Tires and Load Range - Help Appreciated!

[02T4RVA]

Hi Everyone,

Need some help/advice/.02 ... again

I have a 2002 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4x4 for my son who is turning 16 at the end of this month. As it was recommended from some people, instead of me picking everything out and surprising him, he and I are working together on getting modifications done.

His budget was $3000 to include lift, wheels and tires.

This will be a daily driver for him and he might do some camping / light off-roading.

We have ordered the Toytec Ultimate Lift Kit and we have ordered 17" Level 8 MK6, -12 offset, Matte Black.

He likes the Goodyear DuraTracs, Kelly Safari TRS and Nitto Trail Grapplers. We are looking at the 265/70/17s. The tires I have seen all say E. I understand (correct me if I am wrong), but there is also C out there? Should I be looking at Load Range C tires instead of E?

Thanks!

 

[the great him]

just out of curiosity why the 265 and not the 285? you are lifting it, and putting on a more aggressive offset wheel, so rubbing should be very minimal to nill and only at super low speeds like crawling. i think 265s will look small, and yes most 265s are in an E load rating because that is a stock size for all 3/4 and 1ton trucks, so the market plays to them a lot. there are some C rated tires out there, but not in the likes you listed(or at least not very easily found). on a side note there is nothing wrong with an E rated tire, i am running them and have run them, i like them and i dont think they ride harsh or stiff at all, remember this is a truck, a lifted truck at that, and not a cadilac devile or lincoln town car...

 

[02T4RVA]

Hi the Kid.... Thanks for the reply. The garage who is doing all the work recommended this size tire. I am happy to look at 285's, but they talked about rubbing issues, additional work, gears... I am knew to all of this, so I just went with it. I did do a lot of thread trolling and looked at others running 265's and thought they looked really nice. My son would be thrilled with a bigger tire, but I did not want to incur a lot of extra labor / work cost.

 

[Millerad1651]

You can run either. 265s on a 17" wheel won't look too bad. You can run 285s, and do not need new gears. The offset of those wheels will keep a lot of the rubbing issues to a minimum. Actually, 285s may be better...they're heavier so it may slow him down! But they will be more expensive.
E rated can tend to be harsh, I had some and they were. My guess is your son being 16, will not care.. He's gonna have a bad ass lifted truck which will be better than most of the stuff other kids are driving.

 

[the great him]

most of the guys here who are lifted are running a 285, and id say 80-90% of them are not geared. i for the longest time ran a 285 tire at stock height, with no lift and it was my daily driver. yeah i had some rub but only if i was a full lock(turned all the way to one side or the other) and going over something the size of a curb or bigger, idk about you but i typically dont curb hop or drive over large rocks at 30+mph... now if your son does, you might wanta have a talk with him about that, cause thats gonna start braking things, and tires rubbing are gonna be the least of your issues lol.

like i stated i run a e rated 285 tire, and have no issues with it, i can climb hills just fine. i have a lot more weight than most guys on here -winch(steel cable, not synthetic), skids, sliders, bumper, and so with that im not getting the best mileage, but i can still pull 17/18mpg on the fwy and average around 15-16 with mix and about 13-14 in town depending on how i drive -it can go less or more. the jump from 265 to 285 is nothing really. if you are that concerned with losing power of fuel economy then he should never let anyone else ride with him cause they weight of other passengers will have a greater impact on fuel economy...

i say go with the 285s, they will look better and he wont regret it or wish he went bigger in 2 months(well maybe he will, but you can reason with him that you guys already did go bigger, and if he wants to go bigger next time, he can pay for it). thats just my thoughts on it.

 

[02T4RVA]

Thanks Adam! My son seems pretty happy with everything so far I appreciate the nice comment. I will have to take a picture when it is all said and done.

Since two people have said 285's might be nicer, I looked at the Goodyear DuraTrac: 285/70-17 Load Range D Tire. Is this a better choice for a load range, D?

I do appreciate everyone's comments!

 

[SCRunner12]

I've had E and D load rating and I can tell a difference between the two. I'd definitely go with the 285 Duratracs in D. I have them now and they are an awesome tire. The ride is great, very little noise and look very aggressive. Also The load D definitely is softer and best for a DD type vehicle.

In regards to 265's or 285's, definitely go with the 285's. I've had both with my lift and while I didn't mind the 265's at all, 285's just look so much better. They fill out the wheel well a lot better and allow greater ground clearance. Also there is some power/mileage loss, but nothing unbearable.

265's -worn out


285's with Duratracs

 

[cdrewferd]

I've had E and D load rating and I can tell a difference between the two. I'd definitely go with the 285 Duratracs in D. I have them now and they are an awesome tire. The ride is great, very little noise and look very aggressive. Also The load D definitely is softer and best for a DD type vehicle.

Agreed. I think this would give you the look and ride that you and your son are going for.

 

[the great him]

yes by no means do you need to get a E rated tire, but if given the choice between a P rated or an E rated, id take the E rated all day long no question, its a tougher built tire, can take more abuse and, has deeper tread. but a D will be better suited and still have the same tread depth.

 

[Ol'Blue]

I'm sorry but re-gearing is BS. Yes you will have some power loss but it will be minimal. We have guys running 35's on stock 4.11 gears. Yes, the trucks is slower but it will keep your son out of trouble on the streets. A 4Runner is not made for speed. I think the 285's are a rock solid choice as the guys have stated. Go with the the Duratracks. Take a look at tread depot for pricing.

http://www.treaddepot.com/tire/312015027.html


Blue

 

[white_n_slow]

I have 285's with stock gears (4.10:1) and a 5-speed and it works OK. The 5-speed makes it easy for me to drop a gear or two when needed for highway passing, driving up a big hill, etc. It doesn't seem too terribly down on power.

That said, the tall gearing can be a pain, mainly because the difference between gears is greater. If you're topping out 4th gear and shift up to 5th, there is a bigger drop in "oomph" than you would experience with 265's. Since I have plans to go with a bigger tire eventually, I'm investing in 4.88 gears. If I had no intentions of going bigger, I could probably live with it as is. Probably. :/

The tall gearing is also a pain in the arse for crawling and off-road situations where more control and less wheel spin (and clutch smoke) is desired. Probably not as big of a deal with an auto.

 

[02T4RVA]

Wow, thanks everyone for the responses and pictures! I am leaning more towards 285's

Quick question: When I look at the DuraTracs, it says they are white lettering. Just a personal preference, but I would prefer not to have this. Is there another option?

 

[TheUltimateBohab]

i posted this on another thread but... i put a set of cooper discoverer AT3 on my runner and i'm pretty sure there's not a tire better in all of the world! it was like $550 for all of them. and another $120 for an alignment and mounting.

 

[Millerad1651]

Wow, thanks everyone for the responses and pictures! I am leaning more towards 285's

Quick question: When I look at the DuraTracs, it says they are white lettering. Just a personal preference, but I would prefer not to have this. Is there another option?

Turn them the other way. Tires with white lettering will have the same writing on the other side, but all black. Just tell whoever installs them to make white letters face in.

 

[02T4RVA]

Thanks Millerad1651! I should have known this

 

[the great him]

Wow, thanks everyone for the responses and pictures! I am leaning more towards 285's

Quick question: When I look at the DuraTracs, it says they are white lettering. Just a personal preference, but I would prefer not to have this. Is there another option?

yeah just ask them to mount them "blackwall out". what they are saying is that this tire has white lettering on one side so if you want it, you can have it out, but most prefer it in.

i posted this on another thread but... i put a set of cooper discoverer AT3 on my runner and i'm pretty sure there's not a tire better in all of the world! it was like $550 for all of them. and another $120 for an alignment and mounting.

there are plenty of "better" tires. better is a very subjective term, that tire would do very poorly in snow and ice compared to a Blizzak DM-V1, or do poorly in mud compared to a KM2 or Kevlar... and do poorly on the fwy and mileage life compared to a Michelin LTX M/S2... and even as a AT tire i think there are "better" tires to be had. but im not knocking that tire, and that is a good deal

 

[TheUltimateBohab]

yeah just ask them to mount them "blackwall out". what they are saying is that this tire has white lettering on one side so if you want it, you can have it out, but most prefer it in.


there are plenty of "better" tires. better is a very subjective term, that tire would do very poorly in snow and ice compared to a Blizzak DM-V1, or do poorly in mud compared to a KM2 or Kevlar... and do poorly on the fwy and mileage life compared to a Michelin LTX M/S2... and even as a AT tire i think there are "better" tires to be had. but im not knocking that tire, and that is a good deal

maybe your rite but i know when i got them i was shittinbricks at how much better they did in the snow and mud compared to the Michelin i had before was literally plowing the snow with my bumper and still crawling through

 

[nevada]

I'm sorry but re-gearing is BS. Yes you will have some power loss but it will be minimal. We have guys running 35's on stock 4.11 gears. Yes, the trucks is slower but it will keep your son out of trouble on the streets. A 4Runner is not made for speed. I think the 285's are a rock solid choice as the guys have stated. Go with the the Duratracks. Take a look at tread depot for pricing.

LT285/70 R17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac Tire Item-312015027


Blue

:violin:
haha. lame man. just because you can, doesnt mean you SHOULD.

absolutely, without question it will be a better drivng experience with the proper gearing. whether its financially a good choice is a different issue entirely.

yeah just ask them to mount them "blackwall out". what they are saying is that this tire has white lettering on one side so if you want it, you can have it out, but most prefer it in.

blasphemy!

 

[02T4RVA]

Follow up question:

Now that I know what tire I am leaning towards... Goodyear DuraTrac 285/70/17's, Load Range D... where is the best place to buy tires? Directly from Goodyear, Internet?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Ol'Blue]

:violin:
haha. lame man. just because you can, doesnt mean you SHOULD.

absolutely, without question it will be a better drivng experience with the proper gearing. whether its financially a good choice is a different issue entirely.



blasphemy!

Ok, So let me ask this then. How many guys have done this after going up a tire size? I have 4.30's in my truck so running 33's how much power loss would I have? The proof is in the pudding. The trucks run fine with 285 and stock gears. If he was going 35's then that is another story.