Considering on road handling and manners and then choosing a M/T tire seems to be counter productive.
Not necessarily trying to choose one, or the other, but a balance by weighing
all the factors together. On-road manners, off-road capability, looks, price, etc.
Is a mud tire a requirement and you are just trying to find one that fits the daily driving role?
I guess I don't know how to answer this. Is it a M/T a "requiredment"? No, technically not. But I like to be prepared in the event I meet some sand, mud, snow, etc. Which, speaking of, we get a LOT of snow where we'er from. Sometimes, roads aren't plowed for 24-48hrs and we've gotta get through 6, 9, 12 inches of snow. And I've been known to go on last minute adventures based on where I find myself, which can lead me to sand, mud, etc.
I've run the Toyo Open Country M/Ts previously and really loved them. Road noise wasn't bad, handled summer rains well, handled snow amazingly, got over 60k miles on the set and still looked/worked great (sold the truck before I could see just how long they would last). Maybe it's my personal bias steering me back towards the Toyo's. Perhaps I should just throw a set of General Grabber AT2's and be done with it lol.
I would think that whatever steering/handling performance gains made by a slightly shorter sidewall would negligible compared to the amount of squish and squirm from the tire construction and tread when compared to a taller sidewall version of the same tire.
This could absolutely be the case. It would be awesome to hear any feedback from someone who's actually run these two setups back-to-back and could chime in. Hell, maybe I'll be this person and do it just to make a YouTube video
OP, I just didn't want you see you make a mistake. I'll stay silent on it. What I've learned from my truck so far is, if you can't afford to do it right the first time...wait. Because in the end you do it over again and pay twice.
Buy once, cry once! Haha, I feel you, and I definitely appreciate the input. I'm definitely
considering the 18's (again, for the dozenth time lol) so you're not falling on deaf ears.
YES! Some of these questions i've wondered myself.
This is the exact reason I absolutely LOVE forums. It's a shame Facebook has all but wiped out a vast majority of them. Hopefully, you can gather up some useful information! :)
How often are you hitting off-road trails? The reason I ask is that you may just consider keeping your current setup for your daily drive. Then buy the exact M/T setup you want and just swap wheels when you're ready to hit the trail. It's not that you couldn't use M/T tires on a daily driver, but if your reason for wanting to keep 20" rims is handling, well, even my AT tires are pretty crap on slick roads (rainy/thin layer of snow). While great on dirt/gravel/depper snow, I lose traction pretty easily compared to my road tires when it's just a bit slick. I can only imagine that M/Ts would be worse. So the handling you're wanting doesn't seem like it would be there.
Just an option you've probably already considered. But it doesn't take that long to swap 4 wheels, especially if you have a compressor.
Great idea, and definitely considered it. But I don't like the look of the current wheels, and want to buy new wheels. While I'm not one to do something simply because it "looks cool", appearance does have
some bearing. Aftermarket wheels are often stronger and lighter than stock assuming you keep the same tires so there is a benefit beyond just looks, although only technically. I could just swap the tires I have onto new wheels I suppose. But also, as I mentioned earlier in this replying to
@GrundleJuice, there are definitely "last minute" and "unplanned" adventures I find myself on based on where I am in the world - and while not hardcore enough to truly need 17's or 18's, having a more rugged off-road terrain tire has absolutely been helpful in those instances. Not once have I gotten myself stuck, when the same can't be said of other trucks/SUVs I was with.
While great on dirt/gravel/depper snow, I lose traction pretty easily compared to my road tires when it's just a bit slick. I can only imagine that M/Ts would be worse. So the handling you're wanting doesn't seem like it would be there.
My Toyo M/Ts weren't bad in the rain. All the blocks have siping which must have helped. Or, maybe I just got use to them and how bad they sucked lol. Honestly tho, I was really impressed with them. Now, my Nitto's I had for 40k before the Toyo's is an entirely different story haha
I've come to find that wheels & tires are often like politics & religion
With all that being said, I definitely have made my decision to skip the
295/55 and go with the
275/55....... if I stick with my R20 plan. I appreciate everyone's input! :)
