How big of a tire can I go on a BJ-74 with OME suspension?

skinny · 12-06-05, 03:01 PM

Hey Guys,

Now that the snow is here in Ottawa I am thinking of the Mud in the spring all ready. I am curisous how big of a tire people (height and width) are running with OME suspensiona and stock gears on a BJ-74 manual tranny?

I currently have 33x10.5 BFG AT's and well I am not happy with them. They are good on pavement and ok off road, but suck in real mud. I was thinking of trying to find a 35"x 10.5 tire but they are hard to find. I was going to go with Thronbirds as I can get the size I am looking for but road manners are not great on wet or snowy/icy pavement. I was thinking about the TRXUS but they only come in 12.5 width for the 25 " height, and I found when I went to a 12.5 width on my BJ-60 the truck strained alot more to get upto and maintain highway speed. Maybe it is not as big of a deal with the 13-BT motor, which is why I am asking you guys for opinions.

Thanks,
Todd

tlcruiserman · 12-06-05, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinny

Hey Guys,

Now that the snow is here in Ottawa I am thinking of the Mud in the spring all ready. I am curisous how big of a tire people (height and width) are running with OME suspensiona and stock gears on a BJ-74 manual tranny?

I currently have 33x10.5 BFG AT's and well I am not happy with them. They are good on pavement and ok off road, but suck in real mud. I was thinking of trying to find a 35"x 10.5 tire but they are hard to find. I was going to go with Thronbirds as I can get the size I am looking for but road manners are not great on wet or snowy/icy pavement. I was thinking about the TRXUS but they only come in 12.5 width for the 25 " height, and I found when I went to a 12.5 width on my BJ-60 the truck strained alot more to get upto and maintain highway speed. Maybe it is not as big of a deal with the 13-BT motor, which is why I am asking you guys for opinions.

Thanks,
Todd

I am running belton suspension on my 89' (I think I have a leaf in the front and rear out) and I was running 35x12.5x15's with no problems. I did not like the rake in the front and it will just touch a bit if I wheel. I also have the auto and have not turned up the fuel on the 13BT yet so I went back to 33" 10.5 15's for now but you can put 35" on it.

Cheers,

Michael

Canuck · 12-06-05, 04:16 PM

Not to threadjack but it's kinda related. I currently run 31x10.5x15 on the stock suspension on my BJ74. I plan to upgrade to the Belton suspension in the future but in the mean time my current BFG AT's need to be replaced. What would be a recommended size where the truck is primarly a daily driver and right now doesn't see too much time off road?

crushers · 12-06-05, 04:43 PM

Canuk, you can run 33 skinny with no lift on the BJ74 and a daily drive i would recommend the 33s
cheers

crushers · 12-06-05, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinny

Hey Guys,

Now that the snow is here in Ottawa I am thinking of the Mud in the spring all ready. I am curisous how big of a tire people (height and width) are running with OME suspensiona and stock gears on a BJ-74 manual tranny?

I currently have 33x10.5 BFG AT's and well I am not happy with them. They are good on pavement and ok off road, but suck in real mud. I was thinking of trying to find a 35"x 10.5 tire but they are hard to find. I was going to go with Thronbirds as I can get the size I am looking for but road manners are not great on wet or snowy/icy pavement. I was thinking about the TRXUS but they only come in 12.5 width for the 25 " height, and I found when I went to a 12.5 width on my BJ-60 the truck strained alot more to get upto and maintain highway speed. Maybe it is not as big of a deal with the 13-BT motor, which is why I am asking you guys for opinions.

Thanks,
Todd

35s work exellent but do eat the fuel a bit more...

bj70_guy · 12-07-05, 01:19 AM

Are the stock gears 4.11s in the 74s?
I test fitted Greg_B's 35x10.5 Swamper SSRs on my OME'd 70 once. They fit, but I didn't get to put it on a ramp to see if they were going to rub at full flex. Looked like they might have.
The gearing felt about right with my 4.56s.

dieselbigot · 12-07-05, 07:16 AM

I also run 35 MTR's w/ just an OME susp....you'll want to change the gears to 4.56 for sure

Greg_B · 12-07-05, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselbigot

I also run 35 MTR's w/ just an OME susp....you'll want to change the gears to 4.56 for sure

I did not think my BJ74 with 35's needed regearing...cept for the low range aspect. Some 3:05 low range gears would fix this. That said, 4:56's would not be too much gearing.

12.5's would take more energy to move, as I have the 35x10.5R16 SSR's. Dunno if the weight of the SSR's would make it a wash with regular 35's at 12.5".

hth's

gb

Tapage · 12-07-05, 09:12 AM

I thought if you like good power and performace to put 35" go with 4.56, but I thought DD with 33" and 4.11 is the perfect conviantion.

beanz2 · 12-07-05, 09:39 AM

With skinny tires and rims you may even be able to get away with 34" tires. This 75 series is running 34x10.5x16 Swampers with stock factory suspension.

Dave

Stone · 12-07-05, 10:07 AM

Nice Dave!

And here's a pic of Greg's BJ74 sitting on 35" SSRs:

skinny · 12-12-05, 11:50 AM

Thanks guys for the info.

So it sounds like 35's may need regearing, although Greg seems fine with his 10.5 x 35's, whcih is exacltly what I am leaning towards. I really don't want to swap gears yet.

Now to find a tire 35" x 10.5" tire that will preform off road, and have ok road manners (not let thw arse end slide out on wet pavement). I really don't car about noise from the road. My main goal is to have a excellent preforming mud tire.

Thanks again,
Todd

crushers · 12-12-05, 01:01 PM

13BT, H55F, 4.11 turns the 35s with no problem at all...
cheers

Stone · 12-12-05, 01:45 PM

Greg and I both run 255/85r/16 as daily on road tires. Greg has those 35" SSRs for wheeling. I definitely noticed a significant decrease in acceleration going from 32" tires to the 255/85r/16 (33.3")...but the 13B-T, H55f and 4.11 combo will do fine with 35"s, as mentioned by Wayne.

wesintl · 12-12-05, 04:42 PM

shoot... how did i miss this thread?

Dave, that 75 is awesome with 34 swampers. That's what I want to run on my 70.

FWIW i have 7x16 (31's) with OME. I dropped in fine spline 4.11's and my gearing is back to stock. I can definatly see the need for 4.56's with 35's.

tlcruiserman · 12-12-05, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselbigot

I also run 35 MTR's w/ just an OME susp....you'll want to change the gears to 4.56 for sure

Maybe need new gears for the 3B in Brett's but my 74 with auto is ok with the stock 4.11 gears. I also have BJ70 ragtop running Truxus 35" with 4.11 and 3bII and it is also fine with 4.11 gears.

Michael

tlcruiserman · 12-12-05, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinny

Thanks guys for the info.

So it sounds like 35's may need regearing, although Greg seems fine with his 10.5 x 35's, whcih is exacltly what I am leaning towards. I really don't want to swap gears yet.

Now to find a tire 35" x 10.5" tire that will preform off road, and have ok road manners (not let thw arse end slide out on wet pavement). I really don't car about noise from the road. My main goal is to have a excellent preforming mud tire.

Thanks again,
Todd

The best tire I have ever bought that is awesome off-road and great ride on-road (quieter than MTR's by a lot) are Interco Trxus M/T

I Highly recomend these tires, they are cheaper than MTR's and wear and ride better, and off-road the they beat the MTR's easily.

Cheers,

Michael

PacToy · 12-12-05, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beanz2

With skinny tires and rims you may even be able to get away with 34" tires. This 75 series is running 34x10.5x16 Swampers with stock factory suspension.

Dave

Wow Dave!

That is one nice looking 75.

Left Hand Drive too!!

Hey wait a minute.......................... it looks oddly familiar now?

I bet it has A/C too right?

The 75 sure does look good wearing swampers now, Dave

Skinny,

I have 35x12.50 BFG KMs on 10J rims on my 44 with same combo and gears. I have no problems with power. She zips around just fine.

You should also keep in mind that you want to find the lightest tire and wheel combo as possible to avoid losing that much more power. i.e. alloy and radial. Swampers (even radial) are heavy tires compared to the likes of a Geolander or BFG radial of the same size.

So there is my .02 cents on the question at hand.

Randy

beanz2 · 12-12-05, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PacToy

Wow Dave!

That is one nice looking 75.

Left Hand Drive too!!

Hey wait a minute.......................... it looks oddly familiar now?

I bet it has A/C too right?

The 75 sure does look good wearing swampers now, Dave

Could it be your truck?????? Hmmmmm?????

Dave

Fromage · 12-14-05, 01:22 PM

Hey Skinny,

I am the guy that was sitting at the other end of the table at Stout Brothers on Monday Night - with the multicoloured tuque on and the brown BJ60. Freakin small world.

If you're looking for a tall and skinny I can get 900R16 michelins for about 100$ a piece. They are XDND take-offs, about 35.5 X 10.5 X 16. They are decent off-road but a swamper might perform better. Sure makes for a cheap set of tires though...

skinny · 12-14-05, 02:14 PM

Thanks Fromage... I will have to think about those tires. I would then have to get rims as will which would add to the cost.

I am now leaning towards the TRXus after Michaels comments. I wanted to stay with 10.5 width but from what I have been reading here I should have no problems with 12.5. Now I just need to confirm what my rim width is to ensure I can run 12.5

Thanks guys for the comments.

beanz2 · 12-14-05, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fromage

If you're looking for a tall and skinny I can get 900R16 michelins for about 100$ a piece. They are XDND take-offs, about 35.5 X 10.5 X 16. They are decent off-road but a swamper might perform better. Sure makes for a cheap set of tires though...

Fromage,

I am looking for one 9.00R16 Michelin for a spare. Where are you and can you ship to Calif.?

Dave

Greg_B · 12-14-05, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fromage

If you're looking for a tall and skinny I can get 900R16 michelins for about 100$ a piece. They are XDND take-offs, about 35.5 X 10.5 X 16. They are decent off-road but a swamper might perform better. Sure makes for a cheap set of tires though...

Have these been grooved once already, or are they still on their 1st lugs? I too "might" be interested in some. I figure the sidewall of the Michelins might be the only ones that stand up to the weight of Poo and create one less thing to think about.

gb

Fromage · 12-15-05, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg_B

Have these been grooved once already, or are they still on their 1st lugs? I too "might" be interested in some. I figure the sidewall of the Michelins might be the only ones that stand up to the weight of Poo and create one less thing to think about.

gb

900R16s are not regroovable, the 1100R16s and 325/85R16s are. These 900s have never been grooved.

Serendib · 09-10-07, 03:32 AM

Those are nice tires Dave. I know that there are many types of Swampers, can someone please tell me what kind these are?

BJ 71 · 09-10-07, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crushers

13BT, H55F, 4.11 turns the 35s with no problem at all...
cheers

I know the 13BT can handle the 35s but no one has mentioned if they will rub or not. So I was searching around and found this:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/171456-fitting-35s-bj74.html

So does the axle need to be moved to make clearance? If so what is the best way to do it?

crushers · 09-10-07, 11:52 AM

yes, redrill the centering pin hole ahead 1" on all leafs...

they will still rub under extreme articulation...and it depends on the rims...

BJ 71 · 09-10-07, 01:06 PM

Iam a little leary of redrilling the centering pin, is their any concern for weakening the leafs by having an extra hole that close together? Im also thinking a wider off set rim keeps you away from the leaf springs when turning but doesn't it bring you closser to the fender? What is the ideal offset on a 8 inch rim for running 35x12.5x15s. Iam currently running 33s but if I can go to 35s without any rubbing I will.

bj70_guy · 09-10-07, 02:05 PM

I dug up a pic of my 70 with Greg_B's 35x10.5R16 swampers. Here's how the front looks with OME mediums, ARB bumper and 8274. That front axle would look a lot better about an inch forward. I always meant to ask Dieselbigot if he had repositioned his on his 70.
I remember hearing that Emu leafs were hellaciously hard to drill. Anyone done it?

Eric Winkworth · 09-16-07, 10:15 AM

Ineed to show you guys what my friend trail truck cherokee can do with 28 inch motomaster radials (aka the shittiest off road tires ever) we've done some crazy hill climbing, vertical!

Although a crash into a small tree left the jeep dead, good tires could have prevented that hahahaha... Just Empty Every Pocket... we think it`s one of those evil crank position sensors, too bad you can`t get your hand on top of the bell housing... instrustions are to use two 6 inch wobbly extentions and another extention... hahaha I think we`ll be cutting a hole...