Tire weight increase vs tire size, towing issue.

[88mustanggt]

its been a while since i have been on here. i still love my truck and just got some new wheels and tires at a really good deal i couldn't pass up.

my truck is a 2006 V8 sport with Bilstein 5100 and ome front coils and toytec rears, rci full skids and sliders. main mods.

i had 265/70/17 bfg at ko2. for the last 2 sets of tires on it.

i just picked up a set of 5 black rhino bead locks with maxxis razer mt 285/70/17

Garrison Beadlock Truck Rims by Black Rhino

Amazon.com: Maxxis mt-772 razr LT285/70R17 all-season tire: Automotive

my issue is this weekend i towed my trailer up north phx to flag about 7-8k foot climb. and it was horrible. performance was so much worse then i expected, the truck struggled to climb at speed when before i could stay the speed limit 90% of the time. not to mention the hit on mpg i got 7-8 going up and 9-10 coming down. before i would get 10-12 up and 13ish down. i know mpg is gonna be hit with bigger tires and what not.

now to my question.

I love having the 285 on there vs the 265. is my struggle getting up the hills towing cause of the increase tire diameter or the increase weight. if its the weight i will sell the wheels and tires and buy a set of bfg at2 in 285 C load range and not look back. but i dont want to if its not gonna fix the issue. because these wheels and tires look amazing.

the 265s weight 45lbs and 25lb wheel= 70lbs
the new 285s weight 65lb and 46lb wheel = 108lbs
bfg 285s would be 51lb + 25lb wheel = 76lb

 

[4Runner&Airstream]

That weight difference sure seems significant.

I’m wondering about weight, aggressive tread patterns, heavier load range, and just what some good all around tires are.

I don’t want to kill my power and gas mileage since I tow a camper. I just want an all around tire than can handle higher payloads.

 

[Inv4drZm]

I'm guessing its the increase in diameter mostly, which effects the overall gearing of your truck.

 

[SeaTowner221]

I'm guessing its the increase in diameter mostly, which effects the overall gearing of your truck.

That would be my guess. The gearing issue is amplified when towing I would imagine.

 

[88mustanggt]

so what you are saying is, re-gear vs reduce rotational weight to get back my towing capabilities back to close to 265 light weight setup.

here is my setup.

 

[Fern]

so what you are saying is, re-gear vs reduce rotational weight to get back my towing capabilities back to close to 265 light weight setup.

here is my setup.

Regear vs. reduce tire diameter. The weight will make a slight difference, but nothing compared to the changed gear ratio due to the taller tires.

 

[rdruss]

I agree, gearing change is your biggest problem, but I would never add that kind of wheel weight to my vehicle, hurts acceleration, tough on the brakes and " just because", it's a step backwards in my opinion.

 

[Caldizzle]

I would definitely agree that gearing is the way to go. I never really towed with stock tires, but I did move back to Denver from Salt Lake after I did my mods with 285/70r17 KO2s in C load. I got the 6X12 Uhaul trailer and filled it up all the way with my motorcycle and other stuff, along with the back of my car. I'd estimate the trailer was in the 4K lbs range. On that drive I had to go up Vail pass (10K+ feet) and also climb up to the Eisenhower tunnel. Definitely wasn't fast, but I never felt like the truck was struggling. I averaged around 12.9mpg on that part of the trip.

That amount of rotational mass that was added is pretty considerable. I'd say it's a combination of the size and weight affecting you, maybe even tread pattern. If you keep both sets...just swap out for towing!