2020 Jimny. 215/75/R15 vs 235/75/R15, Ironman vs OME lift

The lift kit won't change the height of the diffs, and water ingress into the diffs and other drivetrain components is the main limitation on wading depth. Fit a snorkel and extended breathers, then you can wade to the top of the windscreen. At which point an extra 40-50mm from a lift kit is neither here nor there!

Busta wrote: The only benefit of the 235s is 15mm more clearance under the diffs. This is at the expense of a significant strain on the drivetrain and wheel arch clearance issues, both requiring expensive modifications to rectify. The extra width isn't necessary. A 215 at 12psi allows a Jimny to float over soft ground no other 4x4 will even get close to. The extra tyre width will hold you back in soft mud and create more drag on the road. The extra rotating and un-sprung mass of the larger tyres will also hamper the acceleration, ride quality and handling of the car.

When it comes to off-road, bigger is always better, even if only slightly bigger. I go with ease with my 235's where other Jimny's battle.

Yes, I pay big time in terms of on road performance and fuel consumption, but the difference off-road is worth the cost, even if I'm only playing off-road once a month.

lightning wrote: lt would be good to increase the wading depth from the standard 30cm.
Although l imagine it would go a bit deeper than 30cm if driven properly.
l take it a lift kit would increase the wading depth by the amount of lift it gave over standard, so it wouldn't be much, but every little helps.

Suzuki's wading limit is how deep you can go without risking any damage to the vehicle, i.e. wet tyres.
In reality the wading depth is over 700mm, without killing the car immediately. You do however run the risk of damage to wheel bearings, alternator, starter motor, electronics, etc. Not to mention that the door seals don't appear to be anywhere near as good as on the gen 3, so you run the risk of interior damage too.

saxj wrote:
When it comes to off-road, bigger is always better, even if only slightly bigger. I go with ease with my 235's where other Jimny's battle.

Yes, I pay big time in terms of on road performance and fuel consumption, but the difference off-road is worth the cost, even if I'm only playing off-road once a month.

I think it depends on a lot of things. And bigger is not always better if it runs the risk of breaking stuff, prevents you turning as well, doesn't let the tyre dig in if it's too wide, reduces your crawl speed or means you may lack the wheelspeed due to engine power.

By the maths, the 235/75R15 is only 30mm taller than a 215/75R15. But relatively speaking, it is quite a lot wider.

On my Land Rover I've run 33.11.50R15 Simex Jungle Trekker II's tyres. They were awesome and measured nearly 34" tall. However for competition use I like to run a 7.00 x 16, which is super skinny and only 31.5" tall. Yet they go everywhere brilliantly.

Saxj as I previously said and 300bhp has reiterated, in terms of clearance then of course taller is better, so that extra 15mm height will definitely make a difference. But there are very few situations where wider is better. Flotation is the one exception, but that's a rare sitiuation for most 4x4 owners unless you are making new tracks across soft ground. Unfortunately, with the exception of some older style tyres, height inevitably comes with width. Change your 235/75r15s for 205/80r16s and your Jimny will be a much better all-round.

What are you noticing are the major on-road issues? How much extra fuel, drag etc are you noticing?