[Gwagensteve]

And that's one of the nice things about 9/34's - they aren't wide so they aren't hard to cover.

Steve.

[DarkHorse]

Thanks Greg - sounds promising... only difference is I need 16s, which I know are available but are less common, and therefore I'd assume less affordable.

If a set of 9/34R16s or 16" beadlocks do happen to pop up, please do let me know (anyone) - I wouldn't really know where to start looking for them used, and obviously can't stretch to $285/wheel for some pretty KPD chromies. I could then shift focus to just looking for a cheaper set of ATs for day-to-day.

I actually know nothing about beadlocks, so definitely some research to do there. I can weld, I'm far from expert but happy to have a crack, but I'd want to know what I'm supposed to be doing!

[DarkHorse]

16" beadlocks aren't all that common, have found a few (Procomp, Allied, etc) but really not many in a 5x5.5. That's new though, which will no doubt be budget blowing.

Next question is rim width - if I'm only running a 9ish wide tyre I don't want to go any wider than a 7" rim, do I?

[monley]

DarkHorse wrote:

16" beadlocks aren't all that common, have found a few (Procomp, Allied, etc) but really not many in a 5x5.5. That's new though, which will no doubt be budget blowing.

Next question is rim width - if I'm only running a 9ish wide tyre I don't want to go any wider than a 7" rim, do I?

Nope!

[SierraDan]

Even a 7" rim will suck.

[DarkHorse]

That's what I'm worried about...

Will 16x7 beadlocked rims work with 34/9R16 SS Narrows? Or am I getting off track? Can't get beadlocks any narrower from what I can see, and I want to keep tyres narrow for reasons mentioned above...

[SierraDan]

Beadlocks will make it a non issue. Your tyre is bolted to the rim.
You can beadlock whatever rim you want.

[got_bar_work]

16" sierra rims
Weld ring on that

[Gwagensteve]

2wd f150 rims are ideal. Check my build thread for pics. Mine were flipped, wouldn't be necessary with a vitara.

Steve

[Brenno]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Darkhorse: you're not getting a 31 legal under the NCOP (if NSW's interpretation of the NCOP is anything like the Vic one). It's factory available tyre +50mm. From memory that's just sneaking in a 29.

Just a little highjack on this. It depends on what book the engineer references. I saw the book he was referencing with which is apparently the national standards guideline and with a 50mm larger tyre this came in at 30.94 inches, or 786mm in the new money. Mine has been certified to run this size tyre on the NCOP VSB14 blah blah blah guidelines.

My swampers are too rather square until warmed up, but they are pretty good onroad, unless you are really pushing it into corners in which only the outer lugs are touching. They turn and track great.

[gregc]

DarkHorse wrote:

16" beadlocks aren't all that common, have found a few (Procomp, Allied, etc) but really not many in a 5x5.5. That's new though, which will no doubt be budget blowing.

Next question is rim width - if I'm only running a 9ish wide tyre I don't want to go any wider than a 7" rim, do I?

As gwagensteve has noted later on, check out his build thread for a set of suzuki 16" rims with weld on beadlocks.

Investment in these would be approx $125 per wheel + the cost of the wheel - which is as cheap as you can find it. i.e. you might get away with $150 total per wheel.

The 34/9.5 swamper could go on anything from a 5.5 (squeeze) to a 7 (balloon).

Steve has them on beadlocked 5.5's (i.e. 6 in total)
I had them on beadlocked 6's (i.e. 6.5 in total)

[sideways]

gregc wrote:

DarkHorse wrote:

16" beadlocks aren't all that common, have found a few (Procomp, Allied, etc) but really not many in a 5x5.5. That's new though, which will no doubt be budget blowing.

Next question is rim width - if I'm only running a 9ish wide tyre I don't want to go any wider than a 7" rim, do I?

As gwagensteve has noted later on, check out his build thread for a set of suzuki 16" rims with weld on beadlocks.

Investment in these would be approx $125 per wheel + the cost of the wheel - which is as cheap as you can find it. i.e. you might get away with $150 total per wheel.

The 34/9.5 swamper could go on anything from a 5.5 (squeeze) to a 7 (balloon).

Steve has them on beadlocked 5.5's (i.e. 6 in total)
I had them on beadlocked 6's (i.e. 6.5 in total)

Sorry to hijack, but where did you get the 16x6s from?

[got_bar_work]

Wat about jt2
The 33x10.5 16are ment to be 33.7

[gregc]

sideways wrote:

Sorry to hijack, but where did you get the 16x6s from?

The 16x5.5's on steve's car are ex-2wd-F150 flipped with welded on beadlocks making them 16x6's. He scored them from another sierra (now owned by grey_ghost).

You should be able to hunt down 15x5.5s from early model sierras. they are not too uncommon, and end up looking pretty good in a tough agricultural / army kinda way.

[Gwagensteve]

I'm yet to see JT'2s work in any terrain on any car.

Just to clarify, gregc's rims were 15X6. I think they were ROH Trak II's (which might no longer be available in Suzuki fitments?)

My 16 " rims are not suzuki rims. I wouldn't recommend using [b]16X4.5 "commercial" sierra rims on a Vitara - they are very light weight and are quite easy to bend even with the weight of a sierra[/b]. I used 16X5.5" Ford (factory) 2WD F150 rims, as used on ambulances. These rims have to have the centre bore increased to clear the freewheeling hub. They are nice and strong, and would't need the backspacing changed to work on a Vitara. However, there is a small complication when mounting an external beadlock on these rims - they have a very deep bead roll on the outside edge of the rim. It's too deep to mount the beadlock flange flush with the bead seat (as is normal practice) the beadlock flange would have to be spaced up a bit, or the rim needs to have the bead roll cut down (which is what I did)

Factory vitara 16" steel wheels, and GV steel wheels won't accept a bolted beadlock.

Steve.