off-road tires and rims setup?

[marximus]

okay, so i was looking for a set of tire and rims to use for off roading, and i wanted to hear what people here feel the best setup would be for around $600. my VX doesnt have a lift kit and i doent want to cut any trim to make room for the tire, so give me your opinions. im not a serious off roader (im not climbing rocks or anything) but i go trail riding in olympic forest and the roads get pretty nasty (deep muudy sections, as well as snow this time).

what is the max diameter of tire that i could get w/out trimming the cladding???

tell me what you think...

[infrared69]

the biggest and best tire you can put on the stock vx is the bf goodrich all terrain TA 255/70-R16. i have a '99 with 16" rims and i didnt have to cut any cladding. the wheel did rub when new if i cut the wheel hard over, but not bad at all and within a month there was enuf wear that it didnt happen anymore. ive had those tires now for almost 50,000 miles and there are just about done. i am an aggressive driver and that is a life time personal best. usually i only get 30K. great in mud and awesome in snow, and virtually no noise while highway driving. i give them 2 thumbs up. u can find them for about 150 a tire so it should be right in ur budget.

[marximus]

ummmm... so thats about a 30" tall tire and 10" wide. thanks for the info, but i want to be in the range of $600 with tires AND wheels. right now i have 18" rims and i want something like 15-16" rims. so they are probably a bit pricey. i have good road tires on the 18" rims, but they dont do well off road, so i just wanted a cheaper setup to abuse off road. i like the tires and wheels that tone has for sale, but they require trimming. any other ideas?

[Triathlete]

www.4wheelparts.com has the following deals (you can use these prices as leverage at your local shop)...
15x8 black rock crawler rims w/
31x11.5 Supr Swamper LTBs $608
www.DesertRat.com has same wheel w/
31x10.5 Mickey Thomas FC2 or Radial Claw $540
31x10.5 Conti Mud-Trac on MT Classic2 or Desert Crawler wheels $720
With 31's you may need to crank your T-bars an inch or 2 but that should do the job.

[marximus]

sweet! thanks man, i think im gonna go visit my local tire shop and see what they can order for me. they usually try to match any price that i can find that is less, so ill be sure to bring these prices in. thanks

[webdog]

I have 5 black steel rims that I don't need any more. I also have 5 Yokohama AVS ST tires that I plan to sell cheap. See my gallery ( Juniper dunes ) to see the wheels. All five wheels and tires for $250. (265R7016) The bad news is you would need to trim a small edge off the front of the cladding on front wheel opening. A 5 minute job with a wood rasp. (not noticable)

Tru

[marximus]

yeah i am DEFINATELY interested. plus you live in WA as well, so no shipping would be neccesary which is a major plus! go ahead and email me some info on the tires(how many times used, how old, how many miles?) and well orginize the sale. maybe if i pick them up, you can show me what trimming is neccesary? thanks a ton!

[newthings]

Marximus,
Verify the offset. On road, odd wear may result, if not stock offset. One tire will turn in more or less than the stock tracking if the offset is different. Off road, it will matter less. Offset is the distance from the bolting face to the center of the rim/tire.
Roy

[marximus]

so you are saying that i want to have stock offset, right? how would i check that, what is the off set on our stock rims? thanks

[mrtew]

Don't be afraid to trim your cladding. It's a 2 minute operation with a pocket knife that is undetectable and foolproof and allows you to put on 285/60/18's that make your VX look like God intended. Check out the pictures on my site to see what you're missing if you stick with skinny tires!

http://jorgeherreraphotography.com/mrtewVX/mrtewVX.html

[marximus]

11.5" x 31.5" ... not bad, not bad looking at all. with all this assurence that cutting the cladding isnt a big deal, i think i might just do it!

mrtew, do you have a lift on your VX? i cant tell. also, with tires so close to cladding, does it rub a lot when your on bumpy terrain?

i have narrowed my choices down to these...
a)tires from webdog
b)General Grabbershere
c)conti mud-trac radialshere
d)super swamper LTB'shere
e)M/T radial clawhere

which ones do you like the best?

[newthings]

From Baxman, Grimstad and others:

I can share stock specs:
Stock tires: 245/70-16 or 245/60-18, both 29.5" tall and about 9.5" wide.

Backspacing (distance from mounting surface of the axle to inboard edge of rim) is 5.25" or 140mm.

Backspacing is directly related to offset.
Offset is the distance from the mounting surface of the axle to the center of the rim, which is +38mm stock (or positive 1.5").

And

Offset Explained:
The offset of a wheel is the distance from its hub mounting surface to the centerline of the wheel. The offset can be one of three types.

Zero Offset:
The hub mounting surface is even with the centerline of the wheel.

Positive:
The hub mounting surface is toward the outside of the wheel.

Negative:
The hub mounting surface is toward the inside or brake side of the wheels centerline. "Deep dish" wheels are typically a negative offset.

WARNING:
If the offset of the wheel is not correct for the car, the handling can be adversely affected. If the offset were to stay the same while you added width, the additional width would be split evenly between the inside and outside. (Edited by Roy)