Wide vs. Skinny

[phxtlc]

So why is it whenever I see real hairy expedition, middle of the jungle stuff the truck has skinny tires (9.5's?). From what I've read they do much better in the slop because of less resistance. But here in the US everyone wants to sport much wider ones. Now I can see that wider is better if the rig was a pure rock hound or a beach bum.

What does everyone else think? Especially those of you outside the US. Also what would be optimum for the Southwest (or the outback for the aussies out there)

 

[slick621]

Not sure if you have seen it, but this is a good write up on wide vs. skinny: http://expeditionwest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html

 

[RCFloyd]

Ya, I've been wondering about the same thing...
Cause I've almost always lived in snow country, and the reasoning that goes with snow & traction is, the smaller the footprint, the more weight per inch of tire on the ground. I understand how rock crawling and sand are different situations, but what about everything else?

I was at Les Schwab yesterday looking at the Toyo M/T's, and asked the manager the same question. He thought skinny was the way to go to. This makes me much more interested in the 265/75R16's (vs. 285 or larger), cause they are the skinnest and only weigh in at 58 lbs. ea. I'm assuming then that my mileage will not suffer from these...

Robert

 

[TiredIronGRB]

I like my tires like my women...tall and skinny

 

[NorCalSam]

Not sure if you have seen it, but this is a good write up on wide vs. skinny: http://expeditionwest.com/research/w...tion_rev1.html
Yes must read

I like my tires like my women...tall and skinny
LOL

Its a trade off there are pros and cons just like all this stuff.

Go with the tire that is best for where you live or will be driving etc.
good luck
Sam

 

[phxtlc]

Not sure if you have seen it, but this is a good write up on wide vs. skinny: http://expeditionwest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html

Simply the best explanation ever.

 

[slick621]

Simply the best explanation ever.

Ha, yes. I suppose saying it is merely "good" is a severe understatement. It has me seriously considering the BFG Mud Terrain 255/85/R16's.

 

[RavenTai]

The Argument: A tall, narrow tire is a better choice for all off-highway surface conditions with the exception of soft sand, snow and soft mud that's depth exceeds 110% of the vehicles minimum ground clearance.

well arround here the biggest obsticles are bottomless red clay mud and soft sand, I never see snow, rarely see ice, rarely see rocks, so for my conditions wider is better. 305/70's are on the to buy list.

 

[george_tlc]

http://www.george4wd.taskled.com/oz2004.html

If you read the writeup you may see an underlying thread about flats...

3 vehicles - 2 with wide tyres (285/75 type) and one with 7.50r16 razor blades.

I know which vehicle never had its lug nuts undone and what tyres I prefer in that environment

george.

 

[firetruck41]

http://www.george4wd.taskled.com/oz2004.html

If you read the writeup you may see an underlying thread about flats...

3 vehicles - 2 with wide tyres (285/75 type) and one with 7.50r16 razor blades.

I know which vehicle never had its lug nuts undone and what tyres I prefer in that environment

george.

To what do you attribute your good fortune? More plys? Thicker tread? Was it a totally different kind of tire? Or just luck...

 

[george_tlc]

I run crossply Toyo tyres - 8 ply.

The others were BFG AT and Pirelli Scorpions. I was the lead driver most of the time and taking lots of detours to 'rediscover' the tracks. I made no attempt to be cautious where I drove - I know how to repair my tyres (tubed) and being on split rims the entire repair process is pretty easy (and nearly fun...).

No luck involved - I joked often about their flats (tempting fate) and still couldn't get one

Most of the flats were due to sidewall staking - the area we drove through has many dead trees with VERY hard wood. The branches fall to the ground and wait to wreak havoc on the (relatively) soft sidewalls of radial tyres.

We had a great time & though I didn't get any flats I did spend quite a bit of time helping to repair their tyres...

george.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Skinny. Here in the US wide tires are like a lamp drawing moths. Don't do it - stay away from the light.........

DougM

 

[gnx7]

That article listed at the top is worth the read. Very good!

 

[MSGGrunt]

Tall and Skinny here too. 11.00 x 16 Michelin XL 10 ply tactical vehicle tires. Now I just need the portals that TiredIronGRB has on his rig.

 

[C6H12O6]

"A typical 33x12.5 all terrain tire will perform better on soft surfaces like deep mud, snow and sand than its metric equivalent (285/75 R16 or 33x11.2) as the weight of the vehicle is spread out over a larger surface area."

So it sounded like the article considered the 285s fairly narrow. I guess compared to a 305, that's true, but I never really thought that looked like an overly narrow tire.

How narrow is reasonable on the stock rims? Everybody I see running really narrow tires on this board seems to have something different for wheels.

 

[cruiser88]

trust me skinny and yes stay away from the light.use logic jungle or anywere else for that matter.wide tires have there uses but when in mud ive really done my homework now. wide got me hung up faster . as a matter of fact ive proved that a couple of weeks ago at a mud bog sort of wheeling trip my skinny all terrians did better than the big 36 and up to 44 alot to do with resistance and weight. the old thought the wider the tire the more traction you get. not all of the time the more tire you have the more weight you have to turn and more mud you have to sling so your sort of working against yourself. now go with a deep tread pattern so your tires can clean themselves out.

 

[TroutBear]

Would those be AT tires as in BFG ATKO's? I've heard that their mud performance is acceptable - and have better life than the MT's.

 

[cruiser88]

Would those be AT tires as in BFG ATKO's? I've heard that their mud performance is acceptable - and have better life than the MT's.

yea they are but i still rather have the mt.at the time i could get new off the showroom floor tires and rims for 400.00 so i jumped on them

 

[trojan_knight]

the skinny thing works if you can make it to the bottom to get traction. here in wyoming there isn't always a bottom be it snow or mud. here it is safer to stay on top than it is trying to find the bottom.

thanks

 

[Mike S]

Tall skinny tires - good idea for a lot of applications. Hard to find a wide selection of tires that are skinny AND roadable. I eventually decided to go with the popular choice 285 Revos. Looked hard at Toyo M55s but they are well over $200 each, and I had little data on roabability and tread life. I understand that these things are Hell for stout, tho'.

Good to see you posting here, George!

M