DeepBarney
Hardcore Stocker
Just to weigh in here, I just slapped a set of 255/85r16 Cooper ST/MAXX's on my '04 Ranger FX4 Level 2 (different truck I know, but bare with me here). Most of the 255/85 tires I could find out there are heavy *** tires (my coopers are ~53lb. ea. and that's not mounted on a wheel either). There is a NOTICEABLE loss in acceleration and braking (especially when I've got the bed loaded or any of the times I pulled a small trailer with a light load). The ride is harsher (granted mine are E-rated tires, as are most tires in this size) and the truck doesn't feel as planted as when I had the stock 31's on and tends to wander more on the road. Clearance is tight and I needed to crank my torsion bars/level the truck and pull back/tighten up the inner fender liner/mud guard to keep it from rubbing at full lock when driving around town. I suspect too, that they would still rub some if I were 'flexing' the truck, but I doubt, given the way I use the truck, that's ever likely to be a big problem.
That all said, if I were doing it over again I'd go with the Cooper ST/MAXX in a 235/85r16 (about an inch narrower and 1/2 inch shorter), unless they were hardly any lighter than these heavy *** 255's (the weight is what really kills the performance), then I'd look into one of whatMANY other options in the 235/85r16 size or throw my stock 15" Alcoa's back on with a set of 33x10.5 tires mounted to them (the few options in that size being much lighter than myone/MAXX's). A 235 is also a more common size that you can get at any tire/mechanics shop when in the middle of BFE with need for a new tire and no time to wait for one to be shipped out there. The 255's do look cooler on there though (which if we're being honest is a big part of why we go with bigger tires, when a slightly smaller size would get us where we want to go too).
So choose what you want, but first determine what you really need and be aware of the con's you may incur for exceeding that need.
That all said, if I were doing it over again I'd go with the Cooper ST/MAXX in a 235/85r16 (about an inch narrower and 1/2 inch shorter), unless they were hardly any lighter than these heavy *** 255's (the weight is what really kills the performance), then I'd look into one of whatMANY other options in the 235/85r16 size or throw my stock 15" Alcoa's back on with a set of 33x10.5 tires mounted to them (the few options in that size being much lighter than myone/MAXX's). A 235 is also a more common size that you can get at any tire/mechanics shop when in the middle of BFE with need for a new tire and no time to wait for one to be shipped out there. The 255's do look cooler on there though (which if we're being honest is a big part of why we go with bigger tires, when a slightly smaller size would get us where we want to go too).
So choose what you want, but first determine what you really need and be aware of the con's you may incur for exceeding that need.