OK, 2003 Disco II with 2.5" of lift, will be 3" soon (possibly a little more using spring isolators etc)

http://www.simextyres.co.nz/simex-ar...ex-offroad.asp

Those are the sizes of tire available. How much of the limitation is height and how much is width? I found that I was sinking rather badly in soft mud yesterday on the 245/75R16's so for a mud tire I'll probably need something a little beefier to compensate for the massive weight of the Disco. The Land Cruisers at about the same weight were running TSL's and not having the same issues.

 

A few quick thoughts for you, don't go larger then a 265/75/16, it can cost you alot of power anoth mile per gallon and they won't perform any better in the mud or snow then the 245's. As for comparing your 03 to a cruiser, you are a fair bit heavier at around 4800 #'s you don't have a locking t/case ot locker and most likely the cruise has all or part for greater traction.

 

Cruisers come in more sizes than most people know. This one was a flatbed, and about 5500 pounds.

These will be strictly for off-road use only, they will not see highway use except to and from the trails.

My 03, does in fact have a locking transfer case, rear ARB, and front TT. (wish I'd put an ARB in the front too now) but the situations where I'm not getting through things are due to:

1. ARB bumber not having enough lower clearance, fix would be to sell the ARB put on a Rovertym I know. I'm also thinking about trimming the bottom of the ARB and moving the winch up and mounting on frame-rail extensions on a frame mounted behind the crush cans.
2. Diff sitting on rock, well higher tires would help, a drop axle setup would be ideal, but adding more armour and being a little more vigourous would help here too.
3. Sinking to the diffs. The ground is just too soft to support the vehicle.
4. Soft mud turns tires into slicks. The Destinations (and BFG's and all other on/off road tires afaikt) don't clear very easily and do not have tri-stage lugs to provide additional traction from the sides so once you're in something soft getting them to pull the truck say up onto the side they just won't grab anymore. Clay filled tires just don't work. Too much around here is loam and clay to not consider something like the Extreme Trekker or TSL's.
5. Articulation, high angle rock where two wheels end up off the ground and the others alone just can't pull the truck up because they can't get enough traction between them. Disconnects will help this a lot, longer shock travel will help, going to springs in the back will help since then you can use longer shocks without worrying about tearing the airbags in two.

Does all that sound accurate? I know I'm still new to all this and while I learn quickly knowing that I'm working in the right direction is comforting and I'm also learning to carefully consider all counter arguements (yeah, learning to listen more)

Those tires are in metric sizes, not whatever normal tires are in, so converting would be helpful.

 

I removed my crush cans, added an additiona sub frame for strength the mounted my bumper/winch to the frame, much stronger.

Your diff is only going to have a given amount of clearance depending on your tire size, may need to relook your lines when out playing.

All vehicle have limitations based on weight and floatation, my truck dressed out weighs 5740#s and it sometimes just won't handle too much mud or snow and there is no way around that.

Got to RTE and check out some of Steve's toys for you suspension, may find what you are looking for.

 

Consider 265/70-16. A tiny bit bigger than the 245/75 ( maybe 1/4 to 1/2 an inch), and you wouldn't need more lift. Unless you want to address the gearing and brakingissue if you go bigger, like a 265/75, and the driveline angles and steering geometry if you go higher.

As far as I know, you've been building this rig intelligently from the beginning, and maybe should continue to do so, in order to end up with a perfect balance infonctionality.

My 2 cents...

Darover

 

Simex are sized in mm wide and mm diameter, not that arcane ratio of sidewall to width we use. They also post actual size since the measure we use ends up with all kinds of odd 'error'.

Mike, would you have some close-up pics of the changes you did to make your bumper/winch arrangement work?

 

I just purchased some 265/75/16 General All terrains and love themand although if your looking for a mud tire I still recommend the size, my accelration and hill pulling was not hurt bad I have a few mods cold air intake and exhaust,and now highway gear is better, braking is still great although I do have slotted rotors and some good pads.

 

Yeah, I'm looking for something with aggressive side lugging. The BFG/Destinations just fill with mud, won't clear and act like slicks... not the best situation to be in on mud.

 

the only swamper i have experience with is the tsl radial on my friends trooper. it was great in the mud! it comes in 265/80/16 so that could be an option

 

Send me your e-mail address and I'llo put some pictures together.
mikeljacobs@comcast.net