Need advice for '73 Series 3 tires

[1973series3]

Hello, I'm pretty new to rovers and I'm having a very hard time finding a set of dedicated aggressive mud tires for my series 3 88" with parabolics and no lift.

I just purchased the 6.5x16-2 3/4 wolf wheels from our host in hopes of having more options.

What are you guys running on your machines? And what can you recommend as viable options for this limited size wheel?

Thank you for any guidance.

[SafeAirOne]

Here's what a set of 235-85R16's mounted on Wolf Rims on a 1973 SIII looks like:





I'm not sure I'd consider these 16" wheels to be limiting as far as tire size goes, unless you're looking for something huge and therefore very wide.

[cedryck]

I like BFG mud terrain, km2, great side walls, great off road grip, I run 15 inch tires. Reasonable, as far as off road tires go too $$$

[1973series3]

Thanks for the replies. I wanted to get Gateway n78 buckshot mudders, but they are too big for this machine unless I lift it.

I have been thinking BFG mud terrain TA KM, Cooper discoverer STT and Maxxis MT-762 Bighorn mud terrain so far.

It appears that either a 205x65-16 or 205x85-16 are my options,unless I am wrong.

I am having a tough finding anything in these sizes that would work well on this old girl.

Do you guys have any ides? She really needs new shoes.

[yorker]

There are people who have run 9.00 16 sized tires on a civilian chassis land rover with no lift before so your limiting factor isn't as low as you might think. Having said that your engine and axle shafts are perhaps more of a factor. EVERYBODY just about runs 235-85-16s nowadays on 109's and 88" trucks. That is a close approximation of the old 7.50 16 LWB tires. 88"s came with 6.00 16s, 6.50 16s, 7.00 16s. and a couple 15" sizes, Nowadays most people think they look too small so they just use 109 sized tires. There really is no reason not to, the chassis clearances are mostly the same and the gearing, engines, etc are all the same. N78s would be fine.N78-15 (31x9.50 15); P78-16 (33x10.50 16) P78s might be a bit muchYMMV

[1973series3]

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[yorker]

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THere are a few things you need to consider- firstly is the rim diameter. In our case there are 16" rims and 15" rims. The rest of the world didn't really get 15" rims and they have faded from common use over time. They are still available but you bout Wolf rims so we'll just consider 16" rims.

Back when these trucks were made the size and diameter of the tire was mostly determined not by stuyle or what clearance a manufacturer wanted but by the load the tire was expected to carry.

Small vehicles like Jeeps, 1/2 ton trucks etc used tires in the 6.00-16 -7.00 16 size range. that meant they were up to about 30" tall.

3/2-1 ton trucks used 7.50 16s that are ~31-32" tall. 109s typically used those.

Some heavier duty trucks used 9.00 16s. 109 1 tons and 101 forward controls used those(as did M37 Power wagons and other heavy duty trucks). they were 34-35" tall as a rule.

That was mostly dictated by load capacity.

Today those old tire sizes are mostly extinct. You also have the added confusion of alphanumeric sizess and some other naming conventions. To make it more confusing a tire in X size from one manufacturer isn't always the same exact width or diameter as one in the identical size from a different manufacturer.

You can read a little about what Land Rover used to have to say about it here:

http://siteground237.com/~gunsandr/showthread.php?t=101

Now to simplify things for you. You have brand new nioce 16" rims. and probably 75% of the Land ROver owners in the USA use 235-85-16 tires. That is the size I'd look for, at least to begin with. I'd also avoid bias ply tires and go for Radials. THe Mudders you are looking at are Bias Ply and while they have their uses you'll find radials easier to get, they'll ride better and probably wear much longer.

235-85-16s are about the same size as the old 7.60 16s. they look good and they are available everywhere in the USA in a ton of styles...
ex:

https://www.treadwright.com/individual-product/137/CRAWLER-235-85R16-E

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Tires/LT235-85R16-Mud-Terrain-T-A-KM2.aspx?t_c=13&t_s=156&t_pt=100697&t_pn=BFG39551

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Wrangler+DuraTrac&partnum=385QR6WDTV2

The only reason I'd go with a bias ply tire is if you insist on an original 50 year old tread style.

[jac04]

You can still get 7.50x16 tires.

Our hosts have the Michelin XZL on sale right now:

http://www.roversnorth.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=MICHXZL&type=0

If you are looking for something a little less expensive, then Power King & Deestone offer some aggressive tires:

http://www.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=135&cart_id=88824867.135.5768&Breite=7.50&Quer=&Felge=16&Speed=&LoadRange=&kategorie=6&Marke=&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&weiter=10&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&search_tool=standard&details=Ordern&typ=R-199886

http://www.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=135&cart_id=88824867.135.5768&Breite=7.50&Quer=&Felge=16&Speed=&LoadRange=&kategorie=6&Marke=&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&weiter=10&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&search_tool=standard&details=Ordern&typ=R-210933

[yorker]

If you are looking for something a little less expensive, then Power King & Deestone offer some aggressive tires:

http://www.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=135&cart_id=88824867.135.5768&Breite=7.50&Quer=&Felge=16&Speed=&LoadRange=&kategorie=6&Marke=&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&weiter=10&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&search_tool=standard&details=Ordern&typ=R-199886

http://www.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/rs...n&typ=R-210933

I've run both of those before, they are pretty nice off road, ok on snow too. Flatspot like crasy though sometimes taking >1/2 hour of driving to become a decent ride.

Cooper makes a radial 7.50 16 but it is more of a road tread, for anything offroad you'd want chains or something for added traction.
Cooper SRM II Radial 7.50/ R16

Performance Plus Tire has some Speedway tires for sale too in classic sizes and Bias ply construction. Being NDT or NDCC treads though they are poor on road in the wet and snow, and pretty much meh all around. They have the classic look though...

http://www.performanceplustire.com/antique-tires/speedway/speedway-truck-or-military-bias-ply-tire

[Revtor]

215-85-16 has a couple mud-esque options and the size is spot on for an 88..
for ex:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Destination+M/T&partnum=185R6DESTMTV2

FYI if we were to literally translate 7.50-16 into metric size it would be 190-100-16. So if you want the rover look, go narrow.

~Steve

[Revtor]

From a thread in the S2 forum:

http://www.avontyres.com/4x4/rangemaster

[jac04]

FYI if we were to literally translate 7.50-16 into metric size it would be 190-100-16.

Not really. 7.50 is the wall height in inches. So, overall diameter is 7.5 + 16 + 7.5 = 31". Section width is the first number in a metric designation, and the section width of a 7.50x16 is about 8.25", so it would be more like 210/90/16. Check out the Avon link you posted and you will see the spec for section width.

[yorker]

Before radial tires were around crossply/Bias ply tires were assumed to be 100% aspect ratio, but that could vary in actual measured dimensions anyway.

Original 88" tires were quite small by today's standards as delivered,
a 7.10 15 seems too small for most people today. (~ a 205R15 or P215/75R15 -225/70R15) When you look at original pictures the small diameter really starts to stick out at you since we are used to so many people just going with the 109 tire sizes on all 88s. Years ago I remember watching Wild Kingdom and they had a IIa 109 running around on 88" wheels and tires. That 109 looked very distinctive and quite nearly comical. It still got around and did its job though.

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

http://www.mopar1.us/tireconversion.html

[rwollschlager]

I have Km2's in the 33X10.5 size, but I'm running 15" rims and parabolics. I wheel my truck hard and I love the Km2's. Though if you're looking for a dedicated off road tire, my answer is interco. If you look on national wheel and tire's website, you can search by size, though they don't have many options for 235/85/16, you can get the TSL in a 9X32X16 http://www.ntwonline.com/9X32X16C-TS...l#.VIOaEIfGZTI
or in a 33X9.5.

If you are look for a solely off road tire, these are them. If you foresee yourself spending more than 1/3 of your driving on the road, get the KM2's or the interco truxxus.

[cedryck]

I cannot agree more with you Rob. I bought them in 15' too but not as large as you have, and the price was good. (tire Rack)
virtually no noise on the road, and great off road perfromance.