Hey everyone, I'm having a hard time finding some new tires.. My 87 Samurai has a 3inch lift on it but still has small tires. It looks ridiculous haha. But I cant seem to find any info about getting new ones.

My current tires are 205/70r15

I'd like either 30-31 inch tires.

Do I need to get new rims? I guess its the width thats confusing me. I undertand the 15 inch rims. I'd love to reuse my current rims if possible just not sure what options I have!

Thanks for the help.

BF Goodrich makes a 30x9.50x15 https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Mud-Terrain%20T/A%20KM2&partnum=095QR5KM2RWLV3. I think they would be perfect on a 3" lift. I have a SPOA only lift with 33x10.50s. They look a little big and do rub on hard turns but work well with my 5.14 TC gears.

You could probably get away with running 235/75/15 tires on your factory rims.  Maybe some 30x9.50's on them.  I have put 31/10.50 tires on 7" rims before, but you are really squeezing down and ballooning the tire.  the 235/75/15 tire is around 29" tall.  Now we are throwing around tire sizes in both P-Metric sizes and Flotation sizing (inches).  Not sure how familiar you are with tire sizing...but if you convert it out, the P-Metric equivalent to a 31/10.50 would be a 275/75/15.  So to keep it all metric, and the 31" tall tires are going to be 70 MM wider than the stock 205's.  That equates out to almost 3" wider.  So you can start to see how it creates problems going onto the skinny stock rims.

Yeah I'm not too familiar with tire sizing. I've only ever replaced tires with the same size, never gone bigger. Thanks for the metric/imperial comparison thats really helpful.

Just to make sure I'm getting this... Obviously the rim size (R15) is fixed and the tire has to be that size to fit on the rim. But the actual width of the tire has a certain amount of flexibility? The 31/10.5s could be fit on the rims but not without some drawbacks (ballooning, I'm assuming irregular wear, etc)? Is there kind of a sweet spot for "oversizing" the tire width on the stock rims? Seems lke 10.5 is pushing it.

Also, where do you guys get your tires? I'm on a budget so I'd probably be looking used but I'm open to new as well if I can get a good deal.

Thanks again!

Check out www.simpletire.com
One big reason for looking somewhere like that online is it gives you a myriad of specs for the tires.  Look up a tire size, and it will list  in the specs a recommended rim width.  You may have to do some research to verify, but I think your factory rims will be a 15x5 or 15x5.5.  That would be 5" or 5.5" wide.  So here is also a quick tip on tire sizing...the first number (235, 205, 275, etc) is the "section width" of the tire in millimeters.  Approximately 25 mm to an inch.  So your 205 factory tires have a section width of around 8".  Now the second number is the sidewall height, expressed as a percentage of the section width.  So a 205/70/15, the sidewall is 70% of 205 mm.  So just going to a a 205/75/15 tire would actually give you a 5% taller tire.  So as the section width gets wider, the sidewall height will increase even though the "middle number" stays the same, since the aspect ratio is tied directly to the section width.

Ok so google says the stock rims are 15 x 5.5. So if I'm hoping to get 30 or 31" tires it looks like I'll be needing new rims as well? Or is pushing the boundary for the recommended typical in this case?

Any advice for places to find rims? Used or new or even packaged with the tires?

I just want to make sure you are aware that wheel size impacts gearing - you're going from a 26.3" rolling diameter up to a 30 or 31, which is a roughly 18% increase - you WILL need to compensate for that by changing either transfer case or axle gears, if you don't the vehicle will be virtually unusable.

Thats true and I know very little about that. Do you have recommendation for how to go about it?

What are you wanting to do with your rig?  Depending on what you plan to use it for, that will make a difference in what you are willing to tolerate or put up with.  A quick and easy solution I might recommend for you is to go to Wal Mart and pick up a set of their Goodyear Wrangler Radial tires.  They tire is only made in a 235/75/15.  That size gets you around 3" overall more diameter.  That is still short enough it shouldn't make you hate yourself for what it does to your gearing.  It is also still a 4 ply tire, so the weight of the tire won't kill you like a 6 ply 31" tire.  Another plus is that tire is around $85 right now.  I have that tire on my Sidekick.  It had them when I bought it, and I kept with them when I needed replacements.  It is a pretty darn good tire, especially for the price.  Unless you are going to be doing any hardcore rock crawling or mud bogging, it is a great all around tire.  That would just be a thought for you.

I have no personal experience with the Samurai so I'm unable to assist with gearing suggestions - I know that the transfer case gearing impacts high range, so it is one of the options open to you, axle gears are a second option.

Having made that clear, I want to add this before I "fade away" - personal experience with bigger, heavier & more powerful vehicles suggests that anything over a 5% change in gearing due to larger tires IS noticeable, you feel it in the acceleration, you feel it when climbing hills - a 235/75R15, which is going to be almost 19% increase over OEM on a Samurai, which is considered by many to be underpowered off of the showroom floor, is going to have a HUGE impact.

Will it be "enough to make you hate yourself"?  In my opinion - YES - but, consider that an "uninformed opinion" and take it for what it's worth - personally I would not consider going over 9~10% without addressing the gearing..

Thank you guys for your suggestions. I probably won't be doing anything crazy with it. Just want it to look a little more proportional (the 3 inch lift with the stock tires looks ridiculous) and be able to drive it out on the beach and maybe some light offroading.

I'll do some more research into gearing. That sounds like a pretty major ordeal.. Is it?

I'll take a look at the walmart tires too. An affordable option would be great right about now.

I'll also note that the previous owner swapped out the 1.3 engine for a 1.6 sidekick engine. Not sure if that has any effect on gearing..

Just want it to look a little more proportional (the 3 inch lift with the stock tires looks ridiculous) and be able to drive it out on the beach and maybe some light offroading.

If this is your aim, then I would suggest you consider getting rid of, or reducing the lift - how you would go about this will depend on how the vehicle was lifted.  You can run moderately larger tires with less lift or no lift at all.

One of the benefits of reducing the lift is going to be increased stability.

Did the previous owner also convert to fuel injection with the motor swap?  The good news is even if it is just a 1.6 8 valve with a carb set up you have more power than the original 1.3.  If it is a 16 valve with the fuel injection, you are looking at almost a 50% increase in horsepower over stock.  That increase in power is very much welcome when going to larger tires.

It's still got the original carb. Is the 1.6 upgrade going to be enough that I wouldn't have to deal with gearing?