I recently took a 1500 KM round trip to a remote national park here in Namibia of which almost 900 KM were on gravel roads. of the 900 KM Gravel 400 Km were seriously bad with sharp stones at some places. My 2.4 MIVEC Outlander II is fitted with 225/55/R Tires. I had one flat tires when sharp stone teared into the driver side rear tire. I had one space saver spare and another full size in the boot that saved me. I got the tire repaired after almost 100 KM journey to our final destination but that was by good luck. Normally here in Namibia; the distances are too long and you have to travel almost 500 KM to get next place with human beings; forget any sort of repairs. (remember, Namibia is second sparsely populated after Mongolia). I have observed the following about my tire size;
1)that the size of tires on my Outlander is not very gravel friendly though they stable on tarred road
2)Only AT tires that are available locally in this size are by Yokohama and are dam expensive
3)The price for this size in general is high. The affordable prices are for Highway Terrain Tires (HT)
Front two tires on my outlander are in good condition but the rear ones are almost finished. So i need suggestions from all the folks here to help me decide on which way to go. I am considering following options;
1) Replace rear tires with two good used tires of the same size as wait for all the four to wear evenly; than replace all four with normal SUV Highway Terrain Tires
2) Replace the rear two tires with new tires
3) Buy 16 Inch aftermarket rims and put AT type tires as 16 inch are more readily available and are much cheaper. Drawbacks of this approach are buying new Rims and going small on Rims. but being OEM recommended size; i think that it shall be the same as 18 inch.
Mostly we use this vehicle for recreational use as we use small car in town. most of driving during recreational activities involves 70% Highway 30% country side roads. So i am not sure if putting normal SUV 18s will be good enough for that 30%.
Your suggestions are welcome. Forgive me if i am restarting an already beaten topic but my reading through the forum could not reveal a comparison of the two OEM recommended sizes.

 

my vote is usually always more sidewall.
16 vs 18 doesnt matter as the rolling diameter isnt changing. (and tyres for 16 are cheaper)

H/t are fine on gravel if you dont drive in anger (i do. Fast and slideways) and offroad proper, so I would choose a/t but maybe not FOR YOU.

a harder compound tyre will aid, NOT STOP, punctures, but at the compromise of traction on wet seal.

You get what you pay for..

 

The side wall on 16 rims would be bigger (70) vs 18 (55). My driving wont be aggressive at gravel. 60-80 kph. Max 100kph on good gravel

 

When going off road, larger sidewall will always provide better ride and will protect your rims.

The middle number in tires is not a direct measurement, but a percentage of the tire tread width. So on a 225/55/18 tire, your sidewall would be 112.5mm. On the 215/70/16, the sidewall will be 150.5mm.
Just playing around with a tire size calculator: http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-...0R16/235-70R15
The 235-70R15 is the meatiest tire I'd go with that keeps the same overall diameter. The only problem with going this route is your turning performance will suffer since your sidewall would be so big. And, you'd have to get a set of rims.

 

I'd favour the larger sidewall in a better AT tyre which has more strength such as the BFG KO version. Before buying new wheels best to make sure what will clear brake calipers first.

Jim

 

Good point about the calipers.

 

i had 16s on my previous outlander and they fit well. i still have one full spare from that time and used during my current trip on the rear and it fitted with no problem. i have noticed that 18s give better fc than 16 i think as my fc on current outalnder despite being 7 seater (1620kg) is better than previous 5 seater (1580 Kg).

 

The later models seem to be better tuned for performance / fc. Economy will depend more on overall circumference rather than wheel size. Also tyre pressure is a big factor. Larger wheels are more for dissapaiting heat to keep larger brakes cool.

 

Hi everyone!

I recently bought Peugeot 4007 which is 99% Mitsubishi except the 2.2HDI engine.

I am wondering what tyres to put. 90% I am driving on public roads, but I am a wildlife photographer and at the weekends, I am going to the near lake/hide, and it is a light offroad, mud, etc.

I thought that All Terrain tyres 235/70/16 will be the best choice, but I cannot find rims for this tyres, because I need rims which should be at least 7.5J, and ET 30-35 to not rub in my stock suspension, and I cannot find such rims.
The other suggestion is to go with 225/70/16 which I will be able to fit on the stock 16" rims, but here is the other question. Isn't it better to buy Michelin CrossClimate 2? Or I will have problems in a deeper mud?

Any kind of suggestions are welcome!