Tyre choice?

[melias24]

Hey everyone, so my FJ61 (2h turbo swapped) has 33x12.5xr15 mud terrain tyres on it, and the whole steering and handling felt very sloppy (as i would expect) and unstable. I also noticed slight speed wobbles as well and 70kmh.

I've checked all the front end such as tie rods, wheel bearing play etc. The only thing it hasn't had is a wheel alignment or the steering box adjusted. I swapped the tyres over to some cheese cutter 31" tyres (from my donor 60) and it changed the whole way it handles, it feels like a race car now!

My question is, could the big mud terrains be causing my rig to handle badly? Would all terrains in 33x12.5xr15 make it feel better? I really don't have much experience when it comes to tyres or knowing what to buy etc. so any help i really do appreciate.

Cheers,

~Elias

 

[lovetoski]

MT tires will be rougher, and louder, but if they are good quality tires and balanced correctly your truck should handle “badly.” Perhaps the MTs on your truck are not balanced?
As to what type of tire to purchase, without knowing how you plan to use your cruiser it’s impossible to advise.

 

[melias24]

MT tires will be rougher, and louder, but if they are good quality tires and balanced correctly your truck should handle “badly.” Perhaps the MTs on your truck are not balanced?
As to what type of tire to purchase, without knowing how you plan to use your cruiser it’s impossible to advise.

I'll mostly be doing road driving. But i do want to offroad more in it as well. A tyre that is somewhere in between would be good.

I'll balance the tyres and see if that fixes them, thanks for your reply.

 

[60Works]

Yes, large mud terrain tires can wear poorly so that they cause high speed death wobble, especially if the steering is loose or out of alignment.

Adjust the box, align the front end, and replace the tires. You should consider replacing the steering dampener if it original or shows wear. If you don't know the age or origin of the tie/relay rod ends, you might consider replacing them even if they seem tight. The relay rod ends are adjustable.

For new tires, I've always liked BF Goodrich All Terrains. They are a very capable off road tire yet still wear well and are reasonably quiet on the highway. What size you get depends on many factors like expected use, rim width, spring lift, etc.

Good luck.

 

[FordPrefect]

Hi Elias,
we run 31x10.5x15 on standard Sahara rims,
Currently we have Goodyear wrangler all terrain.
They are a good highway tire and sit straight and true at 110kmh for long distance touring.
Currently in Canberra for Summernats again.
But they are not good off road. I usually engage 4wd to get through paddocks with wet grass.
Your answer may be two sets of wheels and tyres with a rattle gun.
Regards
alex

 

[NMC_EXP]

On my FJ60 I went from 33x10.5x15 BGG AT to 235x85x16 General Grabber ATs.

Handling on the highway is noticeably better (could be new tread as opposed to worn). Offroad steering effort is reduced.

Seems to me that wide tires put more strain and therefore wear and tear on the steering components.