FAQ: Member Tire Choices

Please follow this format:
BFG AT KO 285/75/R16 (33 inch tires)

2006 FJ Cruiser 4x4 - 2.5" lift

Considerations for Purchase:
I bought these tires before I had the lift and wanted a good Highway/Offroad tire combo that would ear well. Some of the considerations on the tire size were as follows:
- Could fit on a Stock suspension (Now have 2.5: lift)
- Could fit in the Spare Tire location
- Don't need re-gearing.

Performance:
These tires are great on road. I air them down to 15-20psi when off roading and have had great performance offroad (Includes Moab). These things wear like a tank. I have had them 17,000 miles and they still look new and have seen very little tread wear.

Recommend:
Yes

Picture before BFG's: (add picture)
Picture after BFG's: (add picture)

Dick Cepek Mountaincat MT 265/70/R17 (32 inch tires)

2007 FJ Cruiser 4x4 - 0" lift

Considerations for Purchase:
Bought these to replace the whimpy stock Bridgestones.
Some of the considerations on the tire size were as follows:
- Was going to buy the Cooper Discoverer STT muds, but these are made in the same modes, is identical to the STT, and more readily available in my area.
- Could fit on a Stock suspension (Now have 0" lift, but will be going with an OME 3" lift soon)
- Could fit in the Spare Tire location
- Don't need re-gearing.

Performance:
The tires are just as smooth on the highway as the stockers were, which is surprising when you look at the beefy tread.

Nice low hum to them, and the shop said they hardly took any weight to balance them, in fact less than the factory tires.

Have not had them off road yet, but will after October 7th 2006.

Recommend:
Yes

Picture before the Mountaincats:



Pictures after the Mountaincats:

BFG AT KO 285/75/R16 (33 inch tires)

2006 FJ Cruiser 4x4 - 2.5" spacer lift

Considerations for Purchase:
- Proven performance on and off-road on previous vehicles (both grip, wear and noise)
- Close to stock size to not adversley impact performance/speedo
- Got a good trade on the stock Dunlops from Discount Tire

Performance:
Tires are smooth on road, but I suspect they slightly erode mileage.
Offroad they perform really well through mud, and on wet and dry rocks, running 20 to 16 psi.
I am taking bites out of them on some tougher trials, but the rims are giving blood too.

Recommend - Yes

(No Before Pic - went from Stealer to Discount Tire and swapped 'em out w/ less than 5 miles)

After:

BFG KM2 315/75/R16 (34.6" tires)

2007 FJ Cruiser 4x4 - 2.5" lift Icon/OME

Considerations for Purchase:
I really wanted something less aggressive, but the Wrangler Duratracs were on a long backorder in this size, so 4WParts made me an offer on these that I couldn't refuse. I was running two sets of tires prior to purchasing the KM2's. I ran Wrangler Silent Armor (33") for daily use and Super Swamper LTB's (34") for playing. My goal was to find a good compromise that would preclude swapping wheels each outing. I also went from 17" steelies to 16" alloys, same 4.625" backspacing.

I re-geared to 4.56 shortly after upping from 33" to these.

Performance:
These tires handle very well on road, but do get noisier as they wear in. Surprisingly good on wet roads. My wife has the older KM's on her Wagoneer and they have much worse grip in the rain. I air them down to 20psi when off roading and have been extremely happy with their hookup in most East Coast conditions. I've got about 20K (as of Oct 2011) on these tires and they still have plenty of tread in them.

Recommend:
Yes

34" LTB's

33" Silent Armor's


35" KM2's

Please follow this format:
Good Year MTR Kevlar 315/75/16

2011 FJC 4x4 - 3.0" lift

Considerations for Purchase:
The toughest, quietest touring expedition tyre we get here, chip resistance for our gravel outback roads also good.

Performance:
These tires are great on road. can be a little grip limited on wet well worn shiny road surface, off road, pplenty of grip, sidewalls and tread put up with 130+kph travel fully loaded [6500#] running 16-20 psi. cant kill them.

Recommend:
Yes

Before MTR's

Just an update to post #2 above.
Have the same tires only bigger size and on aftermarket rims.

Dick Cepek Mountaincat MT 285/70/R17 (33 inch tires)

2007 FJ Cruiser 4x4 - 2.5" Old Man Emu lift

Considerations for Purchase:
Bought these to replace the smaller Mountaincats when I moved to aftermarket wheels, and they look better too with a lift than the stock size.
Some of the considerations on the tire size were as follows:
- Could fit in the Spare Tire location (33" fits fine)
- Don't need re-gearing.

Performance:
The tires are not as smooth as the smaller size, this is due to an aftermarket wheel I believe instead of using a factory rim.
But it is not bad, just not as smooth as stock.

Same nice hum to them.

Recommend:
Yes

[/IMG]





285x75x16 BFG AT KOs on 16" TRD silver wheels.

Cooper Discoverer STT 285/70/R17 E-load (33x10.50 inch tires)

2007 FJ Cruiser 4x4 - 2" lift

Considerations for Purchase:

Bought these before my lift, and discovered they rubbed slightly at full lock on the body mount.

-After lifting 2" (Ironman) they no longer rub.
- These tires are HEAVY!!!! even for 33's. Re-gearing not necessary, but wouldn't be an awful idea when run in combination with steelies (like me)

Performance:

I LOVE these tires, both on and off road. They're aggressive, but not overly noisy on the road. I run them around 40psi on road, and air down to 20 for the trails. They've handled everything I've thrown at them. I have about 10000 miles on them, and show very little wear. I fully expect to get 50000 miles out of these. Once they're done I plan on another set of the same tire (why mess with a good thing?)

Recommend:
Yes!

Before:



After:

General Grabber Red Letter 10 Ply 285/75-16

2007 FJC TRD SE w/ 6mt Icon Stage 1 in the front Donahoe Extended Travel in the rear, with matching springs

Considerations for purchase:
Was in the market for new tread and these tires are amazing! Their overall performance is superb.

Performance:
Even though they weigh 67lbs per tire, they are silent on the interstate, and have been great on the trails. Daily I rock them at 40psi and when on the trails I keep them at 17 all around. These tires have been indestructible, I mean, they won the Baja.

Recommend:
Hell. Yes.

Only have cell phone pictures now, should have some other ones after this weekend:

Some advice ...

Please forgive me if this is the wrong location for my questions but I'm having difficulty finding the answer to all my questions. That being said ...

I currently have 285/70/R17 (~33") w/ a 3" OME lift. At 66K miles it's about time to swap 'em out. I'm considering going a little bigger. I know that if I go to 35's I'll need The Body Chop.

Which leads me to my first set of questions: are any of you with 35's on a daily driver feeling any buyer's remorse? Is there loss of control in rain and/or snow (I live in the Denver area)? Comfort? Noise?

If I decide not to go all the way to 35's, I've found that NTG's come in a 305/70/R17 (~34"). If I go with these, do I need to do the body chop? Would I need to re-gear?

Also, are any of you towing with bigger tires? If I go with 34"/35" tires and don't re-gear, am I going to need to re-gear when I get a trailer?

And lastly, speaking of re-gearing ... I have a question that makes me feel kinda like a 5-year-old. Sorry for this one ... when you all are talking about "re-gearing" ... what .. umm ... does that mean? :\ Changing the gear sizes in the differentials? Transfer case? Transmission? Some combination therein? Obviously this isn't work I would be doing myself ... so do any of you have an idea what this would cost?

Sorry for the long post. I just don't want to make a mistake and end up with buyer's remorse. Thanks in advance for any help/advice you can give. 'tis greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

tburrell said:

Is there loss of control in rain and/or snow (I live in the Denver area)? Comfort? Noise?

Click to expand...

All of those things depend much more on the actual tire selection than on the size. AT tires will be quieter (and some think better in snow) than mud terrain tires.

tburrell said:

If I decide not to go all the way to 35's, I've found that NTG's come in a 305/70/R17 (~34"). If I go with these, do I need to do the body chop?

Click to expand...

Totally depends on the tire and individual truck for the body mount, but there is a high probability of 305 tires rubbing on the front upper control arms in a full turn. You can correct this with aftermarket upper control arms, or just accept some rubbing and decreased turning radius.

tburrell said:

Would I need to re-gear?

Click to expand...

Like my mom used to say, you don't HAVE to do anything except die and pay taxes - but you and your cruise control will certainly be happier with 34" or larger tires and re-gearing. I put 34's on mine, and the cruise control / auto tranny drove me crazy, constantly down-shifting and hunting for a gear on any kind of modest hill, until I re-geared the diffs.

tburrell said:

Also, are any of you towing with bigger tires? If I go with 34"/35" tires and don't re-gear, am I going to need to re-gear when I get a trailer?

Click to expand...

Towing and/or driving in the mountains will definitely amplify the problems and irritation of larger tires on stock differentials. In my book it would be a necessity to re-gear if you'll be towing, but it's expensive to do, so lots of folks squeak by with stock diffs. I wouldn't, but YMMV.

tburrell said:

And lastly, speaking of re-gearing ... I have a question that makes me feel kinda like a 5-year-old. Sorry for this one ... when you all are talking about "re-gearing" ... what .. umm ... does that mean? :\ Changing the gear sizes in the differentials? Transfer case? Transmission? Some combination therein?

Click to expand...

In this instance (bigger diameter tires), we're talking about re-gearing the differentials. You re-gear the differentials to put your road gearing back in the optimum power-band rpm of the engine after fitting large tires. If you want lower trail gearing , you need to address that in the transfer case. No one makes any other transmission gear choices or different transmissions for the FJC so that is not an option.

tburrell said:

Obviously this isn't work I would be doing myself ... so do any of you have an idea what this would cost?

Click to expand...

Well, you have to re-gear both differentials at once for starters. Just the parts (for both) will run you $1,200, then installation on top of that. I don't know what shops charge for the work, but I'm guessing $400-500 per diff so add at least another $1,000 if you're just going to drop it off somewhere and have them do everything.

tburrell said:

Sorry for the long post. I just don't want to make a mistake and end up with buyer's remorse. Thanks in advance for any help/advice you can give. 'tis greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

If you're going to run tall tires and keep your truck for a long time, then re-gearing is way worth it in my opinion and you would never regret it. The question to ask yourself ahead of time is, how badly do you need/want to run 34" or 35" tires? You can go a lot of places with 33" tires, but there are some trails where every extra half-inch and inch really helps. Think of it as a cost/benefit decision.

^^^ Lee speaks the gospil. Nothing more to add,he nailed it...

Many thanks ... just one more question ...

1911 said:

All of those things depend much more on the actual tire selection than on the size. AT tires will be quieter (and some think better in snow) than mud terrain tires.




Totally depends on the tire and individual truck for the body mount, but there is a high probability of 305 tires rubbing on the front upper control arms in a full turn. You can correct this with aftermarket upper control arms, or just accept some rubbing and decreased turning radius.




Like my mom used to say, you don't HAVE to do anything except die and pay taxes - but you and your cruise control will certainly be happier with 34" or larger tires and re-gearing. I put 34's on mine, and the cruise control / auto tranny drove me crazy, constantly down-shifting and hunting for a gear on any kind of modest hill, until I re-geared the diffs.




Towing and/or driving in the mountains will definitely amplify the problems and irritation of larger tires on stock differentials. In my book it would be a necessity to re-gear if you'll be towing, but it's expensive to do, so lots of folks squeak by with stock diffs. I wouldn't, but YMMV.




In this instance (bigger diameter tires), we're talking about re-gearing the differentials. You re-gear the differentials to put your road gearing back in the optimum power-band rpm of the engine after fitting large tires. If you want lower trail gearing , you need to address that in the transfer case. No one makes any other transmission gear choices or different transmissions for the FJC so that is not an option.




Well, you have to re-gear both differentials at once for starters. Just the parts (for both) will run you $1,200, then installation on top of that. I don't know what shops charge for the work, but I'm guessing $400-500 per diff so add at least another $1,000 if you're just going to drop it off somewhere and have them do everything.




If you're going to run tall tires and keep your truck for a long time, then re-gearing is way worth it in my opinion and you would never regret it. The question to ask yourself ahead of time is, how badly do you need/want to run 34" or 35" tires? You can go a lot of places with 33" tires, but there are some trails where every extra half-inch and inch really helps. Think of it as a cost/benefit decision.

Click to expand...

Mtbcoach said:

^^^ Lee speaks the gospil. Nothing more to add,he nailed it...

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your replies. It's really helping me make a decision, here. I don't want to spend that kind of money re-gearing my differentials and potentially my transfer case. I just have one more question, though. You mentioned that the cruise control goes "a little wonky" with an automatic transmission. Do you think I'd be OK with 34" tires and not re-gearing (accepting a little rubbing and loss of turning radius)? It seems like cruise control was about the only drawback. Perhaps I won't have the issues you did b/c I have the manual?

I just re-read everything ... noticed your comment about towing. I think I'm going to stick with 33" tires. The likelihood of towing a trailer is very high but I don't (get to) wheel my FJ (as) often (as I'd like).

Perhaps if I win the lottery ...

Sooo ... thank you very much for your input. It is greatly appreciated.

You're welcome. The cost of new tires and re-gearing is considerable, especially so if you're not going to wheel it a lot. 33" tires will do fine on 90% of Moab-area trails and lots of (most?) fun trails in Colorado too. To answer your last question, yes the manual tranny makes it a little easier to live with larger tires on stock diffs because you can make long shifts (rev higher before you shift) to partially compensate. I have no personal knowledge of how the manual tranny cruise control works with tall tires though. You're still bound to have some of the same problems on the highway in 6th gear with the c.c. on regardless.

Rocking the 285/75-16 Red Letters I have no issues on the interstate cruising (read, while using cruise control) at 70mph in 6th gear. It's great around town too. I usually shift at 2200rpms and the truck does not lag at all.

sicky said:

Rocking the 285/75-16 Red Letters I have no issues on the interstate cruising (read, while using cruise control) at 70mph in 6th gear. It's great around town too. I usually shift at 2200rpms and the truck does not lag at all.

Click to expand...

285/75/16 comes out to 32.8" diameter.

295/70R17 Nitto Trail Grapplers

Over on "the blue forum" there was a very long thread about these tires and everyone just raves about them. They're 33.25" so I think these will work for me -- aka I shouldn't need to re-gear (true?) and they either won't rub or I'll have to do the infamous body chop. True, they're an M/T, but everyone says they handle great in all sorts of conditions (dry, rain, mud {duh!}, snow) and they provide a comfortabe, quiet ride (despite being M/T).

Based on input here and the rave reviews over there and assuming no one here advises against it, I think I'm going to find a set of these.

Thank you all for your input/help. 'tis greatly appreciated. I'll post pics when I have these installed.

tburrell said:

They're 33.25" so I think these will work for me -- aka I shouldn't need to re-gear (true?)

Click to expand...

True. You will notice a little less pep taking off from a standing start and a little more downshifting in the auto tranny with 33" tires, but nothing too bad otherwise. In my experience, the break-over point for needing re-gearing is 34" tires or larger, but as in all things this is IMO and there are plenty of differing opinions out there.

I run the Toyo version of those tires (same company as Nitto) in 75/285/17 and they've been great tires and have lasted nearly forever. My only complaint is the sidewalls are awfully stiff, but mine are E-rated tires so that is to be expected.

Firestone Destination MT 285/70/17 (33 inch tires)

2007 FJ Cruiser 6sp manual 4x4 - OME 3" lift (2.5)

Considerations for Purchase:
I wanted a good tire for wheelin at Hidden Falls Adventure Park. Also, Dale at the Firestone in South Austin takes great care of me and that's the best tire they had.

Some of the considerations on the tire size were as follows:
- didn't want to go 35's as I'm on the stock 3.93 gears
- it's the widest tire I could get from them and stay at 33"
- Could fit in the Spare Tire location

Performance:
Tires are good on road with a little wander due to the large lugs. I aired them down to 20psi at Hidden Falls this past weekend and they performed great without chunking on the Limestone shelves & rocks. I'm told these tires wear like a tank as people have gotten over 80k on them. I'm in the first 1k and wheeled them in the first 150 miles.

Recommend:
Yes - only regret is the hwy noise, but hey, it's a MT.