For 3 years our family vehicle was a JDM 80 which came with 285/75/16 Yokohama ATs. They wore out and I replaced them with 285 Duratracs.
Then I bought my USDM truck and did my big swap. Same diesel engine, but this time with manual tranny and part-time 4wd. Also, the truck came with decent stock Michelin 275/70/16 LTX. This set up gave me a full 18% increase in fuel economy vs the JDM truck. Not sure how much of this is attributable to tranny/t-case/tires.
We did a big trip down to Baja, and I thought I'd burn off the Michelins on the I5 and Mex 1 and buy some tall skinny 33s when I got home. Had my heart set on the new Cooper ST Maxx 255/85/16. I removed my fender flares when I did my engine swap and filled the holes nicely, blended the paint fairly well, etc. So my stock Michelins are pretty much flush or maybe stick out 1/8 inch. Figured tall skinnies would tuck under better and throw less mud up my truck when we got home.
50,000 kms later and the Michelins are still on. Getting a little low on tread, but I just haven't been able to justify replacing them. They handle the highway great (which is 99.9999% where I drive) and are fine on gravel roads. Even aired them down on the beach in Mexico and they were just fine in soft sand. I really do not need aggressive tread as I never drive in mud.
But... looks like a cord snapped and I got a big bulge in the tread on one tire. The tread is getting low on all 4, so it's time to replace. But what do I do? I wanted the tall, skinny 33, but I really don't want to go back to an AT.
-Is there any choice for a tall skinny with highway tread that I haven't figured out yet? What about delivery van tires?
-If I stick with 31 Michelins or similar, should I consider going a bit narrower since I don't have fender flares?
-Should I suck it up and pay the extra fuel and get the 255 ST Maxx? Also, I think they burn off in about 50,000 kms whereas the Michelins last about double that..........
I know the 'mud community loves to over-think tires
So looking forward to hearing various perspectives!
Then I bought my USDM truck and did my big swap. Same diesel engine, but this time with manual tranny and part-time 4wd. Also, the truck came with decent stock Michelin 275/70/16 LTX. This set up gave me a full 18% increase in fuel economy vs the JDM truck. Not sure how much of this is attributable to tranny/t-case/tires.
We did a big trip down to Baja, and I thought I'd burn off the Michelins on the I5 and Mex 1 and buy some tall skinny 33s when I got home. Had my heart set on the new Cooper ST Maxx 255/85/16. I removed my fender flares when I did my engine swap and filled the holes nicely, blended the paint fairly well, etc. So my stock Michelins are pretty much flush or maybe stick out 1/8 inch. Figured tall skinnies would tuck under better and throw less mud up my truck when we got home.
50,000 kms later and the Michelins are still on. Getting a little low on tread, but I just haven't been able to justify replacing them. They handle the highway great (which is 99.9999% where I drive) and are fine on gravel roads. Even aired them down on the beach in Mexico and they were just fine in soft sand. I really do not need aggressive tread as I never drive in mud.
But... looks like a cord snapped and I got a big bulge in the tread on one tire. The tread is getting low on all 4, so it's time to replace. But what do I do? I wanted the tall, skinny 33, but I really don't want to go back to an AT.
-Is there any choice for a tall skinny with highway tread that I haven't figured out yet? What about delivery van tires?
-If I stick with 31 Michelins or similar, should I consider going a bit narrower since I don't have fender flares?
-Should I suck it up and pay the extra fuel and get the 255 ST Maxx? Also, I think they burn off in about 50,000 kms whereas the Michelins last about double that..........
I know the 'mud community loves to over-think tires
So looking forward to hearing various perspectives!
