Largest tire size?

[NELSON WALLACE]

I just bought a 2000 vx and was going to put on a new set of skins.Does anyone know what is the widest tire that will fit?I wanted to throw a set of 31 x 11.50/ R16 on.

[driver3]

I don't know about the width, the factory 16's are only 7 inches wide, but I have 265/75/16's which are 31.6 inches tall, but using the miata tire size calculator http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html , I don't get the width, but 11.5 sounds too big for the 7 inch rim.. I guess I'd have to go measure my width, but I don't know, but the height is cool with no mods.. as long as your using the stock rims, or rims with the stock offset...

[Tone]

I ran 29x11.50 Thornbirds on the stock rims - they bow out a bit so you’ll wear out the centers faster but they sure protected the rims!

[BumbleV-X]

I thought the later 2000 VX's had the 18" rims? If so then he would be changing rims too so the stock rims wouldn't matter. By the number of his VX in 2000 that would be 18". We've had 32x11.5x17's on after market rims. We've gone up from there. The 32's were put on after a 3" suspension lift, and I believe a little bit of cutting. Our 33's had a bit more than that for cutting.

[NELSON WALLACE]

Your exactly right. My VX does come with stock 18"s. I should of mentioned that I allready purchasted a set of aftermarket 16"s with 5 1/2 in. back spacing and 8" wide.What I really wanted to put on is a set of Thornbirds ,31 x 11.5 /R16. I figured that the 31" overall diameter would fit.What I was unsure of is the 11.5'' of width.So even with the rims having 5 1/2" of back spacing,would the Thornbirds that I want fit, without having to do any modifcations?It's funny that I've gotten more information about my question in one day then I've gotten out of thirty or fourty tire & wheel experts in three weeks!!!

Thank you for all your help!!!

[TDAWG]

I am running 32X12.5 Bajas on a 16 Konig NRN rim. I only had to do some very minor cutting. The front cladding replace the bolt on the back and it hasn't given me no problems. The reason you get answers here quicker about any mods are 2 reasons: 1) wwe love our VXs and help eachother out with any mods. And 2) Most tire and rim shop have people working there that don't have a clue about rims and tires. I found this out when me and a friend went to purchase some new rims for his Prelude. We were told that you can't fit 18s on a Prelude. We looked at eachother and laughed in his face. He said that he has more than 18 yrs experiance working on cars and it couldn't be done. We took him to the parking lot and showed him the Prelude sitting on 18s with a semi low pro tire. So then we left on our way and ordered new rims and tires from someone else. Hope this helps you out alittle.

[Radiologue]

I have 31" x 10.5 x 15" wheel/tire set up. I purchased the set off of the internet so I'm not sure what the exact offset of the wheels are. It would appear there is a fair amount of negative offset as the tires stick out about 1 - 2 inches beyond the confines of the plastic fenders. This negative offset required me to cut a large chunk of fender off the front and bend/cut the plastic fender and metal corner immediately behind the front tires. Nothing is visible though and I am very happy with the result. I'm sure that if your offset is nearer to the stock offset that wider tires will not be a problem.

[TDAWG]

Radiologue after reading your post I decied to check my tires again and to my surprise my tire does stick out about an inch or so. I am guessing that my rim must be either the same off-set or alittle off but everyone is always giving me Looks and Signs of approval so I guess they'll stay on till I get some new rims.

[NELSON WALLACE]

Would I be able to fit a wider tire on my VX if I had less back spacing on the rim? For example,could I use a larger tire on a rim with 4" of B.S. or a rim with 5 1/2" of B.S. on my VX?

[Radiologue]

Your VX can handle a wider tire with the stock geometry.
But more you push your tire futher away from the truck the more front/rear travel the tire will have when turning. And therefore you will need more room in the rather small front quarter section of the VX. I personally like the look of the big rugged tires pushed our beyond the fenders, so cutting a little metal was worth it to me. Much bigger tires actually look smaller than the tires I have because of the geometry change. I love it, and I get compliments on them every time I leave my house.

[ThirtyftFL]

I have a set of 265/70r16 BFG All Terrains on my 2001. I'm not sure what the offset of the rims i bought is, but i needed to cut about 3/4in.-1in. off the front of the fender. In my opinion They look great and you can't even tell the plastic is cut a bit. Well worth it. I think i am going to go up a little bigger next time since i just cranked up the t bars. This may require some modification to the rear of the fender, but so what. Love the tires and would not trade them for anything. They make a huge difference offroading.

[NELSON WALLACE]

Really appreciate all the info I recieved the past few days. Now, I finally know what direction I want to go when I purchase my new tires. You all have been a tramendous help!!!

[AlaskaVX]

Hey Nelson I am running 31x11.5x16 Mickey Thompson Baja Belted Tires and I just had extremely minor trimming on the front fenders (back fit perfect. If you look at the front wheel well you only really have to trim that part that wraps in, and only like the bottom 3-5". It really make your car look great with the 11.5's. Probobally the best mod I have done yet! Oh ya, forgot to add that I got some Eagle alloy comets 16x10.5"