Tire Width or Height

[PhdNPrerunners]

Sorry if this has been covered before, I did search and came up with nothing. I am looking to step up to 33s here soon but I was wondering if it's the height or width that causes the mpg or is it a little of both. I am picking up a set of wheels that are coming with some 285s but I have always been a fan of the 255/85 tires. I am just trying to figure out which one would be better for a dd. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Both.

More height is a larger diameter disk which results in a larger moment of inertia to overcome when starting up.

Wider equals more rolling resistance.

Both of these are going to be more static weight.


Tall skinny tires are better for HWY mpgs. But because it is so tall, I will hurt city MPGs a little more than 285s do in the end.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

Both.

More height is a larger diameter disk which results in a larger moment of inertia to overcome when starting up.

Wider equals more rolling resistance.

Both of these are going to be more static weight.


Tall skinny tires are better for HWY mpgs. But because it is so tall, I will hurt city MPGs a little more than 285s do in the end.

Thanks a lot man! That defiantly help me understand it better now. I think I will be better off with the 255/85/16 cause I will be doing a lot of highway driving. I just wish they made an all terrain in that size

 

[gannonrt]

If you are looking at more in depth information on wide vs skinny... the hyperlink here has a great deal of info.... Is changed my decision for the next set of tires I get.

Expeditions West: Tire Selection for Expedition Travel

 

[KidVermicious]

Thanks a lot man! That defiantly help me understand it better now. I think I will be better off with the 255/85/16 cause I will be doing a lot of highway driving. I just wish they made an all terrain in that size

Cooper Discoverer S/Ts and BMG KM2s are both supposed to be very quiet for mud-terrain tires and come in 255/85r16. The Toyo M55 is pretty much an all-terrain, but costs like a mud-terrain . I don't know anybody who's run the Maxxis Bravo, but it looks like an all-terrain/all-weather cross. There's other pizza-cutters out there, look around.

I've got my 255/85r16 KM2s on order right now. :reddance:

 

[KidVermicious]

If you are looking at more in depth information on wide vs skinny... the hyperlink here has a great deal of info.... Is changed my decision for the next set of tires I get.

Expeditions West: Tire Selection for Expedition Travel

My buds and I were wondering what happened with tire widths, and why serious expeditioneers tend to tall and skinny while the trend here in the states is to fat tires. I think it's because expedition trucks are heavy. They don't make a tire fat enough to let those guys float on the mud, so they use a skinny tire to cut through it. On the other hand, Wranglers (probably 75% of the US offroad market, lol) are light and couldn't cut through mud if you put knives on their rims. But with a wide tire, they can float across the top.

That's my theory, anyway. Fat boys on a light vehicle, pizza cutters on a heavy one.

 

[CAN-03runner]

My buds and I were wondering what happened with tire widths, and why serious expeditioneers tend to tall and skinny while the trend here in the states is to fat tires. I think it's because expedition trucks are heavy. They don't make a tire fat enough to let those guys float on the mud, so they use a skinny tire to cut through it. On the other hand, Wranglers (probably 75% of the US offroad market, lol) are light and couldn't cut through mud if you put knives on their rims. But with a wide tire, they can float across the top.

That's my theory, anyway. Fat boys on a light vehicle, pizza cutters on a heavy one.

I think it is also a different mind set. The expedition guys are trying to build a truck which is minimally lifted to keep as much of the stock truck reliability intact. You can fit a taller skinny tire with minimal lift than wide and tall tires and are not actively looking for obstacles or mud like offroaders might. Also they are probably more likely to pull out the winch cable and traction matts rather than than try to power their way through, up or over like an offroader.

I've heard the claim that outside of north america wide offroad tires are not easily available, so they try to go with a popular tall size for the country they are , in case they would need to pick up an aditional tire if they've used up their spare.

On the light vs heavy. I've had the 12.5" MTZ on my 4th Gen 4runner, and they were alright, more cool factor than function I found. The 4th gen is not extremely heavy but not light either, it is in limbo, and that is where it was in mud, in limbo. Put those same tires now on 1st Gen, probably 1000-1500lbs lighter, and I love them.

 

[BucknutBob]

I wouldn't be surprised if your assessment is correct, CAN-03, regarding limited access outside the USA. We take a a lot of things for granted here with our consumer-driven market, and have a lot of perks other countries simply don't have easy access to. Weight and cost may also be factors, especially on a serious expedition-length trip.