Want to put 225/75/16 to a stock 1996 lwb Vitara.

[Ippie]

Guys,

I want to put 225/75/16 (29.28") to my stock 1996 lwb Vitara which with out any mod.
Currently, I'm using 235/60/16.
Please see the photos of the difference after I put a spare tire with 225/75/16.

I don't go off road much, just drive in the urban area mostly.
Do you guys think it would fit?
What are "body lift" and "suspension lift"?
Do I need a minimum 1" lift with coil spacer?
I have read a lot of the previous post here but I'm still confused.
Hope you guys can give me some advices.

Thx a lot.

[SiKiD_01]

I don't go off road much, just drive in the urban area mostly.
Do you guys think it would fit?
What are "body lift" and "suspension lift"?
Do I need a minimum 1" lift with coil spacer?
I have read a lot of the previous post here but I'm still confused.
Hope you guys can give me some advices.

Thx a lot.

a 225/75/16 is a 29.50" tall tyre. a 235/60/16 is a 27.28" tall tyre. difference is 2.22", but its half of that increase in height.

before i did any lift on my vitara, '89 SWB, i put 235/75/15, which are 29.1" tall tyres. i had no problems with this, as my suspension was stock anyway, which meant i didnt have a lot of suspension travel. driving around town is ok, and some slight rubbing on the chassis when turning full lock. this was mainly due to the off set of the stock vitara wheels.

you seem to have some aftermarket wheels, which will be a little more forgiving in the offset. this may be the reason why you are able to run a 225/75 with out any rubbing.

also, it is not a good idea to run 2 different sized tyres on either the front or back diffs (left to right), nor is it any better to run different sized tyres front to back on a 4wd.

A Body Lift consists of fitting blocks in between the chassis and the body, giving a certain amount of 'lift'. this means lifting the body off the chassis. the main reason is purely to raise the guards up and out of the way to allow for larger tyres to be fitted. (and sometimes saving the sills)

depending on how high the BL is, there will also be other modifications necessary for it to work.

a suspension lift is replacing the springs and/or shocks to raise the car off the ground. with a body lift, only the body is raised off the ground, with a suspension, everything is. this will give more clearance under the car, and also helps is you want to run larger tyres.

you can upgrade single components, or you can buy a kit, ranging from 25mm/1" to 50mm/2". OME, Tough Dog etc usually do kits.

a coil spacer of 1" will usually give you a 1" lift at the back, and 1.5" of lift on the front (of vitaras) the spacers sit on top of the coil springs. this is a cheap and effective way of getting an extra inch of lift. would probably suit you if you decide to go with the 225/75/16s. if you are not doing any/much off roading, then you should still be able to keep the shocks and struts you have now. (originals)

if you decide to get more suspension lift, changing the struts and shocks is always a good idea.

hope this helps.

[Ippie]

This really helps to clear some doubts in my head.
Thx, mate.

Yeah, I believe my wheels have different off set than the stock ones.
Since I had tried to fit the 225/75/16 to the front and there was no rubbing at all. Provided, I was only driving easily on road with only myself in the car.

Actually, I have been reading lots of info from this forum but I'm not really as professional that's why I was a little bit confused about how to install the spacers.
Furthermore, is it a must to flip the sturts/shocks upside down after the spacers had installed?

I think I will make the quote for installing the 1" spacer.
Then I would go for 225/75/16 and see if they're rubbing.
If so, I would get the spacers done.

P.S. I'm not running different brand tyres with my Vitara.
I only took the photos after I put on the spare tyre at the front for trying.
Thx for the advise, anyway.

Cheers!

[SiKiD_01]

Actually, I have been reading lots of info from this forum but I'm not really as professional that's why I was a little bit confused about how to install the spacers.
Furthermore, is it a must to flip the sturts/shocks upside down after the spacers had installed?

I think I will make the quote for installing the 1" spacer.
Then I would go for 225/75/16 and see if they're rubbing.
If so, I would get the spacers done.

i guess the main reason why we are here, is to help out others. dont be scared if you have no idea of what's going on, (provided you've done a little searching 1st), and the other reason we're all here? entertainment i guess...

there are a few threads on coil spacer installation, found in the vit bible. a coupl eof these go through the steps on how to do it yourself, and there are a few ways to go about it too.

i personally think anything less than a 30mm/1" spacer is not worth the time or effort, unless correcting sag with a 15mm spacer. i can get 30mm spacers for a good price if interested, or look around locally and compare prices.

as for flipping a shock or strut? i dont think anyone does it, but i know that you are referring to the strut mounting plate. unless you are a hardcore wheeler, or you like to jump your vitara, the stock front strut does not compress fully enough to bottom out. actually, there is about an inch left in the shaft stroke. this is why you can flip the mount, and still be good for small lifts with coil spacers. the reason why the strut doesnt bottom out, is because the front coils are pretty stiff, and dont compress fully. and vits are light anyway.

normal vitaras and grand vitaras may have a slightly different front strut. (so i've read, i have no proof or facts to back me up)

i think, if you can be bothered, to just get some strut spacers, and put them in yourself. you will save a lot of money, but may spend a bit of time doing it if you've never done it before. if you're half descent with tools, then you should be able to do it.

good luck.

[Ippie]

i guess the main reason why we are here, is to help out others. dont be scared if you have no idea of what's going on, (provided you've done a little searching 1st), and the other reason we're all here? entertainment i guess...

there are a few threads on coil spacer installation, found in the vit bible. a coupl eof these go through the steps on how to do it yourself, and there are a few ways to go about it too.

i personally think anything less than a 30mm/1" spacer is not worth the time or effort, unless correcting sag with a 15mm spacer. i can get 30mm spacers for a good price if interested, or look around locally and compare prices.

as for flipping a shock or strut? i dont think anyone does it, but i know that you are referring to the strut mounting plate. unless you are a hardcore wheeler, or you like to jump your vitara, the stock front strut does not compress fully enough to bottom out. actually, there is about an inch left in the shaft stroke. this is why you can flip the mount, and still be good for small lifts with coil spacers. the reason why the strut doesnt bottom out, is because the front coils are pretty stiff, and dont compress fully. and vits are light anyway.

normal vitaras and grand vitaras may have a slightly different front strut. (so i've read, i have no proof or facts to back me up)

i think, if you can be bothered, to just get some strut spacers, and put them in yourself. you will save a lot of money, but may spend a bit of time doing it if you've never done it before. if you're half descent with tools, then you should be able to do it.

good luck.[/quote]



What does it mean by "unless correcting sag with a 15mm spacer."
Right, I wouldn't go for anything less than 30mm for sure.
On the other hand, would that be more appropriatce to have a smaller spacers at the front due to spring ration differences comparing the rear?
e.g. 30mm at the front and 45mm at the rear.

Hahaha! Stupid me! Yeah, I mean the strut/shock mounting plates.
Does it mean the mounting plates are needed to be flipped with spacers?
Or there would be a slight lift with this flipping?

I think you guys are being more than helpful here!
Especially, for a guy like me.
And, there's more than entartainment for sure!
I would say it's the most "educational" forum I have ever found.

Keep it up, mate!

[SiKiD_01]

What does it mean by "unless correcting sag with a 15mm spacer."


Right, I wouldn't go for anything less than 30mm for sure.
On the other hand, would that be more appropriatce to have a smaller spacers at the front due to spring ration differences comparing the rear?
e.g. 30mm at the front and 45mm at the rear.

Hahaha! Stupid me! Yeah, I mean the strut/shock mounting plates.
Does it mean the mounting plates are needed to be flipped with spacers?
Or there would be a slight lift with this flipping?

when you add a steel front bull bar, its kinda heavy, and if you add a winch, thats kinda heavy too. so the front of the car will sit lower (sag), or sometimes factory/stock coils will sag a bit over time by themselves.

i think there are only 15mm AND 30mm spacers available commercially in aus, unless you make them yourself, or get some made up. most put 15mm in the front and 30 in the rear, which evens out eventually.

i think Jeep TJ coils are the same diameter (100 or so mm diameter) so you can try to get some jeep coil spacers, but might need to bore out the centre holes for the vit bump stops.

[Charlie]

Hi Ippie
215 70 R 16 fits fine without modifications but is illegal without an engineers certificate under the current regs. When (if) the new code of practice comes in it will be OK without a certificate.

225 R75 16 will not fit at the back under articulation without taller springs and longer bumpstops or a bodylift .This setups illegal but engineerable under the current regs but will be totally unegineerable under the new code of practice because they exceed the two inch limits.

Allright that’s enough confusion for the moment.

Regards Charlie
97 V6 Vitara

[SiKiD_01]

Hi Charlie,

Ippie is in Hong Kong, so they should be able to get away with small stuff that doesnt stand out too much.

doing a 10" lift with some 315/85's or something might not be legal there, but i have seen some crazy stuff over in HK, but no where near as crazy as the stuff in Japan!

[Charlie]

Arr to be free of govt regulation.
I guess you could run bigger tyres extending the back bumpstops. I used some alloy bar with 10 1.25 mm threaded holes on each end plus a a couple of studs.
BFG do a 28.5 inch tyre as well which would go close to fitting without any mods,can't think of the profile at the moment 225 70 maybe.
Regards
Charlie

[Beastmavster]

For what you intend I wouldnt bother with any modification to the shocks or struts, just the coil spacers. Changes to the shocks and struts, uncluding the strut mount flip are for more travel offroad.

If you get more serious about offroading then you can re-assess what you want to do with your vitara.

Even a 15mm spacer for the coils would be worthwhile to regain clearance between the tyres and the body, but 30mm would be better.

[Charlie]

Running 215 70 passenger tyres on this model your fine with stock coils,the tyre just fits inside the guard as the wheel moves up. Moving up to 225 70 or 75R can require quite a bit of lift as you need to keep the tyre below the edge of the guard it will probably foul. Unfortunatly the plastic splash covers don't respond real well to a bit of tuning with a angle grinder or big hammer
Regards Charlie

[Ippie]

Guys,

Thx a lot for sharing.

What I would do is, I would fit my spare tire with 225/75/16 at the front and rear.
Then I would find a big curb or step to see how the clearences go for both the front and rear.

Since I'm in HK now (I was in Syd for 12 yrs) where we don't have much places to go off road anyway.
Just want to change a set of tire to get the look.


If the spare tire fits OK.
I would go for 225/75/16.
Then I would install the 30mm spacers if the rubbing occured.

Once again, thx a lot.
I'm sure I will need you guys to answer my questions more in the future.

Cheers!