Help with tire sizes for 285 equivalent width.

T

tnine

New member
Hey all,
I had 285/70/17 after my lift kit was installed. I've since gone back to 265/70/17. I prefer the factory size in an M/T tire. I have decent torque, and enough lift for my purposes.

With winter coming. I would like a wider tire. I liked the width of the 285, but I don't like the larger diameter and the performance issues they cause at high altitude. I'm struggling to find sizes that provide a wider width, with a 265/70/17 equivalent diameter. I have aftermarket Fuel Trophy wheels at 17x8.5 with a wider offset. My 285/70/17 barely rubbed at full lock.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Todd
 
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Thanks for the info. It looks like the size 305/65/17 will be the closest for what I'm looking for, since it only adds 1" in diameter. It seems my only options are BF Goodrich in a KO2 or an M/T, or a Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ P3. I've had KO2 before, and they've done alright in a 285/70/17. I find my Toyo Open Country M/T in 265/70/17 perform better both on and off road. Does anyone have any experience with the Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ P3 tires?

Thanks,
Todd
 
No experience with that tire or size but another thing to remember besides overall diameter is if 305 is to wide. Some members had to do the bmc with 295's.
 
It also depends on what wheels you're running. If you'll have the factory 7" or 7.5" wide wheels, I doubt a 285/65R17 or wider will fit on a narrow wheel like that.
 
Thanks [MENTION=121029]mrevilandy[/MENTION] for the link, that's really helpful.
[MENTION=29376]sandcrawler[/MENTION] What's your wear like on the MT? I have 265/70/17 of the Toyo M/T. I love the off road performance, and the decent good gas mileage with them. However, because they're a softer compound, they're wearing fast from highway driving to my off road destination. I think I'll be lucky if I get 25k out of them.
[MENTION=78273]Jeremy556[/MENTION] While I agree that's reasonably "common" knowledge, I'm not sure I fully agree with that. The logic is based on the higher pressure for the tire surface area to break through the snow. Here in Denver and in the mountains, there's always an inch of pack your tires can't cut through on the roads after a snow. I would assume that a higher surface area would be more useful in this scenario when you cannot make contact with the pavement.
 
tnine said:
Thanks [MENTION=121029]mrevilandy[/MENTION] for the link, that's really helpful.

[MENTION=29376]sandcrawler[/MENTION] What's your wear like on the MT? I have 265/70/17 of the Toyo M/T. I love the off road performance, and the decent good gas mileage with them. However, because they're a softer compound, they're wearing fast from highway driving to my off road destination. I think I'll be lucky if I get 25k out of them.

[MENTION=78273]Jeremy556[/MENTION] While I agree that's reasonably "common" knowledge, I'm not sure I fully agree with that. The logic is based on the higher pressure for the tire surface area to break through the snow. Here in Denver and in the mountains, there's always an inch of pack your tires can't cut through on the roads after a snow. I would assume that a higher surface area would be more useful in this scenario when you cannot make contact with the pavement.
Click to expand...
I ran 265 and 285 Duratracs when I lived in Edwards and travelled the passes in the area daily. The 265s were much better on packed snow.
 
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There are more wide and relatively shorter tire options for 20" wheels. IMO the cooper xt4 looks like a winner for all season tires that are good on snow and ice. For some reason they are not selling a 285 70 17, but I think they do have some wider tires in other rim sizes.

IMO - for icy highway, narrow tires are probably better or equal. For softer deeper snow, narrow tires are better. That said, the tire its self is much more important than size.
 
Apparently I won't get the best of both worlds. I'm hoping to make my tires last around 35k+ miles. Which brings me into next summer. I was hoping to get something that will work this winter, as well as into next summer. Last winter my 285/70/17 K02 performed great in the snow. At least in the environments I drive in, I haven't has any issues with the 285 size. Worst case, if it were to become really slippery, I'll just thrown on my chains.
 
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[MENTION=107451]tnine[/MENTION]

I would look at the newer batches of "R/T" Tires is you want a more "jack of all trades" tire. I opted for Toyo Open Country R/Ts in 35" for my 4th gen over the originally planned Toyo Open Country M/Ts specifically because the R/T is rated better for winter and yet had almost as good ratings as the M/Ts for most off-roading. I only got to test them out lightly in an inch or two before it stopped snowing when I moved up to Bend, but they drove nice in the snow; I'll have a better idea of how they will run this fall/winter since they've broken in some and I have found a good pressure I like.

Contact Patch/Tire Width is somewhat finicky depending on the area you're talking about. For example when I went snow wheeling before I moved to Bend, I went with a member with a 2nd gen 4Runner and 37" M/Ts, I still had my LT285/70R17 Nitto Terra Grapplers on the 4Runner and I struggled in the snow. It was mainly because where were at in Tahoe the snow was very fluffy and not as clumpy/sticky as I would have liked; so my tires kept loading up with snow and wouldn't dig properly through the pack (in some cases I high centered from the snow and just iced where the tires were trying to get contact.) While the 2nd Gen was able to paddle their way through the snow with the beefier tire lugs and diameter.

I don't know what kind of snow you get in Denver (never been), but I'd consider your tire size/type to match more closely to what you'll be driving on more commonly. I'd go for more flotation/paddling through fluff and such if that's the type of snow you get, but if it's more slush/sticky stuff I'd probably try to cut through it.
 
So in thinking about it a bit more, I think I'm going to either do a 255/80/17, or a 34/10.5/17. Both will be narrower to give better winter traction, give me clearance, and reduce weight. Not sure about the 34/10.5/17, that may be a bit too aggressive.

Thoughts?
 
@1enginner

Why's that? Do you think the 34/10.5 will be too tight of a fit in the wheel wells? I have a 3" lift and negative offset 17x8.5 wheels.
 
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