Tire Size

[Burkee]

Are 185 R15 tires too big for a 3000?

 

[dougie]

Are 185 R15 tires too big for a 3000?

Nope, I ran 205's on my BJ8.

 

[Healey Nut]

195/65 15s , suspension lowered by 1” front and rear . No rubbing even at full lock .
There are tire size calculators online where you can determine the overall tire details so you decide if your speedometer will need recalibration .

 

[Burkee]

Thank you both!

 

[Jack T]

I had some issues at the front with rubbing the fender before I replaced tired front coils and had the shocks rebuilt. Since then no issues with 185-15s on 5” rims. If you want to be safe go with 185/70-15s. You’ll lose some ride height, though.

 

[Burkee]

Went with the 185 15’s, 5” rims. Saw the rub marks after I ordered the tires. I was thinking ride height as well. Previous owner said they didn’t rub.

 

[Michael Oritt]

I had some issues at the front with rubbing the fender before I replaced tired front coils and had the shocks rebuilt. Since then no issues with 185-15s on 5” rims. If you want to be safe go with 185/70-15s. You’ll lose some ride height, though.

Jack--

You should also consider Michelin XAS 180R-15 tires. I am working on my third set and I think they are great. They are a bit narrower than the 185's and clearance in the wheel wells his not an issue on my 100. Their diameter is also slightly greater so you gain--not lose--a bit of ground clearance.

 

[twas_brillig]

We're running 5.5 inch wide rims (in place of the original 14x4 wire wheels, with Vredestein Spring Classic 185/70 tyres. We tend to 32-32 psi in the front and 28 psi in the rear. No interference issues.

 

[Jack T]

Jack--

You should also consider Michelin XAS 180R-15 tires. I am working on my third set and I think they are great. They are a bit narrower than the 185's and clearance in the wheel wells his not an issue on my 100. Their diameter is also slightly greater so you gain--not lose--a bit of ground clearance.

I remember looking at those, but IIRC there was a significant difference in $$$$

 

[Burkee]

Noticed this scuffed area on passengers front once the tires were out. I’m waiting on the same size 185HR15, but think I made a mistake and should go with 185 70 15.
26.5 vs 25.2 diameter. The original tires were old and I noticed a shaking at about 20mph. Now I’m thinking it was caused by the tire rubbing. No scuff marks on the drivers front.

 

[red57]

I doubt that scuffed flange in the front shroud is from tire rubbing. That flange is bent upwards - the tire surface direction at that point would be downwards when driving forward so if it touched/rubbed I would expect the edge of that flange to catch on the rubber tire and bend downwards with the wheel rotation.

An easy way to check clearance (while it's on stands) is to jack up under the kingpin until you can insert a 2" block of wood under the shock arm opposite the rubber bumper as shown in the attached picture of figure L.7 in section L of the original factory manual (lousy picture but it's all I have). This sets the ride height and places the wheel about where it will be under load going down the road - install the wheel and spin by hand while moving the steering through the range left & right and see if/where there is any contact.

 

[Burkee]

Thanks, I’ll give that a try.