Several questions about tires

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Author Message   aclarke Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2002 - 10:49 pm:    Hi. I have a '96 Disco and I just put OME springs and shocks on it. My rear tires are worn out but my front ones are still pretty good, although tiny and funny looking with my new lift. I have several questions: 1. Is there a definitive list somewhere of tire sizes that I can fit without having to trim my vehicle? I'm VERY unartistic and would hopelessly botch my truck if I started cutting it... 2. I'm moving to Seattle in a couple weeks from Southern California and am looking for a tire recommendation for up there. 3. For the tire recommendation, would I need to get 4 new tires or could I get away with doing it in stages and getting the other two when my better two stock ones wear out? I'm thinking that if I go with a larger size this would leave my headlights shining off, etc. 4. When people say they have OME HDs, what do they mean? What's the "HD" for? 5. What's the advantage of steel wheels over aluminum? There's strength (I bent an aluminum rim not too long ago) but is that it? Or is it more for tire sizes? 6. If the consensus is that I need to start cutting up my truck to put on different tires, I'd be willing to trade help with somebody in the Seattle region who knows what they're doing. I could do gopher work for you for a day if you helped me out or something ;-) Thanks for reading my long post. If this stuff is covered anywhere else and I've missed it, links to existing info is always appreciated too.   Clif Ashley (Cta586) Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2002 - 11:00 pm:    Ive got a couple little bits of information I can relay for you... The HD stands for Heavy Duty, as opposed to the Medium Duty (MD) OME lift. Depending on which lift you have is going to affect your tire size and cutting. Spacing out of the rear fender is also an option for you if you are really against cutting. This is described in the tech section I believe. One advantage of the steel wheels is that they can often be repaired on the trail with the precise use of a hammer or a rock in a severe situation. When damaged beyond repair they are a fraction of the cost to replace. If you stay with the same size getting two tires at a time is fine. If you change sizes I would strongly advise against that. I think that is all I can offer. Thanks a lot, hope that helped.   Jess Brandt (Disco285) Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2002 - 11:05 pm:    i believe you can mess up diffs running different tires in any of the four corners....just keep the tires the same...peace   Todd Sanders (Sanderskog) Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2002 - 11:15 pm:    I'd second everything Cliff says. Expecially not using two different tire sizes. Many will also frown on two different brands/styles on the front and rear. As for Seattle. Welcome to the Great Northwet. You're moving at probably the worst time of the year rainwise (sorry). We just had a week of sunny days in the 80's and it will soon turn to gray and wet. Tires depends on what you plan on doing. Road, trails, snow, etc. Post what you are thinking and many will respond. As for cutting the Disco, I have no experience. I've only had mine about 6 weeks. Although I have cut on many vehicle in my past and would be happy to practice on yours before doing mine once lifted . Kidding. I am sure others in the area have experience and will pipe up. There is a lot of debate on aluminum versus steel rims in the archives. Really it comes down to preference. If you opt to go with steel let me know. I recently bought some from someone local and I know he has more coming in (5 NATO + lugs for less than $350/no shipping). They should arrive this month. Out of curiousity, what part of So.CA/Seattle are you moving from/to? Welcome to the Seattle, land of the latte... Todd   aclarke Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2002 - 11:43 pm:    Thanks everybody. OK so I have an OME HD lift, now that I know what HD stands for...duh... I'm moving from the LA region. I don't really know what sort of off-roading I'll be doing! Whatever I can find, I guess. It's my commuter vehicle as well, but as I don't have a place to live OR work in Seattle yet, I don't know how much commuting I'll be doing... I DO know, however, that I'll be doing as much off-roading as I can get, of whatever sort I can find. So the answer to whether it will be road, trails or snow is an unqualified YES! :-) And I'll look in the archives for some steel vs. aluminum info. Although probably $350 + cost of 4 tires isn't in my budget right now so I'll stick with the rims I have.   Brian Dickens (Bri) Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2002 - 11:47 pm:    1) http://www.discoweb.org/tire.htm 2) For multi-use including wet pavement try BFG ATs (note they are not good in mud). For off-road & good at mud try BFG MT, sipe them (cut slits on them) and they will be better on pavement. I run Interco Trxus M/T (they have some sipes), but have only had them for a while. I have heard good things about them and so far I like them quite a lot on dry rock, wet rock and talus. 3) Make sure that all 5 tires are of the same size at all times. 4) HD is heavy duty and slightly more lift than the lighter weight springs. Running the HD springs and OME shocks, you are able to easily remove the anti-sway bars as well, which means more wheel travel (and you can do this with lighter weight springs as well). 5) Aluminum cannot be repaired, steel can. Having both gives you the ability to have 2 sets of tires one for onroad one for offroad. 5) The cuts are pretty trivial, if you have someone that knows exactly where certain tires rub, then trimming is easy. Without knowing more about what you are doing I would recommend a tire size of 245/75 16. They worked very well for me and did not rub until under articulation. When they rubbed I got out and looked and then trimmed just an inch or so at a time later at home. My vehicle has now had more trimming done on the rear, but it was to make room for the bumper so know 235/85 clear quite well. You can see some pictures of my '95 with different tires and wheels in the gallery. Cheers--Bri   Todd Sanders (Sanderskog) Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2002 - 11:48 pm:    Damn. You're just packing it up and heading North? Cool. What do you do for a living? Todd   aclarke Posted on Monday, September 16, 2002 - 11:47 am:    Internet/e-commerce development. I work for myself so I'm pretty portable in that sense. Moving to Seattle wasn't in the plans, but you know how life goes or doesn't go sometimes... Thanks also Brian for the link on tires and the other notes.