285/75/16 vs 255/85/16

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
wheelen disco said:
Those videos proved that your smaller tires were superior to my larger ones ;p

I was kinda hoping for a picture of you stuck and me driving around you with snow pushing over my hood, or a picture of pissed snowmobilers yelling at us would have been fine ; )
This is the best I've got.
P1330732.jpg


And something for the snowmobilers to get all pissy about.
Copyof100_1311.jpg


FWIW my next tire will be a 255/85/16, probably the KM2.
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Those pictures remind me of how much I love driving in snowy weather. The peace and quiet of the surrounding area, a low exhaust burble, and the sound of tires slowly crunching through the snow... Combine that with the deadening effect of the actual precipitation and the isolation, and it's just one hell of a nice time.

It also reminds me of walking the streets in Germany, where they boil wine and serve these funnel cake things in the winter.

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons. Not a fan of spring... Too many spiders. Summer ticks me off because people are so annoyingly enthusiastic about everything. Summer also has too many spiders.

I hate spiders. Devilish little hell-bugs, the lot of them. The day I found out there were little invisible baby micro-spiders floating about in the air was a bad day indeed.

Anyway, I like driving in snow.:D

Cheers,

Kennith
 

KngTgr

Well-known member
May 20, 2005
1,321
14
Fairfax, VA
Just had a set of BFG KM2 255/85/16 installed, they are awesome, very smooth and quiet compared to the Summit Mud Dawgs that I had. I am sure that how dry rotted the Summits were had lots to do with the difference, speed is off by about 5 mph now and the truck wanders a little more at highway speeds (Specially when letting go of the gas pedal), I am not noticing the truck feeling any more tippy.
 

Roving Beetle

Well-known member
Old thread but the tippy feeling often has more to do with the construction of the tire and suspension than the height. At least when talking about moderate speeds and maneuvers of a Rover. I'd put $ on the table that the poster who complained about he truck feeling more tippy with 245's and stock D2 suspension would have a different opinion if they tried a different stiffer load range and/or better made tire. The difference in one brand vs another on sidewall "feel" is huge. I've been shocked how one tire feels planted and another feels "tippy".
 

varova87

Well-known member
Mar 21, 2006
3,557
0
Texas
kennith said:
I hate spiders. Devilish little hell-bugs, the lot of them. The day I found out there were little invisible baby micro-spiders floating about in the air was a bad day indeed.

Heebie jeebies, that's what those devils give me. I maintain to this day that if I see one big enough, I black out for a split second.
 

jwest

Well-known member
May 28, 2006
899
7
WA & NC
Wrong again.

Sure there are lots of variables here with vehicle weight, wheel base, suspension flex, weight distribution, ground conditions, tire pressure, etc. But what you don't want in 99% of the situations out there is a wide tire. Like I said before the wide tire will only leave you with a very short linear footprint and what you are trying to get is a long one. A short contact patch is always changing direction (think of an arrow on a tire as it spins) and wants to dig. The longer that contact patch is the longer that "pull" is - reducing wheel spin and loss of traction.
...
The idea is find a compromise with a tall and then wide tire and a suspension that will compliment it.

FWIW my next tire will be a 255/85/16, probably the KM2.

Zombie thread alert...!

Garrett : do you have an opinion on this tire proportion based on the following:

07 lr3, very modified fender liners and most of vehicle for 4x4 trails, extended camping, etc but while on long road trips coast to coast and regionally PNW-Rockies-SW. Been running 32" for years no problems due to the standard modifications for tire clearance during full articulation ranges of ~8" front & 13" rear on cross linked air suspension.

Goal, KM2 from only 2 viable choices:

wider- 33.7" 285/70-18 on factory 8" alloy, no spacers needed (which only make trouble spots worse anyway), only real trouble is near 100% flex in front fenders and only while turning.

narrower- 255/80-17 on factory 7" wide alloy. Currently requires 30mm spacer due to rear rotor and caliper sizing however soon to be remedied by way of v6 sourced parts allowing 17" wheel without spacers).

Note: this lr3 never really weighs less than ~7000 lbs and on trips loaded was 8200 lbs with only one person (me).

I "know" skinny is better off road than wider, however, in this scenario, the wider 11.5" section vs 10" section is almost the same sidewall plus larger diameter due to 33.7" diameter vs 33.3. Thus the resulting "long" deflated patch is not as vastly different as usually compared.

Negatives I can imagine using the 255 in this case are due to this lr3 weight and that it's used to go far on highways to places where lots of intense rock garden crawling is unlikely. Though I've taken it through ORV trails near Mt Rainier stating "35" tires, short wheelbase, lockers, high ground clearance highly recommended" is on the entrance signage, and that was done fine on 32" bfg ko2 which obviously pack up in any real mud/clay.

The 285 also has a significantly higher load rating and it's profile suggests to me that interstate highway 75-85mph stability or even mountain roads will be more sure footed on the extra tread contact patch width against pavement. The 255 is amazingly narrow - seems more suited to my 04 disco, not so much this pig lr3.

Maybe this will help anyone searching LR3 LR4 / Disco 3 threads too... thx guys.

Fish: how are you doing on the 255's ? You are possibly onto entirely new things by now.
 

rovercanus

Well-known member
Apr 24, 2004
9,643
244
Garret only comes here to get insulted by Dan and tell us how great Toyotas are.
 

garrett

Well-known member
Jun 18, 2004
10,931
5
53
Middleburg, VA
www.blackdogmobility.com
Zombie thread alert...!

Garrett : do you have an opinion on this tire proportion based on the following:

07 lr3, very modified fender liners and most of vehicle for 4x4 trails, extended camping, etc but while on long road trips coast to coast and regionally PNW-Rockies-SW. Been running 32" for years no problems due to the standard modifications for tire clearance during full articulation ranges of ~8" front & 13" rear on cross linked air suspension.

Goal, KM2 from only 2 viable choices:

wider- 33.7" 285/70-18 on factory 8" alloy, no spacers needed (which only make trouble spots worse anyway), only real trouble is near 100% flex in front fenders and only while turning.

narrower- 255/80-17 on factory 7" wide alloy. Currently requires 30mm spacer due to rear rotor and caliper sizing however soon to be remedied by way of v6 sourced parts allowing 17" wheel without spacers).

Note: this lr3 never really weighs less than ~7000 lbs and on trips loaded was 8200 lbs with only one person (me).

I "know" skinny is better off road than wider, however, in this scenario, the wider 11.5" section vs 10" section is almost the same sidewall plus larger diameter due to 33.7" diameter vs 33.3. Thus the resulting "long" deflated patch is not as vastly different as usually compared.

Negatives I can imagine using the 255 in this case are due to this lr3 weight and that it's used to go far on highways to places where lots of intense rock garden crawling is unlikely. Though I've taken it through ORV trails near Mt Rainier stating "35" tires, short wheelbase, lockers, high ground clearance highly recommended" is on the entrance signage, and that was done fine on 32" bfg ko2 which obviously pack up in any real mud/clay.

The 285 also has a significantly higher load rating and it's profile suggests to me that interstate highway 75-85mph stability or even mountain roads will be more sure footed on the extra tread contact patch width against pavement. The 255 is amazingly narrow - seems more suited to my 04 disco, not so much this pig lr3.

Maybe this will help anyone searching LR3 LR4 / Disco 3 threads too... thx guys.

Fish: how are you doing on the 255's ? You are possibly onto entirely new things by now.

This is too much to read. I have no idea. I don't run KM2s anymore on my "new" trucks. I'm still a tall/skinny tire guy. hah. If you run tires too wide you run the risk of needing a Salt Life decal, Monster decals and maybe a few rollin' coal ones too. These are Dan's people, so you might want to contact him directly.
 

rovercanus

Well-known member
Apr 24, 2004
9,643
244
I haven't made a Toyota comment in ages! I've decided to focus on making fun of SnowPeak this month. Maybe zero turn mowers next month. I dunno. Really a toss up.

It's Garrett with two Ts asshole.

My computer only has one T so that's all you get. Asshole.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
I went from 265/75/16 to 285/75/16 and my world changed. I was awestruck at the increase in off-road traction, I stopped stuttering, my chest hair grew exponentially, my ED went away, my wife wanted sex, and my toenail fungus cleared up. All in the same day. Utterly and totally amazing. Thank you, Garrettt
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
I went from 265/75/16 to 285/75/16 and my world changed. I was awestruck at the increase in off-road traction, I stopped stuttering, my chest hair grew exponentially, my ED went away, my wife wanted sex, and my toenail fungus cleared up. All in the same day. Utterly and totally amazing. Thank you, Garrettt

I went from 265/75/16 AT's to 315/75/16 MT's. Now my penis is YUGE!!!