Anyone running 295/70/17's ? (2 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 29, 2011
Threads
297
Messages
2,842
Location
Houston TX
I'm getting ready to pull the trigger finally on a 200 - and was able to pick up a set of RW's from a Mud member in NOLA.....

so starting to assemble some of the parts for the build and spending alot of time reviewing everyone's feedback on the mods ...

A mild lift and front bumper / winch and rack are for sure - likely a Sc'er as well ( loved my old S'ed 100 ) as this is replacing my current DD - an 590hp E63......

For tires - didn't see that many folks had gone with a 295..... anyone have feedback ? I'd likely use the Toyo RT's as I liked how they ran on the Heep .....

appreciate any feedback
 
I have 295/70r17s on RWs on 3" of lift. My opinion is that I think the slightly taller than your standard 285/70r17 is very nice, but the extra width cuts extremely close to the sway bar, and rubs depending on how much caster you have at the time in your front end. Since all 295/70r17s I have found are in an E rated tire, the ride is pretty rough even when I have the truck loaded down to 8,200 pounds.

All in all, I do my own alignments, and if I can get the 295s I have to not rub a thing (which I'm pretty confident I can) then my next tire will continue to be a 295/70r17, I did re-gear to 4.88s because 6th gear was pretty worthless on the highway, just couldn't keep the torque converter locked for anything. For you thinking about a supercharger, you still won't make enough power at those low highway cruise RPMs to hold 6th locked, so if you don't have hills or you don't worry about tranny heat buildup, then the extra drag from a 295 won't bother you. But brother, it sure did me!
 
Tires ordered ..... lift as well..... love the brown trucks....
 
Put a wheel spacer like that spidertrax 1.25'' and you will just fine. A friend is running the same tire size with no rubbing and 2.5'' radflo setup/
 
I know lots of people have never had issues with spacers, including myself. But I have seen spidertrax fail, and it was enough to keep me away.
 
Put a wheel spacer like that spidertrax 1.25'' and you will just fine. A friend is running the same tire size with no rubbing and 2.5'' radflo setup/

Problem is...those spacers move the tire farther from UCA, etc., they also mean the tire "sweeps" forward and back when turned, rather than rotating more closely around the hub...so it can end up hitting skirts, flaps, or even the housing beneath removed flaps. Seems to be very much a try-and-see exercise, and not a sure thing. (I have 1.25" Spidertrax, by the way...and am speaking from experience, though not terribly extensive experience). ;)
 
Last edited:
I agree it won't be plug and play the first time but we'll figure out I hope.....
 
What about 35x12.5.x17 KO2s?

While bonafide-guru, Christo Slee will sort of smile, and then gently talk you out of doing 35's...with very sound reason, I might add... 35x12.5x17's are currently on his shop LX570...and a good number of Mudders here like Willy Beamin. It requires some modifications to reasonably fit...and the size runs you into gear ratio questions...but talk to Willy. I'd personally love to hear his take on the need for (or not) of 4.88's.

Note about @sleeoffroad...
I actually appreciate that Christo gives us the cons in the upgrades--even when it would be more profitable to sell us gears, etc. It's one of many reasons he gets my mod business every time.

@Willy beamin -What say ye? Many conversations have come up, but I don't recall your personal take. Having sort of ruined my tires due to an unfortunate, long-haul imbalance/alignment issue...I'm going to be thinking long and hard about tire size myself.
 
Last edited:
I live and daily drive @ 705 ft above sea level. I cross ZERO mountain passes ever in my daily commute. Stock gears running 35x12.50x17 is fine for my needs. I have nothing to compare it to such as a geared 200 with 35's or larger. I have forgotten what it felt like prior to 35's.
Just keep them balanced, proper inflation and you'll be happy. My commute is 25-30 miles daily. I average about 9-11 mpg. I know my speedo is off close to 5 mph.its a heavy pig. I have around 35,000-38,000 miles on it now with this set up and its what I want it to be. 35's are heavy and theres no way around that so just know that your off the line is going to suffer, if you're into that with a truck this size - i'm not.


If you want it to look great and can afford to keep gas in her go for it. Mine drives like a big truck and that has a lot to do with how high I have my truck lifted which can be adjusted fairly easily. DO I think 35's with stock gears is going to make you wish you hadn't spent the money on 35's - no. In fact, you'll probably love it even more because you'll quit looking at your rig and thinking to yourself "are those tires to small". If I lived in the mountains and ran 35's I'd more than likely pay for gears. During the mountain passes in and around Colorado I'd just switch over to the manual gear shifting to keep my revs up when needed - pretty much stayed in 3rd and 4th until things leveled out. I may regear at some point but its not crucial for me, where I go and what I do. Maybe I'm just dumb and happy ;)
 
Last edited:
My 4.88s just showed up, now hopefully I'll have time this weekend to get 'em in there and the air compressor hooked up. But like Willy said, at sea level it's not too bad (I think it sucks) but even at 4,000 ft, 6th gear was worthless. I'll let yea know.
 
"you'll quit looking at your rig and thinking to yourself "are those tires to small".


@Willy beamin ...How'd you know?? Get out of my head! ;)

Man, your reply was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks, Andrew. Good, realistic insight on 35's
 
coming up here soon I will need to get new tires for my 09 LC, and was thinking about going for a larger tire (285/60R18 at present). I was thinking of going with a slightly larger sidewall, maybe 70 or 75 but am worried about clearance. I never thought about maybe needing to re-gear it. @Taco2Cruiser, let me know how the swap turns out.

My LC is my daily driver and I do around 75 miles round trip everyday. Plus I see this truck ending up off road to get to the really good camping spots.

Oh! one other thing. I am planning on putting a lift on this winter. I am looking at the heavy duty OME 2 1/2 inch lift. I am not really seeing any other lifts out there that increase the payload at all. Any thoughts on this?
 
coming up here soon I will need to get new tires for my 09 LC, and was thinking about going for a larger tire (285/60R18 at present). I was thinking of going with a slightly larger sidewall, maybe 70 or 75 but am worried about clearance. I never thought about maybe needing to re-gear it. @Taco2Cruiser, let me know how the swap turns out.

My LC is my daily driver and I do around 75 miles round trip everyday. Plus I see this truck ending up off road to get to the really good camping spots.

Oh! one other thing. I am planning on putting a lift on this winter. I am looking at the heavy duty OME 2 1/2 inch lift. I am not really seeing any other lifts out there that increase the payload at all. Any thoughts on this?

My 2 cents from my own experience with 100 and 200 (and from many moons reading other's experiences here on mud)...

About the lift weight...

If you put heavies on...your daily drives are gonna be high and harsh. Mediums will bed MUCH more comfortable, and will still carry a load well. Unless/until you have a heavy bumper with tire carrier...heavy front bumper & winch, sliders...etc, I really think heavies will just make for discomfort.

Tires:
You can easily do 33's without a lift and without regearing. A set of KO2's fit, look and drive great...are quiet on road...kick butt off... are relatively light compared to Nitto and Toyo, and are not terribly expensive. 285/70/17 KO2's are the ONE tire size up-size Toyota actually recommends in Australia...and for good reason.
If you are sticking with stock 18" wheels, just get the close equivalent size and you're golden.
 
@RS6tofj80 saw this and thought of you:

TRD Supercharger

00d0d_9orghSqqoS4_600x450.jpg
 
Yep - that's hopefully going to find a way into the 200........minus the TRd badge I guess.

You doing any mods to the LX ?
 
No, its the wifes daily/kid hauler so no real mods planned, have a set of rock warriors I got a few month back to swap on but shes not even keen on that so they have been collecting dust. Cant wait to see how yours ends up.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom