Need Help with Tire size! (1 Viewer)

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6h9

Joined
Sep 19, 2018
Threads
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Location
PA
I'm new to the forums. In fact this is my first post. But have been a fan of this site. You guys look very helpful to each other.

I'm working on a '74 Fj40. When I bought it it had 35" (35x 12.5x15) tires on it. They are cool, but I would love to go down a little bit and maybe a little narrower. I just do want to risk making the rig look tall with small tires on it. I was thinking of going with a 285/75r16 with 16" procomp wheels. Also wanted to creat some clearance by the tie rod ends. I have 3 1/4" spacers in the front just to make clearance. Any thoughts out there?

Thanks
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I guess I'll be the first to say it - you'll probably hear it many times: 33x10.5x15 on stock steel wheels on a 2.5-4" lift is a favorite size here for a reason - they look and drive good (even without power steering), and give decent trail clearance. No spacers needed.

If you're set on 16" wheels, you can probably find a metric size that is close to 33"x10.5".

Any way, welcome to Mud. Nice looking 40 - I love the color.
 
Nice 40! If it has 35s there's a good chance it's been re-geared with a lower gear ratio. If so, smaller tires may limit your ability to drive at highway speed because the RPMs will be too high. If the speedo reads close to the correct speed, that's an indication it's been re-geared. To tell for sure you need to jack up one end and compare the wheel revolutions to the driveshaft. Stock gears would be 4.11:1.
 
LT235/85R16s on 70-Series wheels. This is @Mr Cimarron's nice Pollux Orange BJ40.

These are LT255/85R16s on the same wheels, not much different tire size.

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I guess I'll be the first to say it - you'll probably hear it many times: 33x10.5x15 on stock steel wheels on a 2.5-4" lift is a favorite size here for a reason - they look and drive good (even without power steering), and give decent trail clearance. No spacers needed.

If you're set on 16" wheels, you can probably find a metric size that is close to 33"x10.5".

Any way, welcome to Mud. Nice looking 40 - I love the color.
 
Thanks for the comments!

33x10.5x15 does sound popular. The wide 35's are a bit sluggish on the road. Most of the time it will be on payment. So having a decent ride would be a pleasure. I am also not to crazy of how much they stick out from the body.

I was looking at Cooper discoverys? Anybody like those?

thanks for the suggestion to look at the rear ratio. I haven't thought of that.

Here is a before pic of when I started.
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44 boggers look good. Should fit on steelies no problem ;)

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It kind of depends on the finished look & purpose you're going for. Rock crawler with cut fenders? Do whatever you want. Stock to lightly modified stock? For mostly on and occastional off-road use I'd highly recommend the BFG KO2's 33x10.5x15 AT's with a 2.5" lift. I bought mine with 12.5" tires and the day-to-day driving experience, IMHO, is much better with the 10.5". One of my biggest regrets to date is salvaging the aftermarket wagon wheels it came with. It looks fine and all, but for almost the same money I could have bought brand new stock steelies. I dig white wagon wheels on later cruisers, but I painted mine black because the current body color is white. Light gray steelies would be an easy choice knowing what I know now...
 
I have liked the look of 80 series wheels on 40's too... I think they look more modern but not so much that they detract from the overall classic lines of the 40's. On a side note they are REALLY strong, light, 16" and are readily found if looking around for them. Claudia @DSRTRDR popped them on her cruiser if I remember correctly and they look awesome to me.

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And a few more images plundered from the interweb.
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As many have recommended: BF Goodrich AT 33x10.5x15's (OEM rims and caps, 2.5" lift on this)

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I like the way your rig sits, but this ultimately comes down to personal preference, economics and the how you plan to wheel the rig. I assume you don't plan on doing much in the way of serious rock crawling, you would like to have the rig steer easier without P/S and don't want to tweak your rear wheel wells by stuffing a tire up into the sheet metal. I think old school on certain rigs. Mine would look stupid on 33's.:cheers:
 
I'm working on a '74 Fj40. When I bought it it had 35" (35x 12.5x15) tires on it. They are cool, but I would love to go down a little bit and maybe a little narrower. I just do want to risk making the rig look tall with small tires on it.
I’d change just the wheels, those are too wide and too much offset.

35x12.50R15 is the perfect size for lifted FJ40:
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The bezel should be another way anyways. :)
 

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