Best tire size for FJ80 stock wheels on a 2” OME lift?

[Larry Haun]

It would be helpful to know what type of terrain you intend to travel, where you live, if you will be towing, do you traverse mountain passes, do you plan to regear, etc. If your only concern is looks, then buy whatever you like.

It’s my everyday driver. I don’t off-road really (forgive me, that’s blasphemy I know). I use 4-wheel drive out of necessity, usually when I go hunting or fishing. I want it to perform on the road as stock as possible and I’m not dying to spend the extra $1500 to regear it after the lift and tires if I don’t have to.

 

[Larry Haun]

I'm going to buck the trend. For a rig that isn't used primarily for offroad / trail use, 35's (315s) hurt driveablity unless you do gears. People put them on because they like the look, but unless look is more important to you than how it drives, I'd be checking out 33's and smaller. And with a smaller lift like you put on, 33's or smaller should be perfect. I personally like the skinnier tires like a 255/85R16 rather than the wider 285/75R16, but that is a less common size. Both are roughly 33" tires. Don't rule out 32" tires either. JMHO.

Thanks for the advice. Honestly it is for the looks mainly. I only off-road when I’m hunting or fishing, out of necessity, not out of choice.

Metric tire sizing is confusing. I thought a 285 tire would be quite a bit taller than a 255 tire. Had no idea they were the same height. I don’t want it to look like a monster truck but I don’t want it to not fill up the wheel well either. I definitely need to pick something that doesn’t require regearing though.

 

[Larry Haun]

2” iron man and 315’s, this is what my budget build currently looks like. Kind of wish I had sprung for the 2.5” Dobinsons but may go ahead and toss those in the front as opposed to spacers to level her out. Some day I’m going to install the 10% underdrive and low range gears in the TC, will yield the equivalent of 4.56 gearing for the high range.

I’m happy with the path I’m on, definitely like the 35’s so far.

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So you’re running the stock gearing currently correct? Also, I definitely want that leveled look after the 2” OME lift. What’s the cheapest way to achieve that? 1” spacers in the front?

 

[vegasfj40]

I have 285 BFGs with OME stock height springs and 10mm spacers for about an 1 and a half of lift. I can tell the difference in acceleration especially where I'm at at 5100 ft elevation. If you go to 315s you'll definitely have to regear in my opinion.

 

[Larry Haun]

I have 285 BFGs with OME stock height springs and 10mm spacers for about an 1 and a half of lift. I can tell the difference in acceleration especially where I'm at at 5100 ft elevation. If you go to 315s you'll definitely have to regear in my opinion.

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Good looking rig! Thanks for the info.

 

[Larry Haun]

I have 285 BFGs with OME stock height springs and 10mm spacers for about an 1 and a half of lift. I can tell the difference in acceleration especially where I'm at at 5100 ft elevation. If you go to 315s you'll definitely have to regear in my opinion.

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What’s the complete measurement on the tires you have?

 

[vegasfj40]

What’s the complete measurement on the tires you have?

285/75/16 which is just under 33 inch. Unless you will be using your truck for rock crawling or more hard core wheeling 285s I think is the sweet spot for these trucks. When I did my springs I chose the stock height OME because I didn't want more than 2 inches of lift and didn't like the rake that some trucks exhibit. I don't rock crawl. I'm usually on BLM or Forest service roads where usually 2wd high clearance is sufficient but sometimes there will be rougher sections where 4wd is necessary.

 

[jfz80]

You don’t have to regear if you add mo powa.
amiright @NLXTACY ?!?

80 Series 1FZ Wits' End Turbo Kit- OBD2 only

80 Series 1FZ Wits' End Turbo Kit- OBD2 only (WET-1)

absolute-wits-end.com

ran 285s,315’s, 37’s, 255’s, and back to 315’s
But first mod to my truck was the kazooooma

depends on your terrain and elevation IMHO
In TN I say 315 or 255. Or grab a set of 17’s and go 34x10.5. They make it in km3. Not sure if the ko2

 

[vegasfj40]

You can do a little math to figure out how tall a tire is. Take the first measurement 285, and divide by 25.4. That converts the size to inches as the 285 is millimeters. You get 11.22 inches. The next number 75 is a percentage of the first number. 75 percent of 11.22 is 8.42 inches. Next you double the 8.42 as that is the height of the tire on the top of the wheel and the bottom of the wheel. That comes to 16.84 inches. The final number 16, is the wheel size. Add the 16.84 plus 16 and you get 32.84 inches. This is nominal because tire manufacturers actual size will vary a little from the stated size sometimes by a half an inch.

 

[77mustard40]

So you’re running the stock gearing currently correct? Also, I definitely want that leveled look after the 2” OME lift. What’s the cheapest way to achieve that? 1” spacers in the front?

Correct, currently running stock gears and yes a front spacer would be the cheapest way to level the stink bug.

 

[Cruzerman]

You can do a little math to figure out how tall a tire is. Take the first measurement 285, and divide by 25.4. That converts the size to inches as the 285 is millimeters. You get 11.22 inches. The next number 75 is a percentage of the first number. 75 percent of 11.22 is 8.42 inches. Next you double the 8.42 as that is the height of the tire on the top of the wheel and the bottom of the wheel. That comes to 16.84 inches. The final number 16, is the wheel size. Add the 16.84 plus 16 and you get 32.84 inches. This is nominal because tire manufacturers actual size will vary a little from the stated size sometimes by a half an inch.

Just to elaborate a little. The first number is the tire width in millimeters. So a 285/75R16 is 285mm wide, or 11.22 inches wide. The second number is the percentage of the width that the sidewall is. So the sidewall of this tire is 75% of the width, or 8.42 inches. So to get the total height, you go across a tire / wheel. You have a sidewall (8.42"), you have the wheel (16"), and you have another sidewall (8.42") for a total of 32.84 inches, just like VegasFJ40 said. So a 285/75R16 is 32.84" tall and 11.22 inches wide.

For comparison, a 255/85R16 is 33.07" tall and 10.04" wide.

 

[Heckraiser]

I think 315/75r16 look just right on a 2" lift.

The biggest problem, in my mind (more than gearing) is that you now have a spare tire issue. It's too big for the stock spare location (a 315 sometimes fits, but looks like your truck has a saggy diaper and the tire will drag on obstacles off road). If you're planning on getting a swing out or if you've got the interior space to store it inside, that's great. But if not, a $2k bumper just to hold a dumb tire feels kinda silly.

Options that fit a little better in the stock spare location: 255/85/16, 295/75/16, 285/75/17. It really sucks that these trucks like to have a full size spare, otherwise, I'd just get a skinny 33 for under the truck and call it good. Instead I bought a skinny 35 (35x10.5x16). Cost a fortune for a spare and it still looks kind of dumb under the bumper.

 

[BILT4ME]

Mine is DD with a little off road.

I run the Goodyear Duratrac 285/75-16 M&S tire. I really like it for mud, dirt, and snow. I do only a little mild rock crawling. I drive 15-20K miles per year. These are roughly 33" tires on stock wheels. Many crawlers don't like these because of "soft" sidewalls. They were quiet at first, but I screwed up and didn't rotate for almost 16K miles and they got noisy and stayed that way.

They fit well in the spare tire location as well. Some 315's do not fit well back there with the stock hitch assembly.

I ran them on stock springs for 5 years before I installed an OME 2.5" heavies lift. My avatar pic is pre-lift.

I still get decent power with the taller tire. IMO, the 315 will push you too much on reducing starting torque in traffic. Mine is a 96 with a well maintained 1FZ-FE.

 

[Larry Haun]

I think 315/75r16 look just right on a 2" lift.

The biggest problem, in my mind (more than gearing) is that you now have a spare tire issue. It's too big for the stock spare location (a 315 sometimes fits, but looks like your truck has a saggy diaper and the tire will drag on obstacles off road). If you're planning on getting a swing out or if you've got the interior space to store it inside, that's great. But if not, a $2k bumper just to hold a dumb tire feels kinda silly.

Options that fit a little better in the stock spare location: 255/85/16, 295/75/16, 285/75/17. It really sucks that these trucks like to have a full size spare, otherwise, I'd just get a skinny 33 for under the truck and call it good. Instead I bought a skinny 35 (35x10.5x16). Cost a fortune for a spare and it still looks kind of dumb under the bumper.

Thanks for the input. If I went with the 315’s and only had the stock spare available, would it work as an emergency backup just to get me out of the jam? Don’t want to do the swingout spare.

 

[Heckraiser]

I think it would work at low speed for short distances. The issue is it damages the viscous coupler in the transfer case due to the AWD configuration in our trucks. You could also get a 255/85 as a spare to get a little closer to the right size. I also carry a tire plug kit and compressor, which might work in a pinch.

 

[retrofive]

I agree with all @Heckraiser has said about the stock location, but this kit does help some.

80 Series Tire Leveling Kit

80 Series Tire Leveling Kit (TLK-1)

absolute-wits-end.com

 

[Larry Haun]

I settled on the OME 2” lift w 30mm spacers in the front to level it out and 315/75R16 tires and the service manager at the shop doing the work sent me the following email...

Is he incorrect? Everybody on here seems to be doing the same or similar setup. Please help!

 

[Heckraiser]

Shop guy is mistaken. Maybe he's used to working on 4runners or something. It will fit fine on your 80. Multiple threads on here point to even comletely stock rigs with 315's installed and drive fine around town as long as you don't flex it out.

I would also skip the caster bushings and look instead into caster plates or drop brackets. You definitely want to address caster one way or another.

If you've got a driveway and a handful of tools, I would suggest installing yourself if you feel up to it. It's not hard and the shop sounds a little dodgy to me

 

[BILT4ME]

Find a different shop or do it yourself.

I did mine in my driveway in about 8 hours by myself.

Do NOT do the caster bushings. Do caster plates from Landtank (www.absolutewitsend.com) and use new stock bushings also from there.

Yes, 315's will fit your truck even without the lift.

Shop is mistaken.

 

[Funner]

Just to elaborate a little. The first number is the tire width in millimeters. So a 285/75R16 is 285mm wide, or 11.22 inches wide. The second number is the percentage of the width that the sidewall is. So the sidewall of this tire is 75% of the width, or 8.42 inches. So to get the total height, you go across a tire / wheel. You have a sidewall (8.42"), you have the wheel (16"), and you have another sidewall (8.42") for a total of 32.84 inches, just like VegasFJ40 said. So a 285/75R16 is 32.84" tall and 11.22 inches wide.

For comparison, a 255/85R16 is 33.07" tall and 10.04" wide.

These are both correct mathematically, but then you check the manufacturer specs on the diameter and none of it matches, we need the government to get involved