looking to put taller tires on a new project

[avasdad]

I posted a few weeks ago but didn'thave any pics to make it easier to figure out if I can put larger/taller tires on a SWA 3170 Hornet. I got it for free and plan to redue it for my daughter. It's nice to have good friends that own a body shop and trust me with the keys to work on it at night. Currently the frame is stripped down to be sand blasted and painted what ever my daughters favorite color of this week is (mopar plum crazy). It came w/ just one front wheel and one back wheel. I'd like to use the original rims so that I don't have to deal with spline or post issues. Currently the front tire is 145/70 x 6 and the back tire is 16x8x7. Im looking for about 2-3 more inches of clearance, anyone have any experience putting taller tires on the stock rims? We have trails thru woods that have some rocks and stumps that could get the buggy hung up but overall my daughter wont be too aggressive driving it (atleast at first!) Thanks in advance and as you can see by the pictures I will be asking a few more in the near future.

[metalstudman1]

If the taller tires aren't much wider then it's not a problem. The benefit is you get your additional ground clearance- the loss is bottom end torque. Your choices of much taller tires are slim in those rim sizes.

[x-bird]

like metal indicates, really limited selection with what you have. if that's a 5/8ths axle, you should be able to move up to 8 inch rims, just have to check the backspacing for clearance.

[avasdad]

I will measure the axle when I get home tonite. I would have to think that swapping the front end components would be more hassle than it would be worth. I realize that this buggy is more of a starter ride but I would have thought more after market parts would be out there. Any sites that I may have missed? For now torque is not a real issue, my daughter is new to all this and is very causious by nature but lets hope an upgrade is in the near future! Thanks again.