Land Rover factory wheels and lug nuts that can be used on Series Land rovers

This list is likely incomplete

Basic information about Land Rover wheels:

• The bolt pattern for Series, Defender, Discovery I, and Range Rover Classic wheels is 5 - 6.5 inches (5 holes evenly spaced around a 6.5 inch diameter circle that goes through the centre of each bolt hole).
  
  
• Some wheels had the center riveted to the rim. These wheels require that a inner tube be used. Wheels with the center welded to the rim are tubeless.
  
  
• Land Rover alloy wheels and lug nuts will not fit a Series truck.
  
  
•  All North American specification Land Rovers were equipped with 16 inch wheels through 1966 (1967 for 109). 1967 through 1974, when Land Rover discontinued sales in the US, the North American specification 88 Land Rover was fitted with 15 inch wheels. This was because there was a larger selection of 15 inch tyres to choose from.
  
  
• If buying used wheels, carefully inspect the rim bead area, inflater valve hole, and the stud holes carefully. The wheel is scrap if the holes or bead area is damaged in any way. Carefully inspect the rivet area on early riveted wheels for damage and look for cracks in the wheel.
  
  
• When you look at part numbers in a catalogue or on-line you will often see a one or two letter suffix.  This suffix is the paint code. PM means the wheel is in primer.
  
  
• The wheel offset affects the vehicle's track width, the turning radius (amount of turn before the leaf spring interferes with the tire), and how easy the steering feels. The greater the offset, the easier the steering feels. Wheel offset is the measurement between the centre of the wheel (at the lug holes) to the outer rim.
  
  
• Tyres are designed to fit a specific range of wheel bead to bead widths. When choosing a tyre you must choose a tyre specified to fit your wheel's bead width in order for the tyre to function safely. The width of a wheel is given is bead to bead where the tyre bead sits, not the total width of the wheel .Most tyre companies will not mount a tyre to a wheel that does not have a bead to bead width within the tyre manufacturer's specified bead width range.
  
  
• A "standard" diameter tyre mounted to 16 inch wheels is considered to be 32 inches (750-16, or 235/85-16). 15 inch diameter wheels usually came with 26 inch (195/75-15) or 28 inche (255-15) diameter tyres. The stock tyre size for the 109 One-Ton is 9.00-16 which is 35" diameter. Note the One-Ton has extended shackles plus the extended frame shackle mounts for additional tyre clearance.
  
  
• Lug nut torque : 75-85 ft lbs for all civilian wheels. 100 ft lbs for wolf wheels only.  When a shop mounts wheels, have them write down the torque spec on the work order. Mechanics often look up and use Toyota Land Cruiser torque specs which are way too high. 
  
  
• In the no other place to put this non-Series tidbit: Aluminum wheels will not fit pre-1991 Ninety, One Ten, or One twenty seven without a spacer ring. . 
  
  
• . Wheel offset determines how far a wheel "sticks out" relative to your vehicle's fender well. A wheel’s offset can be positive, zero, or negative: Positive Offset Wheels mean the tire sits more inboard on the vehicle. A positive offset that places the center of the tire over the center of the wheel bearings maximizes the hub strength.  A negative offset wheel moves the tire outwards making the track wider and weakens the hub strength.
  
  Wheel offset and wheel backspacing are two different ways to measure the same thing. Wheel backspacing is the distance between the centerline of the wheel and the inner wheel mouting surface. Measure the width of the rim, divide by 2 to get the centerline distance. Measure the distance between the inner mounting surface and the inside edge (brake side) of the rim. The difference is the wheel offset. Wheel backspacing is the distance measured between the inner wheel (brake side) mounting surface and the inner rim edge.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you see "/XX" where XX = 2 numbers stamped on a wheel, the numbers are the year the wheel was manufactured. i.e. /67 means the wheel was manufactured in 1967.

A quick note for rivet counters: The one ton Series, one ton Defender, forward control IIA, forward control IIB, and 130 Defender all have different wheels that have a "deep dish" rim look to them. LR parts companies are mostly selling the newer more common 130 wheels for all these applications and not the concourse correct wheels.

* This information comes from the Ottawa Valley Land Rover club October 2017 Newsletter, courtesy of Ben Smith.

Split rim wheels have been part of some military order specifications and available as an option on civilian vehicles since Series I days. Part numbers stamped on the wheels appear to be optional.

	Split wheels were designed for easy removal & replacement of inner tubes and tyres without the use of tyre irons. Note: the inner tube needs to be deflated before separating the wheel.

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