33" 35" tyres - why?

[Warnie]

For a GU with 2" lift you could fit 35" on a negative offset rim easily by only just removing your mud flaps before they get removed. As for gearing it depends on the intended purpose of the vehicle.

Snicko for you to fit 33"s all you would have to do is buy them and get them fitted. BUT check the distance between the radius arm and the tyre at full lock with your 31"s on and just add roughly an inch to see if they will rub. If you think they will rub then you might want to consider a negative offset rim to accommodate the larger tyres. My GQ with 33" tyres and the standard 0 offset rims and 2" lift scrubbed at full lock left on the radius arm on the LHS. Yours may do so also. Did you fit castor correction bushes/drop arms to fix up your diff alignment when you lifted also??? As this could eliminate the problem of rubbing on one side.

There are many things to think about. But I would just test the full lock thing and if you reckon they will fit then go for it.

[Bigrig]

Setting the rig up to do the Canning, Cape York, Kimberly, The Simpson, The High Country and any other dirt track I can find so I think I have a problem as no set up is going to do it all.

I need to find a happy medium!

I'd be going an aggressive all terrain and not a mud tyre - yes, you are hitting dirt and mud etc when you get there, but meanwhile at the batcave, you are traversing thousands of kilometres of bitumen - mud tyres also equal noise and additional fuel consumption ... Warnie mentioned a couple of brands below - I have the Mickey Thompson ATZ (all terrain) 4 rib pattern (the 4 is important as thy have a 5 rib pattern also). The 4 rib is somewhere between standard all terrains and mud tyres and they perform exceptionally well on the road, wet or dry (my wife has Cooper STT mud tyres on her Rubicon, and they are like ice skates on the road in the wet). The 4 rib is an aggressive enough pattern to tackle mud etc, but work well on gravel, sand and most importantly, bitumen!! Have a look in the "Clubs and Events" and "Trips and Treks" section for some videos of what we do on the QLD trips and you'll see a range of vehicles and tyres in action - if you intend on going more extreme than that, then go for mud tyres, if not, stick with 33" all terrains!! 35's will throw out your gearing and your speedo too much and you just don't need them (apart from also gaining the attention of the boys in blue!!).

[snicko]

I'd be going an aggressive all terrain and not a mud tyre - yes, you are hitting dirt and mud etc when you get there, but meanwhile at the batcave, you are traversing thousands of kilometres of bitumen - mud tyres also equal noise and additional fuel consumption ... Warnie mentioned a couple of brands below - I have the Mickey Thompson ATZ (all terrain) 4 rib pattern (the 4 is important as thy have a 5 rib pattern also). The 4 rib is somewhere between standard all terrains and mud tyres and they perform exceptionally well on the road, wet or dry (my wife has Cooper STT mud tyres on her Rubicon, and they are like ice skates on the road in the wet). The 4 rib is an aggressive enough pattern to tackle mud etc, but work well on gravel, sand and most importantly, bitumen!! Have a look in the "Clubs and Events" and "Trips and Treks" section for some videos of what we do on the QLD trips and you'll see a range of vehicles and tyres in action - if you intend on going more extreme than that, then go for mud tyres, if not, stick with 33" all terrains!! 35's will throw out your gearing and your speedo too much and you just don't need them (apart from also gaining the attention of the boys in blue!!).

Im happy with the Cooper S/T's so far but all I've done is bitumen, sand at home and sloppy mud on the Kings Canyon loop. I was not sure if they would be good enough for the big trips. I'll go and check out the threads you suggested and proberly come back here with more questions!!!!!! Thanks Bigrig

[snicko]

I have just looked at the videos made (well done) Lancruiser Mountain Park!!

OMG OMG OMG!!!! I want to do all that but in my shiny rig???

I have made a BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!!! How can I take my shiny, did I say shiny rig there!!! Should not have bought a new one and its our only ride!!
Confusion has set in!!

[Bigrig]

I have just looked at the videos made (well done) Lancruiser Mountain Park!!

OMG OMG OMG!!!! I want to do all that but in my shiny rig???

I have made a BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!!! How can I take my shiny, did I say shiny rig there!!! Should not have bought a new one and its our only ride!!
Confusion has set in!!

There's no need to flog them to the point of panel damage mate. We had one truck out there that was only 3 weeks old!! And he got through extreme tracks. Not everything you tackle is brute force and mods - driving technique and where/how you take lines is just as, if not more important!!

The only thing I would say, is you're intending on doing state forests etc, then be prepared for some "lantana linework" (scratches on the paint from bushes etc) ... sort of unavoidable, but mostly buffs out with a polish!!

[snicko]

There's no need to flog them to the point of panel damage mate. We had one truck out there that was only 3 weeks old!! And he got through extreme tracks. Not everything you tackle is brute force and mods - driving technique and where/how you take lines is just as, if not more important!!

The only thing I would say, is you're intending on doing state forests etc, then be prepared for some "lantana linework" (scratches on the paint from bushes etc) ... sort of unavoidable, but mostly buffs out with a polish!!

Thanks, that makes me feel better.
We have lots of scratches and a few deep ones from our local sand pit.
Patrols don't fit down many of the tracks so we try with the rig, to make them bigger!!
(I'm sure the Parks and Wildlife guys do that on purpose!!!)
Meguiar's scratch-x followed by cleaner wax is the best stuff I have ever used. Proberly why after 4 years the rig is still shiny!

[Bigrig]

Thanks, that makes me feel better.
We have lots of scratches and a few deep ones from our local sand pit.
Patrols don't fit down many of the tracks so we try with the rig, to make them bigger!!
(I'm sure the Parks and Wildlife guys do that on purpose!!!)
Meguiar's scratch-x followed by cleaner wax is the best stuff I have ever used. Proberly why after 4 years the rig is still shiny!

I pay a Duco guy about twice a year to do it for me. Fixes scratches (fills them properly), does paint touch ups, acid treats the rims to bring them back up to showroom finish, and a full cut and polish for $225 .. this includes repairing stone chips/rust spots also ... for that money to keep the rig looking semi-decent, it's worth it to me ...

[Warnie]

I look at it slightly differnent and think they are only panels and you don't need panels. But thats just me. Whatever you decide to go with / do just make sure you are comfortable with your decision and that you have fun enjoying what you chose to put on your car / where you choose to wheel it. Thats the main thing.

[Bigrig]

I look at it slightly differnent and think they are only panels and you don't need panels. But thats just me. Whatever you decide to go with / do just make sure you are comfortable with your decision and that you have fun enjoying what you chose to put on your car / where you choose to wheel it. Thats the main thing.

Hahaha!! Remind me never to lend you my car!! I value my panels!! LOL!!!

[snicko]

I look at it slightly differnent and think they are only panels and you don't need panels. But thats just me. Whatever you decide to go with / do just make sure you are comfortable with your decision and that you have fun enjoying what you chose to put on your car / where you choose to wheel it. Thats the main thing.

Warnie thats great advice.
We need to be happy with the skin (or panels!) we are in....!!!!
The tyre questions have been answered in my mind for what I want to do.
Every ones perspective on this forum is so valuable as each question has different layers with different answers for different people.
Thanks heaps guys!