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Best tire size for my Defender 90

30K views 45 replies 25 participants last post by  Harley86 
#1 ·
I just got my 2001 Defender 90 TD5 back today with engine rebuild in Kenya. I got an honest deal in the end for the work. Thank you for everyone who helped troubleshoot my problem a few months ago.

I'm in serious need of new tires and wanted to ask what size you would recommend. The truck currently has Pirelli on/off road tires 265/70R16. I'm going to spring for BG Goodrich KO2s and thought I should go up a size.

I was thinking my best option would be 265/75R16.
Could also go with 275/70R16.

What would be the best tire size for offload driving? Would either of these rub or have any space issues in the wheel wells of my truck? Would going up a size as I'm thinking offer the best performance? I don't care what the truck looks like, just want the best performing tire size for offroad driving.

Thank you!
 
#6 ·
Do you air down when you go off road? If not I feel like the 235x85 is a great tire for the 110. Going taller makes hopping in more of an effort for everyone and I doubt a taller tire is going to give you much off road benefit unless you are planning to air down a lot. I like the road manners of a 235. Taller tires tend to sway a little more.
 
#8 ·
I can get BFG KO2s here in Kenya so I'll be going with those. I encounter more mud here than dry rock crawling terrain. Especially during rainy season (which is now) you can get bogged down big time. Standing water with deep mud is what I'm mostly encountering. Otherwise when dry packed dirt with loose rocks but not extreme technical. Looking at either 265/75 or 235/85 most people don't seem to think there's a huge performance difference?
 
#14 ·
IMO the 235/85s would be the best all around choice. I run Goodyear 235/85 Duratracs on my DII and love 'em...great road manners on pavement & do very good off-road/mud. Shouldn't be any rubbing issues w/ the 235s which are pretty much a 32" tire...very close to the original 7.50x16s. You may need to lift the suspension a bit to go w/ a taller tire.
 
#16 ·
timely topic. I'm due for new tires, I think.
All 4 tires show a ring of hairline cracks at about middle of the sidewall (center/wheel & edge of tire - meet the road) - looks rot? I'm a little concern, as the tires are 6yo now.

Anyways, was thinking of replacing with 265/75/16 (factory size), but looks like 235/85/16 is a good alternative.
The same tires (Cooper Discoverer AT3) is less expensive on 235 v. 265.
Truck will be 80%hwy, and 20% off-road/packed dirt/undulation. no rock crawler.
 
#17 ·
There are two schools of thought on tire width when it comes to mud. With a narrow tire the idea is to sink down to the hard pack and gain traction there (assuming you have self cleaning lugs). With wide tires (flotation tires) the point is to have as large of a contact area so you float across trying not to sink in, Of course this all depends on the mud type. Florida mud is much different than say western NC mud or Vermont mud.

In the Everglades National Park you are forbidden to go off road with skinny tires (yes the rangers measure your tires and no, you aren't getting in with your 7.5 XZLs). The main reason being that the skinny tires do far more damage to the top soil than a wider flotation tire. They want you floating on top not sinking down creating deep permanent ruts with skinny tires. In the bottomless mud down here "flotation id your friend!"

So at the end of the day it all depends on the type of mud local to you.
 
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#19 ·
I've run 235s on all my Rovers for many years. Not only do I feel that they handle better on the road, but they are lighter, easier on power steering system, and except for in some off-road situations, just as good, or better than wider tires.

I also think they look right on a Rover.

Expeditions West: Tire Selection for Expedition Travel
 
#21 · (Edited)
Just curious why a couple of you are suggesting KM2s in a size that were hard to find up until recently and still may be? I'd suggest getting a brand and size that is easy to get in your country. If you blow a tire out think about the ease of getting a replacement. I've been to Africa and many people use brands of tires that aren't common here in the US and there's probably a reason for that.
 
#23 ·
I'm not convinced I'd change the OD on a Td5-110. Especially if you are running at altitude. Purely for straight line performance.
So that leaves the 265/75 or 235/85 as your choice.
Given your location, it might be a matter of what's available helps make the final decision. If not, and you like the way 265/75 looks and drives, stick with it.
 
#24 ·
Just back from the tire place and here's what my options are:

BFG KO2 265/75R16 (D)
BFG KO2 235/85R16 (E)

They have the 265s in the shop. The 235s are in the warehouse and coming Monday. I'm leaning towards the 235s because they're $70 cheaper each and I'm buying 5 tires. Here in Kenya these cost usd $300/tire.

As long as my on-road driving won't be sketchy with the 235s I think they'll be a good choice. Less expensive, 10-ply and people here seem to like tall/skinny tires. The paved roads are trashed here and I rarely top 80-100 kilometers/hr on the highway. The TD5 don't like going much faster than that anyway.

Sound good?
 
#28 ·
You say you have mud. You say mud is your primary concern. You also ask which size is best off road.

KO2 tread is the worst tire I've ever been in mud with. Worst! Enough said.

255 85 16 is better off road than 235 85 16. But, the 235 is probably better all round considering handling, power, price and availability. Definitely go MT like KM2 or Toyo open road MT.

------ Follow up post added May 29th, 2016 10:34 PM ------

Open Country MT, not open road.
 
#30 ·
Hi Portis.
Look at all the safari companies here in Kenya.

7.50x16

Cost effective and very good in any terrain. Pirelli Kenya has Dunlops 7.5x16 16ply !!!. They last for ever and you wont get a puncture. Believe me i have tried them. They were originally shipped in for the Kenya army to go to Somalia. Now every one wants them. Not cheap though at 18 000Ksh. (180 USD)

Yes they dont look cool compared to wide tires but are a lot better.
Land Rover paid well studied engineers a lot of money to determine the best tire size for the vehicle. 7.5x16.
It always amazes me when some backyard mechanic changes the size claiming out of a gut feeling that a bigger tire was the better size.
I could go on and on and on about tires and i am happy to have this conversation with you about it if interested. But i dont think this is the right place.

For now keep in mind that you need a certain amount of air in your tire to sustain the weight of the car and give you a comfortable ride. A 7.5x16 does exactly that.

You increase the size of the tire means you increase the amount of air.
Therefore you would have to run on a lower tire pressure to get the same comfort.
But the tire wont be happy as it gets a lot warmer and experiences a lot more stress in the casing. So it wont last very long.
Or you run it at the standard recommended pressure to save the tire but your ride will be hard and uncomfortable.
Most people in the real world dont notice because the roads are good. Here in Kenya you will notice straight away.
 
#31 ·
Yes they dont look cool compared to wide tires but are a lot better.
Land Rover paid lawyers, accountants and well studied engineers a lot of money to determine the best tire size for the vehicle. 7.5x16.
It always amazes me when some backyard mechanic changes the size claiming out of a gut feeling that a bigger tire was the better size.

There, fixed it for you. The tires that a vehicle manufacture chooses to mount on a vehicle are rarely chosen for their off road performance. I can tell you however, after a 15 year career in the agriculture business where I was "off road" the majority of every day that your blanket statement about "backyard mechanics" and "gut feelings" on whether an oversized tire works better or not is wrong.

When I am running in a citrus grove on the sand ridge here in Florida in my Ford F-150 on 33x12.5 inch tires in 2wd and I pass another F-150 that is buried to the frame with his stock 31x9.5 tires it is NOT a gut feeling that a tire with a larger foot print (lower psi) performs far better than a skinny tire in sandy loamy conditions. There are also conditions where a skinny tire works better.

If the OP has little or no experience in off-roading and what tires do and don't work best for the conditions and type of terrain he will be operating his vehicle in then he needs to look at type of tire the guys in his area are using.
 
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