285/75-16 - Big enough to go anywhere?

[Devil's Slide Doug]

Despite really wanting 315's, I put on 285's instead because I had no place to carry a 315 spare and was not ready to regear. It turns out the truck drives well on the highway, Gets me through the rocks surprisingly well and works great in the sand. Before I up size the tires I will be investing in skid plates and armor which I think are more important. Some piks are in my sig line.

 

[plutonius]

I ran 295's for a few years on stock gears and man did it feel like a pig - I can imagine that with 315's it would feel sloth-like...but I live in the hills (some close to 30% grade) and haul up to Mammoth and Big Bear quite a bit. I'm still on 295's but now regeared to 4.56, which gives me a slight overgear, and it's made a huge difference. 90mph on the freeway is doable, 80's no problem, with good power for climbing hills, and the cruise control functions properly again. IMO if you want 315's you need to regear...unless your terrain is pancake flat.

And no, 285's are not big enough to go anywhere, but most likely big enough to go where you want to go.

 

[mister]

(some close to 30% grade)

I put on 285's instead because I had no place to carry a 315 spare (Good Point)


You should be fine with 285's. 315's require a re-gear (about $2000.00), in my opinion. I was running 285's but switched to 315's do to the fact that I air down a lot. I'm sure I will go 37's for the next set. But I do spend hundreds of miles in the rough every month.

Good luck!

 

[little_joe]

The 295 Nitto TG's sound like a great solution for your needs. And for all-around use, the Nitto TG's are a great tire (I ran them in 285 size before my current tires). I'm running 295 Hankook MT's and the performance hit is not bad at all.

 

[yoopercharged]

Good 285s will get a decent driver a lot of places. I've been many places on mine that I probably shouldn't have gone. Not unstoppable, but highly capable.

 

[MoJ]

It is new tire time for my Cruiser. I need a go everywhere AT tire. They will see plenty of freeway miles, gravel roads, mud and some rocks and sand. No snow.

The question is whether or not 285/75-16s are big enough on a 2.5" lift to go anywhere that a street-friendly 80 Series would likely venture or will I be limited vs having the big 315s?

I know the 315s will give another .75" of ground clearance but in less than extreme off-road situations will 285s get me through?

Who has done conquered some serious terrain on 285s

When I first joined this forum 7 years ago 285's were by far the most popular choice when upsizing tires. Everyone still had an endless amount of offroad fun. Put on a tire that you can live with as a DD and go wheel it.

 

[cadence]

The 295 Nitto TG's sound like a great solution for your needs. And for all-around use, the Nitto TG's are a great tire (I ran them in 285 size before my current tires). I'm running 295 Hankook MT's and the performance hit is not bad at all.

Thanks for all the advice and real world feedback.

I should have mentioned that my rig is LOCKED!

The 295s sound like an interesting option if staying with the factory gears. Nitto TG A/T vs Toyo OC A/T?

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

285 cooper stt's are what I am running. I wanted a more aggressive tire than the nitto tg but a cheaper tire than the toyo mt. They are siped and work well on the road. The 285 size is more common and a lot easier to find. In fact after having the 295 nitto tg back ordered for several weeks I bought the cooper stt from a local store that had them in stock ready to go.

 

[outfitter taco]

I run my rig with 285s and have never had a problem. I use it only as a "guide" vehicle ( I am a hunting and fishing guide). I needed something with good road manners, and that could still handle the goat trails. I run the Toyo MTs, and have to say that with good driving techniques you can get almost anywhere you are supposed to go in a vehicle. I do not do a bunch of rock crawling, and am of the opinion that there comes a time when you just have to walk. I run stock gears, and as soon as the bank permits will be re-gearing. My 80 is a dog at this altitude (5000+ feet) and at 6800 lbs empty, even the 285s require a heavy foot on the inclines, fully loaded, to maintain anything less than frustrating speed. IMHO the best compromise between highway travel and moderate off road is the 285. Beyond that, if you "needed" a larger tire, I would highly recommend a re-gear to compensate for the lack of usable power.

 

[charlestonfj60]

Im running a set of 295/75/16 Nittos on stock lift and love them. going to do the 2.5in lift soon.

 

[Tools R Us]

...
The 295s sound like an interesting option if staying with the factory gears. Nitto TG A/T vs Toyo OC A/T?

On thing that is missing, where, what terrain are you going to wheel in? The best tire for one terrain, isn't the best for another. My advice is to hookup with locals and see what works best in the local terrain.

I bought the rig in 2004, at that time the "forum knowledge" said that to run bigger than 285's you had to send Mr Slee ~$5000. I have always been a believer in the bigger tires are better mantra, so stepped up to 295 Terra Grapplers. Before leaving the tire store had the feeling that I had made a mistake, they looked small, looked like there was room for more tire. It was confirmed on the first trail run, one of the 80's that I wheeled with most in those days ran 37's. So I joined group at obstacles saying; when these 33's wear out I'm getting 315's.

A few months later my brother Rob got his rig and put 315 NTG's on. Our rigs are setup about the same and his wheeled much better, not good to be schooled by your little brother!

About 4 yrs ago went to 37's, a huge improvement. I haven't run 315's, but on the highway the 295's sucked. On steep grades the couldn't pull 3rd gear and 2nd was too low, had to slow down, so it would hunt between gears. With the 37's it drops to 2nd and climbs.

For AZ type wheeling the smallest tire that I recommend for a lifted 80 is 315. Obviously tire selection is greatly affected by intended use and terrain.

 

[UCBerzerkeley]

i just wanted to add that i have 850/863s and 315s. like it a lot. car was on 285s when i got it, so no idea about stock feeling. it's more sluggish but not unbearable. i cruise 75 or 80 no problem. i will also regear but if you don't have the money for gears yet, don't be scared of 315s

i think 315 is the ideal size for a 'normal' 80. i can't stand how 80s look on 285s now. 315s look right. 37s and 39s are more appropriate for true crawling. 315s look and perform great, even if you are only interested in expedition style wheeling. i certianly don't even plan on going any smaller.

 

[Cañonero]

When I got the 80, I moved from 265/75/15 (31") to 32x11.5x15 (kept the stock wheels) and I couldn't be happier, no performance reduction at all

But then I moved to 285/75/16 in steel wheels and the performance drop was really noticeable, I don't know if has to do more with tire diameter or the weight of the wheel, but the fact is that the capability of acceleration and overtanking were reduced quite a lot.

What wheels are you running now?, I remember a forum member talking about moving from 285/75/16 on steel wheels to 315/75/16 aon aluminium wheels and noticing absolutly no difference, so it seems wheels play an important role.

So now I wonder what would happen if I went to 315/75/16 with aluminium wheels, but I don't have the money for them, plus in Africa you can't repair an aluminium wheel, so for the sake of realiability I may stay with mines try a 295/75/16.

The 295 Nitto TG's sound like a great solution for your needs. And for all-around use, the Nitto TG's are a great tire (I ran them in 285 size before my current tires). I'm running 295 Hankook MT's and the performance hit is not bad at all.

Those Hankook are the ones I want to try, they would give me an extra 0.4 inches clearance over my 285/75/16 BF Goodrich A/T. I just hesitate about their reliability and puncture resistance, they are advertised as a 8 ply tire, but I read somewhere that doesn't mean much.

 

[cadence]

i just wanted to add that i have 850/863s and 315s. like it a lot. car was on 285s when i got it, so no idea about stock feeling. it's more sluggish but not unbearable. i cruise 75 or 80 no problem. i will also regear but if you don't have the money for gears yet, don't be scared of 315s

i think 315 is the ideal size for a 'normal' 80. i can't stand how 80s look on 285s now. 315s look right.

My set up is 851 + 1" spacer front and 860 rear.

Running the original 16" alloy wheels.

I don't mind the look of 285s and 295s would look even better.

All this talk of the 315s making for sluggish performance pretty much turns me off the 34.5" tall tires.

Rather than $2k for gears why not spend $4k for a supercharger that gives a real performance/power boost? Afterall the gears only bring the truck close to the original performance so it isn't exactly a major upgrade.

 

[Ivan80]

A lot of good points have been made already, so I'll give you a visual comparison of the differences between 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers and 35" Trxus. BTW after 12k miles the Trxus are quieter than the Nittos were at 12k miles.

 

[cadence]

A lot of good points have been made already, so I'll give you a visual comparison of the differences between 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers and 35" Trxus. BTW after 12k miles the Trxus are quieter than the Nittos were at 12k miles.

Nice rig! What gears are you using with the 35" Trxus? Did you fit a 35" spare tire under the rear?

Can you compare the noise of the Nittos and Trxus new to new?

 

[Ivan80]

Thanks.

I never tried it, but I doubt you could fit a 35" underneath. If you could, it would hang too low to wheel with, as my 285 hung pretty low already (the 285 isn't under there in that pic).

I have been running stock gears for 2+ years now. I have no problems with it and I won't regear until I go with 37's.

All I can tell you truthfully about the noise is that when I went from 12k mile old Nittos to the Trxus, I was surprised at how much quieter they were at that point in time. Now coincidentally the Trxus have 12k miles on them and I would say they are no louder than the Nittos were.

This may sound strange, but after having both on the same exact suspension...It's my experience that these larger tires actually ride better on the street, as they roll over potholes, expansion joints, speed bumps and the like just a little bit easier than a smaller tire.

 

[kidglove13]

I have been running 285's for a while now.
I pick up a set of 35's with alum wheels for an offroad beater set and have been driving around with them for the last couple of weeks and I have to say that the biggest thing that I noticed is that braking performance has taken a hit but other wise they actually feel better on the road than the 285's and my MPG's has not changed FWIW.

 

[little_joe]

Those Hankook are the ones I want to try, they would give me an extra 0.4 inches clearance over my 285/75/16 BF Goodrich A/T. I just hesitate about their reliability and puncture resistance, they are advertised as a 8 ply tire, but I read somewhere that doesn't mean much.

IMHO for the money they are fantastic, and I've had no issues whatsoever w/ reliability or punctures. Our wheeling is small rocks, some mud, tree roots and the like. I run them at ~18lbs offroad - they've been fine and I don't ever worry about them getting ripped up.

 

[nuclearlemon]

It is new tire time for my Cruiser. I need a go everywhere AT tire. They will see plenty of freeway miles, gravel roads, mud and some rocks and sand. No snow.

The question is whether or not 285/75-16s are big enough on a 2.5" lift to go anywhere that a street-friendly 80 Series would likely venture or will I be limited vs having the big 315s?

I know the 315s will give another .75" of ground clearance but in less than extreme off-road situations will 285s get me through?

Who has done conquered some serious terrain on 285s

i was doing the harder core trails on 285s. i also don't care about my rig. sliders and skid plate. or stay on mild to medium trails. i run 255s now, but am getting ready to go 4"/315s...hopefully next year.