Good evening,
I tried posting this earlier but somehow it did not work.
I recently sold a Defender 110 and purchased a Discovery 2 2004 HSE7 (7 is the key word... I have 4 kids).
Anyway, I had the newer BFG MT KM2 on the Defender and I really loved them off road and didn't mind them on the road.
The questions no is that the Discovery came with 18in wheels. The options are to fit 265/60-18 BFG AT on the current wheels or purchase 16in wheels and go with 245/75-16 BFG MT KM2 on there.
I plan to drive the truck a bit on the highway with the kids and sometimes on long trips.
Has anybody gone from 18s AT to 16s MTs? How much difference is there with road noise in a D2? I know they will be noisier but some cars show the difference more than others.
How much worst is it on the road to go from 18s to 16s? Inversely, how much worse off road are 18s VS 16s?
Thanks
David

 

As far as size is concerned, on road they will be about the same but off road the 16s will shine because they will be able to air down much more. Lots more sidewall there.

As far as noise, id say you'll notice less difference between the two than you did in your defender because the Discovery is a more plush and therefore more sound deadened vehicle than the Defender. That's nit to say it wont be noticeable, it will, but I doubt it will as much.

 

I will have to look for a good set of 16in wheels and give them a try I think.
Thanks for the feedback!
David

 

07 would be a disco 3 and 16" rims will not clear the brakes if memory serves

 

Sorry, it is a 2004, no idea why I wrote 2007... I will see if I can edit my original post.
Thanks for pointing that out!

 

no worries just didn't want you wasting a bunch of money on rims and tires you couldn't use

 

I have 245/75-16 BFG KM2's on my 03 D2. I went to them from the stock 18's. Love them in the dirt, but they're very very stiff and loud on road. I don't really care about on road noise, but the ride is a bit much sometimes. I think it's the very high load range that makes them so stiff. When I buy tires again I'll likely go back to AT's. Definitely worth going down to 16" wheels though over the 18's.

Hope that helps.

 

Lift it 3" and go with the 275/70 AT's (33"). Not much noise, hardly and noise compared to the MT's and much longer tread life for your described road trip use.

 

Yours sure looks good! I just ordered a 2in OME kit. Once that's installed I will have to get slightly larger tires. I was not thinking 33in but perhaps 32s.
Cheers
David

 

I have a 2" OME HD lift on my truck and running 275/65R18 AT KO2s. This is a tire which is slightly over 32". Fairly quiet on-highway. Excellent for the type of terrain I run here in the Pacific NW. It is definitely going to be much quieter with this tire compared with the MTs which you ran on the Defender.