Which tyres and rims for the GU?

[katwoman]

First thing needed on my GU is bigger wheels. It has a 2 1/2 inch lift kit, but standard rims and tyres. ( 31). Suggestions for sizes please. Can I use the standard rims? At the moment more road use. Prefer 2nd hand to start. ( but rwc). And should I get spare wheel carrier. Not big on all that weight on my backdoor.
Kat

[katwoman]

ok, thanks. Will keep an eye out for 33's

[dazmicho]

yeh 33's would be the best bet. I have Dick Cepeks at the moment, they have been a pretty reasonable tyre. All terrain pattern, but as plasnart says it is an ongoing debate as to what the best tyre is. depends on what sort of offroading you do.

[katwoman]

wont be anything major, for quite a while. Really wanna fill in the guards right now. Guess I'll just keep looking around
Kat

[YNOT]

If they alloy wheels that are on the car now are 16x8 then you can easily fit 285/75R16 (metric 33") to fill the guards.
If you're not going to be doing any serious 4WDing for a while then maybe look at getting an all terrain tyre. Keep an eye out on EBAY for a second set of wheels, down the track you can have them fitted with mud tyres. One set of wheels for road use, one for off road.

Tony

[katwoman]

That sounds like a plan, Tony. I guess this is not going to be a short term thing.

[Dark 1]

Go the 33's[285/75/16] ,they look good inside the big gu guards. I have recently put alloy rims on my gu ,mainly for a bit of bling & take a bit of weight off the car, personal preference really though.
Kelvin.

[katwoman]

I guess I'll just have to keep looking at other GU's to see what suits. But, yeah sounds like 33's are the way to go. And maybe different rims. Dont like the ones I have much

[Finly Owner]

Kat those Rims might look nice with some bigger rubber on them. I was just looking @ your pic and trying to imagine bigger shiny chunky rubber on them. Also having a spray painter handy he may be able to colour code the insides to match your rig?

Tim

[katwoman]

Mmmmmm. Maybe. Will kick back over xmas and stare at the Kat-trol ( haha, just make that up) till I think of something. Maybe photoshop it, see what it looks like !

[Finly Owner]

Kat-trol I like it!

Tim

[katwoman]

Me too ! My new rego plates maybe. KATROL. Makes sense to me.

[Cadbury]

What size tyres will fit a standard 1999 GU? I will be doing a lift soon, should I wait until then before getting tyres

[Bigrig]

What size tyres will fit a standard 1999 GU? I will be doing a lift soon, should I wait until then before getting tyres

Yep definitely ... irrespective of 2" lift, 3" lift or whatever best off waiting so you can eye it up and suss out what they look like, whether they'll scrub the guards etc.

All the best with it.

[MudRunnerTD]

Hey Kat, if your still making the decision and are looking for rims too then Offset will be important.

A standard Nissan Offset is +10. I would recommend chasing a rim with at least a Negative offset for your 33s

If you run 15" tyres then you will be looking for 33s

If your running 16" tyres then you are looking for 285/75R16.

I would recommend a Neg 6 to Neg 22 for the best fit.

Changing the offset to a Neg offset will spread the wheels pout from the centre of the car and they will sit closer to the outside of the wheel arch guard and limit the likelihood of scraping the inner guards.

Also, not sure what motor your running in your GU? If you have an engine other than the mighty 4.8l Petrol then you can if you want go to a 15" rim as they will fit around the brakes no problem. I would stick with the 16s though if your going to do allot of mud.

Hope that helps.

[katwoman]

Thanks Mudrunner, I have no idea about offsets but I have a mate that seems to know all these things ( in theory anyway) so I'll get him to explain it to me. I have 4.5 petrol but have been told not to run 15s.

[wildgu6]

Hey Kat. Always good fun lookin for the right tyres.
Just to give you a bit of an idea with a 2" lift and 265/75-16s on a GU
There a BFG A/T ko, found them to be brilliant on and off road, and they're not hard core but can handle the rough stuff with ease.
Only thing I regret, Didnt get 285s

Cheers Pete

[Patrica]

If you use your fourbie mostly on the road then a set of all terrain is the way to go, I've got a set of Mickey Thompson atz 285/70/R17 but I think their a mud terrain pattern as the lugs are so big. Like the rest have said the rear barn Door should be fine to carry the spare, I had to get a spacer from arb to fit it on as I didn't like the tight fit, but if your still worried about, spare wheel carrier is the way to go, you can also carry an extra spare or Jerry cans, I'm going to go down that route soon.

[wogboy]

I had impression that 33'' should not rub with 2" lift or is it only on GQs?

[Bigrig]

I had impression that 33'' should not rub with 2" lift or is it only on GQs?

33's would probably rub with only 2" on a GQ - GU's have bigger wheel arches and accommodate bigger tyres more easily. I have a 4" lift and 33" tyres and not a bit of scrubbing anywhere (GQ).

[katwoman]

Kuhmo 285/75/16 A/T $235
BF Goodrich 285/75/16 A/T $305
Coopers 285/75/16 A/T $315
Suggestions on brands and price...

Also 15's vs 16's ???

[YNOT]

BFG A/T - good all round tyre, has 3 ply sidewall (most A/T's don't). I have had a set of these in this size and was happy with them.

Cooper - A/TR or S/T?
S/T - Although I've never had a set of them the tread pattern of the looks a bit more open than the BFG A/T so I would expect them to be slightly better in mud. I have heard (so don't quote me, it's just what a few people have told me) that Cooper get high mileage out of their tyres by using a hard compound rubber - great for slow wearing but not good for grip.
A/TR - more of a highway tyre than a proper A/T.
*Make sure you talk to an authorised Cooper dealer as they only sell tyres properly rated for use in Australia. There has been imports of under rated Cooper tyres sold in Australia by unauthorised dealers. These tyres were not imported by Cooper tyres Australia.

I would stick with 16" wheels. You will have trouble finding a 15" alloy wheel that will fit over the GU brakes.

[cheese]

go with the cooper ST's on 16" rims. mate has got em on and have been treating him well. he would recommend them to anyone.

[katwoman]

Tony, you seem to know about tyres. Ever heard of Federal brand ? Look ok, and are fairly priced.. What do you think? Gotta make a decision soon, my racing slicks are getting a bit noticeable.

[YNOT]

Federal are more of a budget brand and not as strongly made as the likes of Cooper, BFG, Mickey Thompson, Pro Comp etc. If you're doing 90% road driving and only light off roading then they will probably be OK. If you plan to go a bit harder off road or do long distance off road trips then pay the extra for the bigger brands. The other option if you can afford it is to run 2 sets of wheels, one for on road and one for off road.

Tony

[Bigrig]

Tony, you seem to know about tyres. Ever heard of Federal brand ? Look ok, and are fairly priced.. What do you think? Gotta make a decision soon, my racing slicks are getting a bit noticeable.

A mate down the gold coast has federals on his, and last I spoke, he had done 16,000 on them and was happy as a pig in the proverbial - that said, he does mostly road driving and off road consists of beach work. I'd second Tony's comments.

[katwoman]

I figured as much. get what you pay for, right ? oh well, back to work to pay for tyres !!

[MudRunnerTD]

Kuhmo 285/75/16 A/T $235
BF Goodrich 285/75/16 A/T $305
Coopers 285/75/16 A/T $315
Suggestions on brands and price...

Also 15's vs 16's ???

Hey Kat, Go the Kuhmos mate!!! Big fan! Great value for money and just great tyres.....

Look at post number 8 here>> http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?903-Tyre-Feedback-Kumho

No hesitation with this recommendation.

Coopers are over priced and i have had some very average service from Coopers so would throw them in the land fill rather than fitting them to my car again. Very Over priced in that bunch.

If your thinking 15s or 16s then go the 16s every time mate. More clearance around the brakes in the mud and better ventilation. If you ever sell the GQ for a GU then your 16s can go with you to the next one mate.

[GUte]

set of factory gu 4 allows, good price too!
http://vic.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-parts-accessories-wheels-tyres-rims-Nissan-Patrol-Genuine-Alloy-Wheels-W0QQAdIdZ251520037