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niwakijake



Member Since: 02 Mar 2015
Location: Dorset
Posts: 8

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 130 Puma 2.2 HCPU Keswick Green
7.50R16 or 235/85R16 on 110
Hi - first time to post, and hope this hasn't been discussed already (couldn't find it)
I currently have a 130 HCPU (for work) with HD steel wheels and Goodyear Wrangler MT/R

I'm ordering a 110 Utility Wagon for myself, and wondered if the factory fit Michelin Latitude Cross on Std Steels will give a noticeable improvement in turning circle, ride quality and noise (as suggested in the LR brochure) over the HD/Wrangler combination. Will be primarily road use, and I appreciate that 110's turning circle will be an improvement over 130 anyway - but are the narrower tyres a better choice?

I would really appreciate any comments on this - thanks in advance
Will be Keswick Green, white roof, btw!
Post #406659 11th Mar 2015 6:55pm
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rover



Member Since: 26 May 2012
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 146

United Kingdom 
I have the standard steel wheels and michelin lattitude cross on mine. I'm impressed with them. I had bf Goodrich mud terrains 265s on my previous 110. The lattitude cross grip really well on the road and in the wet, far better than the mud terrains as you would expect. Perform better in the snow then the mud terrains and produce very little noise and better fuel efficiency. They are ok for general offroad duties but have their limitations in heavy or deep mud. And of course they don't look as cool as wider more aggressive tyres. I can reccomend them as long as you aren't doing lots of mud driving. They also allow you to have a tighter turning circle as long as you adjust the stops to take advantage of it.
Post #406696 11th Mar 2015 8:07pm
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GUM97



Member Since: 05 Feb 2012
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 3555

United Kingdom 1997 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Stornoway Grey
Having driven 110s on both 7.50R16's and 235/85R16's, I much prefer the ride of the latter! On the narrow tyres, the vehicle seems less stable at high speeds (less road contact obviously). I'd definitely be going for 235/85R16's Thumbs Up An engine to TDi for!
"Land Rover- Proudly turning drivers into mechanics since 1948"
Post #406702 11th Mar 2015 8:22pm
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MOve



Member Since: 24 Dec 2014
Location: East Anglia
Posts: 54

England 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 CSW Keswick Green
Hi,

Mine is on the std steels / tyres. Really happy with ride, grip, road noise, etc. Not noticed any stability problem at motorway speeds.

However, wish I'd gone for the HDs, just for the looks. Only £300 extra if speccd with the order. Worth that I think.
Post #406707 11th Mar 2015 8:37pm
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niwakijake



Member Since: 02 Mar 2015
Location: Dorset
Posts: 8

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 130 Puma 2.2 HCPU Keswick Green
thanks everyone - I got my 130 tyres wrong, they're the Continentals not Wrangler.

Given that 99% of the time will be on tarmac, think the std steels and Michelins are the way to go - and save 300 quid to spend on something else. Interesting to hear about being less stable at high speeds though.

HDs do look good though, you're right!!
Post #406718 11th Mar 2015 8:57pm
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Cupboard



Member Since: 21 Mar 2014
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 2971

United Kingdom 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 HT Corris Grey
Please bear in mind I've only driven Defenders on 7.50s, firstly the XPC (which preceded the Latitude) and then the Latitude on mine, with a brief stint over the past weekend on a set of fairly old but with decent tread BFG Muds in 255/85/16.

I've been very happy with the performance of both sets of Michelins 7.50s. They're quiet and have done well off road with my usage. The XPCs are on the farm Hi-Cap and that gets a reasonable amount of off-road towing of a cattle float and we've never had an issue even with our puncture trailer in the middle of a field. The one issue we have had was it just sinking in to a boggy section of a track that our neighbour lost two tractors in a few weeks later whilst trying to take a shortcut across our land.

On a very non-scientific test of a bit of fairly gloopy mud near me, the BFG Muds were a bit better but I still had quite a bit of slithering sideways. The Latitudes on the same section had a little more slitheriness but I never felt like I was going to get stuck and I had a lot less mud up the sides of my truck too!

I've spent quite a few hours on motorways, though much less than some, and have been perfectly happy with them.
The one issue I have had is with a nail through one of the tread blocks which I noticed when I was putting them back on on Sunday. The tyre hadn't lost any pressure until I pulled the nail out, then it lost lots! Oops. Plugging that's a job for tomorrow.

The HD wheels do (I'm pretty sure) have a greater offset and can also take 7.50s. In theory, for maximum turning circle 7.50s on HD wheels will be better than 7.50s on standard steels. The Boost alloys are too wide to put a 7.50 on I think.
Post #406769 11th Mar 2015 11:38pm
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blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17337

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
For info, rim sizes are as folows:-

Standard Defender steel rims: 5.5" wide, +33mm offset
"Wolf" HD steel rims: 6.5" wide, +20.6mm offset
Boost alloy rims: 7" wide, +33mm offset

As I am sure you're aware, a positive offset means the vertical centreplane of the rim is inboard of the face which mates to the hub.

Although the Wolf rim is 25.4mm wider than the Standard rim, the combined effect of width and offset means that the inboard sealing surface of the Wolf rim is 0.3mm nearer the chassis rail than the standard steel rim. It is hard to predict the effect (if any) of sidewall bulge on the situation, but for the same size tyres it is highly unlikely that there'll me any noticeable difference in turning circle between the Wolf and standard rims.

The inboard sealing surface of the Boost rim however is 19 mm nearer the chassis than the standard steel rim and for the same size tyre will have a significant effect on turning circle (the minimum TC will be significantly larger).

Fit 30mm spaces behind your Boosts however (to create a +3mm offset) and the Boosts will give a 11mm advantage over standard steels without spacers.
Post #406816 12th Mar 2015 9:05am
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niwakijake



Member Since: 02 Mar 2015
Location: Dorset
Posts: 8

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 130 Puma 2.2 HCPU Keswick Green
Thanks everyone.

My friendly LR dealer was of course completely useless at all this, unable to help at all... his unwillingness to move outside the comfort zone of selling Evoques is shocking, and his inflexibility is frustrating, although maybe that's passed down from LR themselves?

(other gripes: can't spec fitted carpet or rear 1/4 windows with Utility Wagon - why on earth not? Don't see why it can't be done)

think it will be std steels and michelins.
Post #406822 12th Mar 2015 9:14am
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DSC-off



Member Since: 16 Oct 2014
Location: North East
Posts: 1397

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Aintree Green
Blackwolf,
I may be wrong on this, and appologies if I am.
I would have thought any wheels with the same offset would have negligable difference in turning circle. The tyre will bulge evenly about the rim centre line. Therfore a 5.5/et33 has the same centre line as a 7.0/et33.
There would be a few mm difference in the sidewall bulging, but the tyre is on the same centre.

The centre of a 6.5/et20.6 rim (and the tyre) would be 12.4mm further outboard, allowing the steering to turn further before anything interferes with the suspension.

Any clarification on this is welcome.
Post #406898 12th Mar 2015 12:43pm
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blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17337

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
Interesting point!

If you took two wheels with identical tyres and offsets, one wheel is (say) 5" wide and the other (say) 7" wide, then the inboard rim of the wider wheel will be 1" nearer the chassis (since the centreline of the wheel hasn't moved relative to the chassis, the difference in width will be shared equally on the inboard and outboard sides, so 1" on each).

Since the rim is indisputably 1" closer to the chassis, it is very easy therefore to fall into the trap - as I did - of thinking that the tyre will similarly be 1" closer, whereas in reality as you point out the centreline of the tyre is in exactly the same place, and the width of the tyre is is the same. Ergo, it should make absolutley no difference in this hypothetical case.

In fact all that will happen is that the shape of the sidewall will change slightly, from "|_|" to "\_/".

So in the light of this revelation, there should be little difference (assuming the same tyres in eash case) between Boosts and standard steels, but an improvement over both in terms of TC if Wolf rims are used, (and a further improvement if spacers are fitted).

Got a headache now, off to a dark room for a lie down! Thumbs Up
Post #406905 12th Mar 2015 1:08pm
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DSC-off



Member Since: 16 Oct 2014
Location: North East
Posts: 1397

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Aintree Green
Thumbs Up
Great, that confirms I really need wolf rims to run 255/85/16s when I get round to it!
Post #407034 12th Mar 2015 8:12pm
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GUM97



Member Since: 05 Feb 2012
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 3555

United Kingdom 1997 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Stornoway Grey
niwakijake wrote:


(other gripes: can't spec fitted carpet or rear 1/4 windows with Utility Wagon - why on earth not? Don't see why it can't be done)


You could spec carpet trim on a Utility Wagon a week ago... Thumbs Up An engine to TDi for!
"Land Rover- Proudly turning drivers into mechanics since 1948"
Post #407037 12th Mar 2015 8:18pm
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niwakijake



Member Since: 02 Mar 2015
Location: Dorset
Posts: 8

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 130 Puma 2.2 HCPU Keswick Green
carpet - that's what i thought, but my guy was determined not to let me have it. Computer said no. Have you just ordered?
Post #407057 12th Mar 2015 9:09pm
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GUM97



Member Since: 05 Feb 2012
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 3555

United Kingdom 1997 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Stornoway Grey
Are you ordering an XS Utility? The carpet is only available on XS, so that may be the reason why it's not possible Thumbs Up An engine to TDi for!
"Land Rover- Proudly turning drivers into mechanics since 1948"
Post #407073 12th Mar 2015 9:36pm
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niwakijake



Member Since: 02 Mar 2015
Location: Dorset
Posts: 8

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 130 Puma 2.2 HCPU Keswick Green
think that's it - mine is basic spec as I'm a sucker for white roof and steel wheels. It seems odd that they're all made individually, you can pick and choose most of the stuff, but can't have (ie. pay extra for) carpet on a basic spec version Confused
Post #407088 12th Mar 2015 10:24pm
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