Hi guys, i can't seem to find anywhere we've just discussed preferred tyre sizes...
Can we do that here?

The reason i ask is that i have a set of 15s (6 wide at the front and 8 at the back) and i can't work out a decent combo to run.
I'm wanting a stance similar to RunningMonkey's buggy - low at the front, mean at the back... but because i'm a picky bugger, i want a nice tyre pattern too without sacrificing too much economy and road noise...

I've found a couple on MyTyres but would like to take advice before i go and purchase.
Initially, i wanted chunky off-roads at the back but in reality, it's not going to be practical (or safe probably) so will settle for something a bit more 'street'
I was looking at these:

Front =Maxxis AP2 All Season 155/60 R15 74T
https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?PoD=110__R-287871__X

Rear = Goodride SW602 All Seasons 205/70 R15 96T
https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?PoD=110__R-282074__X

There is also a controversial bit... I'm wanting to add tyre inserts.
I know they are very marmite as far as fitment and safety go, but it's happening. I just need to know how i can make them safer

What do you run?

Will definitely be "street only"-    just IMO - buy the best you can afford= the tyres are the only thing that keeps you on the tarmac, especially as there little or no weight in the front of  buggy.

I'm with Hudge on this one, buy the best quality grippiest tyres your pocket can afford.  I might also add that those tyre sizes are perhaps a little too small in diameter and width, if I'm not mistaken both front and rear sizes are narrower than the recommended minimum widths for your rim sizes

I've just had a look at Runningmonkys buggy and his rear tyres look like 295/50/15,  but you won't really get those on an 8j rim, 275/60/15,  255/60/15,  235/70/15,  225/70/15 will all fit an 8j.  On your 6j fronts I wouldn't want to go any narrower than 165, although 175, 185, or 195 would be a better fit and I'd be going for a diameter on the front of about 23 1/2 to 24 inch.


The following links are all good resources when trying to work out tyre sizes.

https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp

http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

I agree with Paul on the tyre widths unless you want the stretched tyre look on the buggy and that is having them fitted in a way they were not designed to work.  175 and 215 are about the narrowest for your rims.

just going through the same problem.
I have gone for 10x15 rims with BFG all terrains on the rear (the grip range is "C" grade) which I have found to be pritty good.
On the front I am looking to go with 195/65/15 or 195/60/15 on 6x15 rims. The 195/60s are the same size as the 165x15 standard wheels and tyres which will keep the spoodo in sink. Still thinking about the fronts thou, at the moment

YEEK!!!  So yeah, it appears my information was utterly incorrect. I have no idea how i ended up with those tyre sizes!
Thanks for pointing it out!! And thanks Merscury for those links. You've stopped me making a massive mistake!

:really really embarrassed smiley:

I certainly don't want stretched tyres, i just want safe with a touch of good looks.
And yes, the buggy will defo be street only. i just wanted the looks of the chunky tyres to start with. I'm a designer, I'm all about the looks lol 

So yeah, it appears my information was utterly incorrect. I have no idea how i ended up with those tyre sizes!

Simple enough mistake to make - I guess some people are just easily distracted 

Does this look a bit closer to being sensible?
PS I don't know what the offset is, but i don't think it's relevant in this issue

theres a lot of van tyres coming up on the search for the larger wheel... are they safe to use on a buggy?

I would say no to van tyres.

They are build with extra weight of a fully loaded van in mind, not a light weight buggy. I'm sure they'd be pretty much puncture proof on a buggy but I would stay away from them.


My front tyres are 205/55R15 Toyo Proxies TR1. They are the "standard issue" boy racer tyres for road use. Soft, good grip and cheap. They are a V pattern tyre which will put you off if you want to keep that classic buggy look. Pretty much the go to performance tyre.

Rear tyres are 235/60R15 General Grabber HP's. Still have that off road look but are a 80% on road 20% off road. So will work in a bit of mud, snow or sand but by no means great like the Bf GoodRich all terrain. I use to have them in 31.5x15.5R15, but the raise the rear quite a lot.

The offset of your wheels will determine how the outer wall of the tyre will sit in relationship to the outer edge of the wings or indeed the how close the inner wall will be to the suspension components and inner wing. It's a good idea to measure the offsets of the wheels so you can work out where the various size tyres will sit within the wheel arches.  If it were me I'd go up at least one size on the front to 185/60/15 although myself I prefer 195 on the front.   Like Arran I also use Toyo Proxes on the front but I have the CF2 because they supposedly have better grip than the TR1. You'll find for the rears the vast majority will be 4x4 tyres.  Just to give on idea of what sizes look like here's mine when I was running 235/70/15 and 195/55/15 and just an extra bit of info, from the side a 275/60/15 looks identical to a 235/70/15, the only difference is the width and a 255/60/15 is 1 inch smaller in overall diameter.



235/70/15





And this is how it looks now with 275/60/15 on 8 inch rims, 

Good luck with the final choices, you are right, it has to look right but also to function well.👍on a side note, mercury, THAT is a fine looking and well finished buggy 😁

All ways good to use a http://johnmaherracing.com/calculators/gear-ratio-calculator/ just to see how bad the rpm to mph will be, pop the tyre size and gearbox size in

All ways good to use a http://johnmaherracing.com/calculators/gear-ratio-calculator/ just to see how bad the rpm to mph will be, pop the tyre size and gearbox size in

Also taking into account your engine build if you go for a low down torque one or a massive high lift cam that runs better over 3000 rpm luckily buggies are light. we have 31" tyres on a 1600 box and using a engle 100 cam it will sit at 30 in top gear and happily cruises at 70 but then it worked ok with the 1300 box which it had fitted when it clocked the fastest it has been at 82 on the digi dash.