I am awaiting the preparation of my recently purchased Freelander 2 HSE. I did a deal where I would sort the nearly bald Pirelli 235/60-18" tyres myself. It drove and felt okay on these tyres on the test drive, but there was some inevitable body roll to be felt. (Coming from an Audi TT running on elastic band tyres, this was to be expected! )

The reason for the total change of vehicle type is for comfort and looking after my seriously poor back. It is for this reason I would appreciate comments on how much the ride varies if I move it onto Evoque 235/55-19" wheels and tyres. Does it make it much firmer, more harsh on the back, or is it fairly unnoticeable? There are many sets available at a reasonable cost with tyres, so now is the time to make my decision.

Thanks in advance and I hope my LR FL2 experience is a pleasant one. 😊

I'm riding on factory 19"s and the ride was better than all the other Marques I drove before purchasing.
Ride is amazingly comfortable even though it's a 55 profile. MY15
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I went to 18's but maxed out the tyre size to chunk city - love them and still get to drive her in a safe but spirited manner

My first FL2 came with 17" rims, the next 18" and the final one had 19" rims.

After running the elastic bands on the Audi, anything will be an improvement! But from experience, there is a noticeable degradation in ride quality as the sizes increase, with the 17's being brilliant at dealing with all the sorts of stuff that you buy one of these to deal with; not just off road, but pot holes, rubbish road surfaces, kerb stones and assorted traffic calming rubbish! If you want to get across country in a hurry, very little slows a 17" wheel Freelander down, while a set of 19's will have you treading much more carefully.

The only advantage that the move from 17's to 18's gave was the loss of a slight vague feeling around the straight ahead position on dual carriageways and motorways.

17's are great, the 18's are an acceptable compromise, while the 19's are nice to look at but just don't work anything like as well.

Stick with the 18's

Thanks for your replies, very interesting. Can someone confirm if Discovery wheels fit onto a Freelander 2 okay? I know Evoque ones do.

Only discovery sport alloys will fit a FL2. MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
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I run 22s on M+S tyres and in all honesty if you drove my car you will notice a minimal difference in ride quality in comparison to running 19s. The key is to have a good set of tyres on a car, never buy budget rubber.

265/35R22


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Thanks for that LR Nut. 22" wheels eh, they look great on yours. I assume you have no rubbing issues with them then?

As for budget rubber, I couldn't agree more. That's like using a latex glove for a contraception aid!

Thank you no issues with rubbing on lock to lock and still plenty of clearance. MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
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Im running evoque 20's and dont find any real difference to the 18's
Other than look heaps better.

Click image to enlarge

If you fancy 19", or even 22" rims, then go for it; just bear in mind the reasons for parting with the Audi in the first place "for comfort and looking after my seriously poor back". Also consider that as the wheels get larger, they will get heavier. Increasing unsprung weight is a bad thing as far as suspension function is concerned. Choose over-sized wheels if it's a look that you prefer, just don't do so thinking they'll ride or drive just as well.

The Focus that I had before my first Freely had standard fit 19" rims with 35 section tyres. For me, they were dreadful and a complete liability!

However, there's no right answer, it's all down to individual choice and priorities

Personally I think bigger vehicles can cope with bigger wheels without compromising the ride too much...
As LR NUT said, tyre choice is everything... I have just fitted 275/45/20 general grabber AT's to mine and it drives great... Looks pretty good as well...

Before you commit your new Land Rover to some of the characteristics of the road car that you are trying to escape from, at least try it with the standard 18" rims for a couple of weeks first; that way you'll have a common frame of reference to compare the over sized rims with

Thanks Tigger. I only have a minimum amount of tread left on the tyres it sits on, so a decision needs to be quite quick really. I'm tempted just to buy new 18" tyres and see how it goes from there.
Any recommendations on make, or stay with what I think is the OEM Pirellis?

The standard fit Pirelli's work very well and seem fair value for money. I've tried worse, but nothing that's proven to be any better. They also have a standard M+S rating so, while no off road or winter tyre, the tread is at least designed to self clean in mud and snow.

They'll save you a useful amount of cash in comparison to the low profile stuff as well.