Big Rim Size - 17”

Hello Jimny lovers,

I am seeking some expert advise. My Jimny is a daily driver and not an off road rig. Hence I am considering to put on 17”x8  wheels if they can work appropriately without  sticking outside of the fender flares. 

1.  Can these fit without any mods to the Jimny fenders or flaring
2. What size tyres would be needed?
3. What offset would be required?
4. What are the the brand options available for these rims?

Thanks in advance. 

Even if it is mostly used as a daily driver, if you consider eventually taking it off road, depending on the scenario deflating tyres would help to improve grip on mud/sand or reduce the risk of getting a flat tyre when going over rocks/debris. It would be wise to take into account the reduction in the sidewall height that 17" wheels would cause, if you won't fit a suspension kit for lift or modify body/fenders to allow for bigger tyres.
Here  they say fitting 215/70/16 tyres to 16" wheels on a standard JB74 would be recommended since it wouldn't cause clearance issues. If you consider this to be the max. size possible without interference, we're talking about wheel+tyre with an outer diameter of 27.7". That limit with 17" wheels means your tyre sidewalls can't go higher than (27.7 - 17) / 2 = 5.35". For comparison, the original 195/80/15 tyres fitted to the JB74 have a 6.14" wall height (not that they would be good deflated, as sidewall strength also plays a role in it).

Regarding wheel offset, I found  here that "-5 is probably the lowest offset that you can run with a 6.0J wheel without causing the tyres to protrude past the wheel arches" (which means 8.12 cm max. distance from the back face of the wheel center disc to the wheel's most outward point). Considering that, to keep an 8" width wheel from protruding more and past the side fenders the wheels would have to have more than +15 offset (!), which, if you consider Lambert's comment, would be impossible because of interference with the suspension and with the body panels when making turns. Simply put, 8" width wheels might be too wide so depending on the offset they will either interfere with suspension/body (technically impracticable) or they will protrude past the side fenders (illegal depending on where you live).

Still on wheels protruding past the wheel arches/fenders, I would also have a question on it... does anyone know if 5.5J -20 offset wheels would be easily noticed as protruding past the 4th gen Jimny wheel fenders? By the same calculations made previously it would go 8.6mm past the 6.0 -5 wheel that supposedly sits at the limit.

If this helps anyone I have these fitted on my Gen4 Jimny.    
(7x15 -14 offset wheels and BFG 215/75/15 tyres):

jimnystyle.com/collections/wheels/produc...o-15-wheels?variant=37451304599717

Here is a couple of photos of the front/rear:





 

Hi DJ20.

I have been considering replacing my front grill with the type you have fitted on your Jimny and would be grateful if you advised me as to where you got yours from.

Roger

Hi Roger,

Grill came from Jimnystyle, here’s the link:

jimnystyle.com/collections/styling/produ...or-suzuki-jimny-2018

Thanks DJ20, that helps a lot. Jimny Style has some pictures too, but yours show very clearly how the wheels/tyres sit in relation to the side fenders. The calculated distance from your wheel center disc to its most outward part is about 10.3 cm and from the pictures it looks like they're aligned with the fenders!

Thanks for your reply, glad to help. 

Maybe the mud flaps could do with moving slightly out to the sides of the vehicle in line with the centre of the tyre?...but I’m not that bothered about them as they are.