Tire again... on stock D2

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Author Message   charlie Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 07:24 pm:    I know it has been asked and answered several times and I have looked through the archive. Still can't decided on the size and brand on the replacement tire. I will be doing lots of trips this summer in Northern California (probably at least twice a month) and would like to replace a better tire for the offroading (been stucked on dry loose dirt on a not too steep uphill last year on stock tire) However, I am not going to do any suspension upgrade in the near future. Heard someone mentioned 245/75 (Rover RT). The spec said it fit to 7" rim but D2 has 8" rim as I recalled. will it fit the rim securely? and would it rub ? Others mentioned 255/70 (BFG T/A KO). would it be as good as Rover RT and would it rub? How about others like Rove RV? Goodyear AT/S? and any suggestions? how are they compare to rover RT? I really think the RT will be best for me, but the stock rim size is odd that it hardly fit anything. Thanks for your reply. I am going to make the decision soon coz i gave a tire guy my old cell phone and he offered to give me discount on tire. THANKS ---Charlie   Michael Noe (Noee) Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 08:27 pm:    A 245/75 will fit your rig and rim fine and without lift it should have plenty of clearance: 245/75 on 7" OME HD However, a 265/75 will fit that 8" rim optimally, but without lift, you may have to do some very slight trimming on the front airdam/fender shield: 265/75 on 8" OME HD The D2 likes a bigger, wider tire and is strong enough to support them. Based on your needs, with 8" rims, I'd go with the 265 RTs.   Kim S (Roverine) Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 08:29 pm:    I'm not sure about the 245/75 on the DSII - Besides the deal with the rim size, it seems like even with a 255/70 R16, and stock suspension on the DSII, we were close enough that with a 245/75 I would want to check for rubbing on trailing arm as well. I dunno, I could be wrong ... i'm guessing ... maybe it would just need an adjustment. I'm hoping some others can chime in here. Good luck, Kim   Kim S (Roverine) Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 08:35 pm:    Sorry Michael - I posted just a moment after you - didn't see your post - wasn't trying to suggest your post was not a valid answer ... Kim   Greg P. Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 09:05 pm:    I just installed 235/85-R16 Goodyear MT/R's on my 2001 DII with 2" rovertym HD lift. Looks very good and very natural. I installed on stock alloys and am very pleased with these tires. 31.9" tall x 9.2" wide. About an inch narrower than the 265's, but 0.2" taller. The height difference is negligable at that small of an amount, but I think the wider tires stuck out too much on the stock rims for my taste. Greg P.   Michael Noe (Noee) Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 09:05 pm:    Oh, sure. Naw, just kidding, you have a good point because the 245s are on the steel rim that has a smaller than stock backspacing. But......they're also not as wide or tall as the 265s. I think they'll work but I'd still go with a bigger tire on an 8" rim.   ravensjk Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 10:08 pm:    I have a question similar to Charlies. I have a stock DII and it is going to have the stock suspension for awhile. Thus, I have already decided, with the help of some DiscoWeb advice, to get the 255/70s, however I still have to decide on the brand. Since most of my driving will still be on the road I am not considering the more aggressive MTs and MT/Rs. When I do go off-road though, I want an aggressive tire and I will likely be encountering a fair amount of mud and sand, so... What is the best performing A/T tire in mud and sand? I am open to suggestions, but the tires I have been considering are: - BFG A/T - Bridgestone Dueler A/T - Cooper S/T - Dunlop Radial Rover R/V Thanks for the help, Jason   PerroneFord Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 11:49 pm:    No A/T tire performs well in Mud. Sand is another matter. Mud Tires like the MT/R are very well behaved on the road and if you plan on doing any mud at all and want to stay off the back end of a towstrap, I'd suggest you get them or something similar. Either that or buy a set of dedicated wheeling tires and rims, but I really don't like that solution. -P   ravensjk Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 12:06 am:    I would consider MT/Rs but I am still going to be doing a good bit of 70mph+ highway trips across states. I haven't owned MTs before, but I have heard that they aren't the best for long trips. And while A/Ts may not perform that great in the mud I am sure that they will perform better than my stock Goodyears which seem to be straight out street tires. I know the A/Ts won't solve all my problems, I am just looking for the best option considering that my primary terrains are the highway at 70mph+ and moderate mud and sand... Some of these A/Ts have to be better than others for the mud...   Craig Kobayashi (Koby) Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 12:20 am:    245/75 are what the TReK Disco IIs used if I am not mistaken. I was able to take a look at a set of 245/75s on the Ranger Disco II used at Hollister Hills (http://koby.sigmadata.net/Pictures/disco/hollister_03-09-02/P3090083.JPG). It does not appear that other than a front bumper trim that this Disco II is modified. I was trying earlier to confirm whether or not the TReK Disco IIs had any suspension lift, but it is my understanding that they did NOT have any suspension lift, only the HD springs used for winch application. If this is the case, then 245/75 should fit nicely. Until my warranty expires, I will be getting 245/75, or at least that is the current plan.   PerroneFord Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 12:43 am:    I've wheeled next to all manner of all terrain tires and they all suck in the mud. I doubt you'll see much improvement over your stock tires. If you read the archives, you've undoubtedly read the same comments from others here. I too am about to do a bunch of highway driving across states and out of the country. I am leaning heavily toward the MT/Rs. I didn't notice any difference in noise between it and the BFG ATs that I rode on. But the difference off-road is night and day. The only A/Ts that are worth a damn in the mud are the TracEdge and that dunlop Radial Rover RT or whatever that's been talked about to death on this board. But they have mud terrain type outer blocks anyway so you might was well buy the mud tire. You can go broke trying to find an all-terrain tire that won't suck when you get it off the highway but in three years and watching dozens of guys on ATs, they all work the same. Good on the road, pretty good to excellent in sand, and slicks in the mud. It's far easier to find a mud tire that works well on the road, like the MT/R or the Dunlop Muds. I've been on a 600+ mile round trip on BFG Muds with about 250 miles of that in a torrential downpour in southern georgia and florida, and they worked just fine. -P   Barry Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 01:13 am:    Charlie, Speaking from experience I can say my first DSII tire upgrade from the road-biased 29.2" rubber was the BFG AT/ko 255/70/16. Those tires boosted trail confidence 100%, whether it was rock crawling in the Sierras, or expedition style to Death Valley. Plus, an AT is much better on snow covered roads to Tahoe. However, less than a year latter went with the OME kit which looked odd with a 30.2" AT. So, ended up with the BFG AT/ko in a 265/70/17 (30.7"). Yes, there is room for 265/75 tires now. But power loss is noticeable enough with just the current "31 inch" tires. Ride quality has surprisingly diminished as well...in both stiffness(Not from the OME's) and road noise. I personally would not care to drive a DSII w/265/75's and stock gearing on Northern CA roads. Especially when you factor in power loss at 5,000ft - 8000ft elevations. Regarding type of tire, try to resist the macho MT look if 90% of the time you enjoy your DSII on-road, or off-roading/camping in dry weather. To borrow a quote I once read on DiscoWeb..."If you have to ask someone whether or not you need mud-tires... you probably don't". -Barry   charlie Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 01:26 am:    Thanks for your inputs. I am still unsure if I want to go with MT coz of the noise. Craig, I think the Trek D2 uses 7" rim, that's what I have heard from this board. (not sure who mentioned it)   Kim S (Roverine) Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 01:47 am:    I think Barry said it best. Kim   Craig Kobayashi (Koby) Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 03:36 am:    Charlie- If the Trek D2 used 7" rims, then what yould you guess would be on the Disco in the pic I provided? I wish I had taken pics of the tires, but they are definitely 245/75. I was using that particular Disco as a model for mine. It helps for me to see them up close and in person.   Ron Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 04:31 am:    "But they have mud terrain type outer blocks anyway so you might was well buy the mud tire." huh This does not make any sense. Please explain. Ron   Greg P. Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 08:03 am:    "I would consider MT/Rs but I am still going to be doing a good bit of 70mph+ highway trips across states. I haven't owned MTs before, but I have heard that they aren't the best for long trips." On Saturday I did a 500 mile round trip drive to Atlantic British in Clifton Park, NY, on my new 235/85 Good Year MT/R's and found the ride to be better than stock. The noise level on the MT/R seems to be very nominal at highway speeds. Mine make the most noise from 25 to 35mph. They are relatively quiet under 25 and over 35. Sure, you can hear them, but not really over the wind noise at 75. They sort of blend in. The larger diameter seems to make the most improvement in ride quality as you are able to go over imperfections in the road more easily and smoothly. I will probably do more road driving as I use my DII as a daily driver, but I am finding the MT/R to be a great all around tire for the disco and it is a no compromise tire compared to the Dunlop RT or any of the AT's that I looked at. I can understand both sides of the coin here, but my advice would only be not to be affraid to get the MT tires just because you do highway driving. my 2cents Greg P.   Crash (Crash) Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 08:07 am:    I am currently running the BFG 245/75/16 AT/KO and I drive about 30K a year. I put about 10K on them without my OME lift and I did not have any rubbing problem. I also air-down for off road and never once have I experienced a problem with 8" rims. They are quieter than my Nokian snow tires and quieter than MT/R or BFG MT/KO. For off road, I am going to replace my Nokians on my other set of rims with 265/75/16 MT/R, but I would not like to daily drive on them because of the power loss. I also follow the 90/10 rule--since I drive so much, I leverage the car for highway and then make due off road. If I get stuck in mud, I fire up the winch.   gp (Garrett) Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 08:13 am:    ravensjk. i have not seen a mention of the Cooper s/t's on this board til now i think. haha. oh well. i am going on my second set of them as we speak. just moved up to a 265/75/16 on NATO wheels. my others were stock size. i really did/do like them. very quite in comparison to stock michelins and aggressive enough to do fairly well in some off road conditions. and the price is pretty good. cooper makes the avon brand as well and they make a very similar tire to the s/t for a bit less. i just stuck with the s/t knowing that i liked the tire. i have not had it out west or anything like that, but here in the east i have been happy with the tire. i will know for sure how i like the 265's in a few weeks when i head to Uhwarrie.   PerroneFord Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 08:36 am:    Ron, If you look at the Trac Edge, you will see that the outer blocks are spaced in exactly the same pattern as the BFG MT. So the noise on the road as they wear can be quite similar. Given that, I don't think there is any reason to not just buy the MT in the first place. That's just my observation after using both. -P   charlie Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 05:47 pm:    Sorry to bring this topic to the top again. But I want to get some more fact than opinion which can help me in choosing the right tire. So these are my options: 1. M/T: M/T seems to be good for offroading, but not too good as daily tire as I will also do a lot of highway/city miles. For example, will it decrease the breaking performance by a lot? Turning response? pave road gribing? 2. A/T: Some here have given me an impression that AT is useless and I might as well use the stock HP. I know that it will not peroform in mud as well as M/Ts but there must be some good ATs that can be very good in most offroad condition and fairly good in easy mud. 2. Size: without lift, on stock D2, is it better to go with 245/75 or 255/70 (other size suggestion?)? It looks to me like 245 will not fit the 8" rim for D2 (or may fit but have a higher risk of tire coming off the rim), and 255/70 may rub (and fewer choice). Hope it will not annoy anyone here as I know this topic has been discussed over and over again. Thanks a lot One more comment. The archive is good for searching the old posts and this is what I have done. however, an faq would be nice to summarize the FACT. I have looked through the tech section also but it doesn't have much to offer for a beginner like me. ( i do knwo it is not easy to complie a faq)   Milan Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 07:27 pm:    Well, contrary to pupular belief, the GY MT/R is not a Mud Tire but a traction tire and I think it fills the void between AT and MT quite well. Like AT's though, they will not perform very well in mud but should be better than any AT. On top of that, I think it has one of the toughest sidewalls for a radial tire. So maybe give that tire a try. It will break and handle quite well and it is a quiet tire. I'd get the 265/75R16 and trim the front bumper a little if it needs it. You D2 engine is quite peppier than stock D1, so the inrease in size should not bother you much. Hope this helps.   AL Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 07:48 pm:    Personally, i know the MTR's perform very well in MUD and on road   Greg P. (Gparrish) Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 08:11 pm:    How can you say the GY MT/R is not a mud tire? Is it so much different than the BFG MT's? I mean, it's obvious that it's not a super swamper or something similar, but I would definately consider it to be a mud tire. It has a very aggressive tread pattern and is very similar to the BFG. Please explain so all of us using GY's will know why we didn't buy a mud tire.   p m Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 08:42 pm:    Charlie, let me chime in - (1) yes, mud tires are noisier. But on the highway speed, wind noise will beat it by far. The BFG MTs are excellent on the highway, no adverse effects whatsoever. (2) I had BFG A/Ts on the jeep - bought them 'cause i liked the thread pattern. If you plan on taking your disco off road more than once, less than in a year you'll be wishing you bought mud-terrains in the first place. I don't think BFG A/Ts or any other all-terrain tire offers any benefit over stock Michelin 4x4 XPC (which ain't a very bad tire off road, and just excellent in sand). (3) go as large as you can... better to trim or slightly bend out the sheetmetal than be looking at a set of donuts you've grown out of in a few trips off road. and, as someone mentioned already, both BFG MT and GY MT/R aren't really mud tires, they are mislabelled rock tires. Get an MT or MT/R a hair too slim, and it'll sink your Disco in sand or snow in a hurry. peter p.s.just like Ho sez, just do it!   charlie Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 02:25 am:    Found this: http://www.roadmastertires.com/ltsuv.asp?id=216 is it suppose to be a good one? This is the only MT from Cooper that has 255/70 I think 255/70 will fit on the stock without trim. Thanks guys...   Milan Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 06:20 pm:    Al and Greg, MT/R on the GY stands for Maximum Traction/Reinforced. This tire was build with rock crawling in mind. It happens to do very well in snow and on many other surfaces. In mud it does not do well where I wheel as it takes many more rpms to self-clean than MT (Mud Terrain) tires. Just because it has bigger voids does not mean it's a mud tire but I'm pretty sure it fairs much better than AT. One magazine even had them do better in mud than SS TSL. If Maximum Traction/Reinforced was meant to be maximum traction in all conditions, including mud, I think GY missed their goal. Of course, this is just my opinion and if it does well in mud where you live, then I say it's probably the best tire you can get for all around wheeling as I can promiss you good traction almost anywhere else (I'm not sure how it does on sand). The MT/R also has the best road manners of non-AT (but including some AT) tires I have seen so far. Can you tell I think they're the gratest thing since sliced bread? Watch my MT/Rs let me down next time out just to keep me closer to the ground.   Milan Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 06:25 pm:    Charlie, Look at the load range of those 255s. It's 2 ranges less than the 265. That means weaker construction, especially the sidewall. The MT/R will have a thicker sidewall to begin with and 245/75R16 or 265/75R16 are usually very tough tires due to their load range.   Alen Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 09:47 pm:    I know my MTR's on my Jeep do very well in mud because they empty fast, ive seen BFG's/Futura's/ and Mud Rovers hold mud and not empty. In 3 feet of snow and ice, i had no problems even at 18psi. MTR's tread is very soft compound but makes wheeling easy in snow and mud. My next set will be the MTR's 285/75/16 and ill post how i do in mud. Cheers   Milan Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 10:23 pm:    Alen, Like I said, it probably depends on mud. I was very surprised at the magazine article rating them very high in mud. Their experiences, yours and other people's make me think they're even better than I thought. I like the MT/Rs a lot already. If they do better in mud this summer than last, I'll be thoroughly impressed. So far I had them pack up in the tread and not clear regardless of RPM. A buddy of mine made his work by running near the rev limit and he has taller gears to boot. Definitely post about the 285s. I will most likely end up with 265s but have been thinking about slightly bigger. As to the snow, I think they're very hot in snow. As good as or better than BFG AT. Considering the much more open tread, I'm simply amazed.   Alen Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 10:39 pm:    Milan, Ill order the tires tomorrow, i cant wait no longer. Anyone want 265/75/16 Futura tires cheap? Check out my picture gallery, few spots with my green Disco i had problems climbing on slick/wet rock, as soon as i get new tires ill do same pics/trails and let u know the difference. Cheers   Milan Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 11:00 pm:    I looked. Cool Disco. Post pics of the truck with the tires on. What setup are you running, BTW? Milan   jwooten Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 11:14 pm:    While we are on the subject of Tires, I just bought a set of 245/75-16 BFG MT's for my DSII. I would like to get them mounted on a set of steel wheels to swap out for off-roading. Does anyone know who has a good price on steel wheels with the correct offsets/size for the DSII. I like the NATO style, with the holes. Thanks for the help. Joe   Alen Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 11:29 pm:    front and back ARB's dual optima red tops,warn 9500HS, Aedofab front/rear bumper and sliders, IPF lighting. Alpine 7878 head unit with JL AUDIO 500/1 amp and Eclipse 10" running stock speakers with XM Future mods: 4:11 ring and pinion/heavy duty axels from GBR (SOON). Diff guards that i like CDL linkege (have all the parts) more Pelican cases ENGEL fridge 5.2 or 4.6 eng swap or 300tdi and have Banks redo the turbos with new design.   Milan Posted on Friday, April 19, 2002 - 09:48 am:    Wow. Quite a list - I especially like the last item.