Got my new 31's on the truck this last weekend. Seeing as it was so nice out i decided to give the truck a good wash and take some photos.

I must say, the truck has come a long way from the stock little Vitara i bought two years ago. I had to do quite a bit of grinding to get the tires to fit without rubbing. They are a lot bigger then I expected, they make my old 215/75R15's look TINY!

Anyways, here are the shots. Let me know what you think!

Looks unreal Dan!! You must be happy with those 31's on there..WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE

I can't believe how clean yours is compared to mine. Did you paint the frame?

Looks unreal Dan!! You must be happy with those 31's on there..WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE

I can't believe how clean yours is compared to mine. Did you paint the frame?

Well that's the west coast for ya, we hardly ever have to salt the roads, so rust isn't too bad here. There's just a bit of salt in the air from the pacific ocean. And the paint job isn't as clean as it looks, it's covered in "pinstripes" from going down overgrown trails. It's what you call good from a far, but far from good!  

I'm loving the tires! So glad to have those wheel wells filled out properly. My only concern is how far the tires stick out past the fenders. A local 4x4 shop has got some half decent "flexy flare" product, i'm going to go have a look at it ASAP.

I haven't painted the frame, does it look like i did? The sun was glaring pretty good when i took the photos, it made the truck come out looking pretty dark. I did paint the inside of the wheels wells where i had to grind off a about an inch or two of metal - but that's not visible in the photos.

That thing looks awesome!!! It is amazing how cool they look with bigger tires and black rims. They almost look mean! 

Nice rig how much total lift and cutting did it take to get 31's to fit

Nice rig how much total lift and cutting did it take to get 31's to fit

Thanks! For lift I've got Jeff's 2" spacer lift and SR Customs 2" body lift. I've got XL7 springs in the rear, but i don't think that fitting the tires in the back was ever going to be the issue.

As for cutting; when i did the body lift i cut almost all the of the front fender well away, so no problems there. The back side of the front fender well was more difficult. Using an angle grinder i took the metal right back to the firewall. When i was done i threw on a few coats of black spray paint to keep the rust away. I'll take some photos of the ground down area as soon as i can.

Here's a photo of the front side. This was taken when i still had my old 215/75's on.



I really think it would have been easier to fit the tires if i didn't have wheel spacers. With the wheel pushed so far out the swing of the tire during turns is increased quite a bit. But maybe without the spacers i would be complaining about frame rub. 

This is what I needed to see. I need new tires again, and I think they have to be 31's. I also have Jeff's 2" kit, need the body lift still. I love the way yours looks now! Did you swap gears, or still stock? If stock, how does it handle the bigger rubber?

Did you swap gears, or still stock? If stock, how does it handle the bigger rubber?

I've done the 5.13 swap. That job was probably the most time consuming out of all the other modifications i've made, it took a full long weekend; but i'm so glad i did it. Using my GPS i've determined that my speedo is exactly spot on, which i guess means my gearing is stock. Not bad for tires that are 4" taller then stock.

Nice rig how much total lift and cutting did it take to get 31's to fit

Here are the pics of the backside of the front wheel well





If you compare mine to stock, you'll see i've taken away quite a bit of material. I'm good for on road, but the tire comes within half an inch of the the metal, might be a problem off-road, we'll see. 

Nice looking GV.  I like the color, very close to what mine was until i put a coat of primer on to get back to one color. (Now debate is what color it will end up.)
When I opened up the back of front wheel well I put a piece of metal across from body, that will tuck in behind fender edge.  It prevents mud and sand from packing in bottom of fender, and makes a place to put a screw to keep bottom of plastic liner tight.


My drivers side was a little tight and rubbed when turning and under compression, so have to cup it a little to prevent that.  But it did prevent sand from accumulating in bottom of fender.

Nice job! When I cut and redid my front fenders I ended up beating them in with a hammer so far that my door hit the seam.  Oh well. You did a great job on the fenders. I know what you mean about the wheel spacers. They make it look SO good with the tires sticking out but it killed the fender clearance.

Nice, 31's just look correctly sized. 

That looks seriously good. If I were to ever repaint "The Teal Terror," I think I'd go with that shade of green.

- Andy

do you think the 31" would fit without the 2" body lift you have? i have the exact same truck as your, even the color and suspension lift lol. i heard alot of guys installing a 3" homemade suspension lift and put the 31" tires on and no fender trim? i got a 30" high tire now and only rub on the frame.if i had a 31" tire around i would try it pretty quick.

Just looking at what is cut out to make the tires not rub even with the body lift, I don't think that they'll fit without it. Unless maybe you cut away to the point of this dude!

Wow! That looks great Dan!