Tyres for Disco

hmmm maybe!

Poida4x4
A friend has 245/75R16 Goodyear MT/R's on his series 11 Disco without a suspension lift. I'm sure this size will fit on yours. they are around 30.5 inches in diameter.
cheers

Also, where in Perth is a good tyre dealer? I'm pretty sold on Coopers, but only cos they're so prolifically advertised in the magazines. I want them to be strong...

Poida,
you might consider joining this group for info on tyres even though yours is a DiscoveryI: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/AussieDiscoveryII/
There are some very knowledgable people there that have really gone into the tyre thing in a big way.Bob

Poida.
I run bfg all terains 265.75.16 with a 2 inch body lift. You have to trim about 1.5 inches off the back of the rear guards and adjust the steering stops slightly.
Had coopers for about 10000 ks, blew 1 in the flinders and sold them at a big loss and went back to bfg. Check the fine print on there guarantee?
A couple of Land Rover sites for you to check.
www.lro.com
www.landroverenthusiast.com
Remember maitanance is the key to a happy love affair with your Disco.
Cheers
Jonty

G'day Poida... I gotta Disco with Coopers on it and love 'em... For lots of good stuff on Discos and other landy's check out the forum on the Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria site.

Cheers
-Shannon

What kind of effect does it have on power? Being a TDi will something 31" tyres make it really gutless in the lower gears? Ta...

G'day Poida,

Have just put 245/75/R16 Cooper AT's on my TDi (with 2" OME) without any problems (had to adjust steering bumpstops slightly). Seems a good match so far but haven't done any serious work with them yet. Have had Cooper AT's before and they did a good job. Could have gone 245/70 but Cooper only has these in passenger construction and I wanted LT's so went with 245/75 which are slightly higher.

Read a lot of info about having to trim rear guards etc... to make this size fit but having tested (on ramps ony at this stage) I don't think I will need to (the 2" lift probably saved this). Note that there is less wheel arch space on the series I compared to series II.

Rolling diameter increased by just over 5% over standard tyre size so gearing etc... isn't a problem. In fact, with standard tyres my speedo was over-reading by about 6-7km/h and with the new tyres has bought it back to within 1km/h.

As for how big you can go, you can use this as a guide (from discoweb):

Series I
235/70-16: Stock tire size.
205/80-16: Stock size in many other countries. same height as 235/70-16.
255/65-16: same height as stock
225/75-16: little taller than stock
245/70-16: little taller and wider than the stock size. reportedly, no need for lift, just minor trimming to fit those tires.
245/75-16: popular size for OME suspension lifted vehicles. require slight trimming on the rear wheel well fender, and may also call for adjustment on the steering bumpstops.
215/85-16: same height as 245/75-16. but narrower. seems to be preferred for the snow and mud.
265/70-16: about as tall as 245/75-16, but wider. will require more trimming and steering bump stops adjustments along with taller bump stops over the rear axle.
265/75-16: almost 32" tall. Same as stock NAS D90 tires. Will require even more trimming.
235/85-16: same height as 265/75-16 but narrower. And seems to be the most popular size with OME lift.
255/85-16: about 33" tall...very few people have fitted this size. Lots of butchering for this one.
285/75-16: about 33" also... but very very wide.

Series II
255/65-16: Stock tire size.
255/70-16: Just a bit taller than stock.
265/75-16: Taller and wider than stock, possible to fit without lift. minor rubbing. Looks real balanced with mild OME lift.
285/75-16: even taller than 265/75-16, r requires a bit more lift than the regular OME lift. some have fitted OME751 from Discovery series I, and changed SLS sensor in the rear to achieve almost 3 inches. Gearing and shaft strenght become issues.
255/85-16: a bit taller than 285/75-15 but narrower. Gearing and shaft strenght become issues.

Cheers.

245/75x16 a good size but definitely requires at least 40mil lift or will catch on rear guard under articulation. Even this size will noticably reduce acceleration, braking and steering performance and you may have steering shimmy so need a good steering damper.

Disco is a very comfy tourer...

Hi

I am a Disco owner and fan from way back. They are probably the most well configured 4x4 money can buy. They figures themselves state the truth.
The 4cyl 300 tdi (I have one) has a better power to weight ratio and a much lower and better torque curve than any other 4x4 on the market.
No other 4x4 makes as much torque under 1800 revs as a 300tdi Disco, not even a Defender.
And no other 4x4 comes within 30mm of the same amount of wheel travel, standard, as a Disco.
If you want a well performing on and off road machine, a Disco should be left well alone. They dont need anything doing to them.
If you already have a little bit of lift, the best thing in the world you could do to enhance the performance of your Disco is to fit it with a set of 235/85/16 tyres.
I have had many different tyre sizes on many different rigs, and the best tyre size/rig combo so far has been these tyres on my Disco. They are as tall as possible without expensive mods. And they are the same width as standard equipment on them. With this size you will get the most articulation possible, and still retain your fuel economy and not play havoc with your propeller shafts and axles.
If you would like to know anything else hercules17@iprimus.com.au