We've had our 2007 L322 for about a year now. The alloys have been chipped, partly from kerbing but also possibly from rocks and stones on the track to our house. The 255/50/20 tyres now need changing so I'm wondering if I should now switch to 19" or even 18" wheels (we have 235/65/16 fitted on our P38 and have never damaged an alloy). Will higher profile tyres help protect the rims?

19's will fit and there are plenty of genuine one available S/H.
18's are not going to fit over your brake calipers unless you happen to spend a King's ransom on some Compomotive ones.

I used 19's for Winter so as to minimise damage to my 20's which were a summer set. I also thought the ride quality was smoother on the 19's which was a small trade off against cornering ability. There are also more tyre choices in the 19" range including some respectable all-terrain items.

Well the more sidewall you have the further away the wheels are from the road, I went to 18's for off roading as the 19's kept damaging the sidewalls, I also went up to 275/65/18 this gives a 7 1/2" sidewall, standard 19's have a 5" sidewall. Haven't damaged a tyre yet...

It is also noticeably more comfortable...

If you go to the above tyre size you have to do a bit of trimming and raise the suspension height a bit, standard size 18's will be fine though..... Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

18's won't fit over the Brembos on his 2007 Pete unless he goes for those Compomotive rims that another member had. I think they were about a grand without boots though.

EDIT. This link details the Compos
http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic15052....omotive+18

There are plenty of cheap L405 20's on the market now - albeit with 255 55 20 tyres - just another option....

Soz, posted at the same time...

Shame, it's so comfy now for my old bones...!!!! Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Thanks to all for the quick responses! I was hoping to pick up some cheap(ish) wheels that someone else was changing so looks like 19's are going to be the best option. Might fit them with winter tyres then next year pop some summer tyres on the 20's.

Sounds like a plan, you can get all season tyres too now, though they are more road orientated.

eBay Item No. 201410981656

These are cheap - worth a punt

Thanks Belldarr - I'll keep a watch on those!

They are buy it now for £50, watch them too long and someone else will buy them!! Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

belldarr wrote:

201410981656

These are cheap - worth a punt

£50 - can you find me a set of 21's for an L405

Thanks again - I've bought them!

Now, if it's not opening too big a can of worms, which tyres should I get? We don't do a lot of miles but we do want to go round corners when it rains and get up our track if it snows. Grabbers have always worked well on the P38.

Bear in mind those are pre-facelift alloys. You will need a new set of wheel nuts I believe.

for £50 they're still cheap even if you need new nuts.