Hello all,

I have a 97 sidekick sport that is needing tires,  I had planned on doing the lift first but that is going to be a couple years in the works now. any way it currently has 225/60 r16 on it  and no modification to it that I know of.  so my question is can I run 235/70 or 75 r16s on it?  if not what else would you reccommend?  this is my daily driver and my hunting rig.  btw I did search the site and check out all the posts I am just trying to make sure I don't jump into 235's and rip them up or rub all the time

thanks

carl

My love my 29" tires: http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,76644.0.html

... I have a 97 sidekick ...can I run 235/70 or 75 r16s on it? 

 
235's are widely reported to fit on a Sidekick without suspension modifications. Not so on my Samurai, but then that's my problem, not yours.
 
Some more info at: http://www.oregonbushhackers.org/tech/tiresize.shtml 
In your situation, I'd be inclined to choose the lower profile so that the overall diameter is about the same as for 235/75R15s.

       

okay to show my outstanding knowledge of tires, by lower profile do you mean 225 or 70 instead of 75?  I have been searching for tires and having a heck of a time finding reasonably priced tires in the the 225 range that are all terrain.  that is another reason I have been looking at the 235s

I don't know how things work with the 16" rim... I'm used to the 15" rim (235/70r15 = 19"). A quick google search will find a tire calculator that will convert metric to inches. What kind of wheeling do you expect to do? How much on-road vs off-road will you be doing? Is off road or on-road performance more important to you? Everyhing with tires is a compromise... the more we know about your needs, the better our recommendations will be. Also look online for tire reviews - there's lots of them out there. Some of the better online retailers will have user-reviews (like amazon does for their products) which will help guide you as well.

... by lower profile do you mean ... 70 instead of 75?  I have been searching for tires and having a heck of a time finding reasonably priced tires in the the 225 range that are all terrain.  that is another reason I have been looking at the 235s 

235 is the section width in millimeters.  235/25.4 = 9.25 inches wide

70 (or 60 or 75) is the percentage of the section width between the wheel and the ground. It's called the profile 'cause it's what you see from the the side. 

So, overall 235/70R16 tire diameter is: 2 x [(235/25.4) x 0.70] + 16.0 = 28.95 inches
Whereas   235/75R15 tire diameter is: 2 x [(235/25.4) x 0.75] + 15.0 = 28.88 inches

The difference is 0.070 inches -- just over 1/16th inch, and negligible IMHO.
Tire sizes are approximate, even in the best case. 

BFG makes an AT (my tire, the T/A KO) tire in 235/70R16.  It's widely regarded as a good all-'round tire, except not so great in the mud. But I live in/near the desert. Costco and America's Tire Co. have the some of the best prices on BFGs. I've bought from both, with Costco being slightly cheaper -- more so if you can wait for a sale.  Costco stars a 3-week Michelin coupon sale on Jan 5, '09. BFG tires are often included as well.  Sales typically happen a few times a year.

You may still need someone to verify the tire size with an unmodified Sidekick (Samurai here).

Correction: I looked at my tires today, they're 235/75r15... which is about 29"