Wheel and tyre combination for Gen4.

Good afternoon everybody.

Tonka is my daily driver and the standard fit tyres have performed faultlessly but have not been tested under anything like tough conditions, so I am looking at a combination of wheel and tyre to cope with the unexpected.
I can't remember the string they were on but I think a suitable 5 spoke from a Vitara a few weeks back would be suitable. Steelies may be acceptable but I don't wish to add unnecessary weight.
Tyres to be AT pattern, as close to existing o/d as possible.

Roger

You can pick up a set of wheels on ebay from a Gen4, someone either changing the alloys to steel wheels or the steel wheels from the commercial to alloys. The problem is both will come with a H/T tread, so might work out expensive, unless you are luck.

Steel wheels seem to be from £60 new. As for tyres I have been pleased with Geolandars on my Gen 3, but have just obtained a second set of wheels and fitted Hancook Dynapro as they have a much better tread pattern for snow and soft stuff (see what did you do to your jimny for a few photos).

If your Gen4 is 195/80 R15 then both Geolandar and Dynapro ATm are available in this size, unless you want to go to 205/70 R15?

Choice for Gen4 is really between stock 195/80R15 and 215/75R15, which only increases diameter by 1.4%, while 205/70R15 reduces the diameter over stock by 3.5%.

Most popular A/T choice in 215/75R15 seems to be BFGoodrich KO2. Worth noting that they're very expensive and heavy at 14.5kg each (stock duelers are 9.8kg).

I personally opted for the Yokohama Geolandar G015 A/T in 215/75R15 which is £40 cheaper than the BFG and half a kilo lighter per tyre.

Both the KO2 and 215 G015 have a higher load rating than stock at 100 rather than 96. Heavier construction good for surviving offroad, less good at avoiding harshness on-road (although I can't complain about mine).

If you wanted to stick with the stock size, the G015 is available in 195/80R15 which Soeley has fitted. Cheaper again and retains the stock load rating. This is probably the tyre I'll go with once my 215s need replacing. Only downside is that they seem harder to find.

Other info that might help you decide regarding wheels:

Stock Gen4 alloys weigh 7.5kg each.
Stock Gen4 steels weigh 8.05kg each.

Suzuki supplies the Jimny "Safari" with 215/75R15 all terrains (Maxxis AT980s) in New Zealand market - as mentioned above, this is 1.4% larger than the 195/80R15 highway treads that most markets seem to get.

I'm currently running 215/75R15 General Grabber A/TX instead of the 195/80R15 Dunlop Grandtrek AT20 that the car was delivered with - the car is significantly more stable both on & off road, and there has been no noticeable increase in fuel consumption.

Cheers guys, info. much appreciated.

Roger

I tried Hankook AT2's on my standard alloys in 215/75R15 but found that they were really heavy and it had a negative affect on the on road handling. I ended up going back to the standard Duellers and stayed with them. Adding all the extra weight to the axles made the cabin jiggle on every bump at highway speeds. I felt like one of those bobble-headed dolls!
If anyone finds an AT tyres that's as light as the Dueller HT's I'd be willing to try them. From the posts on here, the Toyo open country's seem the lightest, but still add a few kg's per corner.
I do like the look of the Gen4's with AT's or MT's, just not enough to justify the trade off in on road driving.

I went with the Toya Open County AT tyres at 215/75/15 with steel wheels from the SZ4. Primarily based on weight as already mentioned one of the lighter AT tyres available. No impact on handling or mpg. Used them off road and in snow as well as normal driving. Happy to recommend.

   

This might be useful info in terms of tyre weights, think I copied from an Australian group ages ago.

 

Hi Gadget,

Thanks for the list! That's a really helpful resource to have.

The Hankook AT2 weighs more than the 12.2 listed. It was around 15kg per tyres!!!
Definitely pointing to the Toyo open country.

I picked up a used set of Yokohama Geolandar AT in 195/80r15 and they are around 12kg each.