Anyone running 255/80/17 Tires Pizza Cutters

[Big Daddy K]

I absolutely do think that narrowish tires are better for highway use on the 4runner. I wish there were more 34x10.5 17 tire options in a C range. There's no street tires in that size. And there's just not really any tall narrow tires that aren't 60lbs each.

Would you say that if your T4R is your daily but you still want something capable off-road that a 255/80 is a good choice? I'm in the tire hunt right now and running 90% on road it "seems" like the 255s are a better (read more economical) choice.
I've always thought a 265/80 or a 275/75 would be a great size.

 

[Jetboy]

Would you say that if your T4R is your daily but you still want something capable off-road that a 255/80 is a good choice? I'm in the tire hunt right now and running 90% on road it "seems" like the 255s are a better (read more economical) choice.
I've always thought a 265/80 or a 275/75 would be a great size.

Sure. I think they can be a fine choice. It would sort of depend on where you live and what type of offroad use you see most. For soft mud or snow or other soft terrain where the problem is primarily one of flotation - narrow tires aren't an ideal choice. For something like rocks - the biggest problem with the 4runner is simply ground clearance. The taller tires would be a good option. Similarly for a thin layer of something slippery like a few inches of snow or a few inches of mud a narrow tire can work really well. It's really when you get into the bottomless terrain like deep mud, deep snow, or deep sand that flotation gets to be a more important function of the tires.

I don't know about highway manners. I think most 255/80 tires are E rated. I don't think E rated tires are a great choice for a 5000lb suv. They're heavy. They have high rolling resistance. And they're probably not going to ride very well compared to a C or P rated tire because they're stiff. They should be better for highway driving than a wider and heavier version of the same thing though.

My best advice is to run stock size tires. Everything else is worse for daily driving duty.

I agree that a 265/80 would be a great tire size. There is a 275/70/18 that would be a nice intermediate size if you wanted to buy new wheels. It's about 33.2" tall, but comes in light weight tire options that would be good on the highway. That's kinda what I did. I run 275/60/20's 99% of the time for street tires and then use 285's for trail duty on the stock wheels. The 20's are great because they are 33" tall, but only weigh 40lbs per tire and cost $125/ea and ride smooth and quiet on the highway.

 

[zashai]

i run for the last 3 month the cooper st max 255/80/17 on a 2016 trail with no lift i get 16.5 mpg combine, i like them 90% road 10% off road .
no rubbing and good traction off road.

 

[Silly_Rabbit]

Why are they called pizza cutters? I've heard this term used before.

 

[Big Daddy K]

Sure. I think they can be a fine choice. It would sort of depend on where you live and what type of offroad use you see most. For soft mud or snow or other soft terrain where the problem is primarily one of flotation - narrow tires aren't an ideal choice. For something like rocks - the biggest problem with the 4runner is simply ground clearance. The taller tires would be a good option. Similarly for a thin layer of something slippery like a few inches of snow or a few inches of mud a narrow tire can work really well. It's really when you get into the bottomless terrain like deep mud, deep snow, or deep sand that flotation gets to be a more important function of the tires.

I don't know about highway manners. I think most 255/80 tires are E rated. I don't think E rated tires are a great choice for a 5000lb suv. They're heavy. They have high rolling resistance. And they're probably not going to ride very well compared to a C or P rated tire because they're stiff. They should be better for highway driving than a wider and heavier version of the same thing though.

My best advice is to run stock size tires. Everything else is worse for daily driving duty.

I agree that a 265/80 would be a great tire size. There is a 275/70/18 that would be a nice intermediate size if you wanted to buy new wheels. It's about 33.2" tall, but comes in light weight tire options that would be good on the highway. That's kinda what I did. I run 275/60/20's 99% of the time for street tires and then use 285's for trail duty on the stock wheels. The 20's are great because they are 33" tall, but only weigh 40lbs per tire and cost $125/ea and ride smooth and quiet on the highway.

Well, luckily here in AZ I don't have too much snow issues, sand on the other hand, we got that. I avoid mud when I can, hate the clean up factor.
I'm not willing to swap out tires to go wheeling, gotta be one set for everything. Definitely not staying stock size though.


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[STX4Runner]

Why are they called pizza cutters? I've heard this term used before.

'cause they're skinny and look like one of these

 

[Asugm13]

Well, luckily here in AZ I don't have too much snow issues, sand on the other hand, we got that. I avoid mud when I can, hate the clean up factor.
I'm not willing to swap out tires to go wheeling, gotta be one set for everything. Definitely not staying stock size though.


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What type of off-roading are you planning to do? Scenic dirt roads, Sedona, Florence, test the limits in rocks, dunes, or just cruising off pavement? If it’s 90% on road get a p rated in w/e flavor you desire.

I have 255/80 st maxx and they have treated me well but they are heavy and stiff. I have about 30k mi now, still stiff, still grippy, aired down to 12 psi for the rocks no problem.

But, I’ll either go 285/70 p rated or bite the bullet and do 285/75s next in true a/t.

 

[(none)]

I'm still tempted and think the 34x10.5 BFG ATs are a good compromise. D-rated, and once mounted they are around measuring around 32.3" tall, very similar to a 255/80, but in a significantly lighter package.

I run 255/75 Maxx Sts now. No real loss in MPG (C-rated, still relatively light) and slightly taller than stock. The main reason i didn't go with the 80s was the E-rating.

 

[Big Daddy K]

What type of off-roading are you planning to do? Scenic dirt roads, Sedona, Florence, test the limits in rocks, dunes, or just cruising off pavement? If it’s 90% on road get a p rated in w/e flavor you desire.

I have 255/80 st maxx and they have treated me well but they are heavy and stiff. I have about 30k mi now, still stiff, still grippy, aired down to 12 psi for the rocks no problem.

But, I’ll either go 285/70 p rated or bite the bullet and do 285/75s next in true a/t.

I'm not rock crawling but still go in the back country. So, unmaintained roads, rocks, washes, and of course the general forest roads. Heading to Moab in the spring as well.

I've wrestled with the E rating, I know many off-roaders say they need it for a host of reasons, and maybe if I'd had a bunch of sidewall punctures I might feel the same. Also wrestled with A/T or hybrid...

 

[Asugm13]

I'm not rock crawling but still go in the back country. So, unmaintained roads, rocks, washes, and of course the general forest roads. Heading to Moab in the spring as well.

I've wrestled with the E rating, I know many off-roaders say they need it for a host of reasons, and maybe if I'd had a bunch of sidewall punctures I might feel the same. Also wrestled with A/T or hybrid...

At the end of the day it's what ever you like. Jetboy uses p rated for offroading. He's done Moab and Rubicon with no issues it appears.

 

[Jetboy]

I've been pretty happy with P rated tires for durability. It really does depend on what you're doing and where you're going. I'll take a pic of my wheels and you can see they sustained a good bit of damage from grinding in the rocks - with no damage to the sidewalls of P rated tires. Not all rocks are created equal though, so my rocks might be totally different from your rocks.

I have however put a sharp rock directly through the tread of them. Once. Going fast on sharp rocky terrain - basically desert racing type scenario.

My other scenario on my trail rig where I've ripped lots of tires is at very low pressure. Like 3psi range. And it has happened almost exclusively in the snow incidentally. The sidewall ls pretty exposed and the right situation results in a pinch with the wheel, or a folded sidewall that is spinning on top of sharp rocks. Add some water as lubrication to the sharp edge and bad things happen. Without beadlocks - you're probably not going to have these problems.

For most everything else, I think P rated tires are a better choice. Moab is a good example of where street tires are probably ideal. The rocks are not sharp and most obstacles don't involve high speeds or spinning tires. And the surface is very close to a typical highway surface, so a street tire generally will have better traction than an MT tire. For moab, unless you're running sticky compound tires, an AT is probably better than an MT.

Kinda the same thing on the Rubicon. If I were doing it every weekend - I'd want a more durable tire. Doing it once a year, P rated tires are fine. I didn't have any flats. No one in my entire group did other than one person ripping off the valve stem on a rock. The rocks are mostly rounded.

Something worth considering in this discussion is also the ground pressure issue. To puncture a tire it requires a certain amount of pressure from any given object. The lower the ground pressure, the lower the pressure on the point of the object. An object that might puncture a full pressure tire might not at 15psi. It's like popping a half full balloon. On the other side you risk pinch flatting and also expose the sidewall more as you drop pressure. So it's a balance based on the trail. I've been doing this a long time and have a pretty good feel for what is going to work from experience. Because there's so many things that all play together, it's hard to say if my experience is an anomaly or an indication of durability of some P rated tires. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Ultimately the point of my rambling here is that it's going to be pretty dependent on what you intend to do and what the mix is of on and off road driving. And also how you drive. I switched to bias ply tires on my trail rig because I like to have more WOT fun in it and they are more durable for that. There's not really a solution that works universally. Mostly just opinions.

 

[Neauxla]

Really want to upgrade from 255 75R17 Cooper AT3s to ST Maxx but they weigh so much more!

 

[Big Daddy K]

[MENTION=118321]Jetboy[/MENTION] That was kind of where I was going, I haven't ever had a side wall puncture and I have used P tires mostly and a few C rate over the years. So far, I don't see the need for E rated in a 4Runner, specially one that isn't weighted down on a regular basis. But I still like the idea of a taller tire that I can run on the daily without totally killing what little economy the T4R has. That is really the place that the skinny tire really stands out.

I don't know, the more I read the less decided I am. I had my mind made up at one point...

 

[83Mule]

Went to TDS at Truckhaven a few years ago with my cousin and 15 minutes in to the day He stabbed a stick about 6 inches long right through his E rated Mud Terrain just above the tread on the sidewall. ''P'' would have no chance......other terrain and it might be fine but I want all the ''tough'' I can get when I am in the MON!

 

[IslandJim]

i run for the last 3 month the cooper st max 255/80/17 on a 2016 trail with no lift i get 16.5 mpg combine, i like them 90% road 10% off road .
no rubbing and good traction off road.

Do you have a pic Shai of your setup?

Would like to see how those look with no lift....Thanks

 

[Jetboy]

As promised - all of this damage to the wheels happened with the tires that are on those wheels as they are. You can see how minimal the damage is to the tires compared to the wheels. Also note the valve stems. The Trail wheels are designed right! The valve stem protection is pretty critical when you have $100+ rigid valve stems. And the wheel lip is heavily reinforced. I'd challenge anyone to break a wheel lip on these. They're significantly more robust than a TRD Pro wheel. The center caps were all totally destroyed. That happened about day 2 I owned it. Kinda wish I had just thrown them in the tool box immediately. Oh well.

 

[zashai]

not the best one but this is what i have tonight

 

[MyanRagahis]

As promised - all of this damage to the wheels happened with the tires that are on those wheels as they are. You can see how minimal the damage is to the tires compared to the wheels. Also note the valve stems. The Trail wheels are designed right! The valve stem protection is pretty critical when you have $100+ rigid valve stems. And the wheel lip is heavily reinforced. I'd challenge anyone to break a wheel lip on these. They're significantly more robust than a TRD Pro wheel. The center caps were all totally destroyed. That happened about day 2 I owned it. Kinda wish I had just thrown them in the tool box immediately. Oh well.

Dang. And I felt bad about dropping a lug nut on my wheel.
Nice to know about the strength of the wheels. I've always loved them and I don't see my self switching.
And I actually always wondered about the placement of the valve stems. There is only one direction my ViAir compressor will grab on to the stem perfectly which I didn't like at the time. Seeing this makes me fine with it.

 

[zashai]

Here is the side photo

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[IslandJim]

Here is the side photo

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Thank you for posting those pics right away.

Are you sure those are 255/80's? They don't look any different than stock tire size. They don't look any taller anyways.

edit; Now I see they do look like other pics posted of the same tire size...my bad.....Truck looks good btw, almost got Mag Grey myself.