To 285 or not to 285?
- Thread starter fish0281
- Start date
DGO-SR5
New member
Well, the duratracs (285) won out & I love them! Got the best deal I could at discount tire and got them all mounted last night!
How are you liking these so far? Power still pretty good in the mountains? I would love to go to 33's but Im afraid that I will no longer be able to hold 60 on steep grades as my 32's barely do right now.
fish0281
New member
[MENTION=91631]DGO-SR5[/MENTION] I have not noticed any considerable loss to power, to be honest. The two things I have noticed, are:
My steering rack's age is showing a bit more now. Even with new busings, lbjs, and tie rods, I can suddenly feel more slop in the wheel.
The brakes felt weaker at first, but I've since gotten used to it. I wouldn't say it was a big difference, I just noticed it.
My first tank of gas was no different than my 32s too. Personally, I am loving it and really happy I did it. The tires themselves ride just as quiet and smooth but are notably better in the snow.
My steering rack's age is showing a bit more now. Even with new busings, lbjs, and tie rods, I can suddenly feel more slop in the wheel.
The brakes felt weaker at first, but I've since gotten used to it. I wouldn't say it was a big difference, I just noticed it.
My first tank of gas was no different than my 32s too. Personally, I am loving it and really happy I did it. The tires themselves ride just as quiet and smooth but are notably better in the snow.
DGO-SR5
New member
Thats great that your power is still pretty good. My truck does have 210k so the engine could be a bit down on power in general I suppose. Do you get any weird noise or anything from the steering rack now? After my lift and 32's I have noticed a creaking noise along with a bit of a notchy feel from the steering rack when i turn the wheel somewhat sharply.
Are you still running stock brakes or have you gone to Tundra's? I am super tempted to go for the 285 Duratracs but I'm not sure it makes sense to put nearly another grand into a vehicle that is worth next to nothing. I think I will live with what I have for now. Do you get down to the south west corner much? I was thinking it may be fun to have a meet up this summer in the Silverton/Telluride/Ouray area if many people would be interested
Are you still running stock brakes or have you gone to Tundra's? I am super tempted to go for the 285 Duratracs but I'm not sure it makes sense to put nearly another grand into a vehicle that is worth next to nothing. I think I will live with what I have for now. Do you get down to the south west corner much? I was thinking it may be fun to have a meet up this summer in the Silverton/Telluride/Ouray area if many people would be interested
98_4runnerSR5
New member
Glad to see you got the 285 Duratracs! I've had them for about 30,000 miles and love them. Will definitely be buying another set in the future
smkd13
New member
Well, the duratracs (285) won out & I love them! Got the best deal I could at discount tire and got them all mounted last night!
Hey what did you get you DTs for? Just wanna compare prices. Lol
And how is the road noise after that many miles? Try are really quiet in the beginning
atalarico
Senior Member
Not to resurrect a super old thread, but this is *exactly* where I'm at. My needs are also really similar to OP (including living in CO and needing to consider uphill power on highways, traction in the snow, and moderate and very occasional off-road use).
I have a 3ish" ToyTec lift that's a few years old now, and I have a set of 265 Yoko AT/S's that I got before I knew I was lifting. They were great for the first few years, but their winter performance has sucked these past two winters.
So, I know I'm buying Duratracs, I just don't know if I'm getting 285s or sticking with 265s. I was all set to decide to stay with 265s because of all of the horror stories I've heard about reduced power with stock gearing, and knowing that I already need all the power I can get to maintain highway speeds up the high highway passes here.
However, I was recently told that because I have a factory e-locker, I have 4.30 gears. That's news to me, and I was told that I won't notice a huge difference if I switch to 285s because of the gearing.
The reasons I'm leaning toward 265 are:
-My 97 has 215k, and as valuable as I think it is, I know it's not worth much anymore and I sincerely doubt I'll be able to sell it for anything that would be worth it for me knowing how much blood, sweat, tears, and money I've put into it. It seems like dropping $1k in 285's is a silly investment for a car that old, no? I know with the way I'm doing preventative maintenance on her I can maybe eek 300k out of her, but I also know that it definitely won't be the $6-10,000 car I feel like I have now.
-While I have no frame of reference to know if I would benefit from 285s, my 265's have gotten me everywhere I've ever wanted to be. I don't crawl with my runner, but I certainly take her off-road to awesome camp sites and trail heads. On the other hand, hardest trail I've been comfortable driving was a 3 on TrailDamage (Italian Creek), and I honestly have no interest in doing anything where I feel like I'm going to break something important on my daily driver again.
So, if I haven't needed 285s yet, why should I get them now? Admittedly a big reason is the looks of 285s on a 3" lifted runner versus 265s. Another reason I was thinking is for better traction in mud and snow on trails, but I have no evidence that says 285s would be better than what I have. I also have no idea if it would have made a difference the one time I did get really stuck in mud and needed an "extraction".
Convince me otherwise?
JayRolla
New member
I always use the wife test when I swap parts. When I swapped too 285's I felt no loss in power. Wife didnt notice either. She always complains if something changes.
IMO I didnt notice better traction. Just a lot easier to crawl over larger rocks. I did notice a little worse mileage. If you want better mileage and more stock ride go with 265's. If you want a better look than go with the 285's. I actually just jumped from 285's to 305/70's. Same ride height but a lot wider tire. I love the look! $580 shipped for some off brands.
IMO I didnt notice better traction. Just a lot easier to crawl over larger rocks. I did notice a little worse mileage. If you want better mileage and more stock ride go with 265's. If you want a better look than go with the 285's. I actually just jumped from 285's to 305/70's. Same ride height but a lot wider tire. I love the look! $580 shipped for some off brands.
