Welcome to Just Commodores, a site specifically designed for all people who share the same passion as yourself.

New Posts Contact us

Just Commodores Forum Community

It takes just a moment to join our fantastic community

Register

VE Commodore Sportswagon tyres for towing and some light off road driving

david craker

New Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Age
68
Location
rupanyup victoria
Members Ride
vy sedan
My wife has a Ve Sportswagon 2008 with 19" low profile mags and tyres..
I have a VE sedan with stock alloys and 215/60 R16 tyres fitted that are quite close to only having about 30% remaining tread.

We have a camper trailer (under 750kg) and a pop-top caravan (under 1 ton) that have been towed on-road and light off-road and all have 14" wheels and tyres.
This combination has been used many many times since 2010 and has worked ok until now, my sedan was the rig for bush and free camping and the sportswagon for van parks and easy camping.

Stepping into the end of 2021 and with greater free and bush camping being needed now for our touring, the proposal is to swap wheels and tyres from both cars so that I may start to fit something a little better and a higher profile to the sportswagon and make it available to use the greater storage space on our camps.

I have 6 x Bridgestone Dueler H/T 245/70 R16 tyres with good tread (4x on older 6 stud Colorado rims (to be removed) and 2x off rims) and wondered if these could be fitted to the stock VE commodore rims and then fitted under the sportswagon for our bush and free camp touring use.

I could of course sell them all and use the funds for other tyres but I would be keen to make use of what I have here now..

Has this sort of use of wider and more rugged SUVtyres been used by members here and how did it work out..
 

_R_J_K_

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2008
Messages
6,723
Reaction score
1,856
Points
113
Members Ride
Zenki S14
I have 6 x Bridgestone Dueler H/T 245/70 R16 tyres with good tread and wondered if these could be fitted to the stock VE commodore rims and then fitted under the sportswagon for our bush and free camp touring use.

Has this sort of use of wider and more rugged SUVtyres been used by members here and how did it work out..
Would strongly advise against using those on a regular passenger car. The Colorado will have diff ratios specifically to run tyres that diameter, you will lose heaps of acceleration when taking off (for just regular driving) and it will make towing the extra weight a nightmare. It will also effect braking due to the extra leverage the larger wheels will have over the rotors. IMHO even a 65 profile tyre would still be too big.

You may also run into fouling issues on the front spring seats and the wheel arches all around, you're putting a tyre on that's 8.5cm taller than before. The difference is also big enough to make the speedo under read by over 10% which is easy ticket territory when you think you're doing the speed limit.
 
Last edited:

Fu Manchu

We’ll get together. Have a few laughs.
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
17,581
Reaction score
22,078
Points
113
Location
WA.
Members Ride
VZ Crewman, VZ Cross 8, & ya mum.
Use the same tyres the Adventra and CrossTrac Commodores had.
They came with 17’s but the 16’s from One Tonners are used by some to get the bigger tyre on.

Having said that though, they do have more lift than a standard Commodore.

This would be the single most comprehensive list of info you can get.
https://www.allterrainaction.com/fitting-bigger-tyres/

If you were to fit springs to give some extra height with new shocks and struts, you could get these to work or a size smaller.

If you fit the tyres, I’d first investigate having your speedo calibrated to suit which isn’t too hard to do for someone with a Tech2 or similar.
 

vc commodore

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Messages
10,650
Reaction score
12,301
Points
113
Location
Like the Leyland Brothers
Members Ride
VC, VH and VY
245/70X16 isn't going to fit...They will hit the base of the strut tower and the top of the rear wheel arch. Way to tall

215/60X16 on a VE are illegal...they came with 225/60X16

The closest tyre that would fit is a 215/65X16 which is available as an A/T or H/T, however fitting it will deem your car illegal due to the size....As mentioned the minimum 16" size is a 225/60X16
 
Last edited:

Fu Manchu

We’ll get together. Have a few laughs.
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
17,581
Reaction score
22,078
Points
113
Location
WA.
Members Ride
VZ Crewman, VZ Cross 8, & ya mum.
I didn’t think that even with bigger springs, the strut base stays the same height. Good point.
 
Top