Better off road grip !!

[wobbles]

Hey my 1996 TD transit is possibly the worst machine ever produced at leaving tarmac !!! I am not talking any thing mad here simply fields and campsites !
we use our van for mountain biking and events that all seem to have fields as carparks !! , I have now learnt my lesson and end up parking somewhere a few hundred miles away to stay
on a decent surface . my first question is , will these tyres fit ,( mine are 225/70 R16 ) but a guy close is selling 4 new General Grabber AT but are 235/75 R15 at a very good price as he bought them and were wrong for his van . second question does anybody know if its possible to get a limited slipp diff for the transit , mine is the 6 stud single wheel axel

cheers people

[twin wheel camper]

You can get a lsd, rare but do pop up on eBay from time to time.
Your tyres are 225/70/15 not 16 I assume??The tyres will fit providing you have 15inch rims but might have clearance issues especially at the front if your loaded and turning on full lock.

[eresseraca]

Mines got a LSD fitted, it helps a lot when driving slow, parking etc. up here in the nordic region with icy driveways, snowy parking spots as well as muddy dirt roads in the autumn.

Regaring the tires I run Bridgestone Dueler A/T 693 in the following dimension: 225/75 R15. These are the ONLY all terrain tires I could find that are properly load rated at 110/108S for the LWB 6-stud van (BF Goodrich doesn't have proper load ratings).

Note though that these are 225/75 compared to the stock dim. of 225/70. So it's tight on the front but luckily mine doesn't rub at all, depends on the suspension though I might imagine, if the suspension is a bit "tired" it might rub at full turn.

You'll find some pics of it with the duelers on here: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=182246

And the thread discussing the AT tires, from before I bought the tires here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=176978

[bambi mk 1]

The wider the tyres the more chance you will be stuck on the sloppy stuff

[dumper]

I fitted a zf Limited slip diff to my mk3 camper and m&s tyres it was great to get into places on wet grass and muddy forest tracks but was no better getting out it was still possible to get stuck as I use mine mostly for Marshalling on car rally’s there always a friendly recovery crew to pull you out
when I replaced the van I it was with a twin wheel van had no more problems

[Mfr]

is the van a 150 or a 190? if its a 150 then you have a lot more tyre options because of the lighter rating. Personally I love the LSD, mines off the road and my snow tyres are in Edinburgh but I can still bomb around the fields in the snow with summer michalin's. Also get as much weight as you can over the rear axle or near the back doors makes a huge difference to any rwd van.

[cherniy_chack]

wobbles ,you can compare these two tires here:
https://tire-calc.com/
In Russian:
http://tyres.spb.ru/tirecalc
If I understand correctly, on the rear axle on each side of two wheels?
Only four.
New tires wider than the old ones by 10 mm.
If the gap between the old tires is more than 20 mm, then new ones can be installed.

[wobbles]

cheers people , I think they are worth the chance !!

[eresseraca]

Good luck wobbles! And keep us posted with some shots once fitted!

Pretyy sure you won't have any problems with them on the rear, but it would be nice to know for the future if 235/75 fit without rubbing or if 225/75 is the absolute maximum on the front.

[Hondekop]

I fully second your remark about the MK4 & MK5's off tarmac capabilities. Few overhang at the rear does not help, LWB MK3 must perform better here. I usually send the Missus, who is of, Erm, rather substantial build (hope she does not read this forum ) into the back when the surface gets slippery, to get more weight on the drive axle.

You might consider:

1. Fitting 235/75-15 at the rear and 225/70-15 (or 225/75-15) up front. This will fit without rubbing and you can meet the necessary load ratings for both sides (rear 108 & front 100 for the 150). You could drive the same tire model all around, leading to a balanced behaviour f & r. Available AT tires range from mild (Bridgestone Dueler AT 001), via the Yokohama Geolandar AT G015, to wild (General Tires Grabber AT3).

2. If you drive a 100, you could mount the abovementioned 225/70-15 tires all around. Load rating is just within limits. This will be my choice (Yoko Geolandar ), as I drive a 100. BTW, all those three tires have the Alpine or 3PMSF Symbol, indicating they are at least acceptable winter tires, important for me here in Kraut country.

3. If it's pure just traction you're after, you could get away with replacing the rears with 235/75-15 AT's. There is even an MT available (General Tires Grabber X3), if you fancy going completely bonkers ! This would however lead to a rather unbalanced behaviour due to the different tire characteristics f & r, especially in case of the MT.

Ciao, Kai

[wobbles]

wow that really is a very indepth answer , thank a million for your thoughts , i think ill get them alright and see how they fit on the rear then try the front

[Hondekop]

Found another one that will be on my shortlist: Maxxis MA-LAS. Offered as all weather, but its profile is quite coarse, judging from photos. 112 load index for the 225-70R15, Alpine or 3PMSF Symbol inclusive. Downside is one has to deal with a lesser known/valued brand.

Ciao, Kai

[MinorMatt]

Maxxis tyres are ok...

They are pitched at an average level. Definately better than budget