[mudmav]

Hi guys just picked up a mint auto 2004 grand vitara sport, it's completely stock including the crap 235 60 16 tyres. I want to know if 225 75 16 all terrains will fit I was thinking either the maxxis bravo 751 or the kuhmo kl78. The car has no lift at the moment but wil get a 40mm lift down the track.

I am open to suggestions to either tyre size or style, I don't want anything to crazy as I don't want the gearing or speedo affected to much

[klutched]

Yep 225/75R16 will fit, shouldn't get any rubbing

[murcod]

If you just want better off road grip in a stock size, you can get Yokohama A/T-S tyres in 235/60R16. I've had them on our XL-7 for around 20000km and am very happy with them. They're actually better than a lot of H/T tyres I've had for on road performance (comparing grip in the dry and wet), with a nice quiet/ comfortable ride as well. The steering response is a bit duller than the previous Cooper Discoverer Sports- but that's to be expected as you felt the bumps with them.

I've had it on a couple of beaches/ in sand dunes and on dirt tracks at times- they've always performed nicely. The tread pattern is a bit more open than some other A/T tyres I've seen in that size.

PS: I assume you've got the stock Bridgestone D687 tyres? As a comparo, I went from them to the Cooper Sports (improvement in ride harshness, vastly better wet weather road grip and a lot better handling), then to the current Yokos.

[zoukshin]

I have a set of Yoko's Geolandar 235/60/16 off my GV, gathering dust since I moved to bigger rubber.
They did ok in sand and stuff for the time I used them.
They saw a lot of sand (Moreton, Bribie, Fraser, Straddie)

[mudmav]

So I'm pretty much set on 225 75 16 then, they will fit without lift??

Any noticeable change to fuel economy or gearing?

And lastly and suggestions on tyres in 224 75 16

[mudmav]

Any feedback on how 225 75 16 will affect gearing and fuel economy

[zoukshin]

it WILL affect. But not as much as my 245/75/16 (for which I am considering gearing changes at some stage)
Here's my calc sheet from when I was gauging my changes:
245/75/16 (773.9mm 30.47" sidewall 183.75mm 1.68" lift gain)
225/75/16 (743.9mm 29.28" sidewall 168.75mm 1.09" lift gain)
235/60/16 (688.4mm 27.1" sidewall 141mm - stock)

Fuel economy will be slightly affected as well. But in my experience you can counter that by replacing the front flanges with freewheeling hubs (from a vitara for instance) - That'll save you a bit

Tyres ... well, there are a lot out there. Depends what you are after, mu/sand/daily ?
Lots of people like the BFG KM2, Kumho KL71, Maxxis buckshot etc. Read on the Tyre thread

[GeckoXL7]

I had 235/75/R16 Pirelli Scorpian ATR for 90,000k's where unstoppable. No noticable differance in power / or economy only thing you will notice is your speedo is out.

But gearing is slightly differnt on XL-7 and tad more power pluss had 45mm lift it only rubbed slightly on full lock.

225/75/R16s are a great fit and give good clearance, yokos at-s where great but wore out fast and bad only got 25,000ks out of them and cost more than the pirellis..

[Sco-tie]

Your gearing and speedo will be out by around 8% with the 225s, shouldn't have any problem with rubbing with ATs, if you go a mud then you can have minimal scrub on the inner rear arch on compression and the rear mud guard easy fixes, then some on the chassis rail as full lock but not affecting anything major. You could also try 235/70 or 75

[jason_sgt]

Gotta say the Yoko's are the way to go! Over 80,000 kms and just due replacement now. They come with free repairs from Yokohama dealers for things like punctures for 2 years and you get $100 fuel card if you buy 4... Not a bad deal. Just need to bite the bullet and replace mine now.

Good luck!