33x9.5 r15 pulling the trigger tomorrow....

[desertrover]

Hello,
I've been running a "pizza cutter" tire with good results on a reasonably heavy rig. I have Dunlop Radial Rover RT's in 235/85R16 on my rover, which weighs about 5500lbs as normally outfitted. It tracks perfectly straight on our rutted high desert roads, even the ones that fade back and forth from bits of pot-holed pavement to washboarded dirt. They are pinned for studs. My tires are a little less than an inch smaller than the BFG's you're looking at, and just a hair narrower. Just remember the BFG's are load range C, so sufficient tire pressure for the highway might be over 40psi.
-CJ

 

[matt s]

Thanks everyone, very good information and advice.

I did go with the 9.5 we shall see how it goes, they arrive tuesday.

Desertrover, thanks I have several friends running that same tire on f250's and larger trucks that love them. It helped me not worry too much about the ones I chose. At to tire pressure, I typically run all my tires at or near max psi for highway operation. I would guess that I will end up running these at 42-45 psi cold. BTW I am amazed that the rovers and cruisers seem to weigh in about the same as the full sized blazer. I am about 4500 empty and figure on ending up below 5500 loaded for trips.

Again thanks all for the help! I will let you know if I love or hate the new tires sometime next week.

 

[HenryJ]

I run my 33x9.50-15 BFG TAKOs at 40 psi on a 7" wide wheel. This is for the highway and daily duties. I only need to air down to 25 psi or so and get really good trail performance when needed. Loaded for a dry camp my truck weighs in at 5995 lbs. Mine is not a fullsize. It is an S-series crew cab.

New the tires did feel a little "squishy" in the corners, but either I became used to it , or they scrubbed in and lost that feeling.

Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[matt s]

Thanks Henry that's good to know!

 

[Cackalak Han]

I run 235/85/16 BFG KO's and have had no problems in my Tacoma. I'm at about 4000 lbs in my double cab. I also see F250's run these tires quite frequently. Also, the diesel dually's run 235's stock. I think they'll work out great for you.

Side note: Just got back from an Alaskan cruise a couple weeks back. Beautiful up there.

 

[matt s]

Well they are on. I have only done the drive home so far. First impressions are that they ride smoother and behave much better on the highway. However they have not been put in the ruts yet.

I have not measured it, but it going by guestimate it appears that my stance is about 4 inches narrower overall. I expect that will help greatly. The 33'' tires look better with the 4 inch lift, they fill the wheel wells a little better and the truck looks more proportionate. I didn't notice any slop or wobble, however I only got up to 55-60 mph. I generally don't drive much faster than that anyway so I expect they will be just fine.

I will update this again once I have some more miles on them.

EDIT: the guy at the tire shop said he they were a real pain in the @$$ to balance. He did a good job, rather than add a ton of weight he spun them on the wheel until he got them reasonably close and then did weights. He did miss tightening one wheel's lugs, I got home and checked and they were hand tight, literally. Glad I checked!!!

 

[78Bronco]

That sounds great! Let's see some pics

You may find that a rebalancing is in order after a few heat cycles but its good to hear the tech took his time in balancing.

 

[matt s]

I'll try and get some pics for you tomorrow.

Good tip on the rebalance. I am getting the alignment done Friday, and they should have a 100 plus miles on them by then. So I may have them check.

 

[matt s]

Alright the before and after photos. BTW the early verdict is in. I really like these tires, driving is nice again.


Before

After

 

[HenryJ]

It looks right. They actually look like a "period" tire. Something like what it would have had as an optional offroad tire

I am a black wall guy, but with the white top and wheels the white lettering might look good. Nice rig.

Oh, and I forgot. You are going to love those in the snow! They cut like skis. The track is true and traction good. They earned that DOT snowflake for sure.

 

[Cackalak Han]

"After" is much much much better.

 

[spencyg]

It appears as though with a little trimming you could be operating with 2" less lift now....less is more when it comes to overall ride height.

Spence

 

[redthies]

Blah blah blah tires... Nobody mentions the SUPER clean Blazer they are bolted to! That is one nice ride! Congrats on the new skins. You will love them in the winter! I would buy them for my F350 crew, but since we are loading up and moving to the tropics I think I would see very short treadlife with the weight and heat combo. With frequent rotation you should get good life out of yours. We saw 60,000 miles out of the set on our 01 Taco four door. They were still good enough to trade for a winters snow clearing!:sombrero:

 

[SixLug]

very nice!! I like skinny tires too...Congrats and great rig.

 

[matt s]

It appears as though with a little trimming you could be operating with 2" less lift now....less is more when it comes to overall ride height.

Spence

I have been thinking about just that. a 2 inch lift might just be enough. I don't think I could bear to do any trimming though.

Blah blah blah tires... Nobody mentions the SUPER clean Blazer they are bolted to! That is one nice ride! Congrats on the new skins. You will love them in the winter! I would buy them for my F350 crew, but since we are loading up and moving to the tropics I think I would see very short treadlife with the weight and heat combo. With frequent rotation you should get good life out of yours. We saw 60,000 miles out of the set on our 01 Taco four door. They were still good enough to trade for a winters snow clearing!:sombrero:

very nice!! I like skinny tires too...Congrats and great rig.

Thank you both, I do like it. It's a labor of love, but fun so far!