2013 LR4 I'm new need advice on wheels

I can confirm that a 31.1" 255/70r17 KO2 will fit in the spare location without airing down. I can also confirm zero mods are necessary when the suspension drops down to bump stops and still drive home.

I have time on my hands and I like a challenge.

Curious to know, would anyone would be interested in a conversion kit, if I were to get Lucky8 to put one together.

djkaosone said:

I can confirm that a 31.1" 255/70r17 KO2 will fit in the spare location without airing down. I can also confirm zero mods are necessary when the suspension drops down to bump stops and still drive home.

I have time on my hands and I like a challenge.

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I am 99% sure the later LR4s cannot do 17" rims because of larger brakes. In fact when I was fitting in 18", the tire shop commented that even those have very minimal clearance.

RobRover88 said:

Yes, greiswig is right - NO RUBBING should be acceptable when it's avoidable.
The simple way to avoid ANY problems is to fit 265/60 X 18's and not fit a 1/2" bigger sidewall for very
minor benefit. The sidewalls on the slightly lower profile tire of the BFG KO2's are extremely tough - better
I'd suggest than ANY other cheaper brand in the -65's - including Coopers.
To have to grind, cut or use added mods to fit a slightly bigger tire shows some guys have too much time to fill in. The capability of the LR4 is great as it is. The benefit is too small to measure.
The need to air-down the spare to get a -65 profile to fit is a good enough reason to stay with a 30.5" wheel/tire combination.

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So I have to say it comes down to your personal preference - how much you're willing to operate outside the safe and convenient route, and what you're changing tires for.

If I was 100% rational and was just doing this for very occasional off-road use / appearance, I'd stick to 265/60/18s, and not put up with any hassles. However, I bought this truck to build up an overlanding / off-roading hobby, for which I've also invested in a compressor that I keep in car to air up/down, an IID tool to modify suspension clearance / clear faults, etc. So I figured given many folks on these forums have been operating the slightly larger tire, I'd try it out. If I find it bothering me too much when its time to replace, I'll likely go for the smaller tire.

Will let this forum know what I learn in a bunch of weeks

Haris said:

I am 99% sure the later LR4s cannot do 17" rims because of larger brakes. In fact when I was fitting in 18", the tire shop commented that even those have very minimal clearance.

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He converted to the smaller euro brakes.

Frankly I doubt there is anything you can do that the standard vehicle and wheels can't. Save your money and take the wife out to dinner instead

sceh said:

Frankly I doubt there is anything you can do that the standard vehicle and wheels can't. Save your money and take the wife out to dinner instead

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Most of the terrain I go through requires better tires, and airing down is a must. Unfortunately, there aren't many options in 19s. I too wanted compos, only ones available when I was looking. Compos were about $400ea before taxes and shipping and I wanted 6x. That's $2400 + shipping + tires.

I think it costs me less than $1k for parts and shipping (mostly from UK), plus 6 refurbished bmw wheels at $100ea, plus $160ea 255/70r17 KO2s E rated, and let's just say it was shy of $3k. Still cheaper than going down the compo route and I get a lot more sidewall and tire selection.

It's not for the faint of heart, but at the time I seriously sliced up all my 255/55r19s Duratracs aired down to 25 psi on 1 trip. Had to drive into town to only find used street tires in 19s. They mostly had 17s and very few 18s in AT or MT. So, this led me to to 17s vs 18s too. Remote locations can only offer what they have and 17s are pretty darn universal. 18s are common too, but 19s no Fn way. If you pop 1 tire, there goes your spare and are you still willing to continue your trip? What happens if you pop another tire? That's what I think about and plan for.

17" wheels cannot be fitted to any 2013+ LR4 in Aussie spec as the brakes are too big & as we know there's only a handful of aftermarket 18" brands available - Compo's being the most expensive but the
best in terms of strength, weight & quality. (and arguably looks!)
The 3.0 lt. diesels, V8's & SC V6's certainly need the bigger brakes & nobody in their right mind would swap out the OE calipers for earlier, smaller units from the LR3, just to be able to fit 17's.
In terms of tire size, fitting the 265/60's instead of 265/65's avoids ALL the potential problems and still
gives a real increase in sidewall. I've found the sidewall strength of BFG KO2's exceeds that of cheaper
brands & gives me everything I need for serious rock climbing, plus mud, ruts, sand etc.

RobRover88 said:

17" wheels cannot be fitted to any 2013+ LR4 in Aussie spec as the brakes are too big & as we know there's only a handful of aftermarket 18" brands available - Compo's being the most expensive but the
best in terms of strength, weight & quality. (and arguably looks!)
The 3.0 lt. diesels, V8's & SC V6's certainly need the bigger brakes & nobody in their right mind would swap out the OE calipers for earlier, smaller units from the LR3, just to be able to fit 17's.
In terms of tire size, fitting the 265/60's instead of 265/65's avoids ALL the potential problems and still
gives a real increase in sidewall. I've found the sidewall strength of BFG KO2's exceeds that of cheaper
brands & gives me everything I need for serious rock climbing, plus mud, ruts, sand etc.

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You can say I'm not normal, I don't mind.

Here's exactly what I did to get 17s functioning slightly better than oem performance. Cross drilled/slotted rotors, ebc orange (track/tow), and ss brake lines on top of the conversion. This setup is super aggressive, to the point where the rotors wore out before the pads after 4 years. Again, people don't drive like me off road either so take all this with a grain of salt.

Heck, I wish I’d thought of the idea before I bought my 18” wheels and tires. Good idea!