Landrover wheel choice - experts please!
 

Ok I need to throw this one out to the more experienced Landrover user for some guidance.

I am prepping my Landrover Defender 110 for a Trans Africa trip at the end of the year, it will be pretty fully loaded and I will be running Michelin 750R 16 XZL's all round, of which I have six.

My question relates to the ideal wheels to run with these tyres, I currently have four 6.5Lx16x20.6 rims (Part no. ANR1534) which are non-vented and I believe riveted.

Would I be best to stick with these four and get two more of the same, or change them for a set of six vented wolf-type?

Does the fact that they are riveted mean they cannot be run tubeless? My intention was to start tubeless and then when the inevitable first puncture happens put a tube inside.

A few questions there to answer and I'm sure someone will be able to suggest the perfect wheel solution!

Many thanks in advance,

Ben Southall

I think as they're the riveted type then you can't use tubeless tyres on them, although i'll wait until a grown up comes to confirm that.

the vented (AKA wolf) rims come in tubed and tubeless form, so make sure you get the right ones, but seeing as you already have 4 steel rims, just get 2 more the same. they're considerable cheaper than the vented jobbies, and are more than up to the job.....

LR's were using these rims since waaaaaay back when overlanding started, so no reason why they wouldn't work now.

and with tubed tyres you can always reduce the pressure to give some extra grip without worrying that the bead will get pushed off the rim.

just carry some spare tubes and one of those little kits with the patches and glue in. i think Matt Savage does them, if not then agricultural suppliers do, thats where i got mine from.

Driving LR's since 1988 now and I have tried some setups.

Running on tubed gave me loads of flat tyres,especially on highways.
Never had a flat tyre since I run on tubeless.

The fabel about running lower pressure on tubed is also not very true.
I do drive offroad(rocks/sand dunes) on as low as 0.8bar with tubeless.
and never ever had a tyre off my rim.

Wolf rim is nearly unbreakable and when dented,take a hammer and few minutes later they are back in shape to get the tyre back on.

Don't go for remoulded tyres as they tend to peel off the carcas.

Any brand in a common size (size that you can find easily in Africa when you wreck one) 7.50 (but these days mor edifficult to find) or the metric alternative 235/85/16 is the best way to go.

My all time favourite is BFG AT (go up to 100.000km's and more)
but also GoodYears (very strong sidewalls which make them perfect for running on low PSI) to Dunlops/generals are pretty fine.

If you are based in the UK try to find BF goodrich Commercials.
They might be the closest to Michelins 7.5 on carcas strength but not available in mainland Europe.

Hope this helps you out :cool4:

Hi Ben
yeah the riveted rims 'shouldnt' be run tubeless as Jim says...

personally im not a big fan of the older rims - anything welded is much better and easier to field repair.

wolf rims are great - if you can get a good deal - otherwise use 7x16 inch steel disco rims (the original older style) which are as tough as wolf rims and you can generally pick them up for peanuts on eblag or at sodbury.

as FreeCarver mentons tubeless is the way to go - without a doubt, less heat build up on asphalt and when aired down - and easy to fix with repair strings - you only need the tubes if you really rip open a tyre and have to patch/sew it.

and BFG AT s are a good choice - Mud Terrain are tougher though and better for further South in Africa.

cheers
Grif

Another vote for wolf wheels - very very strong! I also would mention that a 7.50 tyre is fairly common, light truck variants made by MRF, BKT (both indian) and Double Coin etc (Chinese) is a standard light truck size, readily available and tough as nails... I also found that an old set of riveted LR rims were impossible to balance due to being so out of shape. BFG a good tyre.
Gil

Thanks for all of the help with this little dilemna.

I do have the four riveted steel wheels at the mo which appear to be running tubeless AND holding their pressure no problem (they have been on these rims for a year or so!).

I will try and acquire two more of the same style but the later welded type and start by running tubeless, carrying a repair kit and finally, if needs be, fitting tubes to overcome bigger problems!

Does this seem sensible?

Ben

I could well be wrong, but I was always under the impression that a rim for tubeless tyres is designed differently to one for tubed tyres! Just looked out the window where I have a tubeless rim from a 105 L/cruiser lying and the lip of the rim looks much bigger than for a tubed type landrover rim if I remember - maybe something you should check!
Personally I would ensure that my tyres and rims are definately compatible... Not so much for low speed 4x4 type use, but long highway miles is what I am wary of with funny tyre/rim combos. With tubeless tyres the repair kit is of course needed - tubes as back up is a good idea, but if you envisage a situation where a sidewall is totally stuffed then you can imagine how a tube will easily protrude through a split side wall. In such a situation you really need some heavy rubber to place between the tube and tyre carcass to contain the tube. Of course it won't last long either. I have seen sidewalls stitched or even bolted (on heavy equipment) to contain a sidewall split and tube. This is one reason why for really remote travel in areas where sidewalls get trashed that people still use very rugged cross-ply tyres and tubes. I have seen Wolf type rims pretty cheap from paddocks etc? I would go for five wolf type tubeless rims and take one of your rims and XZLs as a second spare.
Gil