I'm trying to find a reasonably priced source for a steel wheel in the following size.

16x8-8.5, 5x4.75 (120mm), with 6"-6.5" of backspacing. Anyone have any idea other than Stockton Wheel? These are for my DII, and they are proving VERY difficult to find because of the deep backspacing.

Yes, I could go with factory alloys, but I prefer the black steelies, and don't really want to spend that much.

call us wheel direct.

They made me custom for regular price. I ordered through performance wheel, in colorado, (national company)

Do a search for wheel with my username, you'll get the information..

j

Greg, give these guys a call....they're down the road from me and have been VERY helpful.
http://www.neww.com/


RJ

Thanks guys. I just ordered a set of 17x9's from US Wheel thru Summit Racing.

17x9's

What are you planning on running tirewise?

37's I'm gussing?

Man it's been a while since I've seen your truck.

No, I'm actually down-sizing. I'm going to 315/70/17 BFG AT's for the street, and keeping my 9.00x16 XZL's for the sticky stuff.

The XZL's are just a lot of tire to ride around on on a daily basis. The AT's will give me a good ride, as well as work well in the snow when I go to the mountains and in the sand when I hit the beach. I guess I'm just getting soft in my old age.

Oh, I picked up the AT's for $117 each from OK4WD. What a steal!

Originally posted by Greg Davis
No, I'm actually down-sizing. I'm going to 315/70/17 BFG AT's for the street, and keeping my 9.00x16 XZL's for the sticky stuff.

The XZL's are just a lot of tire to ride around on on a daily basis. The AT's will give me a good ride, as well as work well in the snow when I go to the mountains and in the sand when I hit the beach. I guess I'm just getting soft in my old age.

Oh, I picked up the AT's for $117 each from OK4WD. What a steal!

Greg, great deal on the tires!!

Did you deal with Chuck there? GREAT guy!!

RJ

No, I actually ordered online. Then Courtney called to verify my ship-to. All in all, it was a seamless deal.

Greg,

I went with Wolf wheels and 265/70R16 SSRs for starters... So far, so good. However, that's nothing in comparison to the sizes you are running.

Do you or anyone know if 9.00R16 XZLs could be fit to a D1 ?

I figured DAP flares and maybe more lift, but don't know. It's still a plan, for now... Going for a heavy duty rear axle and upgraded front, before trying stuff so heavy.

Anyway, how do you like the XZLs ? You mentioned that they're a bit much for around town...

Would be cool to see a pic of them on a Disco :-)

Frank

Frank, I guess it's all relative. When I'm driving it daily, I like the comforts that the DII affords. The XZL's do away with most of those comforts.

They are rough, noisey, heavy, and have affected my gearing to the point that I'm no longer in the "sweet" spot.

I'll keep them for trail use, etc., but the AT's will be for daily use and snow/sand.

I've trimmed alot to fit them, and the DII's have larger wheel openings than the DI's, so I'm not sure if they'd fit even with the cut-out flares.

Only one way to find out.:)

Frank,

You´ll need the following to fit "skinny" 37s on a Disco

1. HEALTHY 3" suspension lift
2. 2" body lift
3. Flares (Rangie Spares, or DAP, same same)
4. Longer bumpstops
5. The RIGHT wheels which will make sure that the tires cycle without hitting the lowest part of the body first.

What are your plans for the drivetrain?

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your 'frank' honesty about living with XZLs on the road. I might experiment with taller SSRs, first. I do like the idea of Wolf/NATO/steel wheels with a bit more offset, so that I can get back to a tighter turning circle.... I've been searching the posts and have read that the XZLs can be a bit scary on ice and snow. At least the SSRs have a little siping.

Hi Nadim,

I sent a note to Rangie Spares, asking about 5-door flares, after you had mentioned how great they are to deal with, but no response...

As for drivetrain plans, I have a Salisbury axle waiting to go in the rear and GBR HD axles with 110 CVs waiting for the front. The new rear already has an ARB in it and we'll need to get one for the front. With the torque from the 2.8 Power Stroke, the stock 3.54 gearing has been fine with the 265/70R16 SSRs. There is a 35x10.50R16 size available, but I would want a spare tire / jerry can rack like the one that SG makes for the D90, to carry such a tall tire. What are you doing for that, may I ask ?

What kind of wheel offset and gearing have you with your 35s ?

Frank

I don't know about DiscoDino, but I have done away with the spare completely for driving around town. I put it in the back and cinch it down with a couple of heavy duty ratchet straps when wheeling. I keep telling myself one of these days I'm going to fab some kind of mount for it inside the truck, where the back seats used to be, in the center of the truck. No way would I want 100lbs of wheel and tire hanging off my rear door. This is on a Disco with 35x12.5 MTs.

Frank,

Even with my 35x10.5 Simex now I have the WORST turning radius ever, AND that is with 4" offset wheels, so I am "GUESSING" that with the NATOs and 36"s you´ll be worse off, that is why I am going with a 10" wheel that´ll push my SXs out by and inch or so per side and help out in that department (hey a couple of degrees more is GREAT :rolleyes: )

Rangie Spares...Damn the address I have for ANDREW there at RS is at my office in Saudi, so I can´t help you there, HOWEVER, I do recall them initially not answering on time, but after the 1st time, its all great...

I am certain that you´ll be safe with the Salisbury R&P, it being at 9.5" (other people here are MUCH MORE qualified than me to talk about that...), but I decided to stick with teh "small housing" of the Rover axle so tht I would not loose 6cm worth of clearance.
I think GBR give out a great product and Bill has proven himself over and over again as a great guy to deal with.

My rig is CURRENTLY on 4.7 series R&P (I know, I know...) with an 8" wide rim that is 4" inside, 4" outside...
It will have BY JUNE HOPEFULLY 4.88 Toy R&P Hypoid design, maybe an MD LT230RC 4.3 Low range, and 15x10 rims that are 4" inside, 6" outside. CVs will be the Toy LONGFIELD and the axles from Jac Mac (and lockers too I guess).

I have decided to go this direction and pool all my resources once and for all for the ULTIMATE BLING BLING :flipoff2: !!!

The SUNK cost is surely high, however, the CVs are cheap (there are more Toys in the Middle East than sand grains...so you do the math).

As far as the spare tire is concerned, Like Darkstar, I don´t carry one anymore. Once I put the cage in, I´ll be cutting up the rear floor right behind the front seats pretty badly as I have to "raise" the floor to get a fuel tank there and have the rear winch where the rear tank used to be. The cage will dictate where to put the spare, but most probable than not, it´ll be on its belly in the middle of the truck.

I can tell you that your theory about the 10" wheels is correct. I have 15x10 wheels with an inch or so less backspacing than stock and my turning radius increased dramatically from when I was running the stock wheels with 235/85s.

For what it's worth, prior to the XZL's I was running the 35x10.50/16 SSR's on 16x7 w/5" backspacing, and had no rubbing whatsoever with my steering stops turned completely down. No loss of turning radius at all. With the XZL's, the PS rubs on the radius arm at full look. Evidentally, my panhard needs adjusting a little bit.

My 315's came in yesterday. I hate to say it, but next to my XZL's, they look small.:( I'll lose almos 2" of tire, but I know for everyday use it's more practical.

This is my first time "downsizing", so it's a little hard on me.:)

Alex/Nadim/Greg,

This is my umpteenth try at posting a message. After logging in, writing the reply, then pressing preview/post, it says there is no thread or I am not logged in...

So, if this makes it through, thanks for the responses and I had a whole lot more I wanted to write (actually, wrote several times :-(

Frank

PS If this makes it through, I'll try again, later.

(said in a group therapy kinda voice)
"Hello Greg"
:flipoff2:

Alex/Nadim/Greg,

"Hi, my name is (insert name, here) and I have a tire problem..." ;-)

Alex,
I've got a friend in CO that I hope will look into making a swing-away rack for jerry cans and a large spare, like the one that SG makes for the D90.

Nadim,
As for the Salisbury, I know that I'll lose some clearance under the diff housing, but then I can make it back up with taller tires and the upgrades to the front mean I probably won't need to upgrade to a 110 front axle. Your comment about sunk costs made me chuckle :-) I'm so far past the point of diminishing returns, it makes me think of the Lotus Europa project languishing in the garage ;-) There's no plan to ever part with the Rover, so I'm not concerned. The plan was to make things as robust as possible, get rid of the V8's electronics and enjoy diesel power, again. When we're ready to go to the 35s, I'll probably go to a 4.1 final drive, at that time. As for CVs, I like the Toy idea better than minivan parts ;-)

Greg,
Thanks for the info. That confirms it; 35x10.5R16 SSRs and I've found a wheel that should work (D130 "1 Ton" ANR1534), but I'll check the dimensions, first, if possible. It'll be nice to get the turning radius back. I think Rover Tracks is making an adjustable panhard rod, if you need one... Sorry to hear about the "downsizing" - sounds like the auto industry :-[

Frank

Originally posted by unscooter

I've got a friend in CO that I hope will look into making a swing-away rack for jerry cans and a large spare, like the one that SG makes for the D90.

Frank

Now THAT is a definate MUST...will he mass produse them? how mounted?
In it's prior life, on my disco, the orig. rear door failed due to to the weight of the 255-85-16 or 9x34 swamper and rack of fuel cans above it.....now the replacement one has gotten almost as bad? top is pulled back an inch or more? am back to 265-75-16 for d-driving but plan on going back to larger soon...when I get a third rear door, I am planning on coming up with some sort of rear rack either mounted via hinge holes and securing on left side as well when latched, or trying to figure a way to attach on SG bumper, but am not holding breath on that....am also looking at options.. my idea of hinge mounting requires mucho re-design of either door or body at hinge area..prolly beyond my ability right now..

Paul

An important reason I don't want my spare on the back door is for weight distribution. Discos are ass heavy as it is, and hanging weight behind the rear axle only makes it worse. There is a noticeable difference in climbing ability in my truck depending on where the weight is--if I put the spare and the tools right behind the front seats it climbs better.

I guess another solution to this is to put in a heavier engine, but that's a topic for another thread.:D

Well, I can't say "mass" produce, but he is in the biz and I will let him know of the interest...

Yes, I agree that Discos are very tush heavy, but I am not yet ready to mount the spare inside. We'll see.

My hope was to set up the interior so that the two of us could sleep in the back, if we had to, rather than outside, since where we are includes bears and such 8^O

Roof racks and roof rack tents are a bit of a problem, as we need to keep a low profile for the trees (he said, still planning on 35s :-)

As for the heavy engine, well that part I've gone and done ;-)

Frank

a 35"+ tire and steel wheel (with beadlocks maybe?) should NOT be on the rear door.
I'll affect much more than the hinges, and you're trail performance will suffer!
the weight should be BETWEEN the 2 axles.
FWIW, I did design an "inside" rack for teh 35" tire should I wish to keep my rear bench, and that should be easy to fab/secure.