Hey folks! I'm starting to prep for the Uwharrie Safari 2020 in April. My disco is down for the count, so we're planning on taking the wife's, but I've got a debate in my head here. Currently the Disco sits on a set of 275/65r18 (32") Cooper AT3s with about half tread. They do tuck into the fenders nicely, and they're good street tires, but not great trail tires do to the relatively plain and shallow tread. Can't really air them down much, either.

On the flip side, I have a set of 285/75r16 (33") Falken AT3Ws with almost new tread. Much more aggressive tire. However, the rims they are mounted on when mounted to the Disco will stick out 3.5" wider than the stock wheels, meaning I'll have to extend the bump stops to prevent body damage, greatly decreasing upward articulation.

So this is my debate. Would I be better off with fairly poor tires for the conditions, or would I be better off with a set of good tires but much lesser articulation? I should also note that I don't have a spare for the 32s, but I do have a spare for the 33s. Give me your thoughts.

Edit: I should also note that the Disco is not currently lifted, but I will have 3" lift under it before the trip. And no, unfortunately I can't buy tires instead of the lift. I already have all the lift parts gathered so there's no additional cost there.
I will also add that I intend to pull the CDL out of my '03 and put in the wife's '01 before the trip because the '03 will no longer be running the Land Rover transfer case when I complete the powertrain swap, and the '01 has fully functional ABS/TC/HDC.

 

with a 3" lift the 33's will cause some issues in front. Rears depending the wheel offset could still be okay. I had to massage my fenders some in the rear to get rid of the rubbing, no cutting was done. I did cut the front fenders and would like to cut the rears to match, still undecided on going with the massive fender flares (cost too much in my head for plastic pieces...and I kind of like the look without the flares). Biggest issue will be in the fronts when articulating with the wheels turned, if wheels are straight there is quite a bit of room for straight uptravel.

For the fronts how about adjustable shock towers to drop the top mounting point by an inch or two to limit uptravel but increase droop? I've seen people cut the stock towers to achieve this if money is a concern. Then some limiting straps would be a good idea if going this route but those are cheap. Might be the best of both worlds.

But fundamentally I think I've got to go with articulation being the more important factor. The ability to keep all 4 wheels on the ground and the vehicle stable makes a huge difference plus is safer imo. That's my biggest gripe with the LR3/4s or any newer LR after the D2s for that matter, is it's really apparent the limitations of the LR3/4s is strictly based on articulation. If they can keep wheels down then even on street tires they will climb up just about anything....but it's a different ball game if an obstacle requires any articulation. Much sketchier and these vehicles have a lot of weight to shift around once they start lifting wheels..

 

I ran 33s on 3" with my '03 without problem (the exact same 33s, actually, but on factory D2 rims), but the extra offset is going to be the trouble maker since the tires will stick out about an inch and a half or two inches past the fenders. Unfortunately, massaging and big flares is not an option here. The tires would only be run for these four days and the swap back to the 32s since this is her daily driver and the 33s will actually be borrowed off of my '86 Dodge (hence the wider offset, being 2-1/4" wider and requiring an additional 1-1/4" adapter). And actually, cut down shock towers are already sitting on the shelf waiting to go on with the lift, though I could theoretically cut them down more. If I remember correctly I cut them down 2.5" when I modified them the first time a few years ago.

Stability is a good argument for keeping the more plain tires.

Once the wife is home I'll also get some more accurate measurements as to how much up travel will be limited. I am guessing about 1.5" in the front and 2.5" in the rear. And another thing to consider is that downward travel may increase, but then I may have to worry about springs popping out of their perches. Retainers would be pretty easy to fab up for that, though.

Another option is to try to have another bolt pattern drilled into the alloy rims. That would remove the need for the 1-1/4" adapter/spacers, and the Mickey Thompson Classic III rims are a perfect candidate because both sides of the hub area are perfectly flat and plenty of meat for the second pattern.

 

Both,

It is a tough call, but ask yourself the simpler question based on you want all 4 tires on the ground if possible

What is the terrain and weather going into be like, I do not know the area this occurs in but you have a set of basic AT tires would they suffice ?
Here in the PWN in a lot cases the answer is yes, hard packed gravel and rock.
But if you are doubtful, or the trail could be a mix of "sugar snow", slick mud and other more challenging conditions you have answered your question, and need to go with the better tires

 

ah yea the relocation cones aren't super pricey and if you cut down 2.5" on the towers then that should alleviate most issues in the front. The rears would be a bigger problem with the added width, I can still tuck my 33's with no problems with just bending the pinch welds more horizontal to avoid rubbing. Can still hit fender if I hit something too fast and really slam things but I do my best to avoid that..

 

And Richard the AT3s are an all season tire but would be lightyears better than the coopers that are on there now.

 

This is my friend's Jeep at my house, with brand new 35" tires...stuck, and had to winch it to the top.
Point is, sticky mud packed the tread, and all 4 just spun.
So just because the tires are new, doesn't mean they'll work in all the conditions you put them in(I have much steeper hills too).

He also hooked his winch to the tree behind my broke D2, which I pointed out looks like is pulling him up, lol

 

Ok, I was wrong about re-drilling the rims. The hub center is cut out too large to fit the smaller bolt pattern, so the adapter will be necessary.

I've never personally been to Uwharrie either, but I've been looking up video online. This will be in late April, so snow is not a concern but rain certainly is, and from what I'm finding there is a healthy amount of mud after it has rained. There are some portions in the videos I'm finding where the trails are fairly flat and others that require decent articulation. Some rocky, some muddy. It's really a mix bag. I did find a video of an LR3 with three wheels on the ground, but some aggressive tires, making it through.

To me, it seems like the question is more precisely: 4" of combined articulation, or an extra inch of more aggressive tire with the added ability to air down, which in theory recovers some effective articulation through tire deformation.

Here are some videos of trails:



This appears to be one of the more aggressive trails; not where we would likely be.

 

The AT3W is actually an all terrain. Quite deep tread, too. Deepest A/T tire tread on the market. But yes, miles better than the half worn out Coopers.

That is certainly true, however these are the only two options I've got at the moment. Really sticky mud would be a problem for either of these sets of tires, but certainly more for the Coopers. I've had the Falkens on my Silverado in mud holes up to the bumper, so they're actually pretty well suited for an A/T tire.

To be honest, I'm almost leaning toward the 33s for the sole fact that I'll have a full size spare, unlike the Coopers.

 

Full size spare looks like a good idea there, lot of sharp stuff by the looks of it