Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™

[steveforster9]

After a good month at work it looks like I'll have a bit of cash to spend on some new wheels & tyres. The plan is to go for a second set for off-road use, so I'm going to go for some remoulds as they're likely to do less than 1,000miles per year. Don't need to be great on road since the only road driving they'll do is to and from events

Now for the questions -
1. If I go for some 31.10.5x15, firstly will the tyre fit under the arches without rubbing, and secondly will the 15" rims fit on the car without fouling brake calipers etc

2. Anybody got any suggestions for some good remould MTs - something reasonably agressive that wont chew up as soon as it looks at a bit of tarmac

Thanks in advance
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Steve F

1999 3.0DT LWB

[Google]

[Philp]

Try here http://www.bronco4x4.com/broncosport.html for a good selection of remould off road tyres or theres always they Colway M/T's which are basically BFG patterns. The only danger with something too agressive is breaking something, usually a halfshaft if you get some air between you and the ground and they dig in when you land. not sure about the size but I think you shold be able to get 31's on.
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Phil

96 or is it a 98 Isuzu Bighorn Lotus

[siweb]

I have the Colway M/T's 245/70/16 on my bighorn which are on all the time and have been for the past 2 years and only just starting to show wear on the edges of the front tyres but will last for another 2 years.
I don't do loads and loads of driving, but do tow around 2.8 tons up and down the A1 when tacking my offroad trooper to the club meetings

http://www.itocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2495
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[steveforster9]

Thanks gents
Been doing a little more research & after looking at planetisuzoo.com it seems that i can fit 265/75 16 without any problems rubbing etc. This gives me nearly a 32" diameter tyre, which as well as filling the arches nicely will also give me approx 1" of extra ground clearance. Looking now to decide how agressive to go with the tread
I'll let you know what I decide & hopefully post some pics when I've got them on
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Steve F

1999 3.0DT LWB

[Chris B]

How do the Colway MT's perform on the road compared to the BF Goodrich MT's ???
Is it worth paying the extra coin for the BF Goodrich?
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Isuzu Rodeo Denver Max LE | 265/65R18 BF Goodrich AT               LTM No.60

[siweb]

not really, because if you get a puncture in the side wall thats the tyre f**ked, and at BF prices


But at around £40'ish for the colway it not so bad,
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[Twister]

Steve,

265/75 R16's will fit under the arches on standard rims, and will give no problems for everyday on road driving, however, when you take it off road and really start to flex the suspension you will find that they will just catch the lip of the rear wheelarch as they tuck into the bodywork on full compression. They shouldn't give any problems on the front, unless you are planning on becoming airborne, then they may hit the arches when you come back down to earth. I ran mine on 265/75R16's for some time with the standard suspension set up, and just that 1 inch of extra ground clearance is quite noticable. Ideally you need a 1 inch lift to compensate for the 1 inch clearance you will lose between the tyre and the arch, but it's not absolutely necessary. As for brands, you get what you pay for. Cheap remoulds are great, but they won't do the same mileage, and BFG's have a 3 ply sidewall, so are much stronger. Mine is now sat with a 65mm lift ( for now ), and could actually go to 33" tyres no problem, although I think the gearing could go too high, and I'm not up for pinion changes just yet, maybe in a couple of years .
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"Tongue-tied and Twisted; just an Earth-bound misfit,  I..."  -  PF

LTM # 000002

[Chris B]

If i go for larger tyres how do i alter the speedo??
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Isuzu Rodeo Denver Max LE | 265/65R18 BF Goodrich AT               LTM No.60

[steveforster9]

Hmmm - Mr Twister you've given me a problem now The main purpose of the second set of wheels/ tyres is for off road use so max flex will occur regularly.

So I've looked at 235/85x16 - this is only 2mm larger diameter than the 265/75 and is 30mm narrower. What do you think - will this clear everything on max flex?
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Steve F

1999 3.0DT LWB

[Twister]

OK Steve, here goes,

When I first started modifying my Trooper, I was looking for the same sort of improvements as you seem to be, better off road performance, without compromising on road too much. I actually started off by fitting a set of 235/85 R16 BFG Trac edge tyres. Absolutely atrocious both on and off road. Not just that they looked stupid. They are a very narrow, tall tyre, and have a smaller contact point than the OE 245 tyres. Yes they would go up into the arches no problem, but I ended up taking them back after only 3 weeks, and trading them in for a set of 265/75s. ( I'm lucky in that I know my local BFG dealer fairly well ). The 235s simply do not put enough rubber on the ground for a vehicle that is very heavy to start with ( the 3.0DT engine is one of the heaviest engines in the 4x4 market ) Plus the fact, if you do ever decide to go upwards with your suspension in the future then you also need to go wider to maintain stability. What I would advise you do is go with the 265/75s, and take it easy for a while like I did. Then when you can afford, get a set of +40mm rear coil springs from Pro Comp Explorer UK, they are about £65 a pair, and then wind the front torsion bars up to match. The standard shocks will be OK for this, although the ride can be vastly improved by fitting the correct aftermarket shocks ( OME ) .I am in the process of doing an article on how to lift a Trooper, and it's not an expensive thing to do. However, life seems to be getting in the way of me finishing this article at the moment, but it will be worth the wait. ( sorry everyone )

However, if you don't want to go the lifting route, and want 2 sets of tyres, then you could go 235/85s, but be prepared to lose traction when you least expect it. It depends on what you want from your motor. Personally I think that changing your wheels every time you want to go off road would be a real pain, but each to their own.

Hope this helps
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"Tongue-tied and Twisted; just an Earth-bound misfit,  I..."  -  PF

LTM # 000002

[Twister]

Sorry, in reply to Chris's question, I haven't got a clue, I just allow 10% (the speedo will read low by about 6% for a 32 inch tyre on a Mk3 / 4) This works for me, and I have tested it against Gatsos.
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"Tongue-tied and Twisted; just an Earth-bound misfit,  I..."  -  PF

LTM # 000002

[steveforster9]

Hi guys

Well I've gone & done it & probably gone against most peoples' advice to boot!!! I've ordered a set of 16" 8 spoke rims complete with Colway MT 235/85R16s. I've also ordered a pair of Pro-comp springs to give 1.5" lift at the rear.

Just in case you're wondering if if gone slightly potty (and I think I might have!) this is how my slighty befuddled brain has worked: -
Although it is a pain changing the wheels over each time I go off road, I generally only get the chance once each month - so it makes more sense to have more road biased tyres on for the bulk of the time, added to which it is SWMBO's car & she is very fussy about tyres & availability of grip.

I wanted the off road tyres to provide as much extra ground clearance as possible and definitley be retreads on grounds of cost. 265/75s in a remould are rare as hens teeth - the only ones I could find are Grizzly Claws and these cost nearly as much as some of the new tyres I was finding.

The 235/85s are likely to be a bit poo on road due to their height, but I have to disagree with Mr. Twister on the size of contact patch - the tyre is only 10mm narrower than stock & the rolling diameter is larger, so whislt the contact patch will be a tad smaller it is unlikely to be significant. Also to be considered, from an off road perspective the tyre should cut into mud more effectively than a wider tyre which would tend to spread the load over the surface.

Anyhoo - I got a slightly better price for the wheels & tyres than I expected (£336.00 delivered & inc. VAT from Formula 4x4) so I went for a pair of springs as well - THANK YOU Mr. Twister for pointing me in the direction of Procomp - £92.00 for the springs (inc. VAT & del). That is a good £70 - £80 cheaper than I have found them elsehwere

Goodies arrive at my office on Monday - I'll get round to posting some before & after pics soon.

Thanks for the contributions gents - I may not have taken your advice, but it certainly made me think exactly what i needed before i took the plunge.

Cheers
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Steve F

1999 3.0DT LWB

[siweb]

Just to note, it's not always good to cut into the mud, depending on the sort of mud your in, ie clayey mud will only dig u in deeper where as a wider tyre (with good tread) will spread the weight and allow the tread to do it's job.
And am speaking from experience here. I pulled out a lwb landy 110 that dug it's self into a clay hill after it's narrow tyres just dug in a good 5 inch where I just skipped across the top.

However like I said it depends on the soil type, But!!! a narrow tyre I think would be better on wet grass, Wet grass it just the worse stuff to drive on

Like u said tho whats 10mm
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[Webby]

Hello All,
Have spent a fair amount of time looking at the forum, and much less time writing! But feel i may have a little to offer this thread. I have a 2003 swb commercial, also fitted with 265/75R16. To say it has been improved off road is an understatement! But to get to the point, i find that having fitted these tyres my speedo is now spot on. Well when compared to the speed reading from my GPS.
Have fitted my tyres on white 8 spokes, not great looking, but as they are always dirty why pay extra for a different colour? These have a zero offset so push the tyres out further. It does mean though, as Mr Twister says, that there is a little rubbing at times. If the frount suspension is compressed while the wheels are on partial lock they can rub on the bolt heads holding on the mud flaps. At the rear, if both sides are compressed equally then the wheels do not touch, ie: with a heavily loaded trailer. On flex though they do.
Am sure you will find the benefits of fitting larger diameter tyres will far outweigh any of the minor negatives which have been mentioned.
Cheers

[steveforster9]

Well - I put the new wheels on today.....problem. The tyres do fit just nicely on the car but the offset or backspace is wrong because the tyres stick out too far. It looks pretty cool, but as soon as the suspension flexes it is going to catch the arch.

I bought the wheels/ tyres from Formula 4x4 and I stated that it was for a Trooper (model, year etc...). Surely they should have sent me the wheels with the correct offset for my car, or at least advised me they were different. Do you think I've got a case for an argument with them over this?

ps Can somebody please tell me the difference between offset & backspace when talking about wheels - I'm confused

Cheers
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Steve F

1999 3.0DT LWB