To be honest, I thought 100 would look kinda funny on such narrow tires, but it actually looks really good. Can you compare this setup to wider tires? I’m sure the reduced unsprung mass helps with comfort and component longevity. I’m also guessing that the narrower tire is quieter than the wide one. But when it comes to the actual ride—are there any noticeable downside
99 lx470, 1.5 inch lift vs stock, RTT, fridge, awning, drawers, bumpers, front locker
I swapped to a 255/85/16 or 33.1x10 at4w (C rated duraspec sidewall) from a 285/75/16 or 32.8x11.2 ridge grappler. I had 45k miles on the ridges and now have around 3k on the at4w. For the record offroad grip and mpg are my main focus, we go long distance between gas stations and only go on "hard" trails occasionally, mostly on "easy" or "moderate" offroad trails. I drive pretty slow in all situations. This will be comparing the new behaviors vs the old.
Note: when offroad in any situation both tires are between 20 and 25 psi all around
Ride: At4 is FAR more comfortable in all situations and quieter
Fuel econ: Went from 10.2 mpg combined to 11.4 mpg combined (offroad, highway, city)
Acc: BAD my shift points (1999 4 speed) all changed due to the slower acceleration, this took about 500 miles to settle down, the truck is noticably slower even under full throttle. Offroad OTHER than sand it makes very little difference but around town and freeway very noticeable. I would say it feels similar to fully loaded with people and luggage vs empty. If speed matters this is a bad move. NOTE The fuel economy increase is not related to me driving slower as I need to go the same speeds in order to remain safe in san diego traffic so I am acclerating the same amounts just using more throttle
Braking: Very slightly worse but I only drive like an old man and have not tried to emergency brake so, unknown results
Cornering on road: The at4 give more sure footed and secure grip where the ridge would have grip but was more numb, this is a non issue in the lx470, no difference imho
Desert roads: huge improvement, alot more stable, less erratic steering wheel movements, easier to go over rocky areas
Light sand: needs slightly more throttle but also is more accurate and planted
DEEP Sand: MUCH worse, when driving in deep sand my mpg dropped from 6 with the wide ridges to 3 with the narrow at4, if you are mostly on sand you will hate this tire width, I have to maintain nearly 4k rpm to maintain speed in deep sand vs around 2200 rpm in the wide tire
Rock: exactly the same or slightly better for grip on smooth rocks. But on offcamber or round rocks you need to be alot more careful with tire placement, if you drive well its no issue but if you are new or not very careful you can slide off rocks a bit easier
Offcamber: the only issue here is the narrow tire needs to be on the good grip, if your grip surfaces dont line up your left and right tires might have different levels of traction where the wider tire gave me alot more leeway with tire placement but if you drive very well and are careful its not an issue. I do not feel any more likely to roll over with the narrower footprint at all
Mud: no data
Snow: no data
Rim protection: when aired down the narrow tire provides alot less rim protection in offcamber sitautions, the rim is much more likely to be near the edge and contact the obstacle. when the surface is mostly level (up or down hill but not offcamber) there is no difference
Sidewall protection: according to the wear marks when properly aired down the tire is protected very well, the sidewall expands the armored area as needed and the "weaker" c rated sidewall which is above the middle of the sidewall is not exposed any more than it was on the wider tire.
Overall: great upgrade, especially if you have the 5 speed. If you are an AT tire user I think the C rated tire is without a doubt the way to go, the narrower tire has its benefits depending on what you do but the E rated tire was pretty awful by comparison for daily driving and light to moderate offroading in every category other than deep sand IMHO