size for a 4x4. As others have said you will find it very difficult to find a replacement out of the main cities. If you do you will pay a Kings ransom

Tell him to buy it mate,

Advertise the 18"rims and tyres. some Toorak Tractor driver will love them, then get a set of steels or mags from a wrecker etc off a 16"Paj and buy some really good tyres. Had a mate do similar and after buying rims from a wrecker and brand new 16'inch tyres he then sold his 18's with rubber on for a total change over of $120.00 The 18's had about 20K on them so he started with brand new tyres for the 120 smackers....

Hi Pesty,

I have an NS Pajero, which came with 18" rims. The 18" tyres are very expensive ($500+ each when I last checked), and as others have mentioned only come in a limited range of tread patterns. After a lot of research, I discovered that due to the Pajero rim's offset of +46, there were no non-genuine 17" rims that would be legal in some states (this may have changed recently or might in the future). I forked out for some Mitsubishi steel 17" rims (with the +46 offset), and now run on 17" tyres. These tyres are about $200 cheaper per tyre than the 18". 16" wheels will not fit on the 4 door Pajero models.

As someone else has mentioned, with other car manufacturers bringing out 4WD's with 18" wheels, a wider variety of 18" tyres may become available in the future.

Cheers
Leanne

Gday Pesty,

I have a Pajero NS with the 18" tyres. The tyres on the car were Bridgestone Duellers H/T (D840's).

I changed them over to Yokohama Geolander (Geo 12's) A/T tyres in the same size and they cost $400 per tyre fitted,balanced and a wheel aligned in late September 2009 from Bob Jane.

I am very pleased with the tyre as there is negligible road noise and they handle on and off road really well for an all terrain tyre. The other thing Bob Jane gave me was a complete tyre guarantee up to 20,000km so if I have any problems with them they will change them over no questions asked.

I was informed that the 18" tyres at the moment are usually around the $400 mark however, the American tyres ( Coppers etc) can be a lot dearer.

I also agree that with more manufacturers putting 18" tyres on they will become easier to source and a little cheaper in due course.

Cheers.