I know the debate over wheels and tires is age-old, but I'm wondering if anyone here has ditched their 19" wheels for 18" wheels. There are obviously many more tire choices in the 18" size, but particularly with the availability of the Goodyear Wrangler MT/R, will the wheel size change really make a big difference in off road driving? I drive mostly around town but am looking forward to spending more time offroading on weekends.

This may be a moot discussion as I am discovering it's very difficult to locate 18" OEM (or otherwise) LR3 wheels. One place would order them for me, but $4500 is crazy. The pickings are slim on eBay and Craigslist, too.

I'm down to 3 original Goodyear HPs (got a flat over the weekend) so that spurred my desire to upgrade the tires or wheels. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

Yes, I did. If you plan on keeping your car for a long while the change can actually save you money (based on 18" vs 19" tire costs).
Try California Chrome. If you work it you might be able to get a set of 18" for price then reduced for giving them your 19" (I got mine black fusion coated and it cost me net $1,100)
http://www.calchrome.com/service_fusioncoat.php

 

Ya It is hard to find 18" rims yOU GET more sidewall so ou can air down more and they will be better for off road
but i sure would be tempted to try the mt in the 19" they have been using them in europe for a bit. I would even ask a few guys on disco3uk
how many miles they get on them as well as road noise ect.

 

I Swaped my 19s for 18s within months of buying my HSE brand new. I found a local dealer doing a costumized LR3 with Duke wheels and bought their original 18s from them at aVERY reasonable price and bought Silent Armours to go with them. Sold my 19s with tires over Craigs list and at the end of the day after the full swap, I ended up with left over money in pocket.

Hereare my 2 cents worth and I think I speak with several years of real life, hands onexperience on the subject. The 19" MT/Rs are over rated tires. They only sell as much as they do because people who don't know better stubornly want to keep 19" wheels on their Rovers and still off road them. And I know I probably just made a few people mad with my last comment but I have good reasons to make that statement:

1. MT/Rs are great off road tires, hands down, no argument there. But if you're looking for agressive off road tires, the selection in 18's isvastly better, andcheaper.

2. Buying in the 18" sector will give you more sidewall which translates into better off road performance (if that's your goal) AND better on-road comfort (if that's the goal). They will also give you better gas milage.

3. At the end of the day, the only reasonable argument for buying 19" MT/Rs is because you like the low profile look but still want to be able to off road your new Rover. But the bottom line is that the tires currently in the 18" selection do everything the 19"s do, just BETTER.

Low profile tires have their use and yes, they do look good on newer Rovers. But besides giving you better high speed cornering stability, you loose performance on every other aspect of the vehicle. Lower gas milage, bumpier ride, diminished off road performance. Just my 2 nickles.

 

The 18" solid 5 spoke rims seem to be hard to find. But, the 18" 10 spoke wheels are easy to find. I just bought one on ebay for $70 for a spare. There always seems to be qualityused ones on ebay for less the $100 each and there are several for sale today.

There is even a set of the 5 spoke ones with tires on ebay starting at $800 with no bids on it as of earlier today.

Do searches for "land rover wheels 18" and searches for "LR3 Wheels" and "LR3 Rim".

 

Yeah, I actually offered the guy running that auction some money to end it early but he never answered me. I've been driving around on a temporary spare since last weekend and don't think I can wait for the auction to end and for him to ship the wheels. For me, the 5-spoke is just an aesthetic choice over the 10-spoke. You're right, the 10's are much easier to find.

So, I'm getting 5 wheels from California Chrome (thanks David). He's got the 5 spoke (take offs, so they're used, which is OK with me) mounted/balanced with 5 brand new Nitto Terra's for $1750 which I thought was a fair price. They wouldn't take my 19s in for trade which isn't surprising, but that's OK. Anyone need four 19" wheels?

Thanks for everyone's advice very helpful.

 

Glad you found some you like. I like the 5 spoke better also and that is what I have, I just gave up hunting and got the 10 spoke for a full spare for now. Sooner or later a 5 spoke will show up when I am not looking at I will replace the 10 spoke.