Lifted - what wheel / tire combo for long road trips?

[DS470]

I'm currently running Nitto ridge grapplers with 17" TRD wheels. While they're great offroad / in the mountains, they aren't the best for 4 hour road trips.

Can anyone recommend a good wheel / tire combo that would maintain a similar overall diameter, yet be suited for longer trips that have no offroading involved? Thinking a 20" rim with a 50 sidewall tire?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jiggletits]

Consider a cheap used Prius. I just drove from Denver to Ohio on like $110 in fuel. A good set of Michelin tires cost me like $400 and will last 65,000 miles. In all honesty it is more comfortable on long drives too and I’m not a small dude.

 

[DS470]

Not a bad idea. Unfortunately I need the room for family, including a kid seat in the back.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

Prius V? Lol.

I don’t have the luxury of being able to store extra wheels/tires in the garage…so i can only guess that going back to your stock wheels with taller than stock-like P-tires might get you back the long trip comfort.

20” wheels on 50 sidewalls doesn’t sound that great to me for comfort. I run 55 sidewalls on my 2008 LS460 on 18” Lexus oem wheels and that’s a small sidewall.

Or just put a set of P tires in your trd pro wheels.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

Unless you really like the looks of 20s like this one

 

[DS470]

Agreed on 50 sidewalls being too thin.

Unless you really like the looks of 20s like this one

View attachment 2874717

Those are exactly the rims I'm looking at right now, actually. Would pair with 275/55/20 Michelin LTX M/S2, which some guy in another forum said were whisper quiet and very smooth on the freeway. I've got a 2.5" lift going on plus BMC so don't anticipate any rubbing.

MICHELIN LTX M/S2

The LTX M/S2 is Michelin's Highway All-Season tire developed to combine long tread life with all-season capabilities for vans, pickups and sport utility vehicles, as well as for commercial vans, shuttles and chassis cab vehicles using light truck tire sizes. The LTX M/S2 is designed to combine a...

americantiredepot.com

I'm sure a 60" sidewall would provide an even smoother ride, but 1/3 of any trip for me involves a windy mountain road in each direction, so also needs to be well suited for that.

Thanks for the thoughts here.

 

[DS470]

On the other hand, these 265/70/17's might not provide the best cornering on the mountain, but guessing would be way better on the freeway.

 

[Rednexus]

Have you considered more of a "do it all" on/off-road tire? I run P-rated Falken Wildpeak AT3W's and they do just fine on the highway - we've put 1,000 miles on the GX in a single day (family of 4) on highways and windy roads and the tires are great. Slightly more road noise than the Toyo car-like tires that were on it before but overall handling/ride/MPG is the same. I personally would not want to go through the hassle of swapping out all 4 wheels for a road trip unless it was cross-country in nature.

 

[jdam]

Maybe find a set of take-offs from a GX460? I just sold mine for $1,000, and they were the 18" with a set of 265/60R18 Michelin HP Tour with like 400 miles. Once those are done you can just replace with something similar. The smaller diameter (and subsequent less weight) might help make a small difference in MPGs too.

 

[DS470]

Have you considered more of a "do it all" on/off-road tire? I run P-rated Falken Wildpeak AT3W's and they do just fine on the highway - we've put 1,000 miles on the GX in a single day (family of 4) on highways and windy roads and the tires are great. Slightly more road noise than the Toyo car-like tires that were on it before but overall handling/ride/MPG is the same. I personally would not want to go through the hassle of swapping out all 4 wheels for a road trip unless it was cross-country in nature.

Living in the mountains, there are some offroad trails which I think require dedicated tires such as the ridge grapplers I'm currently running. I've also got a set of snow tires. With my air compressor, I can usually swap a set in around 10 minutes, and I've got plenty of storage, so having 3 sets wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Maybe find a set of take-offs from a GX460? I just sold mine for $1,000, and they were the 18" with a set of 265/60R18 Michelin HP Tour with like 400 miles. Once those are done you can just replace with something similar. The smaller diameter (and subsequent less weight) might help make a small difference in MPGs too.

Also not a bad idea. Craigslist / FB seems to be flooded with them. That said, I'd gladly buy just the rims and then find the 'ultimate' freeway tire that provides a stable and quiet ride. Think I'm leaning towards Michelin Defender LTX M/S but still doing research.

Thanks guys

 

[Banandalorian]

What's the issue with your Nittos? Is it road noise, ride comfort, or both?

If you don't care about swapping wheels all the time, find a set of 4Runner or GX takeoffs with highway SUV tires.

 

[DS470]

What's the issue with your Nittos? Is it road noise, ride comfort, or both?

If you don't care about swapping wheels all the time, find a set of 4Runner or GX takeoffs with highway SUV tires.

It's mostly road noise and I find that they hunt around on the freeway (following grooves etc).

I think finding a set of OEM takeoffs is my best bet as you suggest.

Thanks

 

[jiggletits]

470 take-offs are a dime a dozen. 460 take-offs would look dumb as s*** on a 470 IMO.

 

[McDuff123]

I'm currently running Nitto ridge grapplers with 17" TRD wheels. While they're great offroad / in the mountains, they aren't the best for 4 hour road trips.

Can anyone recommend a good wheel / tire combo that would maintain a similar overall diameter, yet be suited for longer trips that have no offroading involved? Thinking a 20" rim with a 50 sidewall tire?

Thanks in advance!

View attachment 2874314

Something like this would solve a lot of your needs.

Toyota 4Runner / tacoma wheels and tires - auto wheels & tires - by...

Toyota 4Runner / tacoma 265/70R17 wheels are tires with lugs $350

portland.craigslist.org

They are take-offs from 4Runners. Plentiful and cheap.
I’ve been running them on my GX470 and trailers for a few years now.
I have 255-75/17 BFG KO2’s mounted on them. These are available in load range “C”, which I find to be better than E for my purposes. They will rub unless you‘re lifted a few inches…
All wheels and tires in these pics are the same. Rims are powder coated.

 

[Toyoland66]

@DS470 what size are you running currently? Lifted? And if so do you have aftermarket UCAs?

I ran 255/80 RGs on my tacoma with a 100 mile/day commute and was pretty happy with them.

 

[DS470]

@Toyoland66, currently running 275/70/17 RGs with 2.5" dobinson lift and aftermarket UCAs (forget which tbh), so I can run a bunch of sizes.

I had to take the car about 200 miles on my 265/65/17 winter tires (Nokian Hakkapeliitta) and noticed the ride was so much smoother and quieter than with the RGs. I'm leaning towards a 17" solution with the ultimate freeway tires as long as they doesn't turn to mush in the turns.

@McDuff123 I like those ones a lot, and nice touch matching the teardrop. Since I already have the Nitto Ridge Grapplers I don't think the KO2s would fit the bill. Basically just want to be able to throw on a set of ultimate freeway cruisers for the smoothest ride possible. The rest of the time around town / offroad I'll be running the RGs.

Thanks

 

[AmericanKing]

Something like this would solve a lot of your needs.

Toyota 4Runner / tacoma wheels and tires - auto wheels & tires - by...

Toyota 4Runner / tacoma 265/70R17 wheels are tires with lugs $350

portland.craigslist.org

They are take-offs from 4Runners. Plentiful and cheap.
I’ve been running them on my GX470 and trailers for a few years now.
I have 255-75/17 BFG KO2’s mounted on them. These are available in load range “C”, which I find to be better than E for my purposes. They will rub unless you‘re lifted a few inches…
All wheels and tires in these pics are the same. Rims are powder coated.

View attachment 2877419

View attachment 2877420

View attachment 2877422

Really dig you rig. Probably one of the better looking GX imo. Simple and practical . what are your lift specs. How do the 255 ride on the road?