900-16 Power Kings

[dafun1]

Well, sold my 80 series back in 2013, and hadn’t had a Landcruiser for the past 5 years. Bought my first 100 series in Dec, and decided to go the tall/skinny route on tires. I have a 1999. I looked to see if anyone had run a skinny 35 on the stock 16" wheels, and I found nothing, just the 285/75 or 255/85 discussion. Went back and forth on if I should run a bias ply on a 100 series , but I went for it. I have 1.5” Bora spacers up front, and 1.25” TG spacers in the back. Also cut, hammered, and painted the pinch weld, cut rear of front fender and rear of front bumper cover:

 

[dafun1]

Torsion bars are cranked to a hub to fender measurement of 20.25 on both sides. Rear is the stock 21” from the stock spring. I put the TJM winch plate in behind the front bumper with a 9000lb winch. Road noise/wobble are not too bad. I"m actually starting to really like them. Need to cycle through the suspension and take care of areas of contact, but I can turn and mildly flex the suspension with out rub.

 

[dafun1]

TBC says they are 35.4x9.9:

http://tbccommercialtires.com/details.html?name=SUPER TRACTION LT&model=SUPER-TRACTION-LT&id=130

I measured them at just under 35" tall and a tread width of 8.5", but this topic didn't seem to stimulate much discussion. So, can you run a a skinny 35 with just some torsion bar cranking? Yes, if you are willing to trim just a little, and cut/pound the pinch weld back.

 

[Alibaster]

So you can max the wheel and turn without rub?

 

[dafun1]

That is correct

 

[elk]

Not exactly my style, but glad to see it can be done. Does an old school tire like this improve balance or go out of it over time?

 

[dafun1]

I didn’t even try to “traditionally” balance them. Bought 2.5lb cartons of HDPE air soft pellets, and put them inside each tire before seating the bead. The concept is called dynamic balancing, and it works decently well on bias ply tires. I think both radial and bias ply tires tend to become “less” balanced as they wear. Bias ply have the problem of flat spotting when they sit for an extended period of time, so the first mile you drive in the morning, has some thumping, until they warm up. But the air soft pellets help that get corrected quick as well. Overall, I’ve been pleased with the road manners. They are very manageable at 70mph. I DD’d 38.5x11-16 boggers on my 80 series, and those were a nightmare

 

[Joost]

Nice to see a topic on these! Running 900-16 bias ply tires is relatively popular on Cruisers in the Gulf countries. We use fairly slick ones (not aggressive at all) with a longitudinal thread which is excellent for driving on sand. I'm using 285/75R16 ATs at the moment and am considering changing to these. I'm not an expert on them, but I'm guessing both the spacers and trimming were required to fit them and minimize rubbing? Also how do you like them using stock gears (assuming you didn't regear)?

 

[dafun1]

Nice to see a topic on these! Running 900-16 bias ply tires is relatively popular on Cruisers in the Gulf countries. We use fairly slick ones (not aggressive at all) with a longitudinal thread which is excellent for driving on sand. I'm using 285/75R16 ATs at the moment and am considering changing to these. I'm not an expert on them, but I'm guessing both the spacers and trimming were required to fit them and minimize rubbing? Also how do you like them using stock gears (assuming you didn't regear)?

Yes, I went with a 1.5" spacer up front and a 1.25" in the back. Had to trim/pound the pinch weld on the back of the front fender and trim the front bumper cover. This was after cranking the torsion bars up from 18.5"-18.75" hub to fender edge, to 20.25" on both sides. I ran out of thread on the left side, or I might have gone higher. Didn't want to re-index, and also have seen where the CV angle gets a bit much beyond 21" without an aftermarket UCA and diff drop. I'm rubbing at the top of the fenders, and on a plastic piece on the forward part of the front left inner fender during articulation, but not when driving. All rub is up front. No rubbing in the back with the 1.25" spacers at 21.5" from hub to fender edge (stock springs). I'll deal with the rubbing shortly, and post some pics. As far as gearing goes, yes, I'm running the stock 4.3"s, and I think it is great! MPG has increased. At 70mph, I'm at around 2100-2200 RPMs. Speedometer is about 8mph off now (confirmed with a GPS app). These tire are only 61lbs, and the 285/75R16's I was looking at, weighed more. They are a bit rough on the warm up, but that is any bias ply. They flat spot overnight. They are decent on the highway at 70mph, and I'm starting to really dig them! Here’s pics of where it rubs when flexed, and with wheels painted black:

 

[dafun1]

Realizing the front obstruction is the window washer fluid reservoir. Took the black shield off, but still rub. One thing is for sure, because we have no options to space the IFS down (ie a bracket kit or ball joint spacer), the point on where up travel ends, is the same, no matter how much you crank the T-bars. You are just changing the up/down travel ratio, and resting hub to fender measurement. Thus the options are a body lift, bumpstop extension, and/or trim. Thinking about options for the washer fluid reservoir. Circled areas are where it rubs:

 

[brownfox]

I’ve looked at this too. I’m sure it could be relocated. I have a bunch of space near the firewall on the pass side.

 

[Joost]

Yes, I went with a 1.5" spacer up front and a 1.25" in the back. Had to trim/pound the pinch weld on the back of the front fender and trim the front bumper cover. This was after cranking the torsion bars up from 18.5"-18.75" hub to fender edge, to 20.25" on both sides. I ran out of thread on the left side, or I might have gone higher. Didn't want to re-index, and also have seen where the CV angle gets a bit much beyond 21" without an aftermarket UCA and diff drop. I'm rubbing at the top of the fenders, and on a plastic piece on the forward part of the front left inner fender during articulation, but not when driving. All rub is up front. No rubbing in the back with the 1.25" spacers at 21.5" from hub to fender edge (stock springs). I'll deal with the rubbing shortly, and post some pics. As far as gearing goes, yes, I'm running the stock 4.3"s, and I think it is great! MPG has increased. At 70mph, I'm at around 2100-2200 RPMs. Speedometer is about 8mph off now (confirmed with a GPS app). These tire are only 61lbs, and the 285/75R16's I was looking at, weighed more. They are a bit rough on the warm up, but that is any bias ply. They flat spot overnight. They are decent on the highway at 70mph, and I'm starting to really dig them! Here’s pics of where it rubs when flexed, and with wheels painted black:

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Appreciate the detailed reply! Any reason you went with a 1.25" spacer in the back vs. a 1.5" one? The improved highway milage is certainly welcome since I spend quite some time on them, but obviously handling will be less good than a radial. Did you have any safety concerns when it comes to getting a puncture at highway speeds (assuming a radial will maintain its shape better until you come to a full stop)?

As for the washer fluid reservoir, I've been thinking about options to relocate mine as well. There's enough space to relocate it somewhere else, just have to figure out what the most convenient location would be. I'm sure some other people on MUD have done this before.

I might bite the bullet on some 900-16s in a few weeks, will update in this thread with some details about our tires and my experience with rubbing etc.

 

[dafun1]

Right on man. I took the reservoir off last night, cut it down, and used metal backed waterproof tape to seal it up, then hit it with coats of plasti dip. I'll post some pics soon. There are two pumps, one for the front and one for the rear I'm assuming. They make universal wash fluid reservoirs in all sizes, so I may just mount two smaller ones. The only issue, is re-routing wiring harness and hoses. I may just go with the cut down/sealed up/ghetto fab one I made last night. As far as bias plys disintegrating if you have a blow out, I can't speak from experience. Never had it happen. They are definitely not radials on the pavement, but not as bad as bias ply TSL's I've run. The spacer width of 1.5" up front and 1.25" was more about dialing in front versus rear. Most guys do 1.25" front and rear, but I wanted a little bit more spacing up front.

 

[dafun1]

Well, I rolled with these bias ply’s for nearly a year, and decided to move on to some radials. Went with 315/75R16 Mastercraft Courser MXT’s:

 

[dafun1]

Balanced radials are fabulous, and the MXT is the quietest MT style tread that I’ve run. Wet pavement handling has been excellent. The siping works. Next year, I’ll jump up to 17x8.5” KMC wheel, cut fenders, and run the 37x12.50R17 MXT

 

[meatloaf]

I like the old school look of big tires and smaller wheel vs. the newer big wheels and little rubber

 

[nukegoat]

I like the old school look of big tires and smaller wheel vs. the newer big wheels and little rubber

I wish I had gone with 20s for handling purposes.