California Surf Ordered!

Hi all,

Glad to be part of the forum, picked up lots of good advice so far, mainly lots of things to buy my so my credit card is not happy!

We ordered a Surf on the 26th of April, no build date or anything yet and the wait is killing me already. We've gone for Candy White with the idea of wrapping the lower half in a nice blue, and I really want to change the wheels away from the 16s to 18s in off-road style. Any pitfalls to be aware of please?

MauenCaliSurf said:

Hi all,

Glad to be part of the forum, picked up lots of good advice so far, mainly lots of things to buy my so my credit card is not happy!

We ordered a Surf on the 26th of April, no build date or anything yet and the wait is killing me already. We've gone for Candy White with the idea of wrapping the lower half in a nice blue, and I really want to change the wheels away from the 16s to 18s in off-road style. Any pitfalls to be aware of please?

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Some insurance companies limit cover or refuse to cover wrapped vehicles because of the increased cost to replace the wrap if damaged.
18” wheels cannot routinely be carried as a spare. There are ways around this.

WelshGas said:

Some insurance companies limit cover or refuse to cover wrapped vehicles because of the increased cost to replace the wrap if damaged.
18” wheels cannot routinely be carried as a spare. There are ways around this.

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Is there any issue with a spare wheel if the rolling radius is the same but a different rim diameter? I.e. having a 17" spare wheel but with taller profile tyre but 18" rims on the vehicle with lower profile tyres to match the rolling radius?

Edit: re-read and the OP's desire for off-road rubber might make that difficult, although if the OP deviates away from the rolling radius of the stock wheel you're entering other issues with speed accuracy etc.. anyway

RockinNRollin said:

Is there any issue with a spare wheel if the rolling radius is the same but a different rim diameter? I.e. having a 17" spare wheel but with taller profile tyre but 18" rims on the vehicle with lower profile tyres to match the rolling radius?

Edit: re-read and the OP's desire for off-road rubber might make that difficult, although if the OP deviates away from the rolling radius of the stock wheel you're entering other issues with speed accuracy etc.. anyway

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No problem at all but as it is not exactly the same it should be treated as a “ get out of trouble “ spare, limited distance and limited speed. Of course if you go for a non-standard size tyres it might be problematic.

Thanks both, so I need to make sure my rolling radius is the same as current to avoid issues? sorry complete novice with tyres and stuff

MauenCaliSurf said:

Thanks both, so I need to make sure my rolling radius is the same as current to avoid issues? sorry complete novice with tyres and stuff

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Pretty much;

- Rolling radius dictates the overall size of the wheel in terms of diameter, so keeping it the same means it should fit in the wheel arch still (subject to the next point) and will also mean your speedo will still be accurate as a single turn of the wheels will equal the expected forward distance travelled (bigger wheels mean your speedo underreads, smaller wheels vice versa)

- If you go for different rims than supplied on a Cali, you need to make sure the rim width and offset are suitable. If the offset is wrong the wheel could end up clashing with stuff inside the wheel arch (if the wheel sits too far inboard) or hitting the arches (if it's too far out). Neither are good news!

- If you got genuine Cali 18" wheels and fitted more off-road type tyres, you'd be in the safest territory but you need to watch the rolling radius and width again as off-road tyres tend to have taller sidewalls. You need to check speed ratings and load ratings too; some off-road type tyres have surprisingly low speed ratings and I seem to recall insurers "expect" the speed rating to match the capability of the vehicle, not the actual speeds it gets driven at (most Calis can do at least 110mph, some over 120mph, which is more than a lot of "knobblies" are rated for)

I'd probably ask what you're trying to achieve; looks or capability? The former almost always comes with compromise (as listed above, plus things like handling, traction on the road, ride quality, noise etc..). Capability; unless you're planning on mud-plugging, all-seasons will be reasonable or even better, have two sets of wheels, summer tyres and winter tyres (the latter are very impressive in snow/ice and way more capable than a generic off-road knobbly tyre!).

It is a minefield . . . of course, you could just throw caution to the wind and many do, but this is a nice vehicle, not a £1500 Disco wreck.

MauenCaliSurf said:

Thanks both, so I need to make sure my rolling radius is the same as current to avoid issues? sorry complete novice with tyres and stuff

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Yes. We have the same situ that @WelshGas mentions - 18" wheels and no spare (not offroad). After 2 punctures (where the Holts Tyreweld worked a treat) we went and bought a spare 17" steel tyre (the 16" AFAIK will not fit over the 18" rear brakes) and the hanger kit. We got the kit off ebay for 80 quid and the spare was 150 but only because I'm too picky to buy a battered second hand one. Already had the safety bolt to secure the wheel from the club shop.

MauenCaliSurf said:

Any pitfalls to be aware of please?

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Probably a worse ride as a thinner sidewall means less cushioning from the tyre. Assume this is FWD so no issues on different sized spare, (swap a rear wheel to front and use spare on rear if worried). An 18” spare will fit underneath (I have fitted to test on my own van).

If you go crazy on off road tyres, be prepared to not park underground or in 2m car parks without extra caution.

Increased rolling weight and diameter will put more stress on drivetrain, so quicker use of pads, bearings, etc depending how you drive. Larger tyre means possible increased braking distance, but doubt it makes much difference in a Cali. Larger off-road tyres means less acceleration and more road noise too, along with increased fuel economy, again not sure enough to measure the effect, apparently the cosmetic effect experienced by most owners offsets this and it becomes unnoticeable!

Finally have heard of rumours on a 6.1 with oversize tyres causing issues with ACC and sometimes ABS systems, it’s not 100% and certainly know guys running BFG on 17s with no issue.

Each to their own but I went for a meaty 17” can tyre which has good road manners and is a good compromise off road, looks a little aggressive but I fit in car parks and my garage so no complaints!

Thanks very much that's really helpful

I think to be honest it was part looks, part capability. I think the 16s will look a little silly and small so was thinking swapping and doing tyres at same time, but guess I could go for 2 sets for summer and winter. I'm coming from a land rover and like being able to not worry about muddy car parks or wet grassy pitches which I've heard can be an issue with the stock tyres. In the winter I'd like to get up to Scotland or the alps for ski trips, but definitely won't be doing any off-roading on purpose! Maybe good winter tyres will be the way forward

I have 16” Claytons on my 2019 Beach. They look fine and road handling is vg.
give them a few hundred miles before thinking of changing.

In all probability if winter tyres aren’t getting you through the conditions, you probably shouldn’t be driving in it.

Muddy fields; not sure much would get you out barring 4motion or a tow rope. Off road type tyres will help a bit but won’t actually help that much more with 2WD and will be a compromise for 99.9% of the miles you’ll be doing!

MauenCaliSurf said:

Maybe good winter tyres will be the way forward

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Michelin Agilis Crossclimate worth a look.