Everything about tires for LR4/ LR3 with 18" wheels

[CRYA]

Put my LR4 back in it's native state, on jack stands in the driveway. I really want to run 18" steel wheels, but don't love the idea of spacers. thought I saw somewhere that the LR3 front brake caliper bracket (SEH500013) is a direct fit, so for $100 I ordered one. It does indeed fit.

I've since ordered LR3 calipers from FCP Euro (179136, 7) for less than $100 each. A set of EBC rotors and pads for an LR3 are on their way too. If you need to replace your brakes anyways, it's about $400 to convert the brakes versus the $250 for spacers.

18s fit over the rear assembly no problem.

Tuffant 18” Steelies don’t need spacers. Did you consider those?

 

[MellonRover]

Tuffant USA is phasing steelies out. If you are going to do it, you should pull the trigger. Defender "steelies" also are a direct fit. Some say their dealer was overstocked with takeoffs and sold them cheap.

 

[scapistron]

I got the Terra Firma steelies for quite a deal. Defender steelies were around twice the cost.

I didn't come across the tuffant ones, what I'm seeing they were pretty pricey as well.

 

[tpat]

It does fit in spare slot, albeit with a bit of shoving and almost completely deflated (10 lbs or less). Just received my GAP tool and will test it at bumps sometime this coming week.View attachment 25753

Hey, thanks again for the help! I was able to also fit the tire in the spare slot at 10ish psi. Next, I want to see if I can reduce the size of the rubber stoppers above the tire. They're about an inch long, which seems overkill. Shortening that could reduce the risk of dragging the tire on rocks.

Btw, I tested it at the bump stops today and I'm getting absolutely zero rubbing. I can even fit my hand between the wheel and my tire at full turn.

There seems to be quite the variation in clearance by the frame horn. Luckily, the frame horns on my 06 model are recessed past the wheel well, but my buddy's 07 model sticks out about half an inch. There's a chance he'd rub a bit there.

 

[atrain]

Alright wasn't too terrible (just a little) but I got my LR4 back. Here it is at off-road height with the Cooper Rugged Trek and Nomad Sahara 18sView attachment 25715

Perfect stance! What wheel offset and tire size do you have here?

 

[m_lars]

Oh hey it's you! I saw your post on KSL. I'd bite but I like the idea of keeping the wheel weight low to the ground. Do you know of a good way to make a swing out for traction boards and Jerry cans? I saw LR Time had one for traction boards but never could find how they did it.

Thanks for the sharing feedback on your tires. It's very difficult to find any information on side wall puncture resistance that isn't anecdotal. Perhaps I'll message Mickey Thompson and ask how much difference there is between their XL and E rated Baja Boss. That XL seems like a good candidate if sidewall strength is good enough for rock crawling.

I just did a 2200 mile trip with a NATO Jerry can strapped to the tread of the spare tire. I ran a ratchet strap all the way around the tread of the tire through the Jerry can mount and a second through the Jerry can mount to the spare tire carrier. Held up great. There is a commercial equivalent of what I did, but I don’t have time to get one and am also more of a DIYer by nature. Traction boards could easily go on the spare as well if you’re not using a trasheroo or equivalent.

 

[Abram]

Perfect stance! What wheel offset and tire size do you have here?

Thanks! I did wind up exchanging the tires for KO2s but the size remained the same. I’m running an LT 265/65r18 and the wheels have an ET44 offset which should match OEM spec. I’ve had no issues with them and no clearance problems. Super happy with the setup.

 

[scapistron]

I finally got around to purchasing tires for the 18" steelies I've had in my basement for about 6 months. I preferred not running with spacers so I swapped the LR4 caliper brackets in up front and put some nice EBC pads and rotors in. I debated between 265/65, 265/60 and 255/65. Some people claim there's a little rubbing at access height with 265/65 (31.5" diameter), so I ruled those out. The 255/65 are just a hair smaller at 31" and slightly narrower, so I went with those. At full lock in access height they don't rub, but are very close. I was able to slide some junk mail in-between as a feeler gauge.

Nitto Nomad Grappler 255/65R18 115T XL (2679# @ 50psi).

 

[BBLR3]

Just had my 265/65/18 Duratracs put on with 18" Defender rims. Softened up the ride a lot which is nice.

 

[powershift]

I like the tread pattern on the DuraTrac, seems like a good AT. I'd like the white lettering out on mine, old school. I liked the white wall tires and lettering when it was popular decades ago. The website doesn't say how many plys the sidewall is on the DuraTrac. But they don't have 19" sizes so yeah now I see where the beauty of 18" rims lies. I've thought about going up to 20" to leave room for an AP Racing BBK up front for more swept area and strength. https://www.goodyear.com/en_US/tires/wrangler-duratrac-rt-lt/24914.html