Member Since: 29 Jul 2020
Location: Kirchstetten
Posts: 96
How to fit bigger tyres 265/70R18
Hi there
Before I started my project of fitting bigger tyres I searched this great forum a lot.
There is plenty of information around here, but sadly the information is divided in many different threads.
So I thought, I share my experience with you, and post plenty of pictures of the process in one thread
first of all, the technical details:
I fitted 265/70 R18 Yokohama Geolandar G015
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They have a measured Diameter inflated on the Rim of 830mm
Overall width on the Rim 270mm
Profile width of 210mm
My car is a 2006 D3 2,7TDV6 without Air condition in the rear
Lets start with the rear wheel housing.
On both sides of the vehicle on the front of the wheel housing there is a metal fold behind the inner plastic liner. behind the red area:
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Also the bump on the plastic in this area has to be removed.
I decided to cut the plastic liner along the green line because there is a lot of rust building up behind, and so its better in view and easier to work on in the future. its also possible to heat the plastic up and dent the bump in, so that it is more or lass flat.
for the metal fold, please do NOT cut it away! there are spot-weldings on it. I decided to bend the whole fold as flat as possible to the wheel housing.
After that I covered it with a lot of rope-grease to prevent it from further rusting.
sorry, the picture isn't the best
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I also removed the mudguards on the rear.
That's all for the rear on my car. If your car has rear air condition, its a little bit more complicated. there are some coolant pipes next to the metal fold which have has to be rerouted.
Lowered to the bump stops there is NO rubbing at all. its tight in the back, but no rubbing.
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Lets go to the front
There is the one frame part, that no one knows what it is for. on my early D3 it is just screwed on, and can be easily removed .
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There are big holes underneath in the frame. I will cover them later with some sheet metal
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The front of the wheel is slightly touching the bottom of the front bumper when you are steering.
On my car most of the plastic mounting points between the bumper and the inner plastics are broken. and its all wobbling around very loosely. So I decided to cut a little bit more of the bumper and the inner plastic as needed
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On the left side of the bumper is the windscreen-cleaning-water-reservoir. So I had to go around 30mm beneath the existing "bumper line" and cutted the bumper along the green marking.
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Maybe I will cover this opening later with some plastic or sheet metal. we will see.
Last but not least.. there is one cable running along the frame on the left side. Its not touching the Tyre, but its uncomfortably close. so I moved it to the top of the frame. just remove the original zip tie and zip tie it to the top. easy job.
I have no picture of it, maybe I will add this later on.
Down to the Bump stops the Tyre wouldn't rub on anything as long as you are on a straight line.
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Its very close in the front, even with the bigger cutting of the bumper. But its not touching.
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That's it!
It looks like this sitting on the bump stops.
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Its all around very close to touching. you have to be careful when you are on the bump stops.
As soon as you go into access height, full steering is possible without touching anything. But its still close, and I wouldn't recommend to drive on uneven ground in access height.
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here some pictures, mainly in off road height, just because its looking cool. 8)
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Last edited by Fuxl on 10th Nov 2021 2:35 pm. Edited 1 time in total
15th Oct 2021 9:16 am
ronp
Member Since: 29 Nov 2006
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 15213
Fuxl wrote:
Lets go to the front
There is the one frame part, that no one knows what it is for. on my early D3 it is just screwed on, and can be easily removed .
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
I know what it’s for.
That chassis extension leg wasn’t fitted to UK pre 08 D3s
So as yours is an 06, I assume that it was fitted to certain export models ….. hence the bolt on fitment.
On later D3s and all D4s in the UK (and I assume all other markets), this chassis leg was welded on as part of the complete chassis.
This chassis leg is to prevent wheel intrusion into the driver and front passenger compartment in the event of a frontal impact collision.
Hope that helps your understanding. I was a normal heterosexual chap, but in these new woke awakenings I now identify as a Wardrobe.
15th Oct 2021 11:37 am
galwaygreen
Member Since: 30 Oct 2011
Location: plymouth
Posts: 6525
SAVE YOUR MONEY...these vehicles go most places on standard tyres....where are you thinking of going for christ sake??????????????,if standard tyres wont get you there why would you want to go there...just asking for trouble
15th Oct 2021 11:40 pm
Motolab
Member Since: 18 Oct 2019
Location: Sleen
Posts: 1815
+1
And if needed… 265/65 R18. Goes fine in a D3 without all these hassle
And are you sure , aftermarket rims designed for BMW have the proper weight rating for a LR D3/4?
Otherwise, if you did it because you can.. Best regards
Harold
Always looking for Pre '55's & Pre war British Motorcycles! knowing or having one for sale? PM please. I visit the UK 6 times a year
Ps. I edit my texts quite often, english is not my native language, so I will edit My “typo’s” etc.
16th Oct 2021 9:11 am
Fuxl
Member Since: 29 Jul 2020
Location: Kirchstetten
Posts: 96
Hi
I did it "just because".....
This is, at the moment, our Family hauler, to bring the kids to school and back.
Or for my wife when she decides we have to go to IKEA.
but in the future I want to build it up as my secondary off road rig.
I have a twin locked Landcruiser on 33" MT, which is my usual tough-tourer.
Click image to enlarge
But it is to small for the whole Family. So I decided to build the D3 up as the second off roader of the family.
I'm pretty sure that I will never build it up as tough as the landcruiser, but I want it to almost keep up with it. 8)
And therefore the first step is to fit tyres as big as possible.
And the nice thing was, there was no chance to safe money. It cost me nothing at all. The job was done in maybe two hours. so no hassle at all.
However, I just wanted to help out other people here with some pictures and some detailed information in one spot.
This forum already helped me in so many occasions, so I wanted to give something back.
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