TYRE SIZES

[Henry]

My Hilux is nearly due for new tyres. Currently it's fitted with 30 9.5R15 BFG All terrain. I want to fit something bigger and looked at BFG Mud terrains in 32 11.5 R 15. I was told that my vehicles engine ( standard 4Y ) will be a little to underpowered for this size. I also will be fitting OME Suspension and a 50 mm body lift. Will this size work on my Hilux or must I rather go for the 31 10.5 R 15 BFG Mud's ? Another thing if I want to fit mags will normal 15" mags do the job or must I get a special size mag also ? I know I am asking a lot but I would rather buy the correct sizes mags and tyres that is proposed by you guys than listening to a tyre salesman.

Rgds

Henry

[BenHur]

A 7JJ rim will be okay for either a 31 or 32 tyre. One of the guys one the community forum TiaanS (http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/member.php?u=495)had 32s on his lux and he did complain about a slight loss in power on the 4Y.

PM him on the community forum and speak to him about it personally, but if it was me I will stick to a 31, but that said I have seen guys running 33s without ratio change, but I am not sure how well such a setup works.

[Henry]

Tnx Bennie
I also think I would rather stay with the 31's

[Family_Dog]

I tried 31's with my 4Y SFA, wasn't too happy with them. They were AT, but I found roadholding to suffer under insipid conditions. They gave me extra height, probably about 15mm which is not to be sneezed at, but fuel consumption went down, they were slippery on slanting shale surfaces and when a sudden gust of wind caught me sideways on a tar road, I had no control over the SFA which was blown off of the tar road onto the gravel edge, inspite of me trying to counter it by using opposite lock.

The next day I replaced the tyres with standard Dunlop AT 245's (original size) and have never looked back. The 31"'s also stuck out from my bodywork, but that could have been caused by the wider rims I was using.

-F_D

[BenHur]

Erik

Something in your setup must be wrong, I have driven a few luxes with 31's on that handled just fine. Maybe the offset of the rims. Was that with the OME or before?

[ThysdJ]

F_D what make was the 31" s you fitted? I had 31" Kumho's A/T's on a previous Lux and they were slippery like hell in wet conditions. So much so that I sometimes engaged 4x4 in town, just to get traction. I now have 33" Goodyear MTR's on and they are brilliant.

[Family_Dog]

I could never get the spelling of the tyres right... Savero, made in the Philippines, if I remember correctly. The rims were wide, probably 10" and I don't know what the offset was, the Dealer who fitted the tyres supplied the new rims as well. They gave a nice enough ride when I got them, they did seem to suffer some very minor cuts & abrasions from the very sharp shale surfaces I was driving on at the time, but that was to be expected. My mate is using them now on a Cruiser, FJ45, and he is very happy with them.

I honestly don't think I would want to go oversize with the SFA again, although I do have 31" Coopers on the 2.7 and that is a very happy match. I think what really put me off the 31" Saveros was the 25-30mm tyre width that stuck out the sides of the SFA, throwing mud & grit all over the bodywork. Perhaps narrower rims would have been the answer.


-F_D

[ThysdJ]

F_D I think it's a matter of you get what you pay for. I dont trust those el-cheepo tyres from the Philipines or Korea. Some people are happy with them, but I would rather pay the premium and be sure I get good tyre performance. I also dont think it was the width of your rims that caused your bad experience, as I also ride on 10" rims without any problems.

[Family_Dog]

Will be interested to see what performance my mate gets out of them on his Cruiser. He farms and transports lucerne from his farm to various locations, so often carries a load in the extended bakkie he built up for the FJ45.

But I agree with you, I will now rather stick to well-known brands, the Coopers on my 2.7 are doing well and don't display any of the traction problems that the Savero tyres did.


-F_D

[astam]

picked up this link from community4x4.

http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/tips_tyres.php

doesn't actually deal with tyre size but gives a comprehensive comparison of 14 AT tyre brands in various surface conditions (all tested on a single Hilux, of course!).

The 'winner' was a surprise to me. Especially since that is what is fitted on my lux. but i haven't had her long enough to make any useful comments about tyre wear or performance.

[Harold]

Tell me –
Why this obsession for big tyres?
What is the advantage, other than a macho look?

They, and the rims cost plenty more.
They chuck up mud.
They aren’t good in mud?
Good in sand – so only an option for sand/beach traveller.

[pietpetoors]

HI Harold
I think the Cool factor got a lot to do with it. I also wondered untill I fitted larger tyres.
You get a much smoother ride. Compare a shopping trolley with a wheel barrow on a gravel road, which one will be the easiest to push?
I try to illustrate it in the simple sketch below. I know it might be exaturated, put I think it proofs the point.


Another thing is climbing up obstacles. It is much easier with larger wheels. This I have experienced with all our trails. The bakkies with 33" wheels go up difficult obstacles where we have to push the vehicle real hard to get to the top. See the next sketch:


And then of course you have more ground clearance.

You do not have to go extremely big. Seems to me if you go 33" you cause yourself a lot of extra troubles like broken sideshafts etc. To me just going up to 31" made a huge enough difference.

And in sand you have more of a tyre to deflate leaving you with a bigger footprint which gives you more grip.

[BenHur]

Tell me –
Why this obsession for big tyres?
What is the advantage, other than a macho look?


They chuck up mud.
They aren’t good in mud?

I have to disagree. Tyre size (diameter) has nothing to do with mud performance. Tyre width and tread pattern determines how the tyre perform in mud.

If I have to choose between lets say a Cooper STT 31x10.5 or a Cooper STT 33x12.5 I would say that the 33s would be a better all-rounder in different muddy conditions

[pietpetoors]

Even in mud you have the ground clearance advantage.

[BenHur]

Eric

Have you ever considered swapping the tyres on the SFA an IFS and see what happens with decent 31's on the SFA? But you may run into problems with getting the IFS' rimms over the SFA's brake calliper :? :?

[leonbrink]

Eric

Have you ever considered swapping the tyres on the SFA an IFS and see what happens with decent 31's on the SFA? But you may run into problems with getting the IFS' rimms over the SFA's brake calliper :? :?

The IFS alloys / rims doesnt fit the SFA. I have tried.
The tie rod ends are in the way.

[BenHur]

The reason why I said Eric must test is because there are different rims, I have a set that fits with 12 mm spacers, but I saw another type of rims that fitted and the guy told me he had no spacers.

[Family_Dog]

Hi Bennie,

I no longer have the Savero tyres, they are on my business partners LC. He seems happy enough with them. The SFA now has Dunlop AT (can't remember the type) which seem to work well enough, I had no problem with grip at Doornrivier.

I agree with Piet that 31" tyres work very well on the 2.7 but I doubt I will ever fit larger tyres to the SFA again, at least never again on wider rims. I found no pros in doing that (other than "bling") and plenty of cons, although I do think the rims were not right for those tyres.

-F_D

[BenHur]

I can think of one mayor advantage and that is the diff lift you get. I have been hampered a few times by the pumpkin digging into the ground.

[Family_Dog]

I can think of one mayor advantage and that is the diff lift you get. I have been hampered a few times by the pumpkin digging into the ground.

True, I lost about 10-15mm height when I put the standard tyres back on, but haven't yet caught the diff, much to my amazement, because I have been over some yucky-looking rocky bits.


-F_D

[BenHur]

Especially when we play with the big boys at Mahem my pumpkin caught a few times already, mostly on steep inclines with high "middel mannetjies" as the tracks were dug out by people spinning their way up.