As I posted yesterday, I just got into an accident in my Disco. As a result, I'm going to need to replace the tires and intend to go with General Grabber AT2s...but I need help deciding on the best size. I want to get this info to the insurance-approved shop doing the work ASAP to make sure they don't just slap a new set of my current tires on there.

I currently have General Grabber ST 255/65R16 tires on the Disco, and a 2-inch OME lift. While switching to A/T tires, I'd like to go up in size(height) just slightly. A slightly skinnier but taller tire would be fine. (I've gotten a much better sense of how the tire sizing works thanks to some of the great tire size calculator links posted on this site.)

These are the AT2 sizes I'm considering:

245/70R16: almost identical in size, just -slightly- taller and skinnier, 1.53% diameter difference (too little?)

245/75R16: almost 1.5 taller, 4.63% diameter difference (too much?)

255/70R16: about an inch taller, 3.33% diameter difference (good compromise?)

My goal is to put some decent A/T tires on the truck for offroading that do not compromise highway driving/fuel efficiency/speedometer reading too much. I'd like to benefit from the OME lift a little more and fill out the wheel wells, but I don't need/want massive tires on the truck.

So my main questions are these:

1) Are all three sizes equally viable for the truck as far as fit and using my existing rims? (will the 245s require new or altered rims?)

2) Is one or another of the the three sizes listed above better for fuel efficiency, torque,or highway driving? (And I realize that I'm bound to negatively impact mpg to some degree by switching to A/T and larger tires, I just don't want to go overboard.)

If I'm completely off base with any of this, or should be considering yet another size, let me know. Thanks as always for your help...

 

The best General Grabber AT2 to get for your needs would be the 245/75/16. These are a load range E tire with a max pressure of 80psi so you can do alot with them. I'm not sure of the other sizes you posted but I do know that alot of the AT2 are passenger car tires with a max pressure of 44psi which is a little light for a Rover. You could even go bigger with your lift, into the 265/75/16 range but that would seriously effect your gas mileage.

If you really want to upgrade you can go for the BFG AT K/O in the 245/75/16......... they are kick A*S.

 

Hmm...had not looked at the load ranges. The other two sizes are load range SL, or standard load...dumb question, but does this mean that they are not really suitable for the Disco?

So 245/75R16 is really my only option for the Grabbers? Will these work fine with my current rims?

 

I wouldnt put the SL tires on my disco because they arent hard enough for when I am going to be pulling my boat or when I have a lot of people in the car (I have a 7 passenger). The added wieght increases the PSI and I wouldnt want to go over the 44 on those tires which could very easily happen. (these are heavy trucks)

Go with the 245/75/16. They will fit fine on your 16' factory rims.

Good luck

 

Just as a note........... people have put on the SL 255/70/16 AT2s on a disco and its been fine. I wouldnt, but thats just my opinion.

 

Thanks for the help, starcraft. Would the SL 255s be likely to provide better mpg than the E 245s? Or would the reverse be true?

Any other opinions on this? Anyone running SL tires successfully? (I don't have 7 seats and I don't tow anything...)

I'm now leaning towards the 245/75R16 AT2s based on starcraft's advice, though that's a little bit bigger tire than I had in mind. It's a minor consideration, but does this tire fit on the stock spare carrier on the rear door, or do I need to order one of those aftermarket plates from Atlantic British that lift the spare up a bit?

 

The 245/75/16 will fit on the spare tire carrier on a Dicso I.
And should on a Disco II' also.

The only thing about a 245/75/16 is it is a very heavy tire,(10 ply) my BFG AT's are 55 lbs each with out the rim.

Go to the tire shop and get them to put the tires side by side and then make up your mind.

If I where to just run intown most of the time I would look at the Michelin LTX MS that will keep the gas mileage (low roll Res)and will do good off road in sand and rock.

 

No problem buddy.

As for the gas mileage between the two tires, the 245/75/16 are going to be a little worse. Since they are taller and have a higher load range they weigh approx 50lbs compared to 44lbs on the 255/70/16. Going by all four tires and including the rotational effect of the weight, then you are looking at roughly an extra 100 to 150 pounds of weight on the truck. However, the 245 are skinnier which means that they have less rolling resistance, while also being taller, which means you go further each rotation than on the other size. Further you can pump them up more (more psi) so that they provide you with optimal tire contact.

All that being said, and I can't be for sure, but I would say that you would prob loose in the 1/2 MPG range by going to the 245/75/16 over the other sizes. Let me know what you do.

 

Just went out to a couple tire stores. The first one tried to tell me that all Land Rovers require a 109H rated tire, and that there doesn't exist an AT tire that he could install on my truck. Right. (109H is the rating for Range Rovers, isn't it?) Anyway, not helpful.

The second place had a very helpful rep (understood exactly what I was looking for and tire size options, ratings, etc.). He was really pushing the Cooper ATRs, available in a lighter weight 6-ply, 111S version and a 10-ply load rating E version, both at 245/75R16.Nice looking tire, comes with a 50,000 mile warrantee. The ATR seems to pop up on a lot of Australian LR forums.

Anyone using the Cooper ATRs? Thoughts on how they compare to the Grabbers? Both are in the same price range...