Best Tyres & Longer Suspension/Suspension Lift/Body Lift Combo

Hey All,

Thanks so much for your input guys, really helping me in making a decision.

So it looks like as a minimum I can get away with 215/70/r15 with a 2" longer suspension lift (thanks for the pointer on the kit, tbh I was already thinking about that kit so another recommendation ups its rank). This setup will mean very little or negligible negative impact on the jimny (thanks @sniper and @zukbob). The wiki does say that 215/75/r15 will potentially give some collisions can someone please clarify/confirm if it doesnt cause any collisions/rubbing etc.

The question now is (and thanks to @jackonlyjack for putting me in this dilemma lol) will adding a body lift (1" or 2") along with the 2" longer suspension have a knock on effect and as such will I go into a cycle of other required upgrades? Or is it as simple as the 1"/2" body lift + 2" suspension lift (with kit to handle longer brake hoses etc) add the caster correction bushes and then everything still behaves as close to normal as possible e.g. no gearing changes needed, no need to alter body work and handling and speedo good, and then last but not least does this mean even bigger tyres now or is 215/75/r15 still the limit. I. wont be looking at remoulds as I will driving on the road regularly.

Any views on what type of suspension I should get if I am looking to fit a winch later on; again just one that will sit behind the stock bumper. As in do I need a higher lift to counter act the weight of the winch?

Thanks all
F

Faisal

I am currently running 215/75r15 and have compressed my suspension completely without any interference with the arches. Not all 215/75r15 tires are exactly the same size and it is possible that some may rub (but I haven’t heard of any). A suspension lift wouldn’t be required but if you are thinking of upgrading your suspension, most come with longer springs. If kept to a 40mm or 50mm lift, caster correction isn’t normally required. I have OME springs giving a “nominal” 40mm lift. I didn’t do any castor correction and noticed no difference in handling. Some people apparently needed to go with correction even with a similar lift. As you seem to be considering a 40 – 50mm lift, I would suggest installing the springs first. If you feel there needs to be castor correction, then make that change. You should have extended brake lines but with 215/75r15 tires, I don’t see much need for a body lift. As previously mentioned, that comes with the disadvantage of raising the car’s center of gravity without any real benefit. If you go to larger tires later (and don’t want to trim arches), you could then add body lift.

Bob

Thanks for the detailed info @zukebob.

Looks like its settled for now, 50mm longer suspension + 215/75/r15 and see how that goes. Much appreciated fo your input @everyone.

On a side note, will adding a winch impact the suspension to such a level that it will be compressed significantly by default?

Thanks
F

A winch can compress the front suspension. The farther forward it is mounted then the worse the effect. I have a heavy winch mounted on a steel bumper that stands a long forward, I have put in 1in Spacers on top of the front springs to compensate as the effect is quite dramatic on my Jimny.

Thanks for the info @mlines. I think I will go with longer suspension and the 215/75/r15 tyres to start with. Once I get to the stage of adding a winch I will then see what needs to be done. Small steps an all that

Thanks all
F