Finally pulled a trigger on GYWSA 255/75/17

[snhrph]

Finally, after much going back-and-forth, pulled a trigger on 5 Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor 255/75/17. arty: Bought them at Discount Tire Direct, $115 each delivered to the shop. Should be there next Tuesday, will have them installed on Wed. CAN'T WAIT!!!!

I was torn between Nitto Terra Grapplers and Silent Armors. Decided to buy SAs because NTG do not come in 255/75/17. The detailed reviews on this forum were also a factor in making my decision. Thank you guys.

I'll post the pictures when they are on.

Now for the springs... I would like to replace my springs with FJ springs. Can I re-use my original shocks with FJ springs? For those of you that have done a swap - is the ride much harder with FJ springs?

:cheers:

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Nice choice on the size (no experience with the tire, can't beat the price though)! I too wanted the Nitto TG's, but I was set on the 255/75/17's. You can use the stock shocks with FJ springs (XREAS can complicate the install a little, but still can be kept). Check the link in my sig for my writeup on the install, and I also provide links to several detailed install write-ups. The ride with FJ springs is more firm, but in a good way. I've yet to hear of anyone that did the swap and was unhappy with the results. With the more firm suspension, you don't feel all the little bumps in the road, making the ride smoother.

 

[snhrph]

Update - tires installed!!!

So, the new Silent Armors were finally installed yesterday. arty: Huge difference compared to my stock Michelin Cross Terrains. Drove about 150 miles on the new tires so far. Here is what I noticed, including the likes and the dislikes.

1. SAs are 255/75/17. Truck sits much taller. I like that a lot. I did not get a chance to measure the wheel opening before the installation, but I can judge by comparison to my wife’s GX with stock tires and to my garage door.

2. Ride quality. Silent Armors provide a more “direct” feel at the steering wheel. The ride is also “harsher”, more truck-like. CTs were very plush and soft, even though I kept them at 36 psi. I inflated SAs to 35 psi, and I think that’s a little too much. Will try 32 psi and will let you know is that makes a difference.

3. SA’s seem to hold the road better; I noticed a slight improvement while cornering. That may be a result of a more “direct” feel at the steering wheel. They hold the line fine on the highway.

4. Noise. I read a lot of reviews that compared noise to that of highway tires. Bullsh1t!!! These tires are significantly noisier, :happens: at least when compared to CTs that I had. Not that it bothers me – I just turn the radio a little louder.

5. Balance. The shop that installed the tires balanced them on a high-speed machine. And the tires ride without vibration at highway speeds (including excessive highway speeds). Now, I realize that these tires are heavier, especially compared to OEM, but… I looked at the lead on the rims – whoa!!! 3.75 ounces to balance the tire??? That’s a lot!!! :wtf:
6. Rubbing – NONE whatsoever. I tried every other way imaginable to get the front tires to rub (forward, reverse, half-turn, full-lock, etc), but the tires always clear. There is very little clearance at full lock, but no rubbing, which is awesome as this was one of my concerns. :reddance:

Now, the pictures. I apologize for the quality, they were taken with my blackberry. I’ll get better pictures with my camera in the next day or two.

 

[snhrph]

And one more thing - spare tire.

The spare tire fit under the truck without a problem. :biggrin2:

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Request: Please take a tire crayon and mark the inside of the rims and tire a bit. If you need to rebalance at some point look at the marks and see if they turned on the rims, I'm just curious. Thanks.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/587723-post86.html


You mentioned the noise, how many miles were on the CT's when you switched? I'm curious because my CT's got progressively louder as they aged and when I made the switch it wasn't that big of a deal for me.
:cheers:

 

[snhrph]

Yeah, I read your post about your SA possibly turning on the rims. I brought that up to the owner of the shop that installed my tires - he has been in business forever and is the only tire shop that my father-in-law deals with. The guy said that he has never heard of that. Granted, he is in Queens, and most of his business is in cars, a lot of taxis and limos, and not so many oversized truck tires.

I'll make a small mark with a tire crayon regardless. I'm just not sure that that the mark will last for me to see at a later time.

As for the CTs, I did not find the noise increasing as they aged; they actually had 1/4" of thread left. I even looked at buying them for my GX, but they are discontinued, and the leftovers are around $180 per tire. So, I'll probably get the Nitto TGs for it :tongue: . So I'll end up with both tires that I wanted. :bravo:

 

[Synister]

I too just installed the 255 SA's with my lift and had some initial balance problems which I think (hindsight) were more than likely due to how it was balanced. Its balanced up real nice right now and I marked one of the wheels/tires to see if any slippage can be detected along with a future out of balance condition. So far Im stoked with these wheels & tires though!!

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Very cool guys... Make no mistake, I loved mine and wish they worked better in terms of balance. I love the 255/75 size too:bigok:

I posted to hopefully give you guys a 'heads-up' should you run into issues not to discourage in any way.
:cheers:

 

[snhrph]

Update

Around 400 miles on the tires to date. My son commented on how different the ride was with Silent Armors, and it kept bothering me as well... So yesterday I took the pressure gauge and measured pressure in all tires... Wow!!! 38 psi in front tires and 40 in the rears!!! :redbrick: I asked the installer to inflate to 35 psi! :wtf:

I deflated to 35 psi each, and what a difference. Ride is a LOT more comfortable without sacrificing handling and road feel.

I plan on going to Pine Barrens this Sunday with a group of FJers, so will see how the tires will perform off-road on sandy soil.

 

[bigwebb83]

updates?

 

[snhrph]

Request: Please take a tire crayon and mark the inside of the rims and tire a bit. If you need to rebalance at some point look at the marks and see if they turned on the rims, I'm just curious. Thanks.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/587723-post86.html


You mentioned the noise, how many miles were on the CT's when you switched? I'm curious because my CT's got progressively louder as they aged and when I made the switch it wasn't that big of a deal for me.
:cheers:

3.75 ounces of lead to balance a tire kept bothering me and I started feeling vibration at highway speed. So I actually ended up taking the truck to a performance shop to have tires Road-Force balanced. 4 tires had to come off the rim to be remounted in proper position to minimize the run-out. That solved the vibration. I did not get a chance to check the crayon mark at the shop on four tires that had to be remounted. The one tire that was not remounted stayed on mark.

The performance shop that I went to was RCT Performance in Queens NY. Awesome service.

Noise is not an issue anymore - I doubt that it went away, I probably just got used to it.

updates?

Now for an update...

GYWSAs handled rain and wet roads without a problem. Hydroplaning resistance is awesome, I did not have a problem at all. Remember, that ANY tire WILL hydroplane given enough speed, but this is a 4Runner, not a speed deamon...

Snow... We had a sh1t load of it here in NJ. I'm very happy with how GYWSAs handle the snow, both deep and compacted. No loss of traction, no fishtailing, just a very solid performance giving me a lot of confidence in these tires.

I actually had to pull out a delivery truck from my driveway after it got stuck while delivering my new furniture. I wish I had taken pictures...

 

[chayos00]

Now for an update...

GYWSAs handled rain and wet roads without a problem. Hydroplaning resistance is awesome, I did not have a problem at all. Remember, that ANY tire WILL hydroplane given enough speed, but this is a 4Runner, not a speed deamon...

Snow... We had a sh1t load of it here in NJ. I'm very happy with how GYWSAs handle the snow, both deep and compacted. No loss of traction, no fishtailing, just a very solid performance giving me a lot of confidence in these tires.

I actually had to pull out a delivery truck from my driveway after it got stuck while delivering my new furniture. I wish I had taken pictures...

Any Off-road updates?