Limitations with tyre profiles?

[Poodroo]

Just a quick question in passing fellas. Yesterday this question popped into my head whilst I was out doing the rounds for work. I heard the sound of a lovely V8 going past me in a car park and when I looked at the vehicle it was a new shiny Landcruiser V8 in black duco and the most amazing set of shiny chrome rims I have ever seen. Good looking car but how would the low profile tyres affect the 4wd'ing aspect of the vehicle? I am guessing that the car is nothing but a big show pony destined never to be engaged in 4wd ever. A bit of a crying shame that people buy 4wd's for the sake of having something big and shiny and never intend getting them off the bitumen. So by having low profile tyres on a 4wd would that limit the vehicle in where it can go? Just thought I would ask out of curiosity.

Poodroo

[Benny01]

it will affect it lots. for a start those big wheels 20inch + are mega buck along with the tyres. the tyres are not designed to be cut and staked and go over rocks etc so they are a lot more prome to damage. on the road the car will handle, and brake a lot better, be a lot quieter but you will have a very bumpy ride as theres no sidewall to flex and soften the impacts. they are also ilegal 99% of the time because they tyres and wheels are not load rated for the bigger vehicles and like most 4x4's on the road the tyres are outside specs for legallity

[gawby]

Something everyone should check is once you change the tyres from the manufacturers specs you can void your warranty and also can be a problem with your insurance company if anything goes wrong.

Graeme

[Kleyny]

When you let your tryes down for some off road use what you are trying to achieve is a larger foot print by make the tyre "belly"

if you have low profile tyres they dont "belly" anywhere near the amount you need to get a good foot print.

Low profile tyres also (in most cases) don't have the side wall ply rating like the 4X4 tyres do. this could mean punctures in the bush.

there two quick ones off the top of my head

[finga]

The answer to that could be the same answer to why they put 3000000W stereos in cars or why they put $5000 wheels on a $1500 Commodore.
The answer could be in the tosser factor.

Or they could be snow fans and needed the 4X for staying on bitumen roads a bit better or they just like big cars or they needed the seating space for all the youngins or they needed the towing capacity or they needed the storage space in the rear or wanted to look like a President or they wanted to see over the other cars to see what's happening or that was the only car the wheels fitted on or they just like the noise of a V8 (who doesn't) and that car sounded nice.....
Who knows??
Each to their own I reckon
Just think though when they trade it in it's going to be a decent 4X which really hasn't done any beach work and never been a paddock basher and never been sunk in a salt water channel.

I know there would be no way in hell would I, personally, be putting a newish $60,000 V8 cruiser through a bush bash. I'd have an old clunker for that. Actually we do have an older 4X...the Landy. But even that we're very careful as we fully, every nut and bolt, rebuilt it ourselves and don't want to keep fixing it. We just want to use it
I might be funny but I hate bashing something up.

[Cheech]

Or he may have the original set of wheels and tyres sitting in his garage and just changes them over when he goes bush.

[Dirtysanchez]

So these would be no good ??

[spinyeel]

Low profile tyres +soft sand = bogged

[ColacGirl]

A bit of a crying shame that people buy 4wd's for the sake of having something big and shiny and never intend getting them off the bitumen.

Hi Poodroo,
Coming into this late, and won't try guess why they have the vehicle they do. Each to their own, and all that :-)

As you saw last weekend, we have a 4WD and at this stage have no intentions of taking it off road. Unless our gravel driveway counts

So why do we have a 4WD?

Long answer:
I grew up in, and later drove, big comfy V8's.... '68 Monaro (loved that car), '68 Fairlane (the ultimate in comfort), HJ Kingswood wagon, WB Statesman.... you get my drift?
When we were looking at updating from the WB, Ross & I reached a compromise where I agreed to go for a test drive a low km, late model, 6cyl Commodore. According to Ross I insulted the salesman after the test drive when I said "Do you have any Rodeo utes, because if I have to put up with a ride like that we may as well buy a tax deduction" We stopped looking at cars for awhile after that
Further down the track, we were at Rudy Mass ramp one afternoon at low tide, watching some people retrieving their boat with a late model Falcon. It was sitting there spinning the tyres and not getting anywhere until four people sat on the boot to give it some weight in the rear end.
After watching that I told Ross "Find a car that's automatic and will tow the boat, 'cause there's no way I am doing that to a new car!" Soon after a 6cyl Pajero entered our lives

Short answer:
To tow the boat.... and because Ross has always wanted a 4WD, he was just waiting for the green light

--
Bev