33's vs. 35's for my 80 Series

[UOnlyLiveOnce]

I have a 1994 FZJ80 Series. I have the 3" OME lift and 16" original rims. I want new 17" rims, thinking about 315/70,R17
From what I hear the 35" tire will fit my rig. Concern: rubbing and less articulation. Powertrain strain / loss of power up highway hills. Toyota mechanic says the rig would best function with 33's. Many other 80 Series owners say go with 35" because you'll wish you did later. I do dessert overland trips & Eastern Sierra with small rocks and slate for instance. I am thinking of getting the KM3 tires. I have KO2's on my 4Runner and love them.
What is your thought?

 

[Heckraiser]

If you're getting 17" wheels anyway, split the difference and get 285/75/17. It's a 34" diameter and a little narrower than 315's.

I don't think you'll have to worry much about rubbing either way. I have a 2.5" lift and don't rub with 315's or occasionally just a *bit* when flexed out offroad, but not enough to hurt anything.

I also have stock gears and drive at high altitude in the mountains. It is "OK" if you use the shifter and 2nd gear a lot. Not ideal, but OK.

Another thing that has been a factor for me is the spare tire. You want a spare tire with matching diameter to the others, otherwise it will wear out the VC in your transfer case if you ever have to use it. 315 is right at the cusp where you can no longer fit it in the factory spare tire spot, and tire carrier bumpers cost a small fortune. Which is another reason the 285/75/17 is a nice size.

 

[Cass007]

I've run 33" tires on my trucks with zero lift and the fit just fine. With 3" of lift you should be able to easily fit 35" tires.

I'm now running 37" tires with 3" lift and 1" body lift with very slight rub at 3/4 turn. I don't really notice the sluggishness, I just press harder on the gas and drop it out of OD when climbing large hills. I say go for the 35" tires.

 

[Tools R Us]

Small tires work better on the road, bigger tires work better on the trail. If you intend to wheel it, will be wishing for 37"+ anyways!

 

[Lumpskie]

I can't comment on the power issue but I can tell you that 315 75 r16 (I think this is the same size tire on a stock wheel) tires fit just fine without trimming... no rubbing or restricted articulation:

 

[UOnlyLiveOnce]

Small tires work better on the road, bigger tires work better on the trail. If you intend to wheel it, will be wishing for 37"+ anyways!

Gotcha. Thanks

If you're getting 17" wheels anyway, split the difference and get 285/75/17. It's a 34" diameter and a little narrower than 315's.

I don't think you'll have to worry much about rubbing either way. I have a 2.5" lift and don't rub with 315's or occasionally just a *bit* when flexed out offroad, but not enough to hurt anything.

I also have stock gears and drive at high altitude in the mountains. It is "OK" if you use the shifter and 2nd gear a lot. Not ideal, but OK.

Another thing that has been a factor for me is the spare tire. You want a spare tire with matching diameter to the others, otherwise it will wear out the VC in your transfer case if you ever have to use it. 315 is right at the cusp where you can no longer fit it in the factory spare tire spot, and tire carrier bumpers cost a small fortune. Which is another reason the 285/75/17 is a nice size.

Great Info. Sounds like a good alternative. Thank you

 

[Dork]

Your user name is Uonlyliveonce. The answer is always bigger.

 

[swankstar]

35s is the only answer. I have 315/70/17, 2.5 OME, FJ Cruiser 17" steel rims and can do this (with the tiniest bit of rubbing on passenger radius arm when fully cranked/flexed) :

 

[NV1971FJ40]

Cruisers shouldn’t have anything less than 37s

 

[cruiserdan]

Wheel width and backspace will affect clearance. OEM wheels are 8 inches wide with 4.5 inches of backspace.

 

[UOnlyLiveOnce]

35s is the only answer. I have 315/70/17, 2.5 OME, FJ Cruiser 17" steel rims and can do this (with the tiniest bit of rubbing on passenger radius arm when fully cranked/flexed) :

View attachment 1822347

I looks awesome. That back left driver tire is really tucked up in the wheel well. Are you saying there’s no touching there as well? I also noticed you took your flares off/fendors. Is that because they were hitting?

 

[Corbet]

35”

Downsides are:
Definite loss of power
Cost
MPG
You’ll just want 37’s
They will rub a little at full stuff, drop bumps to solve.

Upside
Everything else.

 

[rockstate45]

I ran 33's for a couple of years before going to 35's. In hindsight, I should have done 35s from the beginning. They wheel a lot easier, are a lot more plush offroad at the downside that there is a "slight" loss of power when compared to the 33s and they do rub a little on the inner fender. I picked my rear up this last weekend and even with a bump stop spacer, I still rubbed a little (no harm no foul).

Going from stock to 33's you'll see a bigger "power" drop than from 33s to 35s (largely due to the extra weight of your average AT or MT from a stock P rated tire).

33s are pretty "plug and play" in that you won't rub fender on the average 2.5" lift.

Remember, buy once, cry once.

 

[Harry Centeno]

go 35"s especially if you have a lift. 17"s will be nice especially if you ever make the jump in the future to 37s. Not much 37" options with 16" wheels

 

[Tools R Us]

...
They will rub a little at full stuff
...

If your tires aren't rubbing, they are too damn small!

 

[Qball]

From a guy that has gone from stock to 33s to now 35s........go 37s Mr UOLO!

 

[half k cruiser]

Concern: rubbing and less articulation. Powertrain strain / loss of power up highway hills. Toyota mechanic says the rig would best function with 33's.

1) Rubbing will be of no concern, especially with 3'' of lift that you have.
2) You will lose a noticeable amount of power on both highway and going up hills. ( more on this in a moment )
3) Your mechanic is correct. It will drive much better with 33's then 35's. Less strain on everything, easier to get balanced, cheaper, more options that aren't E rated, etc.

So here is how I come to my conclusions. At any given point today I can go outside my house, and depending on which key I have chosen, drive an 80 series with either 31's,33's or 35's. The one on 33's is my daily, 31's a project vehicle, and 35's is what goes on trips and occasionally gets driven around on errands. There is a very noticeable difference to me when going from any of those tire sizes. The one with 35's even has 10% high range reduction, and, while helpful, still can't keep up with the 33 equipped rig on the same exact roads. I think what happens on here with opinions is that you get guys who have driven nothing but a rig equipped with 35's or bigger, or driven it for so long that they simply don't remember or know any better.

Of course it's all perspective based. You may be perfectly fine getting on the gas all the time to get out of peoples way. Or maybe you don't really care to set your cruise and have it hold speed on long hills out on I-70. I've taken my 35 equipped 80 through some fairly knarly stuff, the one with 33's would have made it through all the same places and just required a little more care with tire placement. To me the weight of the 315's, plus the fact that they are mostly all E-rated, coupled with the .5 - 1 '' gain in ground clearance just isn't worth it.

 

[DSRTRDR]

we have 315s on both 80s - no looking back

BFGoodrich tires are an inch smaller than nominal anyway

 

[bhsdriller]

Went 33's from stock on mine and shortly after put 35's

Just do it from the beginning

 

[NV1971FJ40]

Thirty sevensssssss