Grenadier on 35s

[Spjnr]

   Dirk Heilman posted this on Instagram, looks like 35s on this one testing/filming in Iceland!  

 

[AZGrenadier]

Now that definitely looks good

 

[stickshifter]

Great to see that larger tires will fit! Yeah, I think those are 35s... Hard to tell on a vehicle that's still unfamiliar. I guess they could be 33s, but probably 35s. Frankly, the "stock" tires seem small for this vehicle, and the prototypes seem lower to the ground than the mock-up images that Ineos has been promoting for a year now (I'm referring to the silver Grenadier on most of the PR material).

How will the small split rear door open with a 35-inch spare tire on the larger of the rear doors? Don't you have to open the small door before you can open the larger door? The "stock" tires are 31.7 inches tall, and there wasn't much extra room for the small door to open - based on video I have watched (haven't seen a Grenadier in person).  The spare on the photo from Iceland looks like a stock tire, not a match to the four tires running on the truck.

 

[Michael Gain]

Great point on the spare tire. I wonder if a spacer would give enough clearance without putting undue stress on the the tire's door mount. 

 

[stickshifter]

Hi Michael,
Not sure I follow your thinking with regard to the spacer - sorry if I'm being dense! A spacer to push the tire rearwards or "aft"? I think a 35  is too tall (i.e. has too much diameter), and so the spare will extend too far left (if you are standing behind the vehicle looking at the spare - like you are about to open the back doors). This will prevent the small door (the one on the left) from opening; at least I think it will. In one of the videos I watched they had a close-up of the spare and there wasn't much clearance for the small door - even with the stock tire which is 31.7 inches in diameter. Again - sorry if I am misunderstanding your suggestion. Feel free to correct me!

 

[Spjnr]

I'd say there's still a bit of room there for an upsized tire. It looks like there's a good 4 inches on the right and maybe 2 on the left until you start interfering with doors opening. 35 may just squeeze on, but I'd be confident in a 33 fitting.

 

[Michael Gain]

Hi Michael,
Not sure I follow your thinking with regard to the spacer - sorry if I'm being dense! A spacer to push the tire rearwards or "aft"? I think a 35  is too tall (i.e. has too much diameter), and so the spare will extend too far left (if you are standing behind the vehicle looking at the spare - like you are about to open the back doors). This will prevent the small door (the one on the left) from opening; at least I think it will. In one of the videos I watched they had a close-up of the spare and there wasn't much clearance for the small door - even with the stock tire which is 31.7 inches in diameter. Again - sorry if I am misunderstanding your suggestion. Feel free to correct me!

Not a problem at all. I typed a quick response. 

By using a spacer to push the tire aft-ward, you could create space for the arc of the door. I think of it simplistically as when one of my daughter's toys are in front of her bedroom door. By pushing the toy backwards, I create enough space to clear the door.

Conversely, by moving the tire aft-ward, you are increasing the length of the lever. This will place more stress on the welded "hub" on the door. I'm not an engineer but remember some of my physics classes lol

 

[Paachi]

I agree with @Spjnr. There seems to be about 2 inches between the left edge of the tire and the smaller doors’ opening. Going from 31.7” to 35” means about 1.6” on each side. So I think 35” tire would easily fit. I’d be more concerned about the load on the door hinge and the if the reinforcement on the mount can take the weight. 
Personally I am quite excited that they are shown with 35s. Which means 33” tires should clear easily and that’s my golden size. 

 

[Stu_Barnes]

 

My option of choice, but visibility does suffer...... 

Drove a defender from Oxford to Marseilles once with this setup, we just had to hope that other people saw the ponderous slow beast (it was a 130 twin cab) and gave us a lot of braking room.

Those 35's are a good looking setup though.

 

[Stu_Barnes]

With regards to spacers I'm sure the aftermarket will come up with something if the demand is there. Adaptor plate to the existing mounting points on the door and move it up and towards the right a little. Visibility would be atrocious though. 

 

[Tazzieman]

Visibility would be atrocious though. 

Never change lanes in the bush , and never try to reverse park in a busy street!Most modern cars have abysmal visibility. 

 

[stickshifter]

Great posts here on this topic!

Spjnr: thanks for the photos! I think you are right - there looks like room on the left of the spare to handle a larger tire. I saw a video that made the tolerance seem tighter, but these photos make it seem doable. Also, a "35" is usually a little less than 35 inches in diameter (varying by manufacturer).

Michael: thanks for your explanation - that makes sense. I also agree with you that a spacer might not be the best option due to shifting that considerable weight further away from the mounting plate. Physics is a bear.

Stu_Barnes: regarding visibility - I drove a Wrangler JKU for quite some time on 35's - you get used to the reduced visibility out the back. But just because you get used to it, doesn't change the fact that you do have reduced visibility, and that is not ideal. In my JKU I also had a wiper motor blocking visibility out the back, so there was basically nothing to see when looking in the rear view. I find if you only use the skinny pedal on the right, and not that bothersome pedal in the middle, you don't have to worry about what's behind you ?

35s won't be the choice of most international over-landers, due to the difficulty in finding tires. In that regard, the stock tires will be best for finding spares and for range (fuel mileage). But most of the guys I know here in Colorado will want to lift the vehicle and put on 35s. We have a lot of rocky trails here and the added ground clearance brings a lot of peace of mind, and opens up trails that would otherwise be too difficult. Plus, in America, bigger is always better ?

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I think the best solution for visibility out the back is one of these:

https://www.amazon.ca/Version】-Jansite-Recording-Streaming-Reversing/dp/B07ZSWF6KS/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=rear+view+camera+mirror&qid=1638473469&sr=8-5

They are cheap, and I have one mounted in my Canyon (which has a cap on it, so zero visibility out the back normally). It works GREAT, and it's also a rear and forward facing dash cam. And, if it goes wrong - another $100 from Amazon before the next trip and I'm good to go.
I just posted a response in another thread about 35s - but one of the most obvious solutions to the door is to copy what is common on Jeeps. The rear hinges of the JK and JL are not robust enough to take heavy tires, and over time they give out. The solution is a rear bumper mounted tire swing out. The difference is a JK rubicon has to give up a big percentage of available payload to mount that solution, but many do -- the Grenadier has a much smaller percentage there to worry about because it's got a ton to play with. 

 

[Paachi]

I use a similar product in my G which also has the tire mounted on the rear door. With a regular mirror you can attest see 50% of the rear view. Go a few tire sizes up and it restricts view even more. 
then I found the mirror dashcam unit and it’s a god send. The view is 100% and with an IR rear can you get amazing night visibility too. It will be the first mod I do in any car. 

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I use a similar product in my G which also has the tire mounted on the rear door. With a regular mirror you can attest see 50% of the rear view. Go a few tire sizes up and it restricts view even more. 
then I found the mirror dashcam unit and it’s a god send. The view is 100% and with an IR rear can you get amazing night visibility too. It will be the first mod I do in any car. 

Totally agree Paachi - first and easiest mod on any new car I buy from now on. That is one of the things JLR got absolutely right on the new Defender, which is where I stole the idea from. (they got a lot 'right' and I actually do think they designed a heck of a good expedition rig, just the philosophy behind it is not simple - it'll do the same things the Gren can, but with a totally different approach to the "how")

 

[grenadierguy]

@ChasingOurTrunks couldn't agree more! "That is one of the things JLR got absolutely right on the new Defender"
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