Got some follow up information on how the wheels/tires and lift are working out along with some good info and a picture towing a trailer which is interesting.
Greg:
I’ve been very happy with the Michelins – my first impressions relayed to Barry have held up. They’re quiet, ride great, and look good. They barely touch the ends of the frame rails at full steering lock with a bit of compression on the suspension, like when you’re backing out at the bottom of a steep driveway or in a relatively high speed u-turn in traffic. It’s just enough to polish the paint off the ends of the frame rails, but I’d opt for them again in a second. My passengers always expect the LR4 to ride like a Conestoga wagon based on the lift and tires, but it retains that amazing Land Rover air suspension ride quality, even better than the factory setup, probably because of the taller sidewall, though I bet that could be different with the load range E tires many folks choose. I picked the Michelins precisely because they weren’t load range E. I’m sure the guys who do serious and frequent off-roading are happy to exchange some cushy ride for the tougher sidewalls on the heavy duty tires.
Also been very happy with the towing performance with the Johnson Rods and tires, I attached one more picture for fun of how she looks with the travel trailer. The trailer is a 26”, well over 5k lbs loaded, and obviously pushes a lot of air. The effective higher gearing of the bigger tires works out beautifully with the transmission ratios – 5th gear is perfect for cruising at 70 mph. Before the change with the factory wheels and tires, 6th was a little too tall and 5th was a little too short for highway cruising. And on big hills, the downshift to 4th puts the 5.0L right to 3k rpm at 70 mph, which seems to be a great torque sweet spot for the engine and handles all but the steepest hills, which you usually wouldn’t want 70 mph for anyway. I had some concerns about it getting a little squirrely while towing with the extra sidewall squish of the 32” tires, but it performs beautifully.
Whenever you spend money to modify a car, the expectations are high and there’s usually some level of minor (or major) disappointment, but I’ve been exceptionally happy with the combination of the Johnson Rods, the Compomotive wheels, and the Michelins LTX A/T2's. Genuinely thrilled.
Best regards,
Mike
