Does tyre size really matter?

Mate, with the handle " Longy", I would have thought you'd be the last guy to ask aboiut size......

Tyres will certainly help you. Don't waste your money on expensive tyres as the 4Runner won't help you. Different pattern is your best option.
Cheers.

For what you say you want to do standard is fine, just get good at's & enjoy the bush.

hahaha

Thanks for the back up guys. Seems that I was correct in choosin the 4runner. LOL,

Jeff on your Surf, what tyres are you running? Also what suspension set up are you currently on... Any information on this would help me out.


Cheers mate. Keep the info comin to help out all 4x4 owners!

"To me it would seem that to fit 33's would be great and would look very cool."

Got it in one cobber ... mostly hands in pants reasons.

Unfortunately you will find the suspension of your vehicle will be the limiting factor.

Don't go down that track without seriously good reason.

Longy,
Mate, you've got a very capable vehicle there already (and that's saying something coming from a died in the wool Patrol owner!!!).
Like a couple of others have said, you don't need the hassle of 33's; really.
Get a good set of 31's (I use Cooper S/T, but BFG A/Ts or Goodyear MT/R would also be very good or better). You won't have to modify your suspension, body lift, speedo settings, final drive gearing etc etc.
I recently went through the same thought patterns and would have loved to get 285's instead of the 265's I was (& still am) running.
Just my opinion.
Roachie

Longy.
You will find out that most big tyres are for looks only, the traction of a tyre is determined by the compound used and not the size. Most profesional drivers use the tyre size suplied by the vehicle manufacturer because they know that the manufactures spend a lot of time and money selecting the right size for the vehicle. The forerunner is a good vehicle and will get you most places, cheap reliable transport, but be aware that like the hilux and the prado they can roll over if driven to fast. Eric.

my brother has a Hilux with 31x10.5 R15 standard size tyres, and have never ever had troubles off-road. it's always gone the same places my Discovery has got (albeit a tad slower). he fitted Cooper STT (basically a M/T tyre) and it was a great boost in off-road traction, although the on-road noise is a killer.

From my years of offraoding, I have found that driver skill matters more than tyres. Standard 31 inch tyres are OK unless you get huge ruts. We have friends in NZ who are 4wd trainers and they go places in their Discoverys with standard size tyres (Cooper muddies) and get through where vehicles with 35inch tyres get stuck. - Just skill on their part.

If you have not done so, it is better to spend your money on a 4wd training course and learn how to drive on what you have got. Also join a club if you can, they do great stuff and provide training.

We run standard 750-16 (31") Desert Duellers on our Troopy and have no problems incl doing club stuff. On our Landrover we have standard road tyres and it is amazing where you can go on them - much to others amazement.

Stevesub

Longy
Im not sure about tyres sizes but from what Ive seen, painting your rims black is a cheap way to improve the 4x4 capability of your vehicle:)
Cheers
Greg

I don't think anyone has mentioned that if you fit a 33 where a 31 is specified you may well be going unroadworthy, and will attract the attention of the revenue collectors before the crash, and the insurers afterwards.

The 4 runners were very underspeced in trye size, they have these bleep y little things on them std to save money and make the vehicle cheaper, just like they pulled out all the cool stuff that the surfs have to make them more "cost effective" for the australian market. The Surf's came with much bigger tyres std and have no modifications to suspension in order for them to fit. Not only that but with the amount of clearance I've got with my tryes I could easily go bigger without moding the suspension, I've seen a lot of 4 runners and surfs running Prado 16" rims instead of 15's without any major dramas. (that would of course need an engineers cert). I am stuck with my 10R 15 Desert Dulers as I have less than 1mm clearence on my garage as is, I had to remove the metal tabs on the roller door so I could fit as it is!
The Bridgstones have been unreal, they were on the surf 6 months ago when I bought it and have been some pretty harsh places and done about 20k in that time. Been faultless and have some unreal traction. They have been at 10psi fully loaded on sand to 42psi on rocks and have just been brilliant.
I don't care what anyone says though, wider tryes make a big difference in sand, I do more sand driving than anything else being in WA and of course you need your pressures right, but the wider the tyre the less you sink. It's basic science guys, remeber surface areas!!??