Looking into skinnier Tyres

[magert54]

So I have my Duratracs 285/70/17R. I’m looking into getting a highway tyre for Germany and when i go off-road/if its winter, I’ll throw the Duratracs back on.

So gents, what size should i get (i have a 2in lift) to maintain a decent look and get better gas mileage

I was thinking to get a 255?/65/17 or 235?/70/17 im just not sure on what to replace the duratracs with and not look crazy ugly around town

 

[DC runner]

Military posting in Germany? Nothing you can do to not stick out.

Germans, like most Europeans, find the North American obsession with offroad odd. So, a 2 inch lifted vehicle is gonna stick out, regardless of the tires you put on there.

Embrace it! Keep your tires.

There is no reason to switch tires, unless you just want to. Your duratracs will give you the handling you want.

You ever been to Europe? Everything is smaller. The cars, the parking spaces and the roads. You will, of course, see larger vehicles over there. I am not implying they don't exist, just are much rarer. Insurance (which you will be required to have) is almost prohibitively expensive on larger vehicles over there. Probably to promote people NOT driving them.



Hope that helps. Be sure to ship your vehicle 6 weeks or more before you leave. It takes that long. It is cheaper to rent a car here than there, so if you NEED a car.... rent on this side of the trip. If you wait till a few days before you leave, your going to end up renting a car for a long time over there and it is VERY expensive.


Good luck.

 

[MikeInNH]

off-road/if its winter, I’ll throw the Duratracs back on.

UMM...You want SKINNIER tires for winter driving..NOT wider tires.

 

[magert54]

Thanks for the help. I love my duratracs but, we are looking for a road friendly highway tire not even an A/T just a simple "better" mileage tire.

I was hoping that a taller skinnier tire would be the trick to keep the wheel wells filledish yet reducing the amount of rubber/road contact like the 285's have.

Any sugestions or picks of those suggestions might be like?

 

[magert54]

UMM...You want SKINNIER tires for winter driving..NOT wider tires.

Depending on what you are refering too, if its snow then the low psi and wider tread will "float" on deep snow. Ice i will drop to 28 psi and let the duratracs do their work gripping. IMO i might be wrong though

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

I really liked the 255/75/17s I ran before I got the 285s. You can see pics of both in my build thread. There seem to be quite a few options in that size since it's stock for some vehicles (Jeeps).

 

[UteRunner]

You're really not going to want that big gas guzzler on the autobahn, so just donate it to me!

I left Ramstein in 2005 and still miss it. Best assignment ever! Have a krystal-weissen for me.

 

[MikeInNH]

Depending on what you are refering too, if its snow then the low psi and wider tread will "float" on deep snow.

I grew up and learned how to drive in a town that averaged over 250" of snow a year....You want to move in snow you need to dig deep to the hard pack snow or road surface. I've never seen a tire for a truck that effectively float on top of the snow. Some specialized vehicles can (i.e snowmobile)...but a truck...in over a million miles of driving and driving in hundreds of snow storms and blizzards...I've never seen it.

 

[magert54]

Awesome responses so far everyone. And now i learned a few things about snow driving

Swamp, thats the look i wanted since i didnt know how skinny was too skinny for the stance on my rig. I might go with that size, unless someone has a better idea. Now on to the type of tire....Road use only

 

[4Beast]

Tons of people, myself included run the "tall skinnies" 255/75/17 and enjoy them. I feel really confident in the snow, particularly with the snowflake rated tire, if you are one of the people who care for that. I have about a 3/2 lift now and they don't look too small...

 

[jaybird93000]

Firestone destination LE. Great wear, great ride, and look better than most highway sub tires due to the sidewall design. Had em for 60K miles on my runner before I got the duratracs

 

[settytb]

I have 255/75/17's and they are incredible in snow...just sayin. And they get decent mileage slightly taller than stock.

 

[xxaarraa]

Dude, stay away from this thread "how do I make my 4Runner more manly?" LOL :biggrin2:

 

[zimm]

I would get the Michelin LTX M/S2 truck tires. I think they're best thing going for a street vehicle. I put them on my Dodge Dakota and it was like having a new truck over the old snow Coopers. If I needed street tires for my 4runner, I'd get the M/S2's also. Read the reviews online, they're one of the top rated.

As for size- I would go with 265/70R17. I believe stock was 265/65R17. I ran 265/70's both at stock height and with my lift and they looked and fit fine.

 

[JET4]

+1 for the Michelin, good tires

 

[MikeInNH]

Any new tire is going to ride better then a worn out tire.

I've had the Michelin's LTX before. Great tire. My current set is the Cooper AT3.s Great all around tire. Little more aggressive then the LTX...or the Cooper Discovery HT. But really amazed at how well they drive on pavement.

 

[magert54]

Thats the thing mike. My duratracs are only 6 months old

 

[Jerrydog]

UMM...You want SKINNIER tires for winter driving..NOT wider tires.

Typically a skinnier tire is better because it will cut thru the snow to the ground below where as a wide tire remains on a cussion of snow, not always the best for winter driving. In really deep snow all bets are off.