There are countless threads on tires, but I wanted to see if anyone has hands-on experience with differences in performance off-road based on width. From what I've read, it seems thinner tires are a bit better in most offroad situations, but beefier tires look better.

I currently have 245/70/16s on the car and have been very happy with that size. I'm considering going 245/75/16 this time around, because a higher sidewall might be better in the kind of offroad conditions I mostly drive in: rocky dry riverbeds. One of my current tires had its inner bead damaged, so I figure the more distance I have between the ground and the rim, the better. I also think a taller tire will look more proportional on the car.

It's between Cooper AT3s and BF Goodrich KO2s. I'm leaning toward the Coopers because they seem to perform a bit better in sand, and I'm going to be driving on sand a fair amount. They're also cheaper than the BFGs, but the BFGs look better.

Any thoughts?

 

Thinner tires also run better in snow. I run 245 75 16, Bridgestone Dueler AT's, got a set of 5 practically brand new for $300 from a Jeep owner. Only had about 2,000 miles on them.

 

Sounds encouraging. Are you satisfied with the way the 245/75s look?

 

Roger that. I run 245/75/16 AT3s and could not be happier. I would run 235/85's if I had 7 inch wheels.
My thought on tire width has always been: I have a fixed mass (vehicle weight.) The only way to increase the pressure of the tires to the ground is to decrease tread width. Skinnier tires equals greater pounds per square inch gripping the snow.

 

Thanks for the guidance. It sounds like this will work, and I think I'm going to go down the same route.

 

Well, I got the Cooper 245/75s, and they're great. The spare, however, doesn't fit. It may be partially due to a dent in the bodywork from years ago when someone hit me from behind, angling the spare carrier slightly downward. I've read elsewhere that you can just invert the spare carrier and it'll be fine. There's also this mechanism from AB: Spare Tire Relocator For The Discovery II

I saw some pics of the inverted carrier solution and it looked like the wheel was very high up, blocking the window in a significant way. I may try it and if it's not to my liking go for the AB solution. Anyone have experience with these things?

 

It probably is the dent. Mine fits, but just barely: maybe 1/4 inch to spare.

 

Mine didn't fit either, had to flip the tire carrier, easy to do. Just reuse 4 bolts not all 6 unless you want to drill new holes.

 

You can use a heavy duty ratcheting strap anchored to something much larger than the Disco to pull the back door back out to normal spec.

I did this and it worked for me. Wrap the strap around the bottom of the tire through the wheel and start pulling on it.

I had non damaged Discos to look at so I measured how far the the tire should be from the door at 90 degree intervals and attached the strap to the tire through the wheel to pull to spec.

This of course will not address an actual oversize tire but I have read on these here forums that a 245-75-16 will fit without flipping the mount up side down on a non damaged rear door mount.

I plan to buy new tires soon as my current Michelins have 90k on them. I'll buy Michelin again but haven't decided between the ATX or the LTX M/S2 But will go to a 245/75r16

I looked at the BFG KO2 and saw that the store also had the OG KO and i actually prefer the original. Too much sidewall fancy foo for me on the KO2.

I will stick with me some Michelin again though.

 

I love the ratcheting strap idea. I may have to try that, though I'll have to go around the tire carrier since I don't have a wheel I can fit on there when the door is closed.

Many people I've talked to who do serious offroading/overlanding say the KO2s are best. I'm sure Michelins are good. This is also interesting: