17" vs 18" wheels

[ericge]

In the configurator there is an option for wheel size - 17" or 18".  I don't know which to choose... How do I decide?

 

[Parallaxe]

Hi ericge (-:

To my experience, 17" give a smoother ride, due to "more rubber" in relation to the rims. Especially in rough terrain. Since we are doing offroad and overlanding, with occasionally some quite rough tracks, I'll certainly go for the 17".

 

[Disco Dave]

17's better off-road. If you are running the same pressures as 18's, you will have less chance of pinching a tyre on the rim. Especially in very rocky terrain. Generally you can run lower pressures on 17's. Being able to run low pressures is vital to maintaining traction on demanding terrain.
18's better on-road, less tyre flex whilst cornering, so better handling.

 

[Paachi]

Disco Dave said it. If you want the most amount of sidewall for airing down and general smoothness off-road I’d go with 17”. 18” will give you a potentially better handling on road with more control while turning and less sidewall flex. However I think the inroad benefits of 18” are less than the off road benefits of 17”. Plus 17” is a lot easier size to get off road tires for. 
mind you I have 16” on my vehicle. So I am definitely biased

 

[MTNDOG]

When I was in highschool 31x10.5x15 was the go to.  My Armada had 20s, my F150 has 18s, ....the smile on my face when I saw I could 17inch steelies for the Ineos, priceless.  

 

[Spjnr]

Yeah 17s are the choice if your gonna off-road it. 18 inch alloys may look more "upmarket" to some people, but that's it really.

 

[DaveB]

I think the 17" with the K02 tyres suits the overall look of the vehicle. 
I like the black steel look but will probably go with black alloys to reduce the weight a bit and because they look good. 

 

[Tazzieman]

I doubt you'd notice the difference in weight between alloy and steel in a car weighing around 3 tonnes. Even if you take it to my local race track. And until someone gives the wheel weights we won't even know the fun facts of the matter!

 

[Disco Dave]

I would only go the alloys for the good looks. To tell you the truth, I am torn between good looks and functionality. Head says steel, heart says alloy. Shouldn’t listen too much to your heart.

 

[DaveB]

I was thinking more of the weight of the spare. 
I am getting older and should I have to lift the spare down off the door every few grams count. 

 

[emax]

Down off the door is not really a problem. But to get the other one back up onto the rack is. 

In case I had to, I would heave it just into the car, and do the rest later with the help of somebody else. If you have sand ladders, you can use them as a ramp. Or take a pulley and a custom shaped hook with me to hang the pulley on the door or the roof rack and pull it up. 

For me, that's btw. a reason not to employ a roof mounted spare. Even a bonnet mounted spare is not easy to handle.

 

[DaveB]

I saw a guy struggling to get a 35" off the back door and he dropped it, off it went bouncing and rolling down the track he had just driven up. 
Luckily it missed the cars behind him or it would have caused some serious damage. 

 

[emax]

Bad luck and good luck.  ;-)

 

[grenadierboy]

Does anyone know the respective weights of the steel and alloy rims - so we can determine the weight savings available?

 

[grenadierboy]

Dave,

Agree - they look really nice, esp. with steel wheels. Not sure if you have had K02 's before.

My brother has K02 tyres on his 4x4. Magnificent off-road but as they are an aggressive AT tyre, and you can hear a fair amount of tyre noise on the bitumen.
I can't recall his views on their wet road performance but many on-line reviews suggest only average.

 

[ECrider]

I've got K02 265/65/18's on my D4 (compomotive alloys) and I think they are a great all round tyre. Noise in my view for my size tyre is very quiet but then I actually like the sound of off-road tyres anyhow. In the wet they are quite slippy so you just have to drive accordingly and don't expect too much grip if the roads have been dry a while and are greasy - roundabouts you can get some under and occasional oversteer.Off-road they are very good until you get into the the real sticky deep mud-ruts then they clog up good and proper and turn into a slick, so again have to try and predict this and spin them up early if possible though difficult to get the mud out of the tread gaps. Nothing like a m/t tyre but then they're not trying to be.

For me the mountain/snow symbol (sipps) etc is a win/win so perfect all round tyre in my book for an off-roader and very tough and great mileage.

I will spec the Grendier with 17" steel rims with K02 and order another 5 rims to be shod with the KM3's or similar for the autumn/winter season.

Ps. does anyone know why the 18" rims are showing 255/70/18 rather than 265/65/18 - which I think is a closer choice to the 17" 265/70/17's

 

[Max]

Freewheeling hubs are something I would be interested in but haven't heard or read anything yet? I suspect an aftermarket supplier, which would be a wait.
And for what it's worth 17" plus KO2 which I have on my Series 2 are not just brilliant but it seems to balance the car aesthetically and from the images and look of the prototype, I agree with DaveB, it looks right for the vehicle.

 

[Jmccmick]

Ive driven 235/85r16 and 265/75 r18 on my D90.  Been happy with both.  The narrower tires did better in snow. Wider tires are louder but still very reasonable for what they are. I wouldnt say theyre anything special (either good or bad) in the wet, though they do pack out in sticky mud pretty quick.
I havent decided which tires i want to order with mine yet.
I will probably buy a set of nokian outpost ATs as primary tires, and might get the Duelers as a winter/wet road tire.
Anyone have any experience on the Dueler tires in snow?

 

[emax]

I am interested as well.

Duelers anybody?

 

[Disco Dave]

[QUOTE username=Mark Evans  grenadierboy userid=8954799 postid=1332578455]Dave,

Agree - they look really nice, esp. with steel wheels. Not sure if you have had K02 's before.

My brother has K02 tyres on his 4x4. Magnificent off-road but as they are an aggressive AT tyre, and you can hear a fair amount of tyre noise on the bitumen.
I can't recall his views on their wet road performance but many on-line reviews suggest only average.
[/QUOTE]

Have never considered KO2’s, as they are not aggressive enough. Have worn out 3 sets of Cooper Discovery ST’s over the years, they were good, but not quite there. I now run Mickey Thompson ATZ’s. I love these tyres, just as good as the Coopers on road, but noticeably better off road. Noticeably noisier also. Tyres are a compromise.