Hi there!

Used to lurk here heavily back when I put my lift on back in 2013. It's time to replace my tires and I am so torn between going to 285's or keeping with the slightly bigger 265/70/17.

My main concern with sizing up is that I have a v6. I don't get great gas mileage, but I have a pretty light foot, it's just that I mostly drive around town and work is less than two miles away - so my gas mileage may get pretty bad, but I'm not filling up very often. I live in central VA and it's hilly, but not anything sustained, like when I used to live in Denver and had to head up thousands of feet into the mtns every weekend.

Potential routes forward:
-Replace my 265/70/17's with the same size. Drive them again for 5+ years. By that time I will probably have a new daily driver, but will hold on to the 4runner. Can lift again, do steel bumper, 285's, have it as a fun weekend car.

-Upgrade to 285's now. No offroad use except the very rare fire road for camping or something. No towing - do not think LT is necessary, though I know some tires won't have p-rated option at that size (lookin at you, BFG KO2). Lose MPG and some power. Would like to find a tire with the best balance of good looks but relatively lighter weight. I understand that having a lift and going to 285s will lose MPG and power, I am just trying to move forward in a way that might minimize those effects.

I have loved my Toyo Open Country AT2's but the P-rated version (I guess AT3 now) looks a little tame. So then I thought the Falken WildPeaks looked awesome, but they are so heavy! Guess that is a trade-off. KO2's look good to me, about the same weight as Falken Wildpeak P-rated at ~51 lbs. Thoughts between those two? Other tires to consider if going to 285? If I stick with 265, how much might I notice the increased weight of either tire (without being wider/taller)? I believe my Toyos are only 39 lbs, while the Falkens are 47 and the BFG's are 45.

Also - I am not especially fond of the pizza cutter look, if I go bigger it will be to 285's. And let's be real, the only reason I'm doing this is for looks.

Lastly, and I am sorry because I know there is information out there, but what is the latest best practice with respect to suspension requirements for 33's? I thought it was body mount chop and everything but then I realized that was for 35's. As I recall, I will need to upgrade my upper control arms. Will my current lift suffice? ::checks signature:: ... Bilstein 5100s at 1.75", FJ springs, 1" spacer in the rear. From the lift/tire sticky, I would think I might want a tad more lift. Can I just replace all my springs for that lift and keep the Bilsteins where they are? Maybe add a half inch spacer to the rear driver's side to even things out? Remove front mud flap, push liner forward, cut a little bit of the bumper?..(I already did the latter two, but still have the mud flap on).

While this is a ultimately a choice of personal preference, I appreciate and opinions or insights.

4th Gen Suspension Options/FAQ

Based on your desired trying to balance look and everyday use without heavy off roading, my recommendation is 265 70 18 with new wheels or 275 70 17s. The 275s look pretty good on the 4th gen

How do you like your Falkens? My thinking at the minute is keep my size for now and go KO2 or Falken, depending on how pricing sorts out. Costco carries the BFG which is nice. Both will be a lot heavier than my current tire but I think that doesn't cause too many issues

I actually bought them at the time because they were listed on amazon for $100 per tire.

They were tough to balance at first and for the first 1000 miles or so loud and caused some vibration, since that time have loved them.

When theres a sale or small price break, my next step is 255 80 17s and am planning wildpeaks

I just went to 285/75/16 on my 04. I wanted the wildpeaks but at $300 a tire I just couldn’t do it this time so I went with the General Grabber AT/X. I have the Toytec ultimate 3” lift and total chaos UCA’s. And I believe my wheels came off of a ‘14 Tacoma TRD pro. I didn’t have to trim any bumpers or move any plastics forward. But I did have to trim plastics on both front fenders towards the door near the body mounts. We also drove it into a big ditch and noticed at full compression at full lock both sides were slightly rubbing the body mounts. So I cut a small chunk out of the body mount trimmed it up flipped it around and welded it back into place. That gave me about another inch of clearance and no more rubbing for me.

Attached Images

 

Thank you for the insight!

You should look into 255/75r17 tires. They’re only 1cm narrower than 265s, so not exactly “pizza cutters”. I never noticed the difference. They’re also 32” tall. I had to do a little trimming to fit them along with a 2.5”/1.5” spacer lift, but no BMC or the need for new UCAs.

On the tire rack website, if you exclude winter tires, it’s about a 50/50 mix of P and LT tires, with many of the LT tires being mud tires. I have Yokohama Geolandar AT tires in the 255/75r17 size, and I’ve been very happy with them.

255/80r17 Toyo AT2 33” tires in the photo below, along with a 3”/2” susp lift and a 1” body lift. New UCAs, but no BMC (yet).

A good option for a 285/70r17 LT tire that doesn't weigh much more than some 265/70r17's would be the BFG K02 in C-Load. These weigh 51lbs per tire, whereas the "P" or "S" rated version of a 265/70r17 Falken WildPeak weighs 45lbs.

Falken seem to run on the heavier side in general. For comparison vs the BFG size I mentioned, their 285/70r17 C-Load WildPeak weigh 63lbs per tire! Also keep in mind - that C load BFG is obviously much more durable that a P or S rated tire...and still light for what it is. P rated 285/70r17 WildPeak weighs 50lbs and the new Toyo OC ATIII weighs 47lbs....all three are close in price. So, why not get the more durable tire (C load)?

Before my BFG's, I was running 265/70r17 Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015's that came with the truck. These only weigh 41lbs per tire. Adding 10lbs per with the BFG's honestly didn't effect gas mileage nearly as much as you'd think it would. I have a v6 as well, btw.

By running a 3"/2" lift and some aftermarket UCA's you'll have no problems clearing the 33's. I am running OME 884's in the front with no spacer, so i'm probably more like 2.5" lift in front. After moving fender liner forward and a very minor bumper trim, I have zero clearance issues at all even at full stuff. **EDIT** depending on the backspacing of the wheels you go with, you may end up needing to do more or less trimming than what I had to do.

Hope some of this rambling helps!

Thanks a lot. I was going back and forth so much but my tires are 7.5 years old with a couple of nails stuck in them - I had to finally make a choice today. Went with BFG KO2's (C-load) but at 265. I am glad to hear the added weight was not too bad on the v6. Part of why I went this route was to see how it handles the mild increase in weight. I appreciate everyone's input. In 5 years or whenever I replace these, I will plan to have a new daily driver and this will be a fun weekend truck - and 285's it will be.

This does look good, I will admit! An idea to consider when I do want to get to 33". Gotta get a feel for how they look from the front and back though!