[Spectre08]

I've had my Disco Lite for 2 weeks now, so I got real tires fitted today.

General Grabber APT 265/60R18.

As a bonus, I had them throw one of the wheels into the spare tire well to see how it fit.....low and behold...it fits PERFECTLY. Yes, you CAN store a fullsized, 30.5in A/T tire, in the spare tire well in the load area. The floor goes back in place perfectly, the fit is literally perfect, like it was designed for exactly this size.

 

[ph001c]

Welcome Spectre! First, looks great. And if you're going to be going off road at all they will make a huge difference. I have 255/65 R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3s on mine. I also have a 5th, full size spare in the spare tire well. I'm not sure if it's the tire or what but mine almost fits perfectly. The floor doesn't fit flush by probably 1/8th inch. Good enough but it triggers my OCD. (I've learned to live with it -the tire and the OCD, thanks)

More importantly I've very curious about your feedback on the tires, do they rub? Under what conditions, suspension loading, full lock, etc.? My 255/65 R17 measure 30.1in diameter, by 10in width with a 6.5in side wall. Your 265/60 R18 calculate to 30.5in diameter, by 10.4in width and 6.3in side wall.

I'm interested to mount a 245/70R17 when my current tires need replacing. These are also 30.5in diameter (same as yours) and the guidance I got from Discount tire is a maximum diameter of 30.1in. If I can safely put on 30.5in tires then I can go slightly taller (and narrower).

Again, welcome!

 

[Spectre08]

Welcome Spectre! First, looks great. And if you're going to be going off road at all they will make a huge difference. I have 255/65 R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3s on mine. I also have a 5th, full size spare in the spare tire well. I'm not sure if it's the tire or what but mine almost fits perfectly. The floor doesn't fit flush by probably 1/8th inch. Good enough but it triggers my OCD. (I've learned to live with it -the tire and the OCD, thanks)

More importantly I've very curious about your feedback on the tires, do they rub? Under what conditions, suspension loading, full lock, etc.? My 255/65 R17 measure 30.1in diameter, by 10in width with a 6.5in side wall. Your 265/60 R18 calculate to 30.5in diameter, by 10.4in width and 6.3in side wall.

I'm interested to mount a 245/70R17 when my current tires need replacing. These are also 30.5in diameter (same as yours) and the guidance I got from Discount tire is a maximum diameter of 30.1in. If I can safely put on 30.5in tires then I can go slightly taller (and narrower).

Again, welcome!

I haven't noticed any rubbing at all yet, but I haven't driven on these tires off-road with a fully loaded vehicle. But, from what other people on this forum have said there should only be a tiny amount of rubbing at full lock in 1 direction, which honestly I can live with. How much time do you spend at full lock? Any time i can even imagine being at full lock i'm only moving far enough to rotate the while maybe twice?

These tires seem to be the perfect size for this vehicle tbh. Comparing the options, I'm actually glad I have 18" wheels instead of 17", but it doesn't look like there are really options for a 265mm wide tire for 17s, 265/65R17 are just over 30.5", and for off-road purposes the extra 10mm of width is a **** of a lot more useful than the extra .4" of height (.2" of clearance) you'll get from 245/70R17s.

 

[ph001c]

@Spectre08 Thanks for the reply. If it's only from time to time in one direction probably not that serious but I'm just conservative. Also if you look at the inner wheel well there is a bolt at the front of the wheel well that extends about 3/8in into well. It's recessed slightly but it also looks like the position where a larger tire, at lock, under load might hit it. That sounds like a lot of "if's" but better safe than sorry, especially if you're somewhere far from help.

I'm not going to debate you on tires. People with far more time on their hands have written about whether taller or wider is better with respect to onroad, offroad performance, size of the contact patch when it's aired down, etc. Scott Brady wrote an article on it years ago. It's dated but the physics are still valid. Personally, I wouldn't notice the difference between a 245 and 265 as I'm not taking it anywhere that extreme. And I like a more cookie-cutter look. If I could get bike tires on white, Wolf steelies for my Disco I would!

 

[ph001c]

Not that you asked, but I had to satisfy my own curiosity. Here's a PDF.

 

[Spectre08]

@Spectre08 Thanks for the reply. If it's only from time to time in one direction probably not that serious but I'm just conservative. Also if you look at the inner wheel well there is a bolt at the front of the wheel well that extends about 3/8in into well. It's recessed slightly but it also looks like the position where a larger tire, at lock, under load might hit it. That sounds like a lot of "if's" but better safe than sorry, especially if you're somewhere far from help. View attachment 7541

I'm not going to debate you on tires. People with far more time on their hands have written about whether taller or wider is better with respect to onroad, offroad performance, size of the contact patch when it's aired down, etc. Scott Brady wrote an article on it years ago. It's dated but the physics are still valid. Personally, I wouldn't notice the difference between a 245 and 265 as I'm not taking it anywhere that extreme. And I like a more cookie-cutter look. If I could get bike tires on white, Wolf steelies for my Disco I would!

I skimmed that article, and it’s really interesting. If I’d read it before buying my tires it might have influenced my choice. But as far as the 265s go, on 18” rims they’re the only width I could actually find that would hit the full 30.5” allowed by the space.

As far as the risk of damage or rubbing goes, a few days ago I crossed the Medano Pass with the tires, no lift, and had no issues. The pass is a great combination of steep rocks up and down, uneven grades, water crossings, and deep soft sand. In the rocks I ran around 30psi and in the sand I aired down to 15psi.

Had absolutely NO issues whatsoever, and that’s with the truck fully loaded with 2 weeks worth of camping gear.

I am very confident saying it’s perfectly safe to run this tire size now. If they can survive Medano, (rated 5/10 for difficulty) I think they can handle just about anything that the rest of the truck can handle.

as far as your original post goes about the height, you’ve swayed me on going for taller is better. So I think you’re doing the right thing going with the narrower tires that are the full 30.5” height.

Now we just have to figure out what modifications need to be done to get some 32” tires under these things eventually.

 

[Spectre08]

Ok, well after brutally testing these tires over 2500 miles in 2 weeks, I am blown away. Quiet on the highway, but perfectly capable on the trails. Only thing I really didn't get to put it through was mud, because Colorado is super dry right now. But I did get to air them down to 15psi and drive through soft sand, no problems. Water crossings across slick submerged rocks, no problem. Crawling up loose gravel on a high grade, cake.

Overall, really impressed. They don't "look" as aggressive as I wish they did (I have 33" KO2s on my Land Cruiser)

Only rubbing I ever experienced was when at full left lock.

 

[DiscoJack]

I've just tried to fit 265/60 R18's to mine and got nowhere near it. Falling back to 255/55 R18's for another go tomorrow. I'll let you know how I go

 

[Spectre08]

I've just tried to fit 265/60 R18's to mine and got nowhere near it. Falling back to 255/55 R18's for another go tomorrow. I'll let you know how I go

What do you mean you got nowhere near it? They wouldn’t fit?

 

[DiscoJack]

Not by a long shot

 

[Spectre08]

Not by a long shot

Weird. Do you by chance have the electronic adjustable suspension? My tires fit with no problem at all. They only rub a tiny amount at full left (or right, don’t remember) lock.

 

[DiscoJack]

Nope

 

[Spectre08]

Nope

that's really interesting then. I'd be checking my ride height to make sure there wasn't something wrong in my suspension. 30.5" diameter tires should fit easily except for the aforementioned rubbing at full lock, which is a pretty minor problem to have.