Just got a 1994 Sami and installed a 3" Calmini Body lift.  It has 235x75x15 street tires on it and you guessed it...I want to put larger tires on it.  The question is can I put 31 x 10.5 tires on the 5.5 stock rims, or should I go to a 30 x 9.5 tire (in order to stay with my stock rims)?  Thanks in advance, I'm not very sharp on this stuff, and plan to use the vehicle as a  Deer Camp special with some time on the roads.  Planning on putting Mud Tires, but certainly would listen to advice from you guys.

By the way I read 40 pages of your forum last  night and you guys definitely know your stuff. 

Just tried the 31s on my stock set. Ended up buying some 15x8 rims. Would stick with 30x9.5 on the stock rims.

31s are going to suck the power big time, you won't want to drive on
the street as the "fun factor" will be gone. 235s are a real good size for
stock engine and gearing configuration, I never had 30s, I went straight to
31s but I had the turbo also, so power wasn't an issue.

I put on 33s and got a set of 8" rock crawler wheel to go with them, still
stock diff gearing, but with that size tire, even with the turbo it was becoming
a slug again, until I got the 5.83 diff gears

With stock rims 30s would be OK, I stuffed 31s on stock rims, but the back spacing
is an issue, so you want at least 3" backspace with bigger tires

Wild

IMO... do the 30's sound like a good compromise. less b.s. to consider.

Thank you guys, I'll go with the 30's  until the bug hits me to go larger with a larger investment.  Just hopin to get a good look, good performance, but at a low price.  Not asking for much, huh.

Richard,
Have you put the new tires on? If so what kind of feedback cane we get? Thanks,
Kj

got 30's on mine with 2.5 inches of lift. Seems to be about right.  More tire and it would be a real slug.  Here is a post Zig started that might help you out.  Type this in the search bar "Not your 'same old' tire thread".

Tire manufacturers specify the rim width for their tires by size. I can see no valid reason for using anything else. Be honest with yourself now -- would you presume to know more than the tire manufacturer's engineers?  Or rely on the opinion of someone who has no investment or responsibility for your outcome?  Ask for opinions, sure... But research the subject and make your own decisions. Start with the tire manufacturer's numbers. 
[By specification, stock rims (5.5") are too narrow even for 235's.  The low vehicle weight allows folks to "get away with it".]

i know guys that have 35x15.5 on 8 inch wide rims and been told that they would be fine on stock rims but it seems kinda shady to me.  both ought to fit ok but like everyone said the 30s are prolly your best bet.  I know its another inch smaller but i had TSL 29x850s on mine stock and they were incredible.  Might lok like too small of a tire with your 3" lift tho

I agree with Merlin, and that is how I went from 235's to 30's.  The rims on mine are pretty nice aluminum and I did not want the expense of rims.  According the the mfg charts my 15x8 rims were too wide for 235's, but a good fit for the 30x9.5's.  Some say the narrower rims will help you hold a bead when you are aired down, but I don't have any experience at losing the bead, so you are getting that third hand.

Some say the narrower rims will help you hold a bead when you are aired down, but I don't have any experience at losing the bead, so you are getting that third hand.

They do hold a bead better, but it is twice as hard to get the tire to re-seal while on the trail when it does go.    A buddy used to run 31x10.5 swampers on his 15x7 wheels. 

Quote from: Medford on September 18, 2010, 10:48:03 PM

Some say the narrower rims will help you hold a bead when you are aired down, but I don't have any experience at losing the bead, so you are getting that third hand.

They do hold a bead better, but it is twice as hard to get the tire to re-seal while on the trail when it does go.    A buddy used to run 31x10.5 swampers on his 15x7 wheels. 

Why would a wide tire on a narrow wheel be harder to reseat?  I have changed/seated a lot of tires...everything from ATV to vehicle tires and the tires on the narrow wheels practically seat themselves....but maybe I have been doing it wrong.

Some say the narrower rims will help you hold a bead when you are aired down, but I don't have any experience at losing the bead, so you are getting that third hand.

That greatly depends on the wheel and tire.  If you are running a tire with a thick bead (like intercos/super swampers), then too narrow of wheels make the bead popping worse, when aired down.  With most any other tire a "too narrow" wheel does help keep the tire on the wheel.

Why would a wide tire on a narrow wheel be harder to reseat?  I have changed/seated a lot of tires...everything from ATV to vehicle tires and the tires on the narrow wheels practically seat themselves....but maybe I have been doing it wrong.

Probably because we were not hitting it with enough air pressure to make the seal.  I just know that it was a pain to clean out the bead compared to the wider rims and we usually just switched to the spare tire instead of fighting it when we lost the beat in the middle of the night up on a trail. 

Well Richard there you have it.  Two of ZW most respected talking about air, width, beads, and such, and as usual above my head here is a picture of mine.  I have just under a 3 inch lift and the tires are 30x9.5's.