This might get winded, so you can skip to [The Point] below if you like…
[Back Story]
When I first bought my LR4, I immediately went to the local wheel & tire shop to replace the factory wheels.
The salesman said, "What color is your LR4?"
"Fuji White," I replied.
"It just so happens that we have some 22" Fuji White wheels." He explains.
"Do tell..." I inquire.
So he sells me on some 22" Fuji White Redbourne wheels that a local LR dealer had ordered, but they painted the wrong color white (apparently there's more than one) and so they cancelled the order. Basically I paid for the wheels and they threw in the custom paint job for free to get them out of their showroom.
Two big mistakes here...white and 22”. Probably the single worst automotive purchase I've ever made. First, white (for obvious reasons) is a total pain in the ass to keep clean (but when they're clean they look damn good). Second, as you all know it's just about impossible to get any decent rubber on a 22" rim on Land Rovers.
Now, ever since I’ve been wanting a taller tire for three reasons - a smoother ride, more offroad capability, and let's face it, it looks goofy with low profile tires. So occasionally I’d go out to the garage and look at the inner fenders to see what I could do to make more room so larger tires wouldn’t rub. There’s a part of the frame on the rear of the inner front fender that would need to be cut or modified, and the forward fender liner would need to be cut/altered/removed. And I always figured that some sort of lift would be part of this equation also. Well I’m not one to just start cutting up a Land Rover, so I’ve never pulled the trigger on any of this. But ever since I bought those wheels, I've been kicking myself because I've basically been limited on tire size. Or at least so I thought, until the other week when I came across another LR4 in a local grocery parking lot...
[The Point]
I saw this LR4 that was lifted (Johnson rods at least, maybe GAP tool also) and was rolling 285/45/22 Nitto Terra Grapplers. I was checking it out and he had done exactly what I’ve been thinking about doing to make room in the wheel wells. So I took some pictures (see below) and thought I’d pose a couple questions here. I don't know why but I didn't take an overview shot of the vehicle at the time, but it looked dope.
- Has anyone else made these modifications to accommodate larger tires?
- Would there be any adverse effects of cutting the frame where it’s cut? (I thought about cutting it like he did and even welding a plate to maintain strength/rigidity.)
- Other than a proper alignment, is there anything else that would need to be done to make this work?
- Any other reason why this wouldn’t work? I mean, this guy did it…
Thanks in advance. I know the wheel/tire debate has been beaten to death here. Just thought this was worth a look as a possible viable option for larger sizes.
- Tire Size
- Rear of the driver's front wheel well with frame cut
- Driver's front wheel fender liner cut.
- Passenger's front fender liner cut.
- Rear of the passenger's front wheel well with frame cut
- Johnson Rod
- My ride aka Stormtrooper
This one added for kicks...
[Back Story]
When I first bought my LR4, I immediately went to the local wheel & tire shop to replace the factory wheels.
The salesman said, "What color is your LR4?"
"Fuji White," I replied.
"It just so happens that we have some 22" Fuji White wheels." He explains.
"Do tell..." I inquire.
So he sells me on some 22" Fuji White Redbourne wheels that a local LR dealer had ordered, but they painted the wrong color white (apparently there's more than one) and so they cancelled the order. Basically I paid for the wheels and they threw in the custom paint job for free to get them out of their showroom.
Two big mistakes here...white and 22”. Probably the single worst automotive purchase I've ever made. First, white (for obvious reasons) is a total pain in the ass to keep clean (but when they're clean they look damn good). Second, as you all know it's just about impossible to get any decent rubber on a 22" rim on Land Rovers.
Now, ever since I’ve been wanting a taller tire for three reasons - a smoother ride, more offroad capability, and let's face it, it looks goofy with low profile tires. So occasionally I’d go out to the garage and look at the inner fenders to see what I could do to make more room so larger tires wouldn’t rub. There’s a part of the frame on the rear of the inner front fender that would need to be cut or modified, and the forward fender liner would need to be cut/altered/removed. And I always figured that some sort of lift would be part of this equation also. Well I’m not one to just start cutting up a Land Rover, so I’ve never pulled the trigger on any of this. But ever since I bought those wheels, I've been kicking myself because I've basically been limited on tire size. Or at least so I thought, until the other week when I came across another LR4 in a local grocery parking lot...
[The Point]
I saw this LR4 that was lifted (Johnson rods at least, maybe GAP tool also) and was rolling 285/45/22 Nitto Terra Grapplers. I was checking it out and he had done exactly what I’ve been thinking about doing to make room in the wheel wells. So I took some pictures (see below) and thought I’d pose a couple questions here. I don't know why but I didn't take an overview shot of the vehicle at the time, but it looked dope.
- Has anyone else made these modifications to accommodate larger tires?
- Would there be any adverse effects of cutting the frame where it’s cut? (I thought about cutting it like he did and even welding a plate to maintain strength/rigidity.)
- Other than a proper alignment, is there anything else that would need to be done to make this work?
- Any other reason why this wouldn’t work? I mean, this guy did it…
Thanks in advance. I know the wheel/tire debate has been beaten to death here. Just thought this was worth a look as a possible viable option for larger sizes.
- Tire Size
- Rear of the driver's front wheel well with frame cut
- Driver's front wheel fender liner cut.
- Passenger's front fender liner cut.
- Rear of the passenger's front wheel well with frame cut
- Johnson Rod
- My ride aka Stormtrooper
This one added for kicks...
