Anyone here with experience on chunky mud tyres? (esp Bridgestone M/T 674)

Hi guys! long time reader, first time poster.

I have a 2021 Jimny that I've been driving off road quite a bit on the stock tyres, it has reached the point where chunks of rubber are missing and one of the tyres was punctured so looking for new tyres.

I have my eyes/heart set on the Bridgestone DUELER M/T 674 235/75R15 but I'm a bit nervous due to clearance and on road noise/performance - and also if it's suitable to install on a Jimny with stock suspension (rather not raise the height as most of my offroading is on extremely steep terrain and being low to the ground has probably helped save me a few times).

If you've been able to get where you want/need to go on stock tires, my suggestion would be 215/75R15 in an all terrain pattern - mud terrains on road are going to wear quickly and possibly be noisy.

Anything wider than a 215 will require replacement of the rims, and although the 215/75 is only a hair taller than the stock 195/80, it is enough that you can feel the impact in on road acceleration, going wider/taller is going to have a greater impact, and you may find it necessary to consider re-gearing to make it up that "extremely steep terrain".

A tire wider than a 215, depending on the rim offset, will probably require a wider arch extension to be fitted in order to keep the wheels covered, along with mud flaps to keep the mud off the side of the vehicle.

I went with General Grabber AT/X in the 215/75R15, it's a fairly aggressive all terrain tread pattern, as mentioned earlier, the impact of the added height & weight were enough to be noticeable, I have the 5 speed manual, if you're running the automatic, it might be less noticeable - if you are running the automatic, consider fitting a transmission temperature gauge - it's easy to "cook" them.

wrote:

If you've been able to get where you want/need to go on stock tires, my suggestion would be 215/75R15 in an all terrain pattern - mud terrains on road are going to wear quickly and possibly be noisy.

Anything wider than a 215 will require replacement of the rims, and although the 215/75 is only a hair taller than the stock 195/80, it is enough that you can feel the impact in on road acceleration, going wider/taller is going to have a greater impact, and you may find it necessary to consider re-gearing to make it up that "extremely steep terrain".

A tire wider than a 215, depending on the rim offset, will probably require a wider arch extension to be fitted in order to keep the wheels covered, along with mud flaps to keep the mud off the side of the vehicle.

I went with General Grabber AT/X in the 215/75R15, it's a fairly aggressive all terrain tread pattern, as mentioned earlier, the impact of the added height & weight were enough to be noticeable, I have the 5 speed manual, if you're running the automatic, it might be less noticeable - if you are running the automatic, consider fitting a transmission temperature gauge - it's easy to "cook" them.

I have 235/75R15 General Grabber X3 muddies on my Jimny. Noise is a factor, wear is not. I have had mine on for about 70000km and they still have plenty of tread left. I have them fitted to the stock rims and they are fine. Re-gearing for "extremely steep terrain" is not required. The Jimny handles any terrain in low range.  The 235's fit within the arches, so that isn't an issue, but you may experience some rubbing. I have a 2" lift on mine.

There are a few downsides however to M/T tyres especially in that size. 1. On road handling is compromised a LOT. Wet handling is very poor. 2. Noise - They are very noisy, but turning up the radio helps. 3. On road performance is a lot worse, you'll find yourself gearing down to 3rd on hills where the stock tyres you could use top gear. 4. Fuel consumption takes a huge knock.

Would I change back, no, they are just so much better off-road. I have learned to live with the down sides, and just dig a little deeper into the pocket for fuel.

I agree with some of the above here.
Wet handling is poor after the tires get hard and a few years old.
The BFG do not wear out fast, other softer may wear faster and they may also have better wet handling.
235 without changing the gears, I would not do it again. i would stay with max 215.
Tire and rim width is not a problem up to 235 tires. They wear evenly with the correct tire pressure. Yes, i know some suppliers do not approve.
235 do not require arch extension in all markets and countries and depends on rim width and rim offset/backspacing. Should be fine with the original wheels.
clearance for 235 require either a lift or cutting. it is varies alot how much rubbing is acceptable. For some none, and for others alot. (and how much is that? )

wrote:

I agree with some of the above here.
Wet handling is poor after the tires get hard and a few years old.
The BFG do not wear out fast, other softer may wear faster and they may also have better wet handling.
235 without changing the gears, I would not do it again. i would stay with max 215.
Tire and rim width is not a problem up to 235 tires. They wear evenly with the correct tire pressure. Yes, i know some suppliers do not approve.
235 do not require arch extension in all markets and countries and depends on rim width and rim offset/backspacing. Should be fine with the original wheels.
clearance for 235 require either a lift or cutting. it is varies alot how much rubbing is acceptable. For some none, and for others alot. (and how much is that? )

He is talking about a Gen 4. No cutting required.

Sorry, thought they need a lift or cutting to fit 235 with no rubbing.

wrote:

I have 235/75R15 General Grabber X3 muddies on my Jimny. Noise is a factor, wear is not. I have had mine on for about 70000km and they still have plenty of tread left. I have them fitted to the stock rims and they are fine. Re-gearing for "extremely steep terrain" is not required. The Jimny handles any terrain in low range.  The 235's fit within the arches, so that isn't an issue, but you may experience some rubbing. I have a 2" lift on mine.

There are a few downsides however to M/T tyres especially in that size. 1. On road handling is compromised a LOT. Wet handling is very poor. 2. Noise - They are very noisy, but turning up the radio helps. 3. On road performance is a lot worse, you'll find yourself gearing down to 3rd on hills where the stock tyres you could use top gear. 4. Fuel consumption takes a huge knock.

Would I change back, no, they are just so much better off-road. I have learned to live with the down sides, and just dig a little deeper into the pocket for fuel.

Paragraph 2 is a contradiction of paragraph 1.

As per paragraph 2, the gearing is affected significantly, because third gear is now required when fifth gear was previously useable - yes, shifting to low range helps, but that doesn't alter the fact that a hill that you could have climbed in fifth now requires third, a hill that would have required low third, will now probably require low first - whether you make it up that hill is going to depend on how steep is extremely steep.

wrote:

wrote:

I have 235/75R15 General Grabber X3 muddies on my Jimny. Noise is a factor, wear is not. I have had mine on for about 70000km and they still have plenty of tread left. I have them fitted to the stock rims and they are fine. Re-gearing for "extremely steep terrain" is not required. The Jimny handles any terrain in low range.  The 235's fit within the arches, so that isn't an issue, but you may experience some rubbing. I have a 2" lift on mine.

There are a few downsides however to M/T tyres especially in that size. 1. On road handling is compromised a LOT. Wet handling is very poor. 2. Noise - They are very noisy, but turning up the radio helps. 3. On road performance is a lot worse, you'll find yourself gearing down to 3rd on hills where the stock tyres you could use top gear. 4. Fuel consumption takes a huge knock.

Would I change back, no, they are just so much better off-road. I have learned to live with the down sides, and just dig a little deeper into the pocket for fuel.

Paragraph 2 is a contradiction of paragraph 1.

As per paragraph 2, the gearing is affected significantly, because third gear is now required when fifth gear was previously useable - yes, shifting to low range helps, but that doesn't alter the fact that a hill that you could have climbed in fifth now requires third, a hill that would have required low third, will now probably require low first - whether you make it up that hill is going to depend on how steep is extremely steep.

When you say extremely steep terrain, I assumed you were talking about low range off-road conditions. To me extremely steep is in the 40 degree plus range, which the Jimny handles in low range even with the big tyres. For on road use, it is exactly as you have said.

wrote:

When you say extremely steep terrain, I assumed you were talking about low range off-road conditions. To me extremely steep is in the 40 degree plus range, which the Jimny handles in low range even with the big tyres. For on road use, it is exactly as you have said.

I have no idea what the thread starter defines as extremely steep, in fact, as I suggested in my first response, if he can make it up the slope on the stock tires, he doesn't need a larger mud terrain tire, and since he has a stated concern on the impact of the larger tire on the vehicle's on road performance & noise, that a smaller, less aggressive tire would probably be the better option.

I certainly wouldn't be happy with the impact you describe the 235/75 as having - I don't know what re-gear options are available (I haven't done a whole lot of research yet), but I believe the transfer case used with the automatic offers reduction on high range which the manual one doesn't, so that might be one option.

For now I'll stick with the 215/75, they meet my requirements.

wrote:

wrote:

When you say extremely steep terrain, I assumed you were talking about low range off-road conditions. To me extremely steep is in the 40 degree plus range, which the Jimny handles in low range even with the big tyres. For on road use, it is exactly as you have said.

I have no idea what the thread starter defines as extremely steep, in fact, as I suggested in my first response, if he can make it up the slope on the stock tires, he doesn't need a larger mud terrain tire, and since he has a stated concern on the impact of the larger tire on the vehicle's on road performance & noise, that a smaller, less aggressive tire would probably be the better option.

I certainly wouldn't be happy with the impact you describe the 235/75 as having - I don't know what re-gear options are available (I haven't done a whole lot of research yet), but I believe the transfer case used with the automatic offers reduction on high range which the manual one doesn't, so that might be one option.

For now I'll stick with the 215/75, they meet my requirements.

215/75R15 is a wise choice. 

From a gearing perspective, the auto has a 30% lower transfer ratio than the manual, so that difference is too much. I have ordered gears from Protrack,gr.  They do a 7%/77% and 17%/87% high/low reduction gears.

I have 215/75's AT's on mine with stock rims.

On road performance took a huge knock IMO. And off road I wouldn't want to have a faster low 1st crawl speed. It is too quick standard in many ways.

How much impact a 235/75 would have I can't say. But the size difference is quite large compared to the 215's.

But it depends on your use. The 235 can look chunky, I was very tempted, but glad I went for the 215 in the end.

As for the Bridgestone, not a tyre I'm familiar with tbh. I'm guessing you might be in Oz? As a Google search only seems to bring up .au sites for that tyre. It certainly looks decent enough.

Using the stock 195/80R15 as a reference, a 215/75R15 is 1.52% taller and a 235/75R15, 5.8% taller - 1.52% is not a significant increase in size, so the impact you're feeling on road is more likely to be caused by the heavier, wider tire. 5.8% however is a substantial increase over stock, and given the impact I noted with the 215s, I would not consider that without some form of re-gearing.

I looked a little more closely at the numbers, the auto Jimnys use 4.3:1 axle gears, manuals use a 4.09:1, just around 5%