Rim width and wheel selection

[Aris]

Hi ppl

My mav rides 7'' rims with 31'' supermarket tyres, and I want to get an additional set for offroad.

I want the 2nd set to be as big as will fit. I'm hoping for 33's.
I have no body lift, 2'' lift in the front and 3'' in the back.

I can easily put 33's in the front by pushing the front axle forward with some 50$ spacers bushes. but the back is trickier because where the body currently sits It'll rub under articulation, unless I either lift the body or chop off the bottom end of the flares and completely remove the mud flaps (which I'd rather leave on unless there's no choice)

The question:

A. Is cutting my flares (lowest 10-20cm on both sides of the rear flare) illegal/render-vehicle-unroadworthy? Same question, only completely removing them? I saw lots of people replace them with rubber flares. Does that help me somehow?

B. How wide can my rims be, again while retaining the vehicle roadworthy?
I read a thread saying people use 8'' cruiser rims, is that legit & r/w, and can I go even wider without getting into any serious mess?

Thanks!

[turps]

You should be able to fit 33's no worrys as for rim selection if you dont wanna go any bigger you can get narrow 33's. BFG make them I think cooper also, these will fit your current 15x7 rims. But if you want 33x12.5R15 tyres, these have to go on atleast an 15x8 (there maybe some that will go on a 15x7.5 but rare in aus are these rims).

To make them fit, I would leave the flares and mud flaps on they will fit. What you may need to do though is take the metal insert out of the mudflaps. Shouldnt need to fit spacers. I didnt with 33's on my SWB GQ with 40mm susp lift.
You will find they will rub in the inside of the rear guards. Only way to fix this is spacing you bump stops down slightly. I am not sure how much though. But this will limit up travel and stop them rubbing.

Just back on the rims. Alot of people go for ROH rims, they are relativly cheap (15x8 are about $50each new). These really on come in a std offset, which seams to be set up for Toyota's. But they will fit your patrol no worrys. Just might make the wheel track alittle wider. But as a general rule if you are buying rims 2nd hand. Factory toyota rims want fit on a Patrol as the center is 2mm to small. This could be fixed with minor grinding though.

[Aris]

or at least as big as I'm still [a] legal & r/w and [b] do not need to perform any serious modifications. I prefer wide to narrow.

So if I can get 9'' without hassles, I prefer them. If not, 8'' is still an improvement over what I currently got.

Exactly where is the legal limit on how wide my tyres can be?

[bogged]

or at least as big as I'm still [a] legal & r/w and [b] do not need to perform any serious modifications.

Call your insurance company ask them what height you can go, some wont allow ANY lifts on 4bs.
3in lift you dont need engineeres, but over that you do, and it gets expensive.

I prefer wide to narrow

Why is this? bling bling?
Narrow tires have lots of advantages in some terrains. 33x12.5s you need to get engineerd to be legal.

So if I can get 9'' without hassles, I prefer them. If not, 8'' is still an improvement over what I currently got.?

over 8in rims are illegal in Vic anyway (add your state to your profile).