Another Stupid Tire Size Thread (1 Viewer)

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FishTown

FishTown

TLCA Member #29560
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I know, I know... skewer me if you want, but I have a specific question about a tire size. I'm saving up for new shoes for Shirley and have been mostly looking at the 33x10.5 variety. I am not running an OME lift as so many people who are running the 33x10.5 tires, BUT my rig also seems to sit slightly higher than stock. I don't plan on doing a lift anytime soon because, well, I can't afford it right now. I don't want to pull the trigger on some 33x10.5s if they're going to be too tight in the wheel well. I'm currently running the 31x10.5 Michelin LTX M/S2 and here's how it looks:

tires.JPG


Based solely on what you can see (I know, I know - other factors, blah, blah, blah), will the 33x10.5 work well enough to get me down the road and light/medium trails (no wheeling)? Or would I be better off with a 31x10.5 or even a 32x11.5? I am running the H55f and stock 3.70 gearing, so take that into consideration as well. I haven't personally talked to anyone running the 32x11.5 and am not sure if spacers would be needed to fit the extra width without rubbing. I occasionally drive on the sand down on the coast, so the additional width might be nice, but I am also fine just airing down if I get into the really really soft stuff.

Skewer away.
 
I can't really speak to the gearing, but 33's may be a little tight. I just put 33x12.50s on mine that has a small (2-3") lift, and I am getting a little bit of rubbing on my exhaust pipe when cornering.

In my opinion, the 31's fill out your wheel arches nicely. Maybe save the $$$ you'd spend on 33's and put it toward your future lift kit. :)
 
nmcbride89 said:
I can't really speak to the gearing, but 33's may be a little tight. I just put 33x12.50s on mine that has a small (2-3") lift, and I am getting a little bit of rubbing on my exhaust pipe when cornering.

In my opinion, the 31's fill out your wheel arches nicely. Maybe save the $$$ you'd spend on 33's and put it toward your future lift kit. :)
Click to expand...

I wonder if the rubbing is due to the height or the width or your tires.
 
By that front shackle angle, I don't think those are stock front springs. The front looks higher than tired stock springs.

Anyway, I don't have 33/10.5R15s on my 60, but from everything I've read on mud, the 10.5s won't rub with tired stock springs. 12.5s will.

Tire size will always be a compromise.
Keep in mind that the stock sized tires on a 60 was 28" with those 3:70 gears.

I have 31" AT tires on mine with stock gears and the H55F and have toyed f o r e v e r on the idea of getting bigger tires. .. But after 30 years, I've remained at 31", mainly because I could never justify the expense of regearing.

Torque is important to me, so is acceleration (the little bit we have). So is stopping distance, so is vehicle height. (Tall not being good), so is tire storage ability, so is tire availability out in Timbuktu.

I don't drive in mud, nor boulder crawl.
I do drive over rocky arroyos in Mexico and drive (carefully) on the beaches fully aired down to 12 psi.

In those situations, I always wish I had big rubber under the truck, that's for sure, but the moment I'm back on a dirt trail I'm glad I have the 31s.

Since 31s have taken me everywhere I dare drive the truck, I've stayed with them. But I wouldn't label my choice of wheeling as hard core wheeling because whenever I'm driving off road, usually the truck is heavily loaded and the name of the game is survival.

But if there are particular trails that you would like to drive and other 4WD enthusiasts play there too, those trails may have already been rutted to the depth of the most popular offroad tire size 33". If that's so, 31" tires won't cut it.

The general consensus is that a 33" tire will take you "almost" everywhere you want to go.

If I ever change the tire size, it will be a metric tire on a 16" wheel. Probably 265/75R16
 
Output Shaft said:
By that front shackle angle, I don't think those are stock front springs. The front looks higher than tired stock springs.

Anyway, I don't have 33/10.5R15s on my 60, but from everything I've read on mud, the 10.5s won't rub with tired stock springs. 12.5s will.

Tire size will always be a compromise.
Keep in mind that the stock sized tires on a 60 was 28" with those 3:70 gears.

I have 31" AT tires on mine with stock gears and the H55F and have toyed f o r e v e r on the idea of getting bigger tires. .. But after 30 years, I've remained at 31", mainly because I could never justify the expense of regearing.

Torque is important to me, so is acceleration (the little bit we have). So is stopping distance, so is vehicle height. (Tall not being good), so is tire storage ability, so is tire availability out in Timbuktu.

I don't drive in mud, nor boulder crawl.
I do drive over rocky arroyos in Mexico and drive (carefully) on the beaches fully aired down to 12 psi.

In those situations, I always wish I had big rubber under the truck, that's for sure, but the moment I'm back on a dirt trail I'm glad I have the 31s.

Since 31s have taken me everywhere I dare drive the truck, I've stayed with them. But I wouldn't label my choice of wheeling as hard core wheeling because whenever I'm driving off road, usually the truck is heavily loaded and the name of the game is survival.

But if there are particular trails that you would like to drive and other 4WD enthusiasts play there too, those trails may have already been rutted to the depth of the most popular offroad tire size 33". If that's so, 31" tires won't cut it.

The general consensus is that a 33" tire will take you "almost" everywhere you want to go.

If I ever change the tire size, it will be a metric tire on a 16" wheel. Probably 265/75R16
Click to expand...

I know it's not the tired stock suspension. The previous owner bought the truck in 2012 and it had an OME suspension then, but he removed it for his wife. I can't tell what kind of suspension is on there now - any labeling has since rubbed off. So I'm probably sitting somewhere between 1.5-2" higher than the trucks that are sagging.
 
Well it is definitely a higher than stock suspension like you said previously. Two thing could have happened when he "removed the OME suspension for his wife."
1. he could have removed 1 leaf that would have allowed it to lower slightly
2. he could have completely removed it and replaced it with a lower, overall suspension (possibly having a 3"+ lift before).

You should be able to run 33s without much rubbing but you will probably experience some on full turns and if you end up stuffing the wheel in the wheel well while on the trail. Your truck looks almost the exact same height as mine and I had my stock springs with an AAL re-arched to ~2" over stock height. If you do not plan on doing lots of wheeling where the larger tires would come into play for the added footprint I would say stick with the 31s and call it good. Also one thing that you MAY run into is that since the stock rims are 15x6, lots of tire shops are not mounting tires on rims where the rim width does not meet the mfgrs recommended minimum width. This has been experienced by many recently at Les Schwab, Costco, Discount and others. So going with a 33x12.5 from BFG (as example) requires a minimum of an 8" wide rim so the shop would give you a no go on it.
 
x2 on the 32x11.5. These are Cooper Discoverer T3s on stock rims. OME light-med lift. Crappy angle on the picture, sorry. OME lift has the rear just a wee bit higher then the front on level ground. I reckon that's called stink bug, but I like it.

IMG_1410.JPG
 
I prefer the metric 32" sister, the 265/75r16. Anymore a 265 tire can be found pretty much anywhere as a spare. The 33x10.5 aren't exactly a common tire size.
 
33x10.5 on 283k worn out stock suspension. First gear requires a little bit more clutch and it would probably not be the best off road, but it works for not and the cheap overdrive is nice for the long road trips.

IMG_1388.JPG
 
HemiAlex said:
33x10.5 on 283k worn out stock suspension. First gear requires a little bit more clutch and it would probably not be the best off road, but it works for not and the cheap overdrive is nice for the long road trips.

View attachment 1367879
Click to expand...

This is a big request, but would you mind giving me measurements from the center of your front and rear hubs to the edge of the fender on your truck? I'm curious what the difference is between my suspension and "tired old stock suspension".
 
chichiflys said:
x2 on the 32x11.5. These are Cooper Discoverer T3s on stock rims. OME light-med lift. Crappy angle on the picture, sorry. OME lift has the rear just a wee bit higher then the front on level ground. I reckon that's called stink bug, but I like it.

View attachment 1367734
Click to expand...
Nice rig! Did you paint your original OME chrome rims? I'm thinking of doing the same.
 
I had 33x12.5 on stock wheels/old stock suspension with no real issues other than sloppy handling (wide tire on skinny rim), so I'm pretty sure 33x10.5 will fit just fine. Amazingly, the 12.5's did not noticeably rub, even off road.

That said, with the ol' 2f, and stock gearing, 32x11.5 or 31x10.5 would make me happier. I have run both. I personally would err towards the smaller 31's because I'm up in the mountains, but in TX, you probably wouldn't mind 32's or 33's for that matter.
 
I think your truck looks great as is @FishTown

With larger tires your acceleration (yes we have some) will take a hit. Gas mileage will theoretically come down.

I say keep cruising. :steer:
 
klinetime574 said:
I think your truck looks great as is @FishTown

With larger tires your acceleration (yes we have some) will take a hit. Gas mileage will theoretically come down.

I say keep cruising. :steer:
Click to expand...

That's how I'm leaning right now. If I go 33's, I think I'll also do 4.11 gears and maybe an add-a-leaf of some sort. But that means more $$$.

Now, do I go BFGoodrich KO2 or Goodyear Duratrac... :hmm:
 
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