Hi to you all this is my first post so please be gentle with me.
I have just been out today and bought my first RRS, in fact my first ever 4 x 4 and i cannot wait to collect it later next week. It is a 57 plate SE in black and it looks great.
I have been looking on your site for a while (its great by the way) but i need some advice please:
It has 18" wheels on now but would like to upgrade to 20" supercharged type. I think as it is a 57 reg it has the damper on the steering rack but what is is best size tyre should be looking for as some go for 295-40-20 and some go for 275-40-20 and should i stick to genuine wheels or copies?

My car has no side steps and asked the dealer today and he wants £750 to fit them but have seen the on the internet for a lot less and they all say they are easy to diy fit. can any one recommend some side steps and what are your experiences of self-fitting them.

i will leave my questions at that for now but im sure there will be plenty more to come

thanks

Congratulation to your new beast
You ought to post some pictures when you get it

As in to your questions, I would suggest (and hope that the majority on here will agree with me ) stick to the LR recommendations and go for 275/40/20 dimensions.
Regarding the side step I can not say because I do not like the looks of the car with them on

£750

Fitted side steps on both my RRS but had them fitted from new so price was lost in the deal

Anybody else help ?

CHPR? MY10 3.0 TDV6 HSE, Zermatt Silver, 20" Diamond Turned Alloys, Factory Privacy Glass, Premium Leather, Contrast Stiching, Side Steps, Etc

Gone 2006 '56' 2.7 TDV6 HSE, Zermatt Silver, 20", Side Steps, Brembos, Dynamic Pack, Etc

VW Transporter, 19" Rims, T32 170 BHP, Lowered

Last edited by ASH555 on Tue Dec 01 2009 8:44pm. Edited 1 time in total

£750 sounds about right. IIRC LR charge for 2.5 hours work to fit them at approx £120 ph. Obviously you can find cheaper hourly rates and source the steps from the likes of ebay. Try one of your sponsors Sponsors Page 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
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Congrats on the new car.

Agree with Coko, stick with 275/40/20s if you are putting 20s on.

OEM or replicas - I would go with the OEM 20s S/C V Spokes. Usuually plenty on Ebay, from people who have upgraded to 22s or non OEM wheels. I got mine there, off a TDV8 that had covered 50 miles from new before getting it's new boots. So new set of wheels with new tyres thrown in.
May even be some MY09 20 wheels available.

On sidesteps - £750 is about right, I paid £650 last year for a LR Dealer to fit, and £325 this ear for another one to be fitted to replace my bent one.
They do offer additional protection if you get into an altercation with something like pole in the ground. It would have ripped through both nearside doors if it wasn't for the sidestep. The pole looked a bit sorry for itself afterwards.

I have heard they are an easy diy job for a competent person. Think the steps are about £400 supply only.
I would have fitted them myself, but probably would be cheaper for me to pay a Dealer, than keep replacing than one's that have fallen off, after my efforts to fit.

Don't go for non OEM sidesteps, they look crap.

And yes a 57 will have the damped rack.

Fitting the steps themselves is an easy job, but you have to cut and trim the bottom seal trim which is not easy and as yet I am not aware of any templates avail to do this?

Thanks for your advice

i have found a set of good oem wheels and tyres but they have 295 tyres on.
was thinking of using them untill they need new tyres then going back to 275 but the question is what difference will the 295 tyres make ie driving, comfort etc in the short term
thanks guys

Gary wrote:

Fitting the steps themselves is an easy job, but you have to cut and trim the bottom seal trim which is not easy and as yet I am not aware of any templates avail to do this?

The side steps kit should include pre-cut replacement trim panels... At least they did back in 2006. Very easy to fit yourself if you are the least bit handy with tools. It's a one-person job, too. Scroll down to the bottom of this old thread: http://www.rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic12593.html 

Gary wrote:

Fitting the steps themselves is an easy job, but you have to cut and trim the bottom seal trim which is not easy and as yet I am not aware of any templates avail to do this?

Should be fine with the 295s, only thing I can think of is you may get some 'roll' from the tyres where they meet the rim. But you probably won't even notice it.

Shouldn't give any clearance problems either.

Back in the day I remember the lads madly 'overtyreing' their Mk I Golf GTIs, and the handling actually improved.