Help me out with tire sizes? (1 Viewer)

[Greg_B]

33X9.5 on 15 rims are perfect for a NA 3B.
16" rims are a recent (last 5 years mostly) fad although it does allow for more selection of heavier tires.

I've been running these fad tires for just shy of 10 years. And I know others. I heard about them from folks who were running them for a good number of years before that.

I'll take these fad tires any day over 33x10.5x15. 20lbs-22lbs or so in the 255/85R16 still feels stable for reasonable speeds for gravel travel on back roads. I would not want to do that in the 15" variety.

I ran the 255/85R16 for years on the BJ42, then had some powder coated stock 15's given to me.
I still don't like the feel of the 33x10.5x15 BFG AT on my BJ42 at "street pressures". Considerably more roll and sway then the 255/85R16's.

But...to each their own.

gb

 

[1985bj70]

Thanks for the input guys, I just had the 3B overhauled about a month and a half ago by Tony at Alltoy in Kamloops, new injectors, and he went through everything for me. It picked up a fair bit of power, as it was very sluggish before. I would have liked to have gone with a 33x12.5 but did not necessarily want to look at redoing gears at this point. A turbo would be nice, but is beyone my budget at this point. I will post some finished pics once I get the front lift springs in, and the new rubber on it.....

 

[SimonInAustralia]

33X9.5 on 15 rims are perfect for a NA 3B.
16" rims are a recent (last 5 years mostly) fad although it does allow for more selection of heavier tires.

70 series have been on 16"/5 stud rims for more than 10 years, since 1999.

Not really a fad, that's how they come from the factory, and I don't think you can go smaller without hitting the brakes.

 

[roscoFJ73]

70 series have been on 16"/5 stud rims for more than 10 years, since 1999.

Not really a fad, that's how they come from the factory, and I don't think you can go smaller without hitting the brakes.

It hits the steering. They changed to a 5 stud pattern so owners could not put the old rims.

 

[crushers]

now now, you boys in Oz have had that option. the boys in Canada havn't. we never got the 16" rims on the 40,60,70 series here, even the early 80 series were 15 in NA. so for wheeling rigs 16" is a new fad.

Greg, you really think 1/2" of steel really makes a tire feel more stable? tire composition yes.

i run 15 or 16, what ever is in the pile or on the rig. i wouldn't ditch a good set of 15s just for the sake of going up in size rim. i have yet to see any proof that a 16" rim being more stable on or off the road.

as Bruce said one time, 16 is so old, the new fad is the 17" rim.

 

[Capitalguy]

Itll be slower than the second coming of christ

Ignorance being bliss, the last landcruiser I owned...well ..."La Bamba " was playing in the theaters. As I recall the gassers were no screaming **** back then neither. Now with the unturboed 3b & 33's is there a 1/4 mile time I should be aiming for? As I have no other landcruiser diesel to compare it too. lol

 

[SimonInAustralia]

now now, you boys in Oz have had that option. the boys in Canada havn't. we never got the 16" rims on the 40,60,70 series here, even the early 80 series were 15 in NA. so for wheeling rigs 16" is a new fad.

That's because you Canadian boys are 15 years behind the times, isn't it?

Not our fault you are stuck at 1995 70 series cruiser technology.

as Bruce said one time, 16 is so old, the new fad is the 17" rim.

I'd like 38's on 20's...

...but custom 20" steel wheels do not seem to be readily available.

 

[1985bj70]

Ignorance being bliss, the last landcruiser I owned...well ..."La Bamba " was playing in the theaters. As I recall the gassers were no screaming **** back then neither. Now with the unturboed 3b & 33's is there a 1/4 mile time I should be aiming for? As I have no other landcruiser diesel to compare it too. lol

What was the Vin Diesel quote from The Fast & The Furious?: (modified for the Landcruiser owner)

"I live my life a quarter mile at a time, and for those 35 seconds I am free"

 

[1985bj70]

^^ Nice van, needs a mural painted on the side though, to be a truly cool one.......

 

[Capitalguy]

That's because you Canadian boys are 15 years behind the times, isn't it?
Not our fault you are stuck at 1995 70 series cruiser technology.

I'll blame our government for that, if Crushers was to be elected our next Prime Minister there'd be a chicken in every pot & a state of the art Landcruiser in every driveway

I live my life a quarter mile at a time, and for those 35 seconds I am free"
Good one - Us unturboed guys have to look at the bright side of this, at least they're not timing us with a calender....yet
Nice van by the way

 

[SimonInAustralia]

I think they (38" tyres on 20" rims) look similar in rim/sidewall size ratio to my current 305/70 on 16" rims, so possibly not as obviously oversize to the law at a brief glance. I don't really like the look of small rims with massive sidewalls anyway and would think as mentioned above, that they would handle better on road.

Build page for the truck...
vanaconda build

 

[Radd Cruisers]

And how does that van fit into Australia's ultra-conservative lift laws?

16" rims were available with the FJ45s that we got in '76 - '80.

Lots of guys have been running 16s for a long time - like the hardly-ever-heard-from Rob Mullen.

16s have better / stronger construction and I think that accounts for the better behaviour than a similar size in 15s.

~John

 

[roscoFJ73]

Ignorance being bliss, the last landcruiser I owned...well ..."La Bamba " was playing in the theaters. As I recall the gassers were no screaming **** back then neither. Now with the unturboed 3b & 33's is there a 1/4 mile time I should be aiming for? As I have no other landcruiser diesel to compare it too. lol

The gassers were Lamborghini's compared to the B diesels of the era. The gas engines could hold 70 miles an hour virtually everywhere but on the steepest of hills.
I got 94 out of my old 3F

 

[ForealBoreal]

i like the m55s because there tough as hell. on majority of the fisheries trucks and my dads 73. there tough as hell.
I am intrested in the mts too. There a hard tread

 

[bj70_guy]

now now, you boys in Oz have had that option. the boys in Canada havn't. we never got the 16" rims on the 40,60,70 series here, even the early 80 series were 15 in NA. so for wheeling rigs 16" is a new fad.

Just because they didn't come stock on the trucks doesn't mean no one ran them. When I joined the Coastal Cruisers circa '95 16"ers were the hot set up. A few guys (Bruce included) were running 8.25R16 (34") Continentals, and several more were running 235/85R16s and 255/85R16s... IIRC Phil S had the biggest tires in the club with his enormous 35x12.5 BFG muds

At the time the alternative in a narrow 33x15 was the evil BFG 33x9.5R15, by most accounts a floppy nightmare on a loaded 60 series, and not much better on a 70. Getting into a 16" rim got you proper truck tires with real sidewalls - you bet they made a difference!

They might not have been popular in Alta back then, but it was a common wheeling set up on the Coast.

For the OP, 33s will be a nice upgrade (looks like you have room for 35s with the Beltons if you move your front axle forward a little) but if you still have stock gears (3.70) and no turbo it's going to be a dog. I ran my BJ70 with 255/85R16s and 4.56 gears for years and really liked the set up.
Find a set of 4.11 diffs and run 33s.

 

[Clint79]

cool photo mate

 

[1985bj70]

Got the new tires on today....

I like it. Only problem is that I cannot open my rear door, the taller tire stops the left hand door from opening, have to shift the spare over with some fresh bolts/hardware now.

 

[Capitalguy]

All you have to do is unbolt the carrier from the rear door, turn it and your problem is solved, using all the same hardware, had to do it on mine, works great, credit Crushers for that on some previous thread.

 

[Capitalguy]

Looks real good by the way

 

[1985bj70]

All you have to do is unbolt the carrier from the rear door, turn it and your problem is solved, using all the same hardware, had to do it on mine, works great, credit Crushers for that on some previous thread.

good deal, thanks! so just rotate it to the right then, no need to redo the mounting holes on the body? thanks for the words on the truck, next I am going to repaint the front bumper and get my KC's on there....