Talk me out of 305/65/18s... instead of 285/70/18s

[Manhattan]

I'm on my second set of BFG 285/70/18 ATs - the current being the KO2s. They're perfect. They ride great. They're quiet. They're great off road (ih8mud). They've never left me stranded in snow (I live in Atlanta). And, they fit like BFG made them for the 100 - even thinking of the spare well. I'm going to end up with around 60,000 miles on this set. Yeah, 60,000 doing a 4-tire rotation every 5k.

So, of course it makes sense to change. But... I saw one of y'all's (yeah, Atlanta) 100s on 305s and thought "Damn... that looks better." That's it. It's just the looks.

Everything I've read tells me there's no rubbing with 305/65/18s. My question or concern comes down to two points - one subjective, one objective...

Objective: What are you doing about a spare? Is this the final nudge toward a swing-away?
Subjective: After going to steel wheels and 33s, am I going to notice or care about another couple pounds of rubber spinning around under this 5,600 lb truck?

Thanks!

See... plenty of room

 

[CBeckFJ]

I'm going to 295/75/r18's when I replace the worn ones on my LX. 285's are too small, and 305's are just a tad too big for DD. 305's would most likely require a swing out for a spare.

 

[Biga27110]

No i wont talk you out of it. This will be my next tire. According the the forums 305 fit under the spare dont rub and are good to go.

 

[slacker24-7]

Aren’t both basicly a 33” tire ? Is there that much difference in width/OD

 

[FxFormat]

Yeah don't do 305/65/18 looks ridiculous and too big

 

[Manhattan]

FxFormat, I didn't want to out you. It was YOUR truck that did it.... love it!

 

[1NTRANSIT]

I had a similar debate some time ago but decided to stay with the 275s for all of the aforementioned reasons.

Hope the 305 crowd chimes in here, I'm curious how much power and fuel economy suffers after jumping from 275 to 305. My 100 spends most of its life on-road so I was concerned about the rolling resistance of a 305 and didnt want to gamble on a performance hit.

 

[FxFormat]

I didn't notice the power loss, truck was slow before, it's slow now lol. MPG is what it is, we gotta pay to play. Truck looks good and i think this is my new favorite tire size. Looks a lot meaner than 275s but doesn't have that big impact hit of a true 35.

 

[ga12r1]

I ran 305/65/18 KO2s on my 06 with factory wheels and no spacers. It definitely looks “right” for the 100. Fills the wheel well, is pretty much flush, and doesn’t rub.

I saw no real difference in MPG coming from a smaller KO2 and the power wasn’t changed at all. I think it’s the perfect tire for the 100. It looks way better on the 100 than a smaller tire and anything bigger would require a re-gear to be right. It hits that sweet spot.

 

[abuck99]

Did you mean to type 285/70 in your title or 275/70 or 295/70? Dont think there is a 285/70-18KO2

I like FX’s 305’s as well. You’ll want to consider the rim width on your steelies (8”?) and make sure the wider profile of the 305 will work acceptably in low pressure situations- wont have a bead failure (unseating).

275/70-18 fits 7-8.5” rims 58.8lbs
305/65-18 fits 8.5-11” rims 62.4lbs

So with 305’s you’ll be under the low side of the rim width spec. Optimally you want to be right in the middle of the spec.

 

[Manhattan]

Yep - meant 275/60/18. See what happens when a set of tires lasts 60,000 miles

My steel wheels have the exact specs of the OE alloy wheels - width, backspacing, etc. Think that makes them too narrow for 305?

And can anyone - first hand - confirm the 305/65/18 KM2s fit in the spare we’ll?

 

[ga12r1]

Yep - meant 275/60/18. See what happens when a set of tires lasts 60,000 miles

My steel wheels have the exact specs of the OE alloy wheels - width, backspacing, etc. Think that makes them too narrow for 305?

And can anyone - first hand - confirm the 305/65/18 KM2s fit in the spare we’ll?

My 06 was my daily and didnt have to do any trail duty so I didn’t run a matching spare. I did however run a 285/75/17 (ST Maxx 34.06x11.1)in the spare tire location on my LX. I feel confident in saying if that 285/75/17 fit without an Issue the 305/65/18(KO2 33.5x12.2) shouldn’t be a problem. It’s the height that I believe would be the issue, and the 305 is shorter.

 

[abuck99]

8” then. But its only slightly under (12mm) You may want to ask an off road tire & wheel guru about the cons’ of wider section width on narrower measuring rim width.

The 305/65 is about 9-10 mm taller than the 275/70 I think theres room for your spare but it will stick down further since its wider profile.

 

[ga12r1]

You can also do the spare tire mod to lift the tire up an inch or two so as to keep it from hanging low.

 

[krice118]

will 285 76 16 fit with no rubbing?

305s look amazing - Curious does the wider tire wear out front end parts quicker than a thinner tire? Thinking of steering rack stress or would the difference be negligible

 

[1NTRANSIT]

I ran 305/65/18 KO2s on my 06 with factory wheels and no spacers. It definitely looks “right” for the 100. Fills the wheel well, is pretty much flush, and doesn’t rub.

I saw no real difference in MPG coming from a smaller KO2 and the power wasn’t changed at all. I think it’s the perfect tire for the 100. It looks way better on the 100 than a smaller tire and anything bigger would require a re-gear to be right. It hits that sweet spot.

View attachment 1951466

Did you sell this rig to a guy in ATL? I see an identical truck around my hood weekly.

 

[ga12r1]

Did you sell this rig to a guy in ATL? I see an identical truck around my hood weekly.

Could be. I traded it in at a Butler Lexus in Macon for my LX570. It was clean. They sold it in less than a week, the day after they put it online I think.

 

[Manhattan]

That mod is more of a mod on the newer 100s - the charcoal canister is in the way - needs to be relocated to do lift the spare. But, that does raise (sorry) the point... a 305 spare puts the sidewall even closer to the ground.

 

[abuck99]

Did you sell this rig to a guy in ATL? I see an identical truck around my hood weekly.

If its an LC it might be my truck youre seeing if its sandysprings area. There is another semi built black LX nearby but it came from California- sorry for the hijack

 

[ga12r1]

Its might be my truck youre seeing if its sandysprings area

I thought he was talking about my Classic Silver 06. I definitely did not trade in my 2000 LX!!!