Hi guys, I am currently running on 255/55/20 on all four tyres. There are definite scuff marks on the front wheel arch liners picked up by the MOT inspector. I need new tyres anyway, but am thinking of changing front axle to 255/50/20 tyres and leaving the rear axle alone at this time as those tyres are perfectly ok.
My question is : is it acceptable to run my car, a 2003 Td6 vogue, with the different tyre wall sizes as above on the two axles?.
Advice and thoughts appreciated, many thanks

A totally unacceptable idea for any permanent four wheel drive car from a safety perspective, whether it has locked diffs or not. There is nearly ten percent of a difference in the sidewalls of these two tyre sizes. Your front and rear tyres would be turning at different speeds in a straight line. Driving round a corner, all four wheels would be turning at different speeds. This crazy idea will kill your transmission in a relatively short space of time as the centre diff will be constantly wound up with every mile. Beyond this, when it all lets go and you have an accident, the insurance company will simply walk away.

But hey, it might look a little bit like a santa-pod racer for a short time!!  The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

With a properly calibrated and functioning suspension system the front tyres should be nowhere near the wheel arch liners. Many people run the larger 255/55 R20 without any problems and the only time you might get some rubbing is if the suspension completley deflates and you attemt to drive it. Suggest you look into the height control on the air suspension first. As JMC says it's not an option to run different rolling radius tyres on a 4x4 so forget that as a solution. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

I am running 255/55 R20 on my Vogue SE and there is no scuffing at all. Maybe someone had larger tyres fitted in the past and that caused the scuffing.

HTH
Ivan 2013 Vogue SE SDV8
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 HSE Luxury

Billy'sLad wrote:

Hi guys, I am currently running on 255/55/20 on all four tyres. There are definite scuff marks on the front wheel arch liners picked up by the MOT inspector. I need new tyres anyway, but am thinking of changing front axle to 255/50/20 tyres and leaving the rear axle alone at this time as those tyres are perfectly ok.
My question is : is it acceptable to run my car, a 2003 Td6 vogue, with the different tyre wall sizes as above on the two axles?.
Advice and thoughts appreciated, many thanks

Thank you all for your replies.
The car was indeed driven for a short journey on its bump stops, so scuffs could have been caused then.
I have had no problems when driving normally so was a bit surprised at the mot inspectors comments.
He says so long as the tyres match on the axles the car is safe to drive, fairly obvious me thinks. Turning will always mean that tryes on the same axle are rotating at different speeds, again obvious. But longer term mixing is giving me a mind numbing vibe and I woke up this morning and answered my own question. I will keep all tyres the same profile, although I wonder why my handbook only makes reference to the 255/50 profile and not 255/55.
Thanks again, particularly to the thought of my M57 motor looking like a hot rod, that made me laugh out loud 😄

255/55 were never fitted to the RR as standard or an option, that’s why it’s not in the handbook. 255/50/20 is the largest tyre fitted by Land Rover, but quite a few folk have fitted the 55 profile without issue. I think there is a better choice of off road tyre there.

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

On the handbook question - 255/50/20 is the original size.

255/55/20 has become a more popular size recently & therefore often cheaper, so a lot of people made the change to a slightly larger tyre.

255/55/20 was also a standard on the L405 - so some take off wheel & tyre sets were available as a straight swap onto an L322

Billy'sLad wrote:

Thank you all for your replies.
The car was indeed driven for a short journey on its bump stops, so scuffs could have been caused then.