'03 v8 Sport Build

[rothgyr]

Took the 4runner out this weekend for a camping trip in the Manti-La Sal area in Utah, and was very impressed with the way it ate everything I threw at it. My daughter was very vocal about wanting to go over more bumps and making more mud splashes.

My buddy shredded a tire on an ATV trail, and we spent an hour or so trying to get the thing lifted on the crappy jacks we had on us. Ended up using a few flat rocks and three pieces of firewood topped with a children's songbook for support under the jack. I've never been more grateful for making campfire singing a family camping tradition.

Needless to say, we came away thinking about getting better recovery gear. I'm definitely open to suggestions there.

I checked my spare and it's a 265/65/r17, and the rest are 265/70/r17. I'm tempted to get a used 265/70/r17 tire and having it mounted to the spare rim when I put the TRD wheels on, just for the peace of mind. I'd have hated to do much wheeling out of there with a smaller tire, had it been my tire that had shredded.

Pics of the 4runner during the camping trip:

 

[rothgyr]

Check your DMs

Done. Thanks!

 

[rothgyr]

So after getting my TRD wheels in, I've been thinking a lot about tires. My original plan was to go with 255/80/17, either Toyo AT IIIs or Nitto Ridge Grapplers.

However, after doing camping trails on my stock wheels with 265/70/17 Bridgestone cheapies (Dueller H/T 684 II), I'm not certain that I need 33" tires at all, and that it might cause more problems for me than fix - fitting a 33.3" Nitto in the spare tire spot would be problematic on the V8, fitting a spare tire carrier/bumper is obscenely costly and heavy, and above all, the 255/80/17 tire options are all E rated.

If I go with 265/75/17, there are more tire options, and a couple to choose from with a C load rating, which means better MPG, softer ride, better airing down for washboard roads, and it's still tougher than my SL rated cheapies I'm running now. On a plus side, no real chance of rubbing during full stuff, no trimming, and I can fit a full sized spare in the spare spot underneath without issues.

That'd narrow my options down to the Duratracs or KO2s in C rating for 255/75/17. I've heard better things about the KO2s than Duratracs at this point, so that's probably the route I'll go down.

That being said, if someone has fit the Ridge Grapplers under a V8 and had a decent ride on the E tires in 255/80/17s, I'm all ears. I could still be swayed to the 255/80 camp, because, well... 33" tires on a 4runner are freaking gorgeous.

For reference, because whenever I start building something I have to have a spreadsheet:

255/75/17 specs
Goodyear Duratrac SL: 42 lbs, 32.10", $194
BFG KO2 C1: 46 lbs, 32.05", $244
Cooper ST MAXX C1: 54 lbs, 31.77", $235

255/80/17 specs
Toyo AT III E1: 53 lbs, 33.07", $203
Nitto Ridge Grappler E1: 55 lbs, 33.31", $247
Cooper ST MAXX E1: 58 lbs, 32.80", $240

265/70/17 specs
Bridgestone Dueller H/T 684 II SL (current tire): 40 lbs, 31.70", $140
Goodyear Duratrac C1: 45 lbs, 31.70, $208
BFG KO2 C1: 48 lbs, 31.65, $207

285/70/17 specs
BFG KO2 C1: 52 lbs, 32.80", $243

EDIT: specs are from discount tire, except for Cooper specs. Those are listed incorrectly on their site. I had to go to Cooper's data to get their actual weights.

 

[rothgyr]

And here's a bonus photo from another camping trip last weekend. I can't help but feel like this is the natural environment for my 4runner.

This was about 4 minutes before my entire campsite was overrun by about 1000 sheep. I love public land. It's never boring.

 

[rothgyr]

Finally got the TRD Pro rims on. I went to Discount tires and gave in to the 33" temptation, rolling with the Nitto Ridge Grapplers in E rated 255/80r17. I had to remove the mud flaps on the front, and did get a small amount of rub while in reverse and turning, but that was mostly just the fender wells, which can be pushed forward, like everyone says.

What ultimately killed with the 255/80s was the feel of the heavier tires. My wife hated the feel, and the fuel economy was pretty bad. I'm not sure if it was just a 33 inch tire that felt so bad, or if it was the E rating, but it wasn't fun to drive around on the street, and I was missing that V8 umph that came with the smaller tires. On average, when driving on the street, it was just over 2000 RPM over the ~1400 that I usually run, and it felt slow.

I've got to love discount tire, because they were willing to switch out to the 255/75r17 BFG KO2s in C rating a few days later, and holy cow, it's so much better on the street. For comparison:

Stock rims with Bridgestone duellers: ~75lbs
TRD Pro rims with 255/80r17 Ridge Grapplers: 80lbs
TRD Pro rims with 255/75r17 BGF KO2s in C rating: 71lbs

Going from the extra 36lbs of weight of the 33s on the drive train down to the 255/75s was extremely noticeable. The 33s looked amazing, but the 32s won out in the end. Still great for road trips, city driving, and they should do pretty well on anything off road.

I'm loving the gray rims with the gray cladding.

Pics:

(Stock wheels on 265/70r17 Bridgestone Duellers)

(255/75r17 BFG KO2s with the new wheels)

(255/80r17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers on the new wheels)

Taking the 4runner out on a trip this last weekend:

 

[Zero0575]

Took the 4runner out this weekend for a camping trip in the Manti-La Sal area in Utah, and was very impressed with the way it ate everything I threw at it. My daughter was very vocal about wanting to go over more bumps and making more mud splashes.

My buddy shredded a tire on an ATV trail, and we spent an hour or so trying to get the thing lifted on the crappy jacks we had on us. Ended up using a few flat rocks and three pieces of firewood topped with a children's songbook for support under the jack. I've never been more grateful for making campfire singing a family camping tradition.

Needless to say, we came away thinking about getting better recovery gear. I'm definitely open to suggestions there.

I checked my spare and it's a 265/65/r17, and the rest are 265/70/r17. I'm tempted to get a used 265/70/r17 tire and having it mounted to the spare rim when I put the TRD wheels on, just for the peace of mind. I'd have hated to do much wheeling out of there with a smaller tire, had it been my tire that had shredded.

Pics of the 4runner during the camping trip:

After my lift, I had to upgrade my jack situation to be able to still change a tire, as the factory bottle jack was no longer sufficient. I upgraded to this bottle jack:

Amazon.com: Omega 10065B Black Hydraulic Bottle Jack - 6 Ton Capacity: Home Improvement

And SafeJack has all kinds of extensions you can use for it. I have a 3" extension, flat pad adapter, rear axle adapter and a 6" extension. They also sell it as a kit, but it's cheaper if you buy the jack separately and then get the extensions. And you can make it all fit in the factory bottle jack location in your hatch. Highly recommend!

 

[oh24runner]

looks great with those TRD wheels!

 

[gloch]

Yeah, those TRD wheels look great with the cladding. That is encouraging for me as I have the blue w/ gray cladding and was thinking of doing the same thing. I also prefer the 32s. It looks great.

 

[ru4runner]

Looks great