Sort of regretting 33's...

Hey all,

I got 285/70r17 Duratracs back in the Spring and I'm not so sure it was the best idea. Sure, the clearance and performance off-road and has been awesome, but it seems to be coming at the expense of a lot of other things. For one, I had to put Spidertrax on to clear the UCA arms and such. Prior to putting the tires and spacers on I noted that the ride quality was very nice compared to my old 97. By that I mean, it wasn't super squirrelly on the highway at speed and the tires were very nicely balanced.

I'm wondering if the spacers and 33's are exacerbating issues that might have been present but less noticeable.

1.) I definitely need a road force balance since there is pretty bad vibrations at around 70mph (unless we think it's related to wheel bearings).

2.) I took it for a lifetime alignment at Firestone and they couldn't get the wheel straight. They claimed it's because my rack bushings are bad. I took it a few weeks later to a different firestone and they got it aligned but the wheel still isn't straight, but they didn't say anything about the rack.

3.) Steering is really squirrelly at highway speeds again.

4.) There is a creaking noise when turning the wheel when stopped that I was told is my uniball UCAs. I lubed them up with a dry teflon lube (TriFlow) and it helps, but it still seems like the car strains to turn these tires.

Anyone have any ideas? Firestone said my tie-rods are rock solid, and I've confirmed that at home when it's lifted up by rocking the tire on the vertical axis. However, I think there is play on the horizontal axis. Doesn't that means wheel bearings? I've looked up the DIY on wheel bearings and it seems a bit over my head since I don't have a press or anything close to it. I'm thinking of taking it to my trusted indy yota mechanic and seeing if they can just diagnose it and go from there.

What say we all?

Um... I hate to say this, but its your tires. I had 3 (THREE) different SETS of duratracs installed on my truck because the shop could not get them to balance. All duratracs seem to be bad from the factory, I have never heard of someone with duratracs that actually had them perfectly balanced and didn't wobble on the freeway. As soon as I switched to non egg-shaped tires from a reputable manufacturer, all the BS was gone. The tires balanced normally, there were no low or high speed vibrations, there was no longer any shaking inside the truck and suddenly shops stopped telling me stupid things like "your steering rack is bent" and other excuses to justify why the tires could not be balanced.

Currently I have 315/65/17 general red's on the truck which are even bigger and wider than the duratracs and they work wonderfully. Also- you are running 0 offset aftermarket wheels, right? If not there is no hope.

Can't speak for the 4runner, but I do have 37 inch tires on my offroad rig which is a full size Bronco and have been running large tires for almost 15 years..

with larger tires you can expect the following..faster wear on steering and suspension components, change in ride quality, change in handling and responsiveness and reduction in braking. Still those things can be mitigated if you upgrade the associated components..which I've done on my rig..

wheel bearings are diagnosed by jacking up the front end, grabbing the tire(top and bottom) and attempting to shake..there shouldn't be any play there. if there is bearings are usually shot and bearings do wear faster with larger tires..

While your at it have the mechanic check you ball joints..excessive play there can cause all sorts of issues..

honestly, you shouldn't need to have those tires road force balanced..I'm running 37 inch Toyo MT's and can do 80 mph on the road with no vibration..I'd have those tires checked to make sure one isn't out of round, then look into getting them bead balanced..good luck.

Had similar balancing issues on only 31" Duratracs on my GF's car. I ran 285/70/17 Toyo RT's for about 10,000 miles on my '03 V8. No vibrations and I never got the feeling it was too much tire for my T4R

I just upgraded to 35 x 12.50 Nitto Trail Grapplers and I have no regrets. I actually regret not going 35's and Long Travel right out of the gate but the budget couldn't handle a $10K hit hahaha

I have 285/70/17 duratracs and have no problem. However, I have replaced both of my front wheel bearings prior to installing the duratracs.

You can buy the front hub assemblies and swap them out instead of pressing bearings. Easier than pressing bearings imo.

Marion Bumper2Bumper Automotive

But they look so good!

JAXJeremy said:

with larger tires you can expect the following..faster wear on steering and suspension components, change in ride quality, change in handling and responsiveness and reduction in braking. Still those things can be mitigated if you upgrade the associated components..which I've done on my rig..

Click to expand...

I went the opposite, previous owner had 265/75/16 Big O Bigfoot AT's, I got a set of 245/75/16 Hankook Dynapro HT. Right after, noticed a brake vibration that was probably being absorbed by the bigger tires, new pads calipers and rotors and it brakes very smooth now. Just to clarify, I am going to use this as a daily driver now, and don't plan to off-road or drive in winter, that'll be for the Camry...

jfry008 said:

I have 285/70/17 duratracs and have no problem. However, I have replaced both of my front wheel bearings prior to installing the duratracs.

You can buy the front hub assemblies and swap them out instead of pressing bearings. Easier pressing bearings imo.

Marion Bumper2Bumper Automotive

Click to expand...

Sorry to bump the old thread, but are you saying it's easier to press the bearings or to get this front hub assemblies from that link instead?

atalarico said:

Sorry to bump the old thread, but are you saying it's easier to press the bearings or to get this front hub assemblies from that link instead?

Click to expand...

It's easier (assuming you dont have a press at home) to buy the complete hub assemblies and simply bolt them on. I'm actually waiting on a set from him right now as both mine are just now dying at 207k (one has play and the other is roaring).