Outer Limits 4x4 Board

g'day,

I plan on purchasing new tires with the tax return. i will be aiming for a 30 inch tyre. I understand that gearing is an issue when you increase tyre size so i plan on sourcing a 1.3/1.0(with 4wd light) leaf sprung transfercase.

I have a few questions.

What size rim should i go for? the rims i am looking at are 14",15",16"
Will i need to modify my brakes?

What would be the better choice for tyres?

The BFG MT or the Goodyear wrangler MTR?

I will be driving dirt, sand, rocks.

on-road performance is not a factor.

cheers,
Sean

P.S I have tried searching for answers to these questions on several forums but couldn't find any relevant, helpful answers. however if you can find a thread in which these questions will be answered i will stand corrected

*EDIT* P.S.S I have already got a inch bodylift, and plan on spacing bumpstops. Will i need a suspension lift to fit these tyres?

Here's some ideas.

bear in mind the 1.0 shift light and 1.3 cases have different gearing. go with a 1.0 shift light case it has the lowest gearing and will still take aftermarket gears.


I am quite sure you won't find a 31" tyre with a 14" wheel. Suzuki brakes will acutally clear a 14" wheel but you won't find wheels or tyres anymore.

The ideal 15" rims for your car are ROH Trak 2 15X7's. these have more backspacing than speedy rims as they are a vitara fitment. This will keep the tyres under the guards. (remember you have a coil car so its 35mm wider in the axles than a normal WT)

When you say on road performance isn't a factor, does that mean you will run 2 sets of tyres, or that you ony use your car offroad, or you don't care what its like anyway?

Suspension lift does not allow you to fit bigger tyres. bumpstop spacing, guard cutting and body lifting does.

Now to my point- BFG MT's and Wrangler MTR's are both premium tyres that are designed with a high emphasis on road behaviour and performance.

Obvious sizes are 235/75/15, 30X9.5 for 15" rims
225 75 16, 215 85 16, 245 75 126, 235 85 16 got 16" rims

16" X6 and 16x7 rims are pretty dear, and tyres in the above 16" sizes are always more expensive than their 15" equivalents.

They will work well, but might be an expensive way to run off road tyres, especially when you aren't concerned about road performance.

If you are not concerned about road behaviour becuase you ar emaybe have a second set or don't daily drive the car, i would be looking at light truck sizing such as 7.50 16 (a bit over 31, but very narrow) or 7.00 16 about 30" tall. These are available in all sorts of aggressive styles and run on very narrow rims (stock sierra 16x4.5 rims are ideal)

We have a clubmember sho has just set up a WT leaf car on 7.50 16 Simex MP trekkers and they look the goods.

With these narrow tyres you can run a taller tyre than you could imagine as they fit up inside the guard rather than wanting to catch the lip, and the narrow rim and large backspacing mean the scrub radius is small aiding clearance when turned.

I'd have a look at your options.

Steve.

thanks for the reply Steve.

By saying that on road behavior isn't a factor i mean that i just don't care. if they are to bad i will have a second set to run on road.

Although you gave me some very good food for thought, I am still wondering which tyre i should go for(yes i know I'm splitting hairs now).

cheers,
Sean

What is rough estimate for the price of 5 BFG's?

cheers,
Sean

my mate paid $800 or $900 somewhere there for the 31's ATR

cheers mate

for a Sierra I'd bbe looking at getting 2nd hand 31s. they are plentiful and many people upgrade to 33s etc so can be had for pretty cheap with good life in them

Oh i got quotes today from the local dealers and this is what i came up with.

Goodyear MTR - $250 - $256
BFGoodrich MT - $246
Federal Couragia MT - $195

all i need to sort now is rims

cheers,
Sean

Sean wrote:Oh i got quotes today from the local dealers and this is what i came up with.

Goodyear MTR - $250 - $256
BFGoodrich MT - $246
Federal Couragia MT - $195

all i need to sort now is rims

cheers,
Sean

you can get 35s for those prices almost

grimbo wrote:for a Sierra I'd bbe looking at getting 2nd hand 31s. they are plentiful and many people upgrade to 33s etc so can be had for pretty cheap with good life in them

x2

a mate got a set of 31 x 10.5 mudstars for $150 each, cant remember where he got them from but

g'day,

decided that 30x9.5's wont fit.

So now im lookin at 235/75r15's at $159 each.

cheers,
Sean

30 X 9.5 tyres fit.....

I have the 15x7 sunny rims, with offset and they fit stock.

You just need to put in some extended bumpstops and some light guard massaging

Sam