Just purchased a 06 LR3 HSE. It"s got good street tires that I"m sure won"t fair too well on the trails in Anza-Borrego. I"m thinking of buying a set wheels and tires for when I do go into the desert. I really liked the BF Goodrich Mud Terrain T/AKMs but they don"t come in the 19" size. I might have to buy a smaller wheel (18") to increase my options. Even then I had trouble looking for tires that would fit. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

The standard option that is currently working VERY well for the LR3 is Cooper Zeon LTZ 285/60/18. If you were looking for something moreextreme than that, let us know and we'll be happy to share what works in the extreme category.

 

i have heard you can get the wrangler mtr in a 19"

 

It's not the first time I've heard the Cooper get mentioned. I don't really think I'll be getting too extreme. My wife has to be able to drive this car to work everyday too. I will try to challenge my LR3 though don't get me wrong. I just know that the street tires on it now aren't gonna do. Gotta find some cheap 18" rims to put those Coopers on I guess. Thanks

 

Many LR3 owners want to "bling" their rides with 22" rims and such and end up selling their OEM 18" wheels. Shouldn't be hard to find a set relatively cheap. I changed my 19" for 18" just months after buying mine. Best desicion I've made.

 

One more thing, when off-roading have you experienced any rubbing of the tires? one site claims that anything bigger than 32 series tires will cause rubbing.

 

Jantiz, what's up: you aren't pimping the Silent Armors anymore? [sm=jawdrop.gif] Have you switched.

dgee03, if you want very capable off-roading and very good quality on-roading for the SO then (picking up the slack for Jantiz [sm=icon_stickpoke.gif]) I'd recommend the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors.
The Coopers will be a tad better off-road and a tad louder on-road, and yes a number of folks have experienced rubbing with the larger wheels (32+) especially taking any hard impacts while turning.

I'm extremely happy with the performance of the SIlent Armors, and since taking Jantiz's advice and up the psi to 44 on all, 'm getting an extra 3 mpg out of it with no wear (yet) or performance effects.[sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

I have the silent Armor 265/65/18 they are 31.5" tall, same as the Cooper LTZand and inch narrower then the Cooper. No rub even in full articulation. Great on the road and so far have been great on off road on some level 7 areas on a scale of 1-10 for difficulty.

I am sure I will run into a spot that my cooper friends out here will get over that I won't, but for the amount I also have to drive on the freeways I think they have worked out very well.

 

Great advice guys, and the consensus is that I find some cheap 18' to use when I'm gonna hit some trails in place of my stock 19's. I guess that's my first step then

 

I was being specific to the question . Dgee was asking for tires to go into the desert with on a second set of wheels dedicated for just off roading. I love my Silent Armors and my LR3 has not only followed the other Rovers in my club anywhere the Zeon LTZs have gone but have actually negotiated some obstacles easier that the Zeons. It's hard of course to make aprecise comparison between them being that driver input, aproach angle chosen, technique, all have to do with the end result of getting over the obstacle but what I do know for a fact is that I have seen both tires first hand perform brilliantly off road, that my silent armours are simply dead silent and well behaved on-road and that my friend with the Zeon LTZs admitt that there's a small amount of noise and vibration associated with their tires on-road.

I have never taken my Silent Armours to the beach yet since California is so tree-huggin freaked out about cars on the beach but I would have to assume just by looking at the tread patterns, that the Coopers would do better on the sand which is why I was recomending them for a dedicated set of spare wheels to go play in the desert!

By the way, want to add yet another 2 or 3 MPG to those Silent Armours? Run your LR3 on the daily commute on the Grass/Gravel/Snow program. It's a little less responsive as it takes off in second gear every time but the extra milage is nice.