Tall skinny tires for mini truck (2 Viewers)

[Adam R]

What is the prevailing thought for tall skinny tires on a mini-truck.

33x10.5x15's or 255/85R16's

Not a whole lot of choices in either size, especially in an all-terrain tire.

So, would you go with E rated 16's or the 15's.

Thanks,

Adam

 

[WckedMidas]

havent had my norunne rlogn enuf to no but on my fj62 i had 34. 10/50 ltbs and loved them in the woods . sucked on the street but always funny to watch the lexus beside u styart looking around for that noise he hears from your tires

 

[legion]

I run Cooper 255/85-16's on an '03 4Door Taco and on my 1985 4Runner. I love 'em. Both are DD trucks so my perspective on the tire isn't an offroader's but they've been great and I've been running them on the Taco for a few years.

Got a studded and siped set for winter and the standard tires for summer. The tall skinnies give me what I'm looking for which is a little higher psi on the contact patch and a little more clearance, too. Mostly for snow though, not mud.

Oddly, you'll find that going from the stock 29" tire to a 31" tire you give up too much gear, possibly because you'd be between intended ratios. Going from a 29" to a 33" though is actually better and if you get in a pickle there's always 4Low.

For a truck being taken off road w/ any regularity though you'd want to go with 4:88's. I'm ordering them today because I live in the mountains and the stock gearing w/ 33's works well but it does make each gear a little too long. Freeway's outstanding though.

 

[legion]

This is the 4RNR with 255/85-16's and OME 2.5" suspension.

 

[Adam R]

I'm running a turbo diesel with 4.30's so a bigger tire is only going to help my highway speeds. Currently I have 31's, so an extra 2 inches will give me another 5 or so mph at the same rpm's.

Which Coopers are you running? This is daily driver that needs to do farily well on snow/ice now that we live here outside of Salt Lake City and up against the mountains.

What pressure are you running your tires at?

Thanks,

Adam

 

[legion]

Cooper Discoverer S/T 255/85-16.

Not sure what pressure I'm running right now but normally in the winter I run the back at around 15% lower PSI than the front but that's not too helpful w/ out knowing exactly what the front's set at.

The answer in winter is if it's slick out and you're having a hard time w/ traction; air down a few and it'll be better.

That 2" or so stripe of siping down the middle seems to help more than I expected, too.

I've also run 235/85 commercial tires from Costco. The did a good job but didn't have quite the footprint and weren't quite as sharp mounted.

Where I live it's not uncommon in the winter to get pretty tall drifts in the driveway. Three footers are pretty common. The Taco running these Coopers will hammer right through 'em. Not sure w/ the 4RNR yet but I'm guessing it will as well. The best benchmark I could offer is that I'm not a spring chicken and have run many different summer and winter treads over the last 40 years or so. I can't recall any that I liked better than these Coopers for a Toyota 4x in the conditions I run across.

 

[Adam R]

Thank you again for the feedback. I'll likely give them a try. I was really hoping to avoid going back to a BFG tire and the Coopers seem to get a lot of positive reviews.Adam

 

[legion]

Thank you again for the feedback. I'll likely give them a try. I was really hoping to avoid going back to a BFG tire and the Coopers seem to get a lot of positive reviews.Adam

Glad to help. The over simplified comparison between BFG and Cooper?

BFG typically uses a softer compound and focuses on the car market.

Cooper typically uses a harder compound and focuses on the truck market.

You'll probably find the Cooper's last pretty well but you might find a downside, too, depending on how hard you push them in other than DD conditions.

 

[fzjeighty]

Don't rule out the 235/85/16. I run this size on my 04 Taco Dbl Cab. Plenty of tires to choose from in this size. Right at 32" tall and 9.5" section width.

 

[cadot]

Don't rule out the 235/85/16. I run this size on my 04 Taco Dbl Cab. Plenty of tires to choose from in this size. Right at 32" tall and 9.5" section width.

i also like the 235/85/16 size but wish they came in D or C load. i personally think anything over 9.5 width and below 33" height is no longer skinny. 33x9.5, now that's skinny. too bad they don't make that size anymore in radials. most tall skinny sizes are in bias ply tires.

i run 7.00x15 which is about a 30" x 8" tire because i like the skinny look with stock rims. a 30x9.5 doesn't look TALL and skinny, they look proportionally average. when i find some 16" stock rims i will go to the 235/85/16 which is 32"x9". a 7.5x16 is TALL AND SKINNY at 32x8x16.

 

[legion]

I've got a studded set of the 235/85-16's too. Outstanding tire but the difference between the look of the 255/85 and the 235/85 is big. You'll notice the 255 and it'll look like a bigger and more aggressive tire by far. The 235's you'll probably not notice at all.

Also, if you're running an 8" wide alloy wheel the 235/85 may be just a tad too skinny to fit and finding skinnier 16" alloys to fit your toyota with the right offset, etc. will be a trick.

If you're running 16" skinny steelies with the 235/85 there's a better chance you'll be within the mfg's wheel width spec for 235's.

The further you dip into the tire / wheel swap the more snags crop up. If you go w/ a 16 x 8 wheel though your future options get pretty broad. Skinnier and your options will top out quick.

 

[fzjeighty]

More Tall and Skinny

I believe ALL of the 16" OEM wheels on the trucks and 4runners are 7" widths. The 80 series had the 8" wide wheels 93-97. A 7" wheels will work fine with a 235/85/16.

Check out the specs on the BFG MT 255/80-17 for tall and skinny. OEM FJ wheels would do the trick in either alloy or steelies (17 x 7) except the Trail Team/TRD edition wheels which are 16".

I think a 255/85/16 would be pushing the stock gearing on a V6 taco/4runner. I notice a difference with the 235/85/16 on my 04 (3.4L) taco. The additional un-sprung weight for the 255 doesn't help either.

 

[legion]

I think a 255/85/16 would be pushing the stock gearing on a V6 taco/4runner. I notice a difference with the 235/85/16 on my 04 (3.4L) taco. The additional un-sprung weight for the 255 doesn't help either.

The add'l unsprung weight hasn't been an issue from my perspective. The 3rd's have. Matter of fact I have a fresh set of 4.88:1 gearing en route right now which will bring gearing and speedo/odo back in line.

The 255/85-16 is @ 32.5" in diameter and that's a far cry from the 29's most of these older trucks came with. The initial result of the swap is add'l clutch wear, speedo's off by maybe 18%, the step to get in is just high enough to make it a tad awkward for my 5' 9" self (w/ the OME re-spring), and you'll start wondering if an upgrade to the hydraulic brake master cylinder might not be a bad idea after all.

If your wheel bearings are worn you'll get a little more wander and a little faster wear on them with the big rubber as well.

 

[Adam R]

As a follow up, I went with 235/85-16 Cooper M&S's mounted on a 16x7 wheel.

I'm very happy with the combo and they run great. As far as I can tell, they ride the same as my Load C 31/10.5-15's.

Adam R.

 

[ajordan1975]

Why do you want to run an E rated tire in a mini?
I run E on my F250 because I haul the rock crawler, boat, and whatever else w/ it.
My .02 is you don't need an E rated tire on such a lite truck. You will get a stiffer sidewall, but I don't see any other benifts.

 

[Adam R]

Unfortunately there are very few options for a tall skinny tire these days, especially if you have sworn off BFG's and you want a dedicated snow tire. You can't even find 255/85-16's in an AT tread let alone a snow tire.

Honestly, I was really worried about the ride, but it rides no different than my Load range c tires they replaced. Keep in mind that solid axle mini's are one notch smoother than an 1850's prairie wagon, but I'm perfectly satisifed with my 32 x 9.5 snow tires. I'd do it again in a hearbeat.

Adam

 

[ajordan1975]

I didn't even know they still made snow tires. I haven't seen any since I was a kid. I remember my dad changing to snow tires in the mid 70's and early 80's but that's the last time I remember seeing them.
Why have you sworn off BFG'S? Just curious.

 

[Adam R]

I've had a terrible time with BFG's staying round and keeping them balanced. While they have very good tread designs, the carcass is not up to my liking. I've had two sets of AT's and 1 set of MT's over the past 10 years and several of the tires from each set were replaced due to bad road force balance runouts. I wish the 33x10.5 tire was a more common size, but it's fallen out of favor with almost everyone except BFG and interco.Adam

 

[ajordan1975]

I see.
I've got around 55k on E rated BFG A/T's haven't had one problem w/ them. About to by my second set soon. Had them on every Toyota I've owned till I got my current set of Irocs. I'm a fan, but we all know what we like.

 

[curlyeagle]

Hey adam, are u located in tooele? Anyways, tall skinny tires are great on a mini. I ran a BFG MUD TERRAIN 34x9.5x15 when I lived in alaska. Where I use to go up for moose hunting, a lot of the guys would run the tall skinny. Old school thinking before the balloon tires, the skinny would cut thru the mud/snow to the solid and grab. I had a 1980 toyota with a stockish 20R motor. Being that the 4.30 were only in the '79/'80, I was still able to get around. It wasn't a heavy tire even thou it was tall. When I wore them out and when to a 33x12.50x15 of the same tire, they were heavy and noticed a bit of rolling resistance. Fuel milage dropped. Had to warm the 20R over a bit with a bore job, cam, header, and bigger carb. Anyways, its cool looking and different, u see very few out there with tall skinny anymore. Goodluck