In my ongoing efforts to do as many of the non Freelander friendly off road runs and MSA licensed training events as I can I have been looking to get a set of larger Mud Terrain tyres for my Freelander 2.

For the last couple of years I have been running a set of General Grabber all terrain tyres in a larger 245/70 X 17 size which have worked pretty well but I have had to get winched out the mud a couple of times so between that and my Mantec fuel tank guard also having to be straightened once I was keen to get a set of the largest Mud Terrain tyres I could get that would fit the standard suspension struts in my Freelander 2. Ideally I would have gone for a set of BF Goodrich Mud Terrains but at almost £200 a corner and not being 100% sure they would fit that was a bit steep for me. On the size front I wondered if the even larger 265/70 X 17 tyres would fit so I bought a cheapo road tyre that size to fit and test and although tight for space between the tyre and particularly the rear strut it did look feasible so the 265/70 X 17 is the tyre size I have gone for. As regards tyre choice - the best compromise between good off road performance reviews and reasonable price made the Kumho KL71's mud terrain tyres look worth a try for me so when a set of four with 10mm plus tread came up on ebay I just bought them.

A few pics of my Freelander 2 with the 265/70 X 17 KL71's fitted;










Quite a difference in the tread pattern between the General Grabber AT's and the KL71 MT's ;





I have not had a chance to try the tyres off road yet but I really like the look of them on the car and they have increased my ground clearance slightly too. The ground clearance between my standard Freelander 2 Mantec Tank Guard and the ground was 202mm and now with my suspension spacers and these 265/70 X 17 MT tyres fitted my ground clearance is 265mm at the same point.

The clearance between the 265/70 X 17 tyres and the rear strut is very tight - So much so I am not positive a brand new KL71 would fit ;




I have now driven about a 1,000 miles with these KL71 tyres fitted and I am looking forward to trying them in the up and coming off road events over the winter but I am also very glad these KL71's are fitted to a spare set of wheels and that I still have my General Grabber 245/70 X 17 AT's on the original wheels because the increase in road noise is significant - You would need some sound system to drown out the increased tyre noise! My Freelander 2 had the original Good Year Wrangler's fitted when I bought it and I really did not notice much increase in tyre noise at all when I fitted the General Grabber AT's but I have experienced a large increase in road noise with the KL71 MT's fitted, especially at motorway speeds. The speedo error compared to my Sat Nav is less than I expected - at 30 mph both are similar and by 70 mph on the speedo the Sat Nav indicates 73mph.

The KL71 MT's will hopefully help me avoid needing winched out again in a hurry though and keep the tank guard that bit higher too.....

Looks great that doe's!

Looks great  2008 xs
Snorkel
raised axle/gearbox breathers
Mantec tank guard
Cb radio
Blanked EGR
Sump guard
Scratches
Snolkle

Nice to see another 'big tyre' mod.

Looks good  FL2 now gone and have a couple of items left for sale:-

Brodit active iPhone holder + Brodit dash clip,
Bluetooth Music Streaming Module.

I have a 'big tyre' mod also  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
MY15 Xenon Headlight Conversion

MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s

We're talking 'male' tyres here though

How does one know if their tyres are male or female  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
MY15 Xenon Headlight Conversion

MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s

Male tyres have big nobs of rubber,

Can I ask what the tires are like off road hill climbing etc
Do you notice the change in gearing much 2008 xs
Snorkel
raised axle/gearbox breathers
Mantec tank guard
Cb radio
Blanked EGR
Sump guard
Scratches
Snolkle

Cheers Guys and I agree big tyres is the way forward.........


CQR in reply to 'Can I ask what the tires are like off road hill climbing etc
Do you notice the change in gearing much ?'

I only fitted the KL71's a couple of weeks ago so have not had a chance to try them off road yet - I think it's going to be the November Land Rover event before I will really get a chance to try them out off road. Given the wad of research I did on Mud Terrain tyres before choosing the KL71's I will be really dissappointed if they are not pretty good off road right enough. On road is a different matter though especially if you do a lot of motorway driving as the noise level I could see would become pretty wearing after a couple of hours - You're not gonna sneak up on anyone with KL71's fitted! For anyone running only one set of wheels and looking to get a set of aggressive All Terrain or Mud Terrain tyres I think it's worth trying to go out with someone with these tyres already fitted to check you're happy with any real increase in tyre noise. I think they look great on the Freelander 2 but I would probably put the GG AT's back on if I was doing a 500 mile + return motorway run. I have not noticed much affect with the gearing with any of the tyre changes I've done and I did ask Martas the same question previously before fitting my larger General Grabber AT's and he said the same from his experience when he had these larger tyres fitted to his FL2.

It certainly looks 'purposeful', I also like that wheel design, it has a very strong appearance.
I think many others will follow you with this mod, looking forward to see how you cope on the off road days you do, a feeling you might surprise many with the capabilities of a well shod Freelander

Interesting reading and i've been waiting over 3 years to finally go big and am just about to purchase a set of Grabber AT 245/70/17R along with the coil spring spacers that I got plans for way back through this forum. But before I do, I just want to confirm one last time if there is any problem with these tires and if they are the largest that the Fl2 can take on a 17" rim... Im about to purchase a set if 17" by 7.5 to replace my standard 16".

FYI, I live in Malta and naturally dont do that much motorway driving except for once a year when I drive to Sicily and no more than a 3 hour drive at a time

Did you looked at the rear half driveshafts how thin they are?....
I don't want to think about such a big (in mass) wheel spinning in air and then suddenly regaining grip....
I've seen real off-road cars with serious driveshafts snapped because of this. FL2....
Just my 2 cents...

As per my original posting I use the even larger 265/70 X 17 Kumho KL71 tyres for off road events but they are a very tight fit when used with the standard FL2 struts.

I think the proven 245/70 X 17 tyre size is a safer and better all round increased size to use with the FL2. This size has been used by a number of people previously now without issue and as well as all my off road events I have now done around 25,000 road miles on my General Grabber 245/70 X 17 AT's and am still very pleased with them.

As you will see in the pictures in my postings you will see that I purposely stuck with the Genuine Land Rover and standard FL2 17" wheels. The reason I'm bringing this up is that you do not mention what 17" wheels you are planning to use and the clearance between the tyre sidewall and strut bodies is not huge in the front or back so I would ensure that whatever wheels you are going to use have the same ET rating as the standard FL2 17" wheels.

Thanks for your help Uncleron.

The wheels I hoping to purchase are these...

https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...5B2%5D.JPG



Are they any good? 17" by 7.5"