Do I "need" bigger tires?

[PB&Me]

Hi all - relative newb here, I've searched for an answer on this here, but haven't found what I'm looking for yet.

Background & Question
I will soon replace my Toyota Tundra's stock tires (275/65/18s), which have served me well on & limited offroad use. IF I'm going to go up in tire size, this is the time to do it. But I keep wondering: do I really need to increase the size? How much benefit will it get me for my intended use?

Intended use: 80% on road, 20% offroad, often with a pop-up camper (like a FWC) on back. Trails tend to be a mix of sand, rock, mud, and some snow (most snow/ice I'll encounter will be on road).

The absolute max I will do with this rig would be Level #6 on the Trails Offroad Rating System:

"Quite rocky or deep ruts. Rocks to 12" and frequent. Water crossings may exceed hub depth with strong currents. Shelves to 6". Mud may require checking before proceeding. Moderate grades to 20 degrees. Sidehill may approach 30 degrees. 4WD necessary and second attempts may be required with stock vehicles. Caution may be required with wider vehicles."​

Our ultimate dream trip will be Baja, including doing the dirt roads, and beaches.

I don't want to:

• Have to re-gear my truck
• Make any body modifications to accommodate tire size
• Run the Rubicon / rock crawl

What do you think? Should I still go larger? If so, how much?

Thanks all!

 

[Lunch Box]

I've run the entire length of Baja several times. There are silt beds that will swallow million-dollar trophy trucks, particularly in/near Ojos Negros and San Felipe. Tire diameter won't help. The amount of flotation each tire provides per pound of vehicle weight will make a difference.
I run 33's on an 8,000 lb rig, so I'm always mindful of the terrain where I want to go. Exercise some caution and don't be afraid of airing down and you'll have a blast in Baja.
As for wheeling on a beach, check the tide tables and go out at low tide. The sand below the high tide line is surprisingly hard packed. I've watched showroom stock 2wd vehicles having fun on the beach simultaneously with lifted 4x4s getting stuck above the high tide mark in the deep stuff.

 

[madcratebuilder]

You have a 32" tire now, if you can run a 33" without modding the fenders that would work. A bit more ground clearance, bigger tire equal more rotating weight and that effects acceleration and braking. A tire in the 32-33" diameter is what I would do.

 

[SubeeBen]

Just my 2 cents look & the true pioneers of overlanding they ran 31” to 33” tires. Tall & skinny. Not 35”or 37” x 12” tires & they drove all over Africa & Australia thru mudd, sand , rocks etc. like I said just my 2 cents.

 

[Tim]

Not sure if this helps but I came at this question from a slightly different direction with our Cruiser. I wanted to improve the suspension and a by product of that allowed me to run a slightly taller tire. I might have been able to do this anyway but I didn’t consider it. We went from a 32” to 33” tire. A side effect of this was slightly reduced revs at highway speeds and of course 1st gear isn’t quite as low but this has never been a problem. That said ours is a touring rig not a rock crawler. Oh yes and the speedo under reads a bit too.

 

[PB&Me]

Not sure if this helps but I came at this question from a slightly different direction with our Cruiser. I wanted to improve the suspension and a by product of that allowed me to run a slightly taller tire. I might have been able to do this anyway but I didn’t consider it. We went from a 32” to 33” tire. A side effect of this was slightly reduced revs at highway speeds and of course 1st gear isn’t quite as low but this has never been a problem. That said ours is a touring rig not a rock crawler. Oh yes and the speedo under reads a bit too.

Thanks for the reply. Have you noticed an improved ride with the 33” tires?

Have you experienced any other improvements off-road vs the 32”?

 

[PB&Me]

Just my 2 cents look & the true pioneers of overlanding they ran 31” to 33” tires. Tall & skinny. Not 35”or 37” x 12” tires & they drove all over Africa & Australia thru mudd, sand , rocks etc. like I said just my 2 cents.

Yeah this is where I’m at, too.

That’s why I’m thinking of just sticking to the size I have now. But before I spend the $$$$ , I want to be sure I’m not missing out on any advantages wider / taller tires might bring, if any.

 

[Tim]

Thanks for the reply. Have you noticed an improved ride with the 33” tires?

Have you experienced any other improvements off-road vs the 32”?

Hi, tricky one to answer. I went from a road biased 32” to a slightly wider mud terrain 33” tire.

It instantly seemed more stable on the wider tires and of course the mud terrain added a whole heap of benefits off-road: tougher construction, traction, ability to run at lower pressures, longer contact patch (I’m not sure how much that is) etc.

On road mud terrain is noisier but the larger diameter has reduced the engine revs at highway speeds too so plus and minus.

 

[KC2BUN]

Hi all - relative newb here, I've searched for an answer on this here, but haven't found what I'm looking for yet.

Background & Question
I will soon replace my Toyota Tundra's stock tires (275/65/18s), which have served me well on & limited offroad use. IF I'm going to go up in tire size, this is the time to do it. But I keep wondering: do I really need to increase the size? How much benefit will it get me for my intended use?

Intended use: 80% on road, 20% offroad, often with a pop-up camper (like a FWC) on back. Trails tend to be a mix of sand, rock, mud, and some snow (most snow/ice I'll encounter will be on road).

The absolute max I will do with this rig would be Level #6 on the Trails Offroad Rating System:

"Quite rocky or deep ruts. Rocks to 12" and frequent. Water crossings may exceed hub depth with strong currents. Shelves to 6". Mud may require checking before proceeding. Moderate grades to 20 degrees. Sidehill may approach 30 degrees. 4WD necessary and second attempts may be required with stock vehicles. Caution may be required with wider vehicles."​

Our ultimate dream trip will be Baja, including doing the dirt roads, and beaches.

I don't want to:

• Have to re-gear my truck
• Make any body modifications to accommodate tire size
• Run the Rubicon / rock crawl

What do you think? Should I still go larger? If so, how much?

Thanks all!

I don't see the need to get bigger tires if its 80% on road. You don't want to regear the diffs, i went up a size just for the side wall height

 

[MA_Trooper]

It sounds like you may not need to change anything about the size of your tire, simply by the fact that you are so unsure. If it were a need, you would know it. haha. "I was off on this trail and REALLY NEEDED a bigger tire for it." or something like that. you get the point. So now its a, "Do I want bigger tires" scenario. Which is way harder. There are benefits to stock height tires. There are benefits to bigger tires. Going 1 inch bigger isn't going to change much as far as ride in your Tundra. The full-size truck is built for loads that midsize SUVs really aren't. So the side effects (good and bad) are a bit more pronounced for those of us in SUVs.
In your trucks current configuration, you can do baja. you aren't a prerunner or rockcrawler. It sounds like you stick to graded terrain most of the time. I wouldn't make tire size decisions based on a very occasional level 6 trail. The Tundra, with a good driver, can handle a 6.
if it were me, I'd be more worried about AT vs MT, sidewall protection (how much is really needed for what you do) and tire width. Oh, and tire longevity. You are pounding pavement hard, some AT's and MT's are better than others at that (tread life, tire noise, traction). If the cost difference is negligible for one more inch, then I would get the extra inch. Otherwise, I think your good on a 32.

 

[MuckSavage]

Not many NEED a bigger tire but many WANT a bigger tire. In the late 80's, early 90's my CJ7 went from 31, to 33x12.50, 35, then 38's. Everything suffered, ride, parts, etc. When rust consumed that vehicle, my next CJ7 build ended up with 33x9.50-15 BFG MT's. What an awesome vehicle that turned out to be! Tracked bullseye straight, esp in snow. Drove well, didn't eat wheel bearings, etc.
Now, at this point in my life, with rational sized tires (32") are perfectly fine.
As someone said, you may look in the direction of load rating

 

[MA_Trooper]

Not many NEED a bigger tire but many WANT a bigger tire.

My trooper came with 245/75/R16. I NEEDED a bigger tire.

 

[MuckSavage]

My trooper came with 245/75/R16. I NEEDED a bigger tire.

Gotcha beat. Commander's came with 245/65-17. While shopping for one, I kept seeing the chromed out ones thinking "who are they trying to appeal to? NBA stars? Rap Artists????"
I had lift & tires before I even took delivery of the vehicle!!!

 

[MA_Trooper]

Gotcha beat. Commander's came with 245/65-17. While shopping for one, I kept seeing the chromed out ones thinking "who are they trying to appeal to? NBA stars? Rap Artists????"
I had lift & tires before I even took delivery of the vehicle!!!

hahaha, the thing is, the Trooper is actually a legit offroader in other parts of the world. I was able to go up to a 265/70/R16 with no lift. And I hear It will take a bigger tire than that with some light fender mod. lol. I did a 1.75 inch lift a month later when the stock shocks started leaking.

 

[MuckSavage]

hahaha, the thing is, the Trooper is actually a legit offroader in other parts of the world. I was able to go up to a 265/70/R16 with no lift. And I hear It will take a bigger tire than that with some light fender mod. lol. I did a 1.75 inch lift a month later when the stock shocks started leaking.

I've always considered a Trooper legit. Years ago I was disappointed when a sister in law traded hers in for a Tahoe. I would a loved to buy it. She bought it new, all service done at dealer at scheduled service intervals, etc.

**edit** Sorry....back to tires.

 

[MA_Trooper]

I've always considered a Trooper legit. Years ago I was disappointed when a sister in law traded hers in for a Tahoe. I would a loved to buy it. She bought it new, all service done at dealer at scheduled service intervals, etc.

**edit** Sorry....back to tires.

Sounds like a gem. I love my trooper. It's enough space without being a giant SUV.

 

[PB&Me]

Thanks for the replies, all

if it were me, I'd be more worried about AT vs MT, sidewall protection (how much is really needed for what you do) and tire width. Oh, and tire longevity. You are pounding pavement hard, some AT's and MT's are better than others at that (tread life, tire noise, traction).

Thanks a lot for this, great feedback. I will factor those points into my search for a new tire. And, Although I titled this thread about “tire size,” I think what I really meant was both height and width also.

So ... follow-up question on benefit of going with a wider tire. The max width increase I’m willing to go is +10mm (~ 0.4 in) since that will fit on my current rims & don’t want to buy new rims.

Is there an advantage to having a tire that’s 0.4” wider than now? Is it a case of “it can’t hurt and you might see some off-road improvement so might as well?” Or “no meaningful difference, don’t waste your time & money?”

Thanks again everyone!

ETA: after some more searching I found this interesting article on the subject. I don't have any connection to the author, just food for thought.

 

[PB&Me]

Not many NEED a bigger tire but many WANT a bigger tire. In the late 80's, early 90's my CJ7 went from 31, to 33x12.50, 35, then 38's. Everything suffered, ride, parts, etc. When rust consumed that vehicle, my next CJ7 build ended up with 33x9.50-15 BFG MT's. What an awesome vehicle that turned out to be! Tracked bullseye straight, esp in snow. Drove well, didn't eat wheel bearings, etc.
Now, at this point in my life, with rational sized tires (32") are perfectly fine.
As someone said, you may look in the direction of load rating

Heh, so a little background on me ... I grew up in the South where wanna-be Monster Trucks which never went off-road are literally everywhere. You know what I mean. Being practical-minded even as a kid, I couldn't work out why, beyond a certain size, such huge tires would be a benefit off-road.

So I think I have a natural aversion to getting overly large tires, hence my post

 

[Overland Commander]

A 32" or 33" size is a bit bigger than most stock tires, but wont require much lifting, and will handle most situations.

 

[madcratebuilder]

A 32" or 33" size is a bit bigger than most stock tires, but wont require much lifting, and will handle most situations.

+10
More than adequate tire. Larger tires often require a lift, a lift raises CG and effects handling. It also effects final drive ratio requiring a gear change.