rolling mass vs diameter which is the greater evil

In isolation greater tyre diameter is only an issue if you don't adjust the gearing and speedometer accordingly. If you put bigger tyres on an otherwise standard car then the compounding factors of longer gearing and the speedometer/odometer under-reading make the car seem much more sluggish and less economical than it actually is. But with a re-gear and speedometer calibration the only factor of bigger diameter tyres that affects the performance is the mass.

I'd agree that 205-80r16 is the optimal tyre size for a Jimny. The trouble is finding some suitably narrow 16in rims is difficult without spending thousands, and tyres in that size are not typically designed for a tiny car like the Jimny, but for vehicles 3x the weight.

Imo anything taller than 28" needs a re gear
If you want aggressive tread pattern I ran 195 80 16 on 0et wheels. 
But like busta says most 16" wheels are 7" wide so the above tyre gives little to no wheel rim protection. 
I have tried a fair few different tyre sizes 
With and without spacers, imo 0et wheels work best. 
Anything taller than 28" needs to be sat on +3" suspension on the Gen3 Jimny, unless like me you have no bumpers fitted. I now run 7.50 16 with +2" springs and shocks with a 1"body lift. 

Down side is brakes feel inadequate with big heavy wheel n tyre combo. 
40kg is the heaviest I've had
7.50 16 are now sat on alloys 16x6.5 with 0 offset 
​​​​Weighing 30kg
 

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationThanks Busta.

Im sorry but I dont understand about finding suitably narrow rims, would the below combination not be compatible ? sorry for my ignorance.

www.jimnybits.com/suzuki-16-black-7-modular-steel-wheel.html

Hi

Thanks. could you please explain "most 16" wheels are 7" wide so the above tyre gives little to no wheel rim protection"

Apologies, i dont know what this means

Busta wrote:

In isolation greater tyre diameter is only an issue if you don't adjust the gearing and speedometer accordingly. If you put bigger tyres on an otherwise standard car then the compounding factors of longer gearing and the speedometer/odometer under-reading make the car seem much more sluggish and less economical than it actually is. But with a re-gear and speedometer calibration the only factor of bigger diameter tyres that affects the performance is the mass.

I'd agree that 205-80r16 is the optimal tyre size for a Jimny. The trouble is finding some suitably narrow 16in rims is difficult without spending thousands, and tyres in that size are not typically designed for a tiny car like the Jimny, but for vehicles 3x the weight.

The speedo in the Gen 4 is comically out as standard. Now I'm on 235/75's (same height as a 205/80R16) the speedo is about right, but only just.

a.dutton@hotmail.com wrote:

Hi

Thanks. could you please explain "most 16" wheels are 7" wide so the above tyre gives little to no wheel rim protection"

Apologies, i dont know what this means

Rims come in different widths. A stock Jimny rim is 15" diameter with a 5.5" width.

If you want to switch to 16"tyres, you'll need some aftermarket rims, as Suzuki do not offer 16" rims for the Jimny.

There are lots of rims for sale, however all of the steel 16" rims I've seen have been 16x7, so quite a bit wider. If you run a narrow tyre like a 205/80 on a wide rim, it'll give the tyre a bit of a stretch.

There are alloys in narrow 16" sizes, but you'll be spending £1500-2000 on rims alone.