Experience with 235/85R16 on Gen 3?

[MoabRefugee]

About to pull the trigger on some new tires and the concept of tall skinny is appealing, however, the Monty is a big boned girl. At nearly 5300# with my basic load I am concerned that the 235's will see higher operating temps on road and a shortened lifespan.

I live in Moab, and eventually will eventually end up with 33's 255/85 16, however, Monty Nobaru sees several trips to Taos and numerous SLC trips, so highway ride quality and fuel economy are definitely heavily weighted variables. Cooper offers the AT3 in a Load Range C in 265/75 16, which is my top contender at the moment.

Anyone care to offer a subjective opinion of their experiences with Load E in the narrower 235/85 or 265/75? Longevity of 40K would be acceptable, even though they are 55k warrantied.


Stuck in analysis paralysis, though I may just flip a coin, as anything I choose will likely be an enormous improvement over the current 265/70 GY Fuel Max's
Not a scratch btw, though it was within .75" from the wall...phewww!

 

[evol911]

I have the Cooper At 235's on my Gen 2. I think it gives my truck a more rally-raid truck look. They are a stiff though with the E load range but that also means a thicker sidewall. I've had them for a couple of years and had no problems. I think 40k on them would be no problem. They will definetly look out of place on a Gen 3 unless you get the right offset wheel. Some one on here was running 235's with I think Montero Sport spare steel wheels that pushe d them out a little bit. It was a maroon truck with a Dakar stencil on the hood(???) My wife's Gen 3 has the Cooper AT/3 in the stock wheel size and the fit the truck perfectly. Road noise is louder on her Monty but most of that is because of unibody compared to isolated cab on frame.

Hope that helps.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

There are numerous gen 3 owners running 235/85r16, a quick search will pull up several threads discussing it.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Wheeling in the snow is sometimes unwise as you came close to finding out, I know of several rigs that have rolled on some otherwise tame trails in Moab due to snow, may want to add some tire chains to your recovery bag just in case.

 

[plh]

I have 235/85R16 on my '05. Won't repeat. 255 would be better but difficult to find in A/T - so next set will be back to 265

 

[Swank Force One]

235/85r16 Duratracs on our 03. Like plh, will not replace with same size. Looks terrible, feels strange. Awesome in snow, but we have snow on the roads about 3 days out of the year, and i'm not big on compromising 362 days to make 3 better. Would rather go the other way around.

 

[MoabRefugee]

Wheeling in the snow is sometimes unwise as you came close to finding out, I know of several rigs that have rolled on some otherwise tame trails in Moab due to snow, may want to add some tire chains to your recovery bag just in case.

Hiking in Moab without Yak Trax, with the sort of snow we have had this winter, is bad enough, so yeah, chains are now in the 3rd row "box".

I know there are tons of pro 235 threads, but I was curious about durability and ride quality. Additionally, very few folks drop the coin on tires and then admit their dissatisfaction, so I wanted something other than the usual "greatest thing ever" post by a new tire owner.

I was leaning toward the narrower size primarily for the winter traction, as we deliberately ran WIDER tires at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in order to keep students' speeds down; narrower tires would have made it WAY to easy for newbies to get going too fast on the ice.

I have decided to go with Load C A/T 3's in 265/75. I will likely move to 255/85 ST Maxx's at some point, but I will make that call based on my experience with the at3's.
I will wait for suspension and Rocky Road sliders before going taller and less "skinny" than 235/85's. Selling used tires in UT is pretty easy, and 265/75R16's are easier still.

Thanks for the input fellas.

 

[plh]

feels strange

On road squirmy / squirrel-ly I'd call it. Definitely not firmly planted like with the 265s that were replaced. Awesome in snow thou.

 

[plh]

I will likely move to 255/85 ST Maxx's at some point

Although I have no experience with the ST Maxx - I'm willing to bet they will be really loud (interior noise) on the Gen 3.

I removed 265/75R17 Falken Wild Peaks from our Gen 3 which were unbearable loud on highway road trips on the '05. Put them on the '92 and were super silent. The Gen 3 chassis brings in a lot of noise.

The BFG T/A KO even thou they are too narrow, are OK from a noise standpoint.

 

[Swank Force One]

The 235/85 Duratracs are louder in the Gen3 than the straight up mud tire 33x12.5s on my Gen2.5.

 

[Marutuk]

I have 235/85R16 on my '05. Won't repeat. 255 would be better but difficult to find in A/T - so next set will be back to 265

There doesn't seem to be any AT options in 255/85/16 from what I found, only mudding tires appear to be available at that size. Got some 255 Maxxis Bighorns today, they are loud

 

[Sabre]

Although I have no experience with the ST Maxx - I'm willing to bet they will be really loud (interior noise) on the Gen 3....

I dunno, the prevailing user reports say otherwise. Big discussion in General Vehicle Mods.

 

[plh]

General Vehicle Mods.

Any reports there specific to a Gen 3 Montero? Its a different animal...

 

[KgB]

I found some Hercules 265/75/16 10 ply really really cheap at big-o, best tires I have had on the Montero, I was in that same spot on long canyon right after snow and I was really impressed, I know this doesn't answer original question but Hercules isn't on anyone's radar and I think the size works pretty well all around

 

[Sabre]

Any reports there specific to a Gen 3 Montero? Its a different animal...

Hundreds of pages on the subject, not specific to any one vehicle. Why would a Gen III Montero be unique among all the rest with respect to tire noise?