Increasing standard tyre profile

[Tony]

My 2003 GRX comes standard with 265 70 16 tyres. I am due to change for the first time since I bought the car. My plan is to up the profile to 75. Has anyone done this, and if so, does the spare on the rear door fit with the larger diameter?? Also - BFG AT's versus Cooper STT's anyone got good feedback / advice.

[Kagiso II]

Hi Tony -- me thinks there are a couple of million billion discussions on wheels, make & brand of tyre, type of tyre ... it all gets a little confusing and one has to take a stand and stick to that [at some point in all this]

YES you can [and should go bigger on the wheel size you could go to 285 [even 305 BUT then you start needing to lift the body etc]

My best advice - go page through friend Wouter Odendaal's site [boerseun wat in Nederland bly en werk]

http://www.fourwheeler.biz/ - her you will find answers to all your questions AND some answers to questions you haven't even thought of ..
good luck

[MY choice? Bridgestone Duellers 694 A/T - 285/70/16 ... you wil find that that also puts your speedo-meter as close to 100% as demmit.

[Herrie]

The Bridgestone Duellers 694 A/T and the M/T -is a- 285/75/16

[Stefan]

Hi Tony,

The size you are looking for is 285/75R16. They fill the wheel arches nicely, shouldn't rub and you won't require a lift. To fit the bigger size as a spare, just make up some spacers (~5mm) to move the carrier away from your door.

As for the make, you'll find a lot of opinions

I got some Cooper STTs for a bargain and am very very happy with their performance on as well as (more importantly) on road

[Tinus lotz]

Tony bf at R2150 and Bf KM2 M t is R2550 both 285 75 16.

[Tony]

Thanks gents - but I see all of you suggest a wider tyre (ie. 285) I am fine with my 265's it was just the profile I was thinking of increasing. Is this a clever move or is ther merit in going wider as well.

The Coopers are my first choice - however there seems to be a major problem getting hold of a set at the moment, I hope this isn't the norm. What level of road noise do they make on tar - and at what speed is it the loudest??

Thanks guys for the advice.

[Tinus lotz]

The a t are cool as fast as you can go!!!! The KM2 are starting to make a noise at 145
Your standerd rims fit 285 perfect!!!!
Coopers are very good but I stoped using them becouse you loose one and it takes 4 months to
Find a spare
BF are good got 150000 on my last set !!!! The brigstone are also cool but don't look as good!!
Go 285 man it gives you a better bubble to work with on sand ect!!!!

[Peter Connan]

Hi Tony

Remember that the tire profile is a percentage of the width. Therefore increasing the width with the same % profile results in a wheel that is both taller and wider.

Here are the theoretical diameters of the mentioned tire sizes:
265 x 0.7 x 16: 777mm (30.6")
265 x 0.75 x 16: 804mm (31.7")
285 x 0.75 x 16: 834mm(32.8")

In my opinion, 33" are about right for a Patrol, particularly the 4.8.

Also, while wider tires will have some drawbacks, for example fuel consumption will probably increase a little bit and in very rocky terrain you might have to pick your line a little more carefully, I beleive the increase in ground clearance probably more than offsets this.

As Tinus says, the more the gap is between the rim and the road, the more advantage you will get when you deflate the tires, and also it reduces the chances of rim damage in the rocks.

[Tony]

Thank you Peter, just the kind of info I needed. I agree 100% about the amount of rubber between rim and road surface which is why I want to up the profile. Now to decide on the best looking and best performing tyres with the least amount of road noise.

Cheers

[Tinus lotz]

Best looking......KM2 muddies
Longest lasting less road noise..........and best price AT ???w