By Sammy on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 02:01 pm: Edit

Is anybody running this size with the stock gearing(5-speed)? I really like the idea of more clearence under my truck, but I also want to be able to move faster than a turtle. Is the power loss really that bad. I plan to get 4:10 gearing in the near future.

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 02:10 pm: Edit

it's not all that bad.
especially with a 5 speed.

on flat grounds, it's not bad.
but, long uphills.... it's a different story.
and if you live in CO, it's even worse.

By Sammy on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 02:21 pm: Edit

Ho, didn't you run MOAB one year with stock gearing and 235/85's? Were you still able to do a lot of hill climbs(like Lions Back)?

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 02:25 pm: Edit

correct, stock gearing and 235/85.
automatic tranny does wonderful things...
2 things i didn't like about 235/85 and stock gearing, long uphills on the hwy, and steep downhill on the trails, you loose all the engine braking.

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 02:27 pm: Edit

ah, didnt' do lion's back. had left the diapers at home.

but it would have climbed without problems. just that driver didn't want to steer it that way.

By Sammy on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 02:44 pm: Edit

So, would you recommend 235/85 over 245/75? How would gas mileage be effected?
Where I live, we have no hills.

By Danno on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 03:22 pm: Edit

didn't notice too much of a difference, but i went from 245/75's to 235/85's.

i raced a friend who had 235/70/16's, auto,
stock gears vs. my 235/85/16's, auto, stock gears and he was long gone (2+ lentghs) by the time we got to 40mph.

do you do any towing? it's a bitch with 235/85's and stock gearing. just did this at the start of summer w/a 12'x6' U-Haul filled to the door. going uphill full throttle and was only going 45mph, but was fine on the flats.

since you are planning to get the 4.10's, i'd say get the 235/85's.

just my experience...

Danno

By Danno on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 03:28 pm: Edit

also, with the 235/85's my speedometer is correct, but the odometer is reading 15% low.

on a trip from Cleveland to St. Louis, i got 17-18mpg. around town, 12-13mpg. i use only the best 87 octane

Danno

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Monday, August 27, 2001 - 07:32 pm: Edit

mileage.... put it this way: from the moment you change tires to non stock size, everything goes downhill.

235/85-16 gets my vote.

By Danno on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 03:59 am: Edit

sooner or later it'll be 235/85's anyway....

By Discosaurus (Discosaurus) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 05:48 am: Edit

I use 235/85-16 with my 5-speed and stock diff gears.

Ho is right on - on the flat it's not a problem. On long grades, it get's a little tricky. Last summer, on CO149 coming south out of Lake City heading up to Slumgullion Pass, I was floored in 2nd gear, barely holding 25MPH - felt like I was driving a damn 18-wheeler.

Although, when compared to other Disco 1's, I run within 200RPM of an auto-box & 4.1 gears at 70MPH. Putting 4.1's in a 5-speed is a little different then doing it to an automatic.

keith
discosaurus

By Discosaurus (Discosaurus) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 05:50 am: Edit

Oh, yeah....

235/85-16: Speedo almost right on, Odo, 10% slow.
Gas mileage ??? hahaaahahahah

keith
discosaurus

By Slider on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 07:42 am: Edit

I'm running the same ... 235/85 MT w/ 5 speed and stock gears right now...

Yes, It is now even more of a dog!!
Forget gas milage...don't tell the wife how bad it really is!

I also do a lot of towing.

To change the gearing...I would have to sell the boat to pay for it...then where would I be?

To Ho's point:
I could use a bit more of that lost engine braking on the "steeps". The people following me do tend to be blinded by all the braking I need to add.

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 08:38 am: Edit

sell the boat, and be happy.

By Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 08:51 am: Edit

Okay, let me throw one across the deck....

I'd pretty much made the mental jump to go from stock to a 2" lift to get the 235/85s under there, which is what I want. But I can't do it and the gears right now. Eventually I do want to go to a Detroit and 4.1 gears (I do have an auto), but I can't spend that much (tires/springs/shocks/locker/gears) right now, and even just tires/springs/shocks will definitely be a hard hit.

What I'm starting to think, though, is doing this in a bit of a more intermediate manner... I need tires before too long, and my shocks are feeling their age. So, if I do a swap to Bilsteins and go with, say, 215/85s right now, then once my next tire change comes around I can add the springs and go with the 235/85s. The second benefit to that, aside from the financial reasons, is that the wife, who wants it left stock, will have time to get used to it at the 215/85 height, so that when I jump from 215/85 to 235/85 it won't be as sudden as doing it now from the 235/70s.

Make sense?

-L

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 08:55 am: Edit

Do not sell boat. Buy cheap tow rig. The old man down my street is selling a nice 70's Buick 225 with a 455 v8 for 800.00.

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 09:01 am: Edit

leslie,
little by little. it's very clever.

if you dont' see yourself getting gears and lockers in the near future, then go with 215/85 or 245/75. i prefer the 245/75 for the alloys that are 7 inches wide. and let them wear out, and by the time you need new tires, time for 235/85 and gears and lockers and all the good stuff.

this gradual change is what most of us really go thru. and well worth it.

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 09:04 am: Edit

hehe, robert, i thought slider had to sell the boat to get the gears....

By Redsrover (Redsrover) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 11:54 am: Edit

Get the 235 85 r16. They will fit with minimal trimming if you have a fresh 2" lift. I just got a set in 235 85 and I love them. The change in torque is hardly noticed (I used to 245 75s so the change is slight anyway) and the speedo is off by about 8%. It is worth it and you can always get the 4.11 gears, but why bother?

Red

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 12:04 pm: Edit

I was stock 235/70/16, then 245/70 (no lift), now 245/75 (2" OME lift). I'm following Leslie's "little by little" philosophy and swapping my rear OMD MDs for HDs this weekend. Next will be 235/85 when the 245/75 wear out. I hope my wife will think she's getting shorter little by little rather than the Disco getting taller

I'm not too worried about gears, but will cross that bridge when I come to it. (like Red said, jump from 245/75 to 235/85 isn't that big - I'm already drivin a dog)

By Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 02:03 pm: Edit

Red,
Don't know about Sammy, but I'm liftless (yet!) and also coming from the stock 235/70s... so a jump on up to the 235/85s would be more noticable.

Now, what about 225/75 versus 215/85? (Just exploring all the options! Nothing's in stone yet!) Reason asking... the 245/75 are the most expensive of the sizes, even more than the 235/85s.... 225/75s and 215/85s are easier on the wallet.

Thoughts?

-L

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 02:18 pm: Edit

215/85 is a little less than 8.5" x 30.5"

225/75 is a little less than 9" x 29.5"

235/70 is a little less than 9.5" x 29"

235/85 is a little less than 9.5" x 32"

245/75 is a little more than 9.5" x a little less than 30.5"

variable by manufacturer, of course.

one of my current spare tires is a 225/75 BFG AT. It looks pretty small compared to the other 245/75s....that 215 is gonna be skinny...

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - 05:11 pm: Edit

IMHO, I like the 215/85R16 if you're just doing a 2" lift. Some minor trimming that's not visible from the outside and you're set.

If you are willing to make the gearing swap, the 235/85R16's give you almost 3/4" more room under the axles.

For whatever reason, the 85 series tires do tend to be more affordable. There are some good makes out there (Dunlop RT and BFG Trac Edge) that will give you great on and off road performance.