Tire tire on the wall…. Who’s the best of them all???

[_Walker_]

So looking to get some new rubber on my 89 BJ74. I was looking at the Toyo M/Ts however im not sure im going to manage to get them to fit as they are only available in a 33” and im a bit worried about contact with the springs on a hard turn, especially if the tires are chained up.

Any other suggestions? Something that can handle snowed over logging roads with relative ease…

The rims I have are 6 ½”x15”

 

[crushers]

Truxus baby, i love them...but sadly i do not own a set...

 

[Joe70]

Depends on what you want to do with them. For Wheeling it's hard to beat Swampers, but they aren't the smoothest ride on pavement.

 

[jfz80]

34x10.5 ltb's.....are you running a lift? or stock? i second the truxxus but have them on the 80. of course w/ lots of snow you might want a wider footprint for floatation.

 

[brownbear]

Toyo M55. Works everywhere for everything. Also a 10 ply tough tire.

 

[widewestcruiser]

I'm looking for new tires as well, had to replace 3 of my original 5 BFG tires within 20000km, and the other 2 look like they might explode due to delamination. Michelin xzl are cheap in Europe, as low as 140 bucks for a 245/100/16 or maybe it was a bit wider, equivalent to a 825/16. Are there any tires available under 10 inches wide and over 34 inches tall? What are ltb's ? Trxus won't fit a 6,5 inch rim unless you go to the 235/85/16. I'm thinking about getting swampers Q78-16, bias ply, do I really need to rattle my brains out with these tires? What else is available?

 

[crushers]

i liked the Buckshot they sold for a while... they were tall and skinny...with WICKED tread depth...

 

[spody]

Mickey Thompson MTZ. I love mine

 

[Axel Von Gardan]

Bogger, nice all terrain tire.

For less off roading, probably Good Year Wrangler, at least its better than BFGoodrich M/T

 

[Axel Von Gardan]

Ohh ship... You want to fit them into 6" wheels, then BFG M/T...;p

 

[_Walker_]

Thanks folks!

Ahhh yes well then comes the next issue, the whole thing about tire width….. As I hear vastly different things from different people. Some say that skinny tires are better as they allow more PSI on the ground RE they dig through the soft stuff in to the hard stuff better. But then you hear people who say that wider is better as it gives more surface area… now I suppose that “better” will be dependant on what conditions your driving on, but lets say the standard west coast rainforest style logging road….. would one be better going to something wider or thicker?

My rims are 6 ½” and at the PO managed to squeeze 31s on…. But I cant seem to find 31s that will fit on a 6 ½” wheel (what’s the danger of using a tires that’s too big for the rim?). I can get 29” M55s that the shop says will fit but that’s it! Anything else and they claim I need to be looking at a bigger wheel. IE Truxus, Toyo MTs, etc… im not sure im keen on stepping down a wheel size from 31s to 29s but these folks seem to claim that it would be better for the truck than stepping up to the 33s of an M55/Truxus/MT etc…


So basically you folks think its better to step down to the 29 M55s OR track down some bigger rims and pop on another set of 31s or perhaps 33s?

 

[tntoyota]

Thanks folks!

Ahhh yes well then comes the next issue, the whole thing about tire width….. As I hear vastly different things from different people. Some say that skinny tires are better as they allow more PSI on the ground RE they dig through the soft stuff in to the hard stuff better. But then you hear people who say that wider is better as it gives more surface area… now I suppose that “better” will be dependant on what conditions your driving on, but lets say the standard west coast rainforest style logging road….. would one be better going to something wider or thicker?

Yes but also dont forget out the tread pattern, like swamper's there wide voids act like less contact than a normal tire, say 9.50 is like hardly anything touching, 10.50 better and so on its not like the contact patch of a BFG AT

Also I believe the narrower contact patch helps in breakage, less foot print to overcome an obstacle.


Flotation is for staying on top, sand *Snow*, deep mud (high weight vehicle mostly)


I would say ICE is another matter, I would want the most weight transfered to the ice as possible.

But as stated above remember the tread pattern

I suppose that “better” will be dependant on what conditions your driving on, but lets say the standard west coast rainforest style logging road….. would one be better going to something wider or thicker?

Ask yourself this

What % am I going to be on paved roads?

How important is the ride quality?...

On-Road: can I do without typical on road handling for off road sake, MPG loss, ?,

Off-Road: can I do without typical off road handling for on road sake, what terrain will I most likely encounter and how much will there be of it, ?


The weight of my rig.


Those are some I would ask myself, as for a recommendation mine will be from this forum, it is full of both those that dont know and those who do, I am not in the mood to debate


I subscribe to Petersens 4Wheel and OFF-ROAD

I like to do what I call Intel, aka Gathering Intelligence, sometimes they get anywhere from 4 different sets of tires to 10 get them all in a control and test them, I refuse to do that I listen to them they have a great Mag I dont.



Thats all I got for now....ADD break!

 

[widewestcruiser]

Another good tire that might suit your needs is the Chinese Westlake tire CR857, this company has had some recall problems in the past but not for any tires shipped to Canada.
Road builders, loggers started using these tires a couple of years ago with great success. They are cheaper then Bridgestone and Toyo 14 ply recaps. We paid 600 bucks out the door for 4 235/85/16.
They have a 10 ply rating and stand about 32 inches tall, they also have a 15 inch tire.
Just for a comparison, we had BFG on the front and Westlake on the rear, both BFG were damaged beyond repair within 2 months.
I just purchased 6 used Michelin xl 900/16 for my BJ74.

 

[crushers]

interesting, never heard of these...got a link?

 

[widewestcruiser]

http://www.rakla.com/
Tires are available at Kal tire
cheers

 

[UpsideDown]

I would vote for getting rid of the 15" rims and getting some 16" units....

Then get some 255/85/16s. It's a good cross-over point for west coast terrain and you can go with 285/75/16 if you want some more width.

I've run tall skinnies, and regular width as well... I tend to prefer a taller skinnier tire for most driving since they have good road manners, lower rolling resistance and do well enough in the bush.

Presently I have 33x12.50x15, 235x85x16, 31x10.5x15, 255x85x16 and have run much larger as well as much smaller... the most reasonable all-rounders are the 255x85x16s.

 

[crushers]

now i don't agree with the advice to "get rid of the 15" rims", there are just as many 15" skinies and a greater variety of tires to chose from...

BUT

16" rims will give you a better selection of 10 ply tires...i.e. actual "truck" tires...

changing to 16" rims is a fad that has gained speed and popularity over the last 10 years. determine what you want to do with the truck, what load capacity the truck will experience and go from there...15" rims have been on Land Cruisers for decades.

 

[crushers]

not when you watch peopel sell perfectly good tires on 15" rims and go to the same size tires on 16" rims...
that is a fad.

now if you want stiffer sidewall, more plys then that is different.

same as the FF fad that went nuts for a few years... if it was to run a better selection of lockers fine but to do it just because it is a cool fad is a waste...

 

[brownbear]

I went 16 for the selection of 10 ply tires.

I Like the 235/85r16 size on a cruiser.

my 15 inch tires were almost new. BUT were 30x9.5x15 in size. I found them too little after I did a 2.5 lift.


Flip a coin. It's all the same. Pick the tire you want in the size you want and go from there. The 16's offer better load ability. The 15's are more economical.

 

[Jim_Hbar]

The problem I have with the 15 inch size, is that there is not a good selection of tread patterns that are suitable for "all season" use in BC, unlike many of the 16" tires available. Most 15" A/T tires are designed for the RWL California market, where "All Terrain" does not include ice and snow..

15" tires typically come in only two flavours; M/T's have big blocks and big voids and are good for mud and corn snow but the pits on ice, and A/T's have smaller blocks with syping(sp?) and small voids that are better on ice and designed for pavement, but the pits in snow and mud. For the driving I do, I like a tire with smaller blocks, good syping, and decent voids - like the M55 Toyo...

That being said, I run 33x10.5 BFG A/T's, and take it real easy is slushy snow conditions, and wish I'd put my Blizzak's on!