Question about different tire sizes

Hi. Just found this forum when looking for information on tires for a Jimny. I've had the idea of turning my Jimny into a proper off road vehicle one day when it's not my main vehicle. It's my first car and in all honesty I don't ever want to sell it because it's such a great little character and I would be worried about how someone would treat it. You wouldn't want to sell your dog would you? Anyway, on to my question.

I need new front tires which are currently the standard 205/70 R15 size and I have the same size on the rears. The rears still have a lot of miles left so i'm not going to be replacing them. My question is can I get 195/65's on the fronts if the rears are 205/70? Would I be correct in thinking any size would be ok if the rim size is 15?

Thank you to anyone who has read this.

I wouldn't worry too much about small size difference as you shouldn't use 4wd on hard surfaces and when you're on soft surfaces the wheels can slip enough anyway. However, I would always aim for matching to save the windup hassle.

kirkynut wrote: You need to have the same size tyres front and rear
Kirkynut

+1 but if you can closely match overall diameters, a few mm is all I mean, you might pull it off as tyres wear differently front and rear anyway.

Thanks for the help. Will 205/70's on the rear be ok with 195/70's on the fronts? I've been asking people I know and I can't get a straight answer. One person will say no I'l crash and die in a burning ball of Jimny and another will say no it's fine and if not better.

Thanks again.

P.S I'm mean 205/70's not 205/80's.

ellisthomas wrote: Thanks for the help. Will 205/70's on the rear be ok with 195/70's on the fronts? I've been asking people I know and I can't get a straight answer. One person will say no I'l crash and die in a burning ball of Jimny and another will say no it's fine and if not better.

Thanks again.

P.S I'm mean 205/70's not 205/80's.

IMHO No. It's an 7mm difference. I think it is BMW who state a 2mm difference in a tyre and it needs to be changed - I like 2mm as a giude.. You might get away with it but why risk it.

Have a look on www.willtheyfit.com to compare tyre sizes. Personally I'd stick to the same tyre size all round, so either buy another pair of 205/70/15s, or if the tyre you want isn't available in that size go for four 195/80/15s and sell your good 205/70/15s on gumtree.

The circumference of the 205/70 tyre is 82.6 inches, the circumference of the 195/70 tyre is 80.8 inches.

This means that revs per mile on the first tyre is 767.3
The second tyre revs per mile on the other hand 783.7

The tyres will scrub or the diff will hop or the gearbox/transfer case will go "What the F#@K?!" or it might be all ok, lol.

Now you have the info, deal with it

ZookFastback wrote: The circumference of the 205/70 tyre is 82.6 inches, the circumference of the 195/70 tyre is 80.8 inches.

This means that revs per mile on the first tyre is 767.3
The second tyre revs per mile on the other hand 783.7

The tyres will scrub or the diff will hop or the gearbox/transfer case will go "What the F#@K?!"

This is a first class way of looking at it.
Still say don't risk it.

i put 195/80/15 on my jimny they are ok and a bit bigger than 205/70/15
but still went back to 205/70/15 when i put new tyres on it

410shotgun wrote: i put 195/80/15 on my jimny they are ok

They are a fair bit taller than 205 70s, I have a worn one and it's noticeably taller.