New tire questions

[Leslie]

I have an '02 Disco II SE that was born with 18" wheels. Due to cost and availability, I would like to know if anyone has traded down to 16" Disco Rims and if there are any problems with hubs or brakes.

Ben,

Couple o' things for ya....

A) You can switch from 18" to 16" rims, no problem, just find a suitable tire so the rev-count of the tire is as close as to what you've taken off (unless, you're wanting a taller tire for more ground clearance while at it).

B) In locating 16" rims, make sure that you are sticking with DII rims. You'll quickly find that a lot of the 16" Rover rims you find are the 5-6.5" bolt pattern, which are for RRC's, Defenders, Disco I's, Series. The Freelanders, DII's, P38's and RR3's use a smaller diameter bolt circle in the bolt pattern.

C) Just a hunch here.... since you posted this question on the Series board, you were probably thinking that it is for Series II Discoveries. You will find more help on the Discovery II board, as this particular board is for the old Series Land Rovers from 1948 to 1982 (the old ones w/ the tires up on the hood). (er, tyre on the bonnet.)

Good luck,

[rwollschlager]

just wondering..... are there any 33x9.50x15 other than the bfg AT or are they the last of em?

[Leslie]

I used to know of some others, but I've gone looking, and I can't find any of them anymore.... it looks like, the A/Tko may be the last 33x9.5R15 available...

[Jim-ME]

When I did my search the only 33X950s I found were the BFGs but someone told me that Interco makes them too.
Jim

[leafsprung]

Other Brands

Some store brands and lesser known brands make them. I think Big O, Dean, Wildcat (Les Schwab) make them.

[Bertha]

What is the tallest, skinniest 15" tire that can be run without looking strange?

[Leslie]

I'd say, the 33x9.5R15 would probably be the 'best' tall n' skinny 15" for a Series. Any taller, you'll have to compensate for, I'd expect.

[TCapelle]

Overkill Tires unless you live in MN like me

Here is what I will be running on my NADA 109....

Probably overkill but yesterday in MN some areas got 14 inches of snow and it is -14 deg as we speak brrrrr.......

My beer froze on me while working on my rover in my garage.....

Nokian Hakkapeliitta

What the reviewers like:

• Great on snow and ice
• Studded tire for cars, SUVs, minivans and light trucks

What the reviewers don't like:

• Braking performance on dry or wet pavement
• Noisy on dry pavement
• Expensive

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 review highlights

If winter in your area is relentlessly harsh, experts recommend the studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 more than any other tire. Its metal teeth grab icy, snowy roads better than studless tires -- and most other studded tires -- in tests. However, critics note that the Hakkapeliitta 5 isn't the best choice for areas with milder winters; its studded tread can't grip wet or dry asphalt as well as top-rated studless tires such as the Michelin X-Ice Xi2 (*est. $90). The Hakkapeliitta 5 is also expensive, reviews point out. A less costly studded snow tire is the Pirelli Winter Carving (*est. $90), which gets good reviews from consumers. Be aware that some areas restrict the use of studded snow tires because they can damage road surfaces.

-Tim
Series 111 109
Series 11 109 NADA (in transit)
Series 11a 109 (in pieces)

90 RRC County- Winter warrior
98 Disco-Family truckster

[rwollschlager]

interco makes a 34x9.50 (as listed in Four Wheeler magazine), will a series truck be able to clear those? w/ or w/o parabolics?

[Bertha]

I'd say, the 33x9.5R15 would probably be the 'best' tall n' skinny 15" for a Series. Any taller, you'll have to compensate for, I'd expect.

What is the size cross over?

[TeriAnn]

I have always heard that the big reason Rover went with 15" rims in the US was tire availability at the time. There just weren't a big selection of 16" tires here.

Rover came standard with 15 inch wheels on the earlier SIIA 88's (16 inch was an option) but 109's were always 16 inch wheels. 15 inch wheels have been discontinued for some time. The standard 15 inch factory tyre diameter was 28". The standard 109 factory tyre diameter was 32 inches. The little tyres made the 88 more "peppy" on the tarmac.

Since I drive under mostly different conditions (very seldom in snow) I'm not qualified to make a best tyre suggestion. However I tried a set of all-terrains once and found their performance in mud with a noticable clay content to be abysmal. They were OK as long as there was enough friction in the soil.

[greenmeanie]

A minor point. From the late SIIA manual the OEM tyre size was 7.00X15 which works out as 29" dia. Finding a tyre in that size now is almost impossible.

[Bertha]

Thanks for the help TeriAnn. The tire is for a 1971 88". I decided to go with a Denman express highway tire from Universal Tire. They had a 670/15 which equates to a 29.10 tall. That should be pretty close to an original look in my estimation. It is an old looking bias ply tire that is pretty narrow. I will post pics once they are mounted if anyone is interested. I plan on using these tires for over-road only. I have a set of 16'' wheels for my off-road tires.

[leafsprung]

Rover came standard with 15 inch wheels on the earlier SIIA 88's (16 inch was an option) but 109's were always 16 inch wheels. 15 inch wheels have been discontinued for some time. The standard 15 inch factory tyre diameter was 28".

late 66 was the first year for factory fitted 15s. There was only one more year of 109 sales in the US So all rovers sold in the US after 67 got 15s. There were a few stock sizes, but the most common was the 7.10x15 which is tough to get. The 7.00x15 is readily available from a number of manufacturers in several tread designs

-Ike