Last weekend my itty-bitty 27x8.5x14 s got stuck in a clay mudhole
(I'll post a full report once I have the photos) and I was thinking
about those 16s as well.

Malcomb's question got me off my duff to locate the road test
of the turbodiesel 16" syncro that my wife translated, with Derek's
comments, last year. I thought the article might directly answer some of 
the his technical questions regarding body clearance, and while it is 
interesting, it does not. 

>From conversations with Derek, I think another problem is what the 
circumference of these tires does: you need to lower the final drive 
ratio to compensate for the tire size. Suitable parts were made for the
16" version, but the availabilty and cost are unknown, at least by me.

Anyway, I put a link to the 16" road test on the Syncro Westie page,
http://pwp.usa.pipeline.com/~tforhan/swhome.htm

Tom F.