Tire question. 255 -v- 285's

[benjamin247]

I believe they discontinued the silent armors in favor of their new offering that looks similar but sadly less aggressive. I had them and loved them, but P rated lead me to sidewall damage on a trail.

Anyway OP, I like my 285s... and I liked having tons of tires to choose from, not the case with the narrow offerings from discount tire at least.

For either 255 or 285, is it recommended to upgrade brakes and gearing too? Also, what is the mpg difference between the two?

 

[JayRolla]

For either 255 or 285, is it recommended to upgrade brakes and gearing too? Also, what is the mpg difference between the two?

No stock brakes will work fine but its recommended to upgrade them anyways. They not the best.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

On my runner I have had 255, 285 and 305.

255 was a BFG KM2. Great tire that handled everything exceptionally well except snow and ice, it was horrible in the snow. It was very loud on the road and wasn't the best for anything other than driving in a straight line. That doesn't have anything to do with the width though...

285 is my current size, and is a Cooper A/T Maxx, an aggressive all terrain tire with nice road manners. Handles the elements well too and you don't get that jerky feeling when traveling through small puddles or mud holes at speed on or off road, and still maintains it street-ability. Weight is a little closer to the 255 depending on the tire you get.

305 was a Goodyear Duratrac, another aggressive all terrain tire. This width was my least favorite. Lots of drag on the road and felt a bit more sluggish. Did ok off road but seemed to be too wide for the 4runner. Cruising at any speed above 10 mph and you can expect the tire to grab every puddle and mud hole and rock and whip you in that direction rather than cut through it like the other sizes. It may be ok for snow and deep sand or mud, but everything else I didn't like, and the other tires were more than capable of handling.

Overall my favorite size so far is the 285. For our vehicles it seems to be the perfect compromise for road manners, off road ability, and weight, while still keeping a common tire size with great availability and options. Pretty much everyone makes a 285 tire in every style and flavor you could want.

Just my opinion. If they had more options and affordability for 255 tires I would probably have 255 tires right now, but seeing as options are limited and can be pricey, 285 is my current favorite.

I believe the ST Maxx is now available in 255/85/16. I am considering selling my 265 duratracs for a set of 255 ST Maxx

 

[Doc2012]

To through in another variable, is there any advantage to going to a larger wheel from my stock 16R like a 17, 18, or 20"?

I will tell you where a DISADVANTAGE is.

Sidewall height.


If you're upping your rim size, you're killing your sidewall height.

While that might not matter for some people, I like to have more sidewall than I do rim.

I've got 35/12.50s on my stock 5-star rims, and I love the look, and the protection that the tires give the rims.

The tires stick out about an inch past the rims, if not more, so anything is making contact with the tire and not the rim.

While more and more vehicles are going to the 17, 18, 19, and 20" rims, I'll stick with my 16s and 16.5s all day long.

 

[lhsoulrebel]

I believe the ST Maxx is now available in 255/85/16. I am considering selling my 265 duratracs for a set of 255 ST Maxx

How did you like the duratracs? I've doing exhaustive research on tires, and since the 255 km2 seems to be discontinued, the 285 dura tracts are back in the running.

 

[Link12]

How did you like the duratracs? I've doing exhaustive research on tires, and since the 255 km2 seems to be discontinued, the 285 dura tracts are back in the running.

I just bought 255 km2 and they had plenty.

 

[BrandonF]

No its not. I have ran that psi on 285's and experienced middle tire wear from over inflation, but it was an e load. Width has nothing to do with it, the load rating does. 24psi is not low for this tire at all. E load tires can run very low. Anything under 20psi not safe for the street. If you do the chalk test you will find out. Even on the chalk test for these tires the outside knobs barely touch the ground. In your situation you can get to the point where just the inside of the tire is worn which causes them to wear out way faster if you are running an e load. Lower load tires can have more psi. In my situation they will last longer. It also gives a softer ride on the road because they are so stiff. Here are some links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojGsavK0Uwc

Tire pressure / Chalk test - JeepForum.com

Width has nothing to do with it? So you're telling me a little 235 with a 4000lb vehicle on top of it is going to deform just as much as a 305 at the same tire pressure? Basic physics dictate that the weight per square inch is going to be waaayyy higher on the 235 than the 305 and therefore require higher air pressure to support the vehicle properly.

When I ran lower pressures, the outer knobs of my tires were seeing excessive wear. I'm betting due to too much sidewall flex in corners from low pressure. And yes my alignment is in spec.

 

[Nunyabiz]

I believe they discontinued the silent armors in favor of their new offering that looks similar but sadly less aggressive. I had them and loved them, but P rated lead me to sidewall damage on a trail.

Anyway OP, I like my 285s... and I liked having tons of tires to choose from, not the case with the narrow offerings from discount tire at least.

Everywhere I look they are still available with no mention of being discontinued. Must be thinking of another tire.
These are actually T rated, not P

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...75TR7WSA&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Wrangler SilentArmor Tires | Goodyear Tires

 

[JayRolla]

Width has nothing to do with it? So you're telling me a little 235 with a 4000lb vehicle on top of it is going to deform just as much as a 305 at the same tire pressure? Basic physics dictate that the weight per square inch is going to be waaayyy higher on the 235 than the 305 and therefore require higher air pressure to support the vehicle properly.

When I ran lower pressures, the outer knobs of my tires were seeing excessive wear. I'm betting due to too much sidewall flex in corners from low pressure. And yes my alignment is in spec.

I didnt mean to say the width dont madder, just that the load affects the sidewall strength more than the width of the tire since its directly a tougher side wall. But your right on what you say.

You must have been running lower tire pressure on d load or lower. E load ive gotten better wear at this PSI. At 34psi I was getting cupping. Very bad, where everyother lug was worn, causing a very loud noise on the road. You could actually see it. I fixed it by dropping tire pressure and they wore out and stopped cupping. I should have taken a picture. Now on my E loads I always ran 32psi on the street. Even on my wifes E load A/T tires I run 32psi. But these muds wore out like crazy. So far 24psi the walls are solid as a rock, no more brick feeling on the road and offroad at 5-10psi they are amazing. No cupping at all, side lugs not touching the road at all in rear but the fronts are from turning. Just doing what works best for me. I guess im crazy along with everyone else in the world that runs this psi on muds. Not to mention offroad shops also recommend it for better tire wear on high load muds.

 

[djskorch]

I personally run a 255/75/17 BFG KM on my runner but for a different reason. I run them because I get them brand new for $60-80 each. Ill run any reasonable size if I can get them regularly for that cheap.

 

[ShooterMcGavin]

To through in another variable, is there any advantage to going to a larger wheel from my stock 16R like a 17, 18, or 20"?

Offroad capability is something that I want to hold onto. If I went from anything other than 16", it would only be 15". 17s and above may be better looking and the new on-road trend, but I see no advantage for offroad use.

 

[hounddogman]

How did you like the duratracs? I've doing exhaustive research on tires, and since the 255 km2 seems to be discontinued, the 285 dura tracts are back in the running.

There's several threads about this on Expedition Portal and it seems the 255/85R16 KM2 is not being discontinued , just changing part number.

 

[benjamin247]

Do the different widths have significant changes to handling on-road, such as turns on freeway exits. I wonder if I use my stock wheels (no spacers), which will handle better...255 or 285?

 

[Lunarphase]

Some great reading and opinions from both sides :hail:

From what I'm reading here, and because the terrain of my location consisting of vast quantities of sugar sand(float factor) I would be best suited for 285's and still get by in North FL / GA clay and ruts.

Thanks!

Ben, from my reading here, it sounds like the 285's need spacers, although I've heard the same about the 275's and I have them on my bone stock 99 T4R SR5 "Highlander" and don't have any problems with them. The 275 tire is really close to the UCA in mine.

 

[lhsoulrebel]

There's several threads about this on Expedition Portal and it seems the 255/85R16 KM2 is not being discontinued , just changing part number.

I'm expo challenged... Love the forum, but can't navigate it for sh*t. Sooo, rumor has its not discontinued?

 

[KidVermicious]

I'm expo challenged... Love the forum, but can't navigate it for sh*t. Sooo, rumor has its not discontinued?

See the thread in the offroading section. BFG says not discontinued, but "relaunched" with a different part number.

 

[KidVermicious]

I personally run a 255/75/17 BFG KM on my runner but for a different reason. I run them because I get them brand new for $60-80 each. Ill run any reasonable size if I can get them regularly for that cheap.

Oh yes? What sort of bribe would you need to bring me a pair of those next time you come south?

 

[lhsoulrebel]

Oh yes? What sort of bribe would you need to bring me a pair of those next time you come south?

255's officially discontinued by bfg... I actually emailed them. I started a new thread, the Email is in it... Title is everybody freak out.

 

[BrandonF]

I didnt mean to say the width dont madder, just that the load affects the sidewall strength more than the width of the tire since its directly a tougher side wall. But your right on what you say.

You must have been running lower tire pressure on d load or lower. E load ive gotten better wear at this PSI. At 34psi I was getting cupping. Very bad, where everyother lug was worn, causing a very loud noise on the road. You could actually see it. I fixed it by dropping tire pressure and they wore out and stopped cupping. I should have taken a picture. Now on my E loads I always ran 32psi on the street. Even on my wifes E load A/T tires I run 32psi. But these muds wore out like crazy. So far 24psi the walls are solid as a rock, no more brick feeling on the road and offroad at 5-10psi they are amazing. No cupping at all, side lugs not touching the road at all in rear but the fronts are from turning. Just doing what works best for me. I guess im crazy along with everyone else in the world that runs this psi on muds. Not to mention offroad shops also recommend it for better tire wear on high load muds.

Now that you mention it, I did get strange wear on my previous set of tires' side lugs. There were "stepped" much like you mention. I tried lower pressures but I get crazy uneven wear, with the outsides of the tires wearing out really fast compared to the inside. I had my alignment triple checked by two different shops and it was all good. I rotate the tires frequently as well. The tire wear was so bad that I actually had the tires flipped and remounted on the wheels to even it out. No one could seem to figure out why I was getting that kind of wear. Even at 40 psi, it still happened. I just got a new set of tires about 1000 km ago. Im hoping the issue had something to do with the tires, but I doubt it.

 

[KidVermicious]

255's officially discontinued by bfg... I actually emailed them. I started a new thread, the Email is in it... Title is everybody freak out.

Not true, sir. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-roading/187472-km2s-discontinued-several-sizes.html