Need to Purchase New Wheels & Tires - Please Help

Hi!

I need help purchasing new wheels and tires and was hoping someone could help.
Basically, all I want are beefier tires that noticeably stand out (wider) just a little from the car's body.
I was hoping to do this without a lift or I think you could do some spacing trickery.
I essentially just want to buy a set of tires.

questions
1. what size tires/wheels can i buy?

2. i've googled and some say wide tires are bad in the snow and i've found comments that say otherwise.
which is it? i dont want to be unsafe come winter.

3. finally, since i only have enough for one set (tires and wheels), if wider tires are bad in the snow, does anyone know a good size with a wider than stock look that would work?
i currently have the stock rims.

thanks for the help guys!
here are links to images of the 'stand out' look more or less what im after

http://allcarmodels.net/img/isuzu/ve...ion-road-7.jpg
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...Sy-LFvuoGLhIvg
https://static.carthrottle.com/works...ae511d05c9.jpg

First, here is a tire calculator that I use a lot: https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc
Max tire diameter without a lift 31 inches (maybe 31.5, can't really remember, but 31's will fit)

Second, for a wider stance, you can change your rims to zero offset. This will push your tires out more than OEM wheels. You can google offset and back spacing if you are unclear on the subject.

Now I will address the snow.

Really, it all comes down to math. Only a small portion of your tire contacts the ground at given time. We will use simple numbers. We will use a vehicle weight of 4000 pound (nice even number) and a wheel width of 8 inches with 4 inches of the wheel (front to back) actually in contact with the road at any given time. This means that 32 square inches, per tire, or 128 total square inches of tire are in contact with the road at any given time. What this means is, for every square inch of tire that is actually in contact with the road, there is only 31.25 pound of weight for every square inch of rubber holding your vehicle in place.

Say you go to a 10.5 inch wide tire, using the same example numbers, just a slightly wider tire. 10.5 wide x 4 inches long = 42 square inches per tire, or a total of 168 total square inches (4 tires). This means that 23.8 pound of weight are support for each square inch of rubber actually in contact with the road.

If you are on rocks, dirt, mud, slop, and the like, then you want a wide tire to help you "float" across the terrain without sinking. This can be true of snow, especially in deep powder that has yet to be driven on. However, when you are driving on plowed roads, that usually have a thin layer of ice over the top, or has been packed down tight, you want as much weight per square inch as possible for maximum traction. The last thing want is to float across ice. (FYI, is because of this monster trucks actually float in water, their tires are that wide)

This is why Forest Service trucks in Colorado all have very tall, very narrow tires. I really miss Colorado and need to move back there. I digress ... sighhh ...

The thing about snow is that it is never just snow. There is ice, black ice, hard pack snow, powder, wet snow vs dry snow, the list endless. However, for the majority of driving durring the winter, on roads that are maintained, a narrow tire is better than a wide one.

Just for additional reference, this is the winter setup I use on my '01.

265/60-18 General Grabber AT-2 wrapped on 18x8's with a -2mm offset.

No lift but with front cranked up about an inch with torsion bars.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/sh...l-well&cat=500

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/sh...rbet-c&cat=500

And basically, a little narrower tire will usually cut through the snow better, but if it's a wider tire with the correct compound and siping for winter driving, you shouldn't have much of an issue.

I'll tag on here and say that All-Season tires or Winter Tires will almost always outperform off-road tires when it comes to driving in snow. There's some physics involved in why this is--but it has to do with (among other things) tire temperature, flexibility of tread, scavenging of tread, etc.

p.s.

I can't see the pic in the 2nd link from where I am at the moment, but the other 2 look like there was a lift involved; I'm almost sure of it. Another problem is that no 2 tire models will ever fit the same; even from the same MFG sometimes. They'll have different should width and tread height--even though they are listed at the same fit specs. Thus person A without a lift on size "x" tire/wheel combo from brand Y will have a different fit than person B without a lift on size "x" tire/wheel combo from brand Z. For the most part, wheels will fit our vehicles with same--assuming you have the same fitment specs (not too many issues with caliper clearance, etc). But tires are a different story. I know from my experience that upping the sidewall by 5 still allowed for a (mostly) stock fit. I did end up having to do a small trim to the front bumper corners after moving to 18" rims though. Your 2001 stockers are 18"--but will sit more inboard than mine (I wasn't able to get the +12 or so offset I wanted, had to settle for +0, iirc). Thus, you may have a bit more clearance on similar size tires--than I did.

Hey guys...thanks!

I really appreciate the detailed answers. I did not expect them to be returned so soon.

So my takeaway is that I will not be able to have that wider, beefier look without a lift??
If true, about how much should I expect to pay? How many inches?

If I do not need a lift and I can just purchase wheels and tires like these
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/4e/ca/77/4...ab16ba543d.jpg
(It does look like these will fit without the lift?)
Do you just goto tirerack and order and send them to a generic local tire shop to be put on?
I am in MN and really haven't established a auto mechanic that I can trust to be meticulous with the girl.

Again. thanks so much!

I am sure the VX in the photo has been lifted, probably 2 -3". Also some trimming on the front side of the front wheel well, and some BFH work on the rearside of the front wheel well.
IMHO, on our VX's the most important thing when buying aftermarket wheels, is to get the right offset. If the wheel stands further out, the front wheel swings in a larger arc and then you need more trimming and BFH work to the front wheel well.

Good luck with your search, but be careful what the sales people tell you. They are there to sell stuff, not necessarily to make friends.

PK

Rather than guessing, I'd just go with stock tire size on your rims--whatever tires you do decide to go with. That way, you don't have to worry about it.

Personally I will be going with 265/70/r16 on stock wheels. Just about 31.5 inches. I won’t need a lift, maybe some minor trim work, but nothing crazy. It also will keep the speedometer within a few mph of stock, so no major math needed to guess how fast I am actually going. I am try to decide between the General Grabber AT2 and the Firestone Destination AT. I have the used the Destination AT before and it is a good tire, there are also more Firestone stores to choose from should I have a warranty issue, but the General Grabber seems more popular for an AT tire.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f1...x.jpg~original

This was mine when I got it. These are 16" OEM wheels (99 only) and the sidewall is 5 higher than stock. No trimming required.

I think 265/70 r16 is what that ^ picture has on it. But I'm too lazy to go out to the garage and check what I have now as reference.

Looks damn good.

I ran 265/65 x R18 on wheels with -6 offset. Did this for the entire time I had the VX...almost 10 years. Never had an issue. Slight trimming on the front only and I think it had just the right shoulders. I had Yokohama Geolanders and Goodyear Wrangler DuraTracs. I liked the Goodyears better because of the look but the Yokos were quieter.


I can't get the photos to load to post here but you can look at my gallery to see the difference.

It’s good to see the site busy again ;)

http://www.vehicross.info/showthread...rty?highlight=

For reference, I put before/after pics in here. No lift. 16's were swapped for 18's. same sidewall/tread (adjusted for the larger rim size) but had to trim a small amount, because of the lower (greater?) offset? They stick out more offboard than the old ones did.

Looks really good

I agree with mile-high. The DuraTrac is probably a better choice for tire. I was informed that the DuraTrac is also unique in that it is one of the few all-terrain tires that is snow rated. That came from a trusted source slash friend district manager of Discount Tire. I was running these on my 93 Isuzu Trooper RS, and they performed very good on the trail on the highway and in the deep snow here in Utah.

You have to watch the size to get the snowflake mountain rating...not all sizes have the rating.