2006 GX470 with 2.5" lift, factory 17" rims and 265/70/17 Cooper Adventurer AT which are 31.42" diameter and 10.4" wide. Front bumper is trimmed.
I use it mainly on dirt roads here in the mountains of Colorado. Occasionally on the highways. My cabin is near the Alpine Loop and other trails.
I'd like to go a bit larger diameter but due to the altitude, 9400' at the cabin, I don't want to sacrifice performance. I'd like 3PMs for the winter snow.
Trying to decide between AT or MT/TA tread. Since I'm seldom on highways don't think noise will be a problem. There is a Discount tire and Big O close to me.
Suggestions?
I too need snow rated so I replaced my 265/70/17 Ridge Grapplers with some General Grabber ATXs that are 3 peak rated and so far offroad and up USFS mountain trails and in sand they've been phenomenal. I ended up getting the black lettering.
An all-terrain tire for light trucks and SUVs. Designed to balance exceptional off-road capability with on-road performance with robust strength and durability.
Put on BFG KO2’s yesterday…255/75-17. Approx 32” diameter.
3-peak, “C” rated.
Replaced that exact tire that had 35k miles of mixed use, lots of off-road. Still 40-50% tread left, zero punctures or sidewall cuts. I’ve been very happy with on and off-road ride quality, all-weather performance, durability and quiet but firm ride.
46lbs/ tire which is important to me for performance while towing, and better braking.
Discount Tire price-matched (actually beat by a few $$) a printed Costco quote that I got a few days earlier.
Good advice so far. BTW I do have a 5 mile uphill drive on snow packed road to the cabin. Well almost, to our winter parking lot then take snowmobile or SXS with tracks to the cabin. So snow performance is important also.
Not worried about miles rating since I only put about 3 thousand miles/year.
I really like my Falken Wildpeaks in 265/70/17. I don't think you should go any bigger if you want to keep similar to stock feeling power. Personally, for your use case and when considering altitude, probably best to stick with the size you have.
Second on the performance - I upgraded to 285s from 265s a few weeks ago and the acceleration/braking difference is noticeable, albeit not extreme. BUT it rides way better on pavement and gravel with 285s and I'm confident it will wheel quite a bit better as well. If you aren't wheeling much and just hitting normal dirt roads, I'd stick with 265s.
I did the Falken AT4 275/70/17 on mine with the Eibach Stage 2 and love it. I had to trim a little fender liner and bumper, but no rubbing after that. It had 255/75/17 Firestone MT2 on it. Hated the ride of the tires. I lost a little mpg but the ride is way better.
