Tire Size/Weight Philosophies

[Nickel]

Want to get some member's philosophies on going to larger/heavier tires. I am new to any sort of offroading/overlanding.

I have a 2021 Tacoma Offroad 4x4 DCLB. Stock tires are 31" 265/70/16 (technically 30.5") that weigh 37 pounds each. Stock suspension. Extra weight is an ARE MX topper that weighs 200 and Cali Raised Sliders that weigh 150 pounds combined.

My goal on this build isn't to do crazy offroading. I only want a little more confidence on taking it offroad, some insurance poilicy if I tackle a trail that I may have underestimated in difficulty. I've taken it as-is offroad on a few trails rated 1-2 on TrailsOffroad and it did fine as is, but there were a few spots I was not 100% confident with. I live in Southern CA so lots of sand/rocks. Rocks not necessarily tall on the trails I will do, but potentially loose and sharp in spots.

For suspension I am looking at 1.5" up front using Bilstein 5100s and looking at the Icon RTX leaf pack in back with option 2 on the leaf pack which with 200 pounds constant load will give me 1.75" lift in back.

So onto tire size and rotational weight. What are the philosophies?

1. Stay stock size with as light of a beefier tires as possible?
2. Go up a size with a lighter, beefier tire? For this excercise, lets say size is just 1" greater at 265/75/16.
3. Go up a sioze or two with a beefy off-road tire and be less concerned on weight?

My head is in this spot currently:

1. Was looking at 32" KO2s but got concerned at 54 pound weight. Even in same size, the K02s weight 51 pounds. Afraid these will compromise daily driving and MPG more than I would like, not to mention braking time, wear and tear.
2. Now looking at Falken Wildpeak A/T3W in 32" size 265/75/16 that come in at 44 pounds each.

Interested in your feedback. Again, build intent is to overbuild it for easy to moderate trails. Think insurance policy build without breaking the bank or compromising daily driver too much.

 

[North American Sojourner]

I'm not old school at all, (BS) but these were capable off road trucks and the tire size was not that big a deal. Remember if you go 3" in tire diameter it's only a 1.5" in height difference.





I think Tacoma's get overbuilt. I know this because I'm a TW reject. LOL Tacoma's are very very capable trucks. I'd beef up the side wall, tread pattern and call it good with the suspension enhancements.
Zim

 

[MazeVX]

Go and tell you my experience. I went from light (and crappy) 31.5 (245/75r17) to a beefy 33" (285/70r17) my wheels weight almost 100 lbs.
The tires are strong, and stood up to anything I threw at them. No flat or any tire damage, not even a scratch in sharp rocks.
Yes you feel the weight but it also feels more planted and stable, tires are one less thing to worry about. They gave me confidence in every terrain and it was more than worth it going with a really strong tire instead of going for whatever people think would be good enough.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

I have had many wheel and tire setups for many vehicles and I can tell you

1.) Yes you can feel the weight of a larger tire in acceleration, braking and fuel mileage. However the slight amount of weigh difference of a 1" larger tire at that size may be negligible.

2.) Rims have just as much to do with weight as tires. Like stated above I have had a set of 33" tires on steel wheels that weighed in at about 105 lbs per corner, and I have a set of 37" tires on aluminum wheels that weigh in at 110 lbs per corner.

Quality brake pads and rotors can help with stopping power. I ran EBC green stuff pads with their slotted rottors and was able to lock up 35" tires no problem.

My opinion is you likely won't feel much of a difference changing the tires to what your thinking and may actually notice more with the extra weight of your gear. A brake upgrade won't hurt in the long run but may not be needed right away.
I noticed a surprising weight change in my TJ when I put rock sliders on it that I wasn't expecting. You might find d the same or you might not but that was my experience.

 

[Longshot270]

I’d stick to factory size or an extremely common size so in the event of a catastrophic failure, a replacement can be found. Rural tire shops are not known for their selections of boutique options.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

I’d stick to factory size or an extremely common size so in the event of a catastrophic failure, a replacement can be found. Rural tire shops are not known for their selections of boutique options.

My experience with most rural shops is that they don't stock much of anything and need to order in as needed anyway.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Look at the cooper at3 4s , light tough and works great

 

[Billiebob]

Bigger tires do not make you more capable unless you need floatation, ie, deep soft sand and beaches.

The negatives of bigger tires, they are heavier, you will get a rougher ride, increasing unsprung weight is a guarantee handling will be worse, ride will be rougher, other things will break. And heavier tires not only accelerate slower, they decelerate slower too. Expect longer panic stopping distance. Expect more often brake jobs.

I've done 35s on an LJ with a 4" lift. There were no advantages to 35s wheeling on FSR, logging trail spurs, accessing waterfront camping spots. Thar was 15 years ago. Since then I have been going smaller, staying stock with suspension and driveline. And loving the smoother ride and better tracking thru sand and snow.

One thing we ignore as we up size tires and lift is gas mileage. I too was guilty of this, no way was I going to say going to 33s, 35s was a mistake however now that I am running skinny tires the gas mileage improvement is outstanding. Going from 33/10.50R15s to 7.50R16s.... technically 185/100R16s.... I gained 5mpg, from 17mpg to 22mpg. The big benefit for overlanding is with a 19gallon gas thank, 5mpg adds 95 miles to my range.

I know I'll get slagged for saying it but if you are overlanding bigger tires are counter productive. Bigger tires are not more secure. In fact on any hard surface where you don't need floatation, a skinny tire is more stable and secure.

Winter driving is where pizza cutters rule. I can pull thru the pile of slush on the centerline and pass at will in the winter and spring. Guys in Quadcab diesel pickups with tires sticking past the fenders try to follow but they always chicken out. Thru rain, standing water, slush on loose gravel, catching a soft muddy spot with the right front tire.... the last thing you want is floatation.

Stick with skinny tires, big rubber is all hype and ego. Skinny rubber worked wonderfully 60 years ago and it still does today. Instead of jumping up a size, jump down in width and up in profile. You have 265/70s.... get 255/85s..... you'll get a skinnier but taller tire. I ran 255/80R17s on my TJR... but I prefer the 185/100R16s today.



Then there is tire life... None of the LT tires I ran, KOs MTs DTs, mostly 33s lasted more than 75K KMs... These skinny 185/100R16s go 100K KMs easy.

And with the same tires on the trailer. I'm a fan of the retro old school look way more than a guy wanting to blend in. I made my choice of 35s on my LJ because I thought they would improve capability, in fact they made it obvious I was going the wrong direction.



Then theses guys running skinny tires forever, not many rigs on this forum would want to follow them, a few would yes, but these guys do it with tiny tires.
Must be a reason and I doubt it has to do with budget.

 

[smritte]

One more thing on taller is the leverage against your brake rotor. We already overweight our vehicles, that in itself is bad enough. When you start increasing the tire diameter, you drastically increase the leverage against the rotor/caliper. Now your stopping distance increases as well as your heat. Now you really should be looking at better than stock brakes.

I will admit big tires look cooler. Even though I have run 40's on a vehicle, I have run the Rubicon with 32's and 33's, the Dusy trail with 33's and 35's and two of the Hammer trails with 33's and 35's. Smaller tires just take more work to run an ultra hard core trail.
My Cruiser looks great with 35's and that's what I built it for. I swapped out the tires last year and went to 32's. That size gives me the clearance I need and I got back my mileage as well as my braking. When I build my Tacoma, I will go with something in the 32 inch range. My current off roading is desert, mild rocks and sand wash's as well as forest roads/trails.

 

[smritte]

OH....I just saw your in San Diego. My group does runs occasionally in anza barrego. You should pop out with us sometime. We have a good mix of stock and modified. It looks like our next one is just a day trip (due to the holiday) to explore the area behind Calico (Barstow area).

 

[Super_Duty]

Want to get some member's philosophies on going to larger/heavier tires. I am new to any sort of offroading/overlanding.

I have a 2021 Tacoma Offroad 4x4 DCLB. Stock tires are 31" 265/70/16 (technically 30.5") that weigh 37 pounds each. Stock suspension. Extra weight is an ARE MX topper that weighs 200 and Cali Raised Sliders that weigh 150 pounds combined.

My goal on this build isn't to do crazy offroading. I only want a little more confidence on taking it offroad, some insurance poilicy if I tackle a trail that I may have underestimated in difficulty. I've taken it as-is offroad on a feiiw trails rated 1-2 on TrailsOffroad and it did fine as is, but there were a few spots I was not 100% confident with. I live in Southern CA so lots of sand/rocks. Rocks not necessarily tall on the trails I will do, but potentially loose and sharp in spots.

For suspension I am looking at 1.5" up front using Bilstein 5100s and looking at the Icon RTX leaf pack in back with option 2 on the leaf pack which with 200 pounds constant load will give me 1.75" lift in back.

So onto tire size and rotational weight. What are the philosophies?

1. Stay stock size with as light of a beefier tires as possible?
2. Go up a size with a lighter, beefier tire? For this excercise, lets say size is just 1" greater at 265/75/16.
3. Go up a sioze or two with a beefy off-road tire and be less concerned on weight?

My head is in this spot currently:

1. Was looking at 32" KO2s but got concerned at 54 pound weight. Even in same size, the K02s weight 51 pounds. Afraid these will compromise daily driving and MPG more than I would like, not to mention braking time, wear and tear.
2. Now looking at Falken Wildpeak A/T3W in 32" size 265/75/16 that come in at 44 pounds each.

Interested in your feedback. Again, build intent is to overbuild it for easy to moderate trails. Think insurance policy build without breaking the bank or compromising daily driver too much.

Up to a 35 in diameter tire is still going to be considered a usable truck and the higher ground clearance under your axles you have the better off you will be

 

[North American Sojourner]

Bigger tires do not make you more capable unless you need floatation, ie, deep soft sand and beaches.

The negatives of bigger tires, they are heavier, you will get a rougher ride, increasing unsprung weight is a guarantee handling will be worse, ride will be rougher, other things will break. And heavier tires not only accelerate slower, they decelerate slower too. Expect longer panic stopping distance. Expect more often brake jobs.

I've done 35s on an LJ with a 4" lift. There were no advantages to 35s wheeling on FSR, logging trail spurs, accessing waterfront camping spots. Thar was 15 years ago. Since then I have been going smaller, staying stock with suspension and driveline. And loving the smoother ride and better tracking thru sand and snow.

One thing we ignore as we up size tires and lift is gas mileage. I too was guilty of this, no way was I going to say going to 33s, 35s was a mistake however now that I am running skinny tires the gas mileage improvement is outstanding. Going from 33/10.50R15s to 7.50R16s.... technically 185/100R16s.... I gained 5mpg, from 17mpg to 22mpg. The big benefit for overlanding is with a 19gallon gas thank, 5mpg adds 95 miles to my range.

I know I'll get slagged for saying it but if you are overlanding bigger tires are counter productive. Bigger tires are not more secure. In fact on any hard surface where you don't need floatation, a skinny tire is more stable and secure.

Winter driving is where pizza cutters rule. I can pull thru the pile of slush on the centerline and pass at will in the winter and spring. Guys in Quadcab diesel pickups with tires sticking past the fenders try to follow but they always chicken out. Thru rain, standing water, slush on loose gravel, catching a soft muddy spot with the right front tire.... the last thing you want is floatation.

Stick with skinny tires, big rubber is all hype and ego. Skinny rubber worked wonderfully 60 years ago and it still does today. Instead of jumping up a size, jump down in width and up in profile. You have 265/70s.... get 255/85s..... you'll get a skinnier but taller tire. I ran 255/80R17s on my TJR... but I prefer the 185/100R16s today.

View attachment 218575

Then there is tire life... None of the LT tires I ran, KOs MTs DTs, mostly 33s lasted more than 75K KMs... These skinny 185/100R16s go 100K KMs easy.

And with the same tires on the trailer. I'm a fan of the retro old school look way more than a guy wanting to blend in. I made my choice of 35s on my LJ because I thought they would improve capability, in fact they made it obvious I was going the wrong direction.

View attachment 218577

Then theses guys running skinny tires forever, not many rigs on this forum would want to follow them, a few would yes, but these guys do it with tiny tires.
Must be a reason and I doubt it has to do with budget.

View attachment 218578

Quoted for truth. LOL. I'm a skinny tire guy from way back. Most 4x4 trucks with stock AT tires are very capable. If you're hanging on to cliffs by the seat of your pants then opt for whatever will hold ya there. LOL. I'll be at base camp by the fire, with the sippin whiskey and a good set of binoculars.
Zim

 

[North American Sojourner]

Up to a 35 in diameter tire is still going to be considered a usable truck and the higher ground clearance under your axles you have the better off you will be

That's a nice truck Super Duty. What bumper is that. Would love to have it on my 12 SD.
Zim

 

[NorCalRam]

I put a leveling kit and 35" tires on my truck and still want to go bigger. I do some rock crawling with Jeeps so the bigger tires really help to get up and over obstacles especially since I don't have the best approach and departure angles. Another added benefit of a 35" tire on a 17" rim is the amount of flex of the side wall and grabbiness I can get when aired down when going over obstacles as well.

Now if you are sticking strictly to Overlanding I don't see much need to go bigger like others have stated. I did Mojave East to West with a Land Cruiser group and 1 guy was on worn street tires and had no trouble. The benefit I had was being able to air down significantly for comfort on rough roads.

Any time you modify a vehicle you will need to fix it more often. Us full size guys have the added advantage of a truck built to tow and stop ~11,000 lbs so the tires have little impact on driving.

 

[NMBruce]

I have a 2020 Tacoma TRD OR.
Something to think about, your stock tires are so light because they are made with small thread depth, 11/32 new9k miles. I went to Cooper ST Maxx “E” rated in a 265/75/16, a 32” tall tire at 54lbs. I had thought about going to 255/85/16, but didn’t know how the truck gearing could handle a 33” tire, wish I had. I replace the suspension with Ironman Foam Cell 3” lift (no sure how much weight add, guessing 200-300 lbs, this suspension is so much better than a stock one), added full aluminum skid plates, a Victory half rack (75 lbs) and a TuffStuff Alpha ll RTT (140lbs), a Dometic 75 fridge/freezer, added a Victory front bumper insert and Warn Zeon 10s winch and some other small stuff for a total of 600lbs increase. I know the weight, because I went to a truck scale before and after, watching the weight I am adding. I am building this for overlanding and long trips.
Be careful of going too large a tire unless you plan to rear gear. I don’t about this personally, but from what I read this truck doesn’t like it.
So with the above information, the truck rides great, doesn’t sag in the rear anymore, still has about the same power, better after a tune and fuel mileage dropped just a little, maybe 1-2mpg, thinking closer to 1. If I get above 65 -70mph or so, it really drops off, but it did that before too.
Good luck with your build

 

[Scooter2go]

There's a lot of things that go into your question that really only you can decide on. For example:

What your vehicle daily use look like. Is it your daily driver or something to take your Overlanding to the next level. Most of us are somewhere in that middle. Too much tire will hurt you daily. Too little, in some circumstances might hold you back some. Whats most important and works best for you?

Mileage for sure gets affected so be sure that result is understood and ok. Gearing in my opinion the hardest thing for me to have dealt with. I have found that depending on the size change you will nearly have to relearn to drive your rig. I went from 245/16/75's to 285/70/17's (33's). Mountains, hilly areas and slow speeds sure cause that transmission to work a bit harder. I pull a horse trailer occassionally and its a bit harder, I need to pay a bit more attention. That sweet spot in the power curve is at a bit of a higher speed than I would like. It's all manageable but I don't use my Cruise Control so much anymore, conditions need to be perfect. Regearing for me is not an option, just too expensive.

As someone else already said, be sure to go with a size that isn't going to be so hard to replace if out and about.

Lastly, I want a rig that I'm confident of within its capability, for my use, has good mechanical reliability, has the best mileage as is possible and simply just pleases my eye.

When I looked at everything, for me, 285's (33's) seem to fit my needs well and I have used them on many vehicles from full size trucks, JL's and now our van.

Good Luck