Are these just for show, or do they improve the ride?

 

I am not a person who knows a lot about tyres, but if the 18" rims you are talking about are low profile, then comfort and off road ability will suffer, but handling will improve. (well a little)</P>


Again it depends what you want to do with your freelander, if you are not really going to use it off road, then low profiles are fine, but if you are going off road, you need a good sized tyre</P>

 

Well since I can go trailriding with some upgrades, I dont want lower profile tires - which they are. Thanks for your help, I'll stick with the 16" and it will save me money too.

 

my freelander has the 18" wheels. it does great. my dad's lr3 has the 19"s. my bronco II has the 15"s. i take the bronco and the freelander off roading at least once a week. both do great, but the 05 LRF does a lot better than the 86 FB2 hands down. maybe 18 years of technology has something to do with it. i'm not so afraid to do more stuff in the bronco since it is paid for, and i don't want the freelander to get to screwed up. i almost rolled the bronco the other day going down hill at night and the front passenger tire fell into a rut. my friend jumped out and said the bottom of the back driver tire was at his chest. i wish it had been in the daytime and i had a camera. that bronco would have made a land rover proud. (kinda hurts me to say that) at least the bronco has low range, something the freelander doesn't have, but would be nice to have

 

looks vs ride depends completely on what size tire you buy, and what tire you buy...if you put low profile tires on, you will gain a sporty look, and better handling, but it may ride a bit rougher...if you put a bigger tire, like an AT tire, it will ride smooth, but you may get some tread noise...

 

i have the 18s and as far as off roading, they do really good, i have been in the sand dunes in farmington new mexico and monahans texas and i have never lost traction. i also have been on the continental divide in new mexico. did great. i would however like to maybe get some bfgoodrich all terrains or something like that for it

 

also, here are some pictures