Member Since: 05 May 2006
Location: Bundaleer
Posts: 4805
17's vs 18's
I am looking to replace my tyres soon and was thinking of 17's for offroad and put road biased tyres on the 18's. speaking to the tyre bloke today and he suggested I stick with the 18's as availability is about the same blah blah blah and a few more blahs. I would like to hear of real world experiences from those that have both 17's and 18's and who have tried to source replacements when away from a major city. which size do you prefer for offroad and what type of tyre and size did you choose.
for those that have had the steel rims for a while now what are your opinions on them too please.
8th Apr 2009 12:19 pm
Discoeast
Member Since: 19 Feb 2008
Location: Boksburg
Posts: 800
catweasel
Personally I prefer the 17", for the side wall height only.
I have more side wall to work with when tires are deflated. Not heard
any bad things about the 18", side wall issues with the bigger ones
when deflating.
I use the Bridgestone Dueler D694 A/T's for every day use, as I can offen
be on bad roads ( pot holes ) or a quick dart to the bush for a week end.
Have had them in some real rough and tough terain and work well.
And have a spare set ( on rims ) of Cooper STT's for the rough muddy stuff.
I'm happy with what I got D3 bullbar-spots-roof rack with spots-ladder-long range tank-swing out spare wheel carrier- upgraded tow bar-dash console-internal water tank-duel awnings-drawer system & T T.
8th Apr 2009 1:52 pm
heine
Member Since: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 4054
I changed from 18 to 17 for pretty much the same reasons as Koos . Also 17 is more freely available here in SA. Re
8th Apr 2009 3:44 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73085
17"ers all the way! I might be biassed as I have 8 tyres on rims & 6 more off rims in the shed! CW U could have taken a few back with you.
I have Cooper HP+ 265/60R18 on the OE 18" rims and Cooper STT 245/70R17 on the BB6 17" rims.
Neither are readily available here, indeed there is no Cooper dealer in Esperance (and, whilst I have had it done before, the local tyre places don't like fitting tyres they haven't sold).
Having said that, I've never had to wait more than a few days for tyres to be delivered of either size if needs be.
The road biased tyres are smoother, quieter, have better grip and wear better than the STT's (and better than the wranglers too). Downside is airing down for flotation when on the sand. The low prifile doesn't allow enough elongation for our soft sand until you get to around 10-12psi.
The STT's on the other hand are tough as nails in the hard stuff and, when let down to 16psi on soft sand it feels like driving on bitumen. They do tend to wear reasonably quickly though. (And you can tell if your alignment's when their normal rumble turns into a teeth jarring scream.)
Usually only takes me about 30mins to change over and I uses the opportunity to check brakes, wheel bearings, intergity of lines etc.Have a nice day!
2010 Cayenne Diesel with PASM & Off Road Pkg
2005 HSE D3 (Sold)
8th Apr 2009 3:56 pm
D3 downunder
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: Sydney
Posts: 27
I have been impressed with BFG 245/70R17 MT KM2.
On road and off road.
Like Jamo I've got the same sized STT's on Performance BB6 rims. For road, I replaced the OEM's with 4 General Grabbers. The GG's are very quite for an AT and makes a break from the STT whine. The extra tread depth on the GG's make them for longer lasting than the road biased tyre. Grip of the GG's is really good in dry and wet but I don't race the D3 around to conserve on fuel. Fuel economy has increased by 0.5lt/100km. I recently had my STT's replaced with a new set and I kept the best of the worse for a spare carcus for the really long trips away from towns.
I would also consider the new BFG MT MK2. I'm not sure of the price per tyre but if they are around $340 for Coopers then they should be considered. I only needed to buy 3 new STTs so didn't want to waste money on a new set of 5 tyres.
Hope that helps.2011 Discovery 4 (MY12) SDV6 HSE with General Grabber AT's, Traxide Aux Battery system, custom rear drawers and Autosafe half height cargo barrier
Gone - 2005 Discovery 3 TDV6 HSE
ARB Bull Bar, Warn 9.5XP Winch, IPF D/Lights, Cooper STT's, LR Raised Air Intake, Traxide aux battery system, custom drawers and half height Autosafe cargo barrier, Mitchell Bros 4x4 tow hitch
10th Apr 2009 8:14 am
catweasel
Member Since: 05 May 2006
Location: Bundaleer
Posts: 4805
firstly your replies are much appreciated
DSL wrote:
CW U could have taken a few back with you.
hindsight is a wonderful thing
Jamo how much mileage do you expect you will get from the HP+ and have you used them on a typical graded gravel road, also did you investigate the legalities of oversize tyres? Im assuming the 10mm increase in diameter is ok?
PCH Im trying to go away from the GG as that is what I have at the moment. I find that they are ok until half worn and when it rains on the roads I travel (doesnt need much rain) they become no different to road tyres.
have a look here at about 53 seconds and then roughly 2min 10 when reversing. steering wheel not much use my brother was shod with coopers which got me thinking to having two tyre sets but was only thinking of putting these on when knowingly going offroad. this kind of stuff
decisions , decisions
how have people found sourcing their tyre choices when away in the bush?
10th Apr 2009 2:11 pm
Rob Hollonds
Member Since: 23 Nov 2008
Location: Sydney
Posts: 69
Catweasel
have a look at the thread in AULRO D3 Zone on 17"Tyres.MY07 D3, TDV6S; Bull Bar, Cooper S/T's, Dual Battery, UHF, GPS; 03 D2, 94 D1, both departed & 1950 S1 80" going strong. 06 Astra CDX Coupe.
Humanity has no capacity to influence the global tidal wave of cyclical climate change!!!!
11th Apr 2009 7:43 pm
caverD3
Member Since: 02 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
Should that be Cooper HT+?“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
CW, I got about 55,000km out of my first set of HP's. But I do a lot of stop start and low speed turning which increases wear.
I have also used them regularly on both often graded and not so often graded gravel roads. At placard pressures, they perform very well IMHO.
10mm is legal thoughout Australia AFAIK. 15mm is the limit.Have a nice day!
2010 Cayenne Diesel with PASM & Off Road Pkg
2005 HSE D3 (Sold)
12th Apr 2009 12:33 pm
catweasel
Member Since: 05 May 2006
Location: Bundaleer
Posts: 4805
Rob
Jamo sounds good to me and with your extras heavier than mine
12th Apr 2009 12:46 pm
caverD3
Member Since: 02 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
I have HT+s on mine. Are we talking about the same thing?“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
13th Apr 2009 12:15 am
sbarnham
Member Since: 07 Nov 2007
Location: Blue Mountains
Posts: 103
I have Cooper STT 245/70R17 on LR 17", Pirelli Scorpion Zero 255/60R18 on LR 18".
The STT's are REALLY noisy, especially on smooth tar (which the motor-way I drive everyday has). I am surprised at how much more comfortable they are, and very surprised at how well they handle in the wet compared to the BFG AT on my old D2.
The Zero's are the second set, and it seems an updated version (different sidewall markings and slightly different tread) and they are nowhere near as good. I think they corner/grip less than the previous model and I get steering wheel wobble with them. Not happy. Will be Conti for me next time.
The wheel wobble has been looked at multiple times by both dealer and tyre place, I have had multiple wheel alignments, they have replaced a bunch of the front end steering/suspension components, and while they have reduced it, it's still there. When I swap back to the STT's it's gone. I am sure there is some 'absorbing' of vibration by the taller sidewalls of the STT, but it's like night and day.New MY15 TDv6 D4 in Buckingham Blue
Previously 2005 TDV6 HSE in Cairns Blue
- LR Steel Bar & Lights, Cooper STT 245/70R17 on LR 17", ContiCrossContact UHP 255/60R18 on LR 18", Traxide/Optima Yellow Top, GME 3440 UHF, FrontRunner Roofrack.
Hi CW,
On the recent Bendethera trip, I was the only one with 18" wheels. All the others had 17" alloys/steels with an assortment of tyres. My D3 had no problems keeping up with everyone.
I will keep using 265/60R18 110H Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S on my 18" wheels. They are legal (within 15mm of standard OE diameter), more comfortable and grip better in wet/dry/offroad than standard Wranglers. (Higher pressure heaps the roll on corners too, at the expense of ride comfort).
In short - good for every day driving (I often drive through 90km of Sydney traffic), the occasional weekend trip, etc. Then put your 17" steels/alloys with STTs, etc on for desert crossings.
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my brother was shod with coopers which got me thinking to having two tyre sets but was only thinking of putting these on when knowingly going offroad. 
