seanpistol's 01 Tundra

[dyogim]

I completely disagree.

Last weekend I had the Tundra up to 170 km/hr or 105mph (on a legal blocked off racetrack of course ) and it pulled better than stock all the way there with the 35's. If you go with 4.88's you will lose the top end (which might not be a big deal) and make the truck better for city driving. Lower gears will only benefit you on the highway for the times when normally the trans would want to bump down a gear but at the sacrifice of higher RPMs all the times you are driving on flat ground. I would 100% not want 4.88's with my 35's. The truck is already geared noticeably lower and you can absolutely tell when driving on the highway. Any lower and you would be at 2500-2700rpm doing 65 mph. No thanks. If highway driveability is your concern I think 4.56 is the best option. The truck will still downshift on large hills but I will easily pull a normal grade hill without. I really do feel like the truck behaves like it did stock with 4.56's except it does rev higher at the same given speed.

I do track my milage but have not had a single full tank of street driving yet since I did the gears. There was been 4x4 and 4-Low in the last few tanks to my fuel consumption won't be accurate. My "gut" feeling is that I am getting ~15mpg average mix of city/highway. Keep in mind I typically drive 70mph on the highway.... driving slower I suspect would greatly increase fuel economy. I'm going to test my theory out this weekend when I drive to the coast. Should be able to get some good highway consumption numbers while not driving too fast.

Just my $0.02

You make a great point and one of the reasons why it depends on how one will drive their rig and what their plans are.

I based the 4.88 decision over the 4.56 to gain more low end torque. Rather than at the higher end. It best fit my needs and my intentions for crawling when off-roading.

Seanpistol - you'll have to determine what your future intentions are and then decide.

 

[rickashay]

You make a great point and one of the reasons why it depends on how one will drive their rig and what their plans are.

I based the 4.88 decision over the 4.56 to gain more low end torque. Rather than at the higher end. It best fit my needs and my intentions for crawling when off-roading.

Seanpistol - you'll have to determine what your future intentions are and then decide.

Couldn't agree more with Mike here!

 

[seanpistol]

I appreciate the input. I have a little time before the gears come so I can sleep on it a while. I'm going to try and do the tub next weekend. :victory:



New tire selection is the next thing I'm struggling with. My Duratracs only have about 5000 miles on them (and there's 5 of them), so I should be able to sell them quick and easy. I liked the Duratracs for how well they do on hardpacked snow. We have a lot of that (except for last year...), and an additional set of winter tires is not in the budget. The Duratracs are also the best balancing large-sized tire I've ever had, with the best on-road manners. But, I want to upgrade to a 3-ply sidewall and a more aggressive tread.

Here's a list of what I've been looking at-

Goodyear MT/R with kevlar
Cooper STT
Toyo M/T
BFG KM2

I'm aware that when you go to a mud terrain, you'll never have "excellent" hardpacked snow traction. Some of the reviews I've come across on the MT/Rs and BFGs sound downright scary, but maybe these people don't know how to drive in snow... I found some reviews of the Coopers blowing up going down the highway, and the reviews on the Toyos seem to imply that they're actually one of the best M/Ts for snow and do well all-around. Also found a review that says the Toyo is the best MT for highway driving.

I'd look into adding siping to any of these choices. Hardpacked snow isn't the only thing that's important- I want a tire that balances well, isn't worn at 30k miles and won't chunk off lugs on rocks.

Any other tires I should read into? Any input?

 

[tyv12]

I went from a duratrac to an st maxx, huge upgrade in traction but the low speed snow stopping did suffer


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[toyotech]

A local wheeler in Moab told me ST Maxx has been the best tire for sharp rocks. I don't like them because they are Heavy!!
BFG is coming out with a new KM3 I heard with KO2 tech.


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[Derek24]

Toyo's are nice tires. You see them On all the heavy lifted diesel trucks because they are tough and last. But they are heavy! Probably be 10lbs at minimum heavier than all those tires you listed. My dad has them on his tundra, he doesn't like them because of their weight, he's waiting for them to wear down but that's taking some time. They are by far the quietest MT I've ridden on, last forever, and grip like tractors in all seasons. You know how many tires I've been through, I wish I bought the Toyo's first and only. I wouldn't mind the weight over the benefits.

 

[rickashay]

I've ran the following in the past few years:

265/70/17 ST Maxx - Used ot be on my Tundra. Still had dedicated winter tires but was often caught in the cross season with them. Better than an MT for sure in the hard pack snow/ice but still lacking compared to a dedicated winter. IMO a great single tire to do all things well. An alternative to look at here is the new Toyo RT

285/75/16 Mickey Thompson MTZ - Had them on my 3rd Gen. Excellent in deep snow, very good offroad. They wore excellent and balanced OK. They were the 2nd best MT I've ran in hard pack snow and ice, but still not very good compared to a true winter tire. Started quiet but quickly got louder with wear. I actually really like these... 2nd favourite tire so far.

315/75/16 Goodyear MTR Kevlar - Had them on the LX450. Awesome offroad and great in the deep snow. Terrible on hard pack ice and snow. Wore very very fast and were absolutely AWEFUL to balance. Like literally AWEFUL. I had 24-30 oz on each wheel. Yes, that's right. Loud on highway.

265/75/16 BFG KM2 - Had them on my 4Runner. Good on the highway as they are quite (the quietest MT I've ran hands down). They balanced well and wore very well. Fairly light too. Offroad they were mediocre in the mud/rocks and downright aweful in hardpack snow/ice and not good at all in the deep snow. Would never run them again (for my uses...).

315/75/16 Toyo MT - Now on the Tundra. They are loud IMO... but so were the Kevlars and the MTZ's. I can't say which was louder as they were always on seperate vehicles at a different time. IMO loud and MT go hand-in-hand. All of them are liveable so turn up the radio or insulate the cab better. Toyo's have been absolutely stunning in deep snow and offroad (mud and rocks). I ran them half the winter but I wasn't driving the truck much. They were as good as the MTZ around town on hardpack snow/ice. Still not even close to a dedicated winter tire (or probably even your duratracs). I did get caught in a gnarly storm one night coming back from Banff. White out blizzard with 5 feet of visibility and ice everywhere. I drove slow and had it in 4wd the whole time but I survived and for an MT I thought they were quite reasonable. Again, very similar experience with the MTZ and honestly a similar tread pattern. Yes they are HEAVY but are wearing very very well. Will buy them again unless I try a Toyo RT next. Oh and they balanced better than any tire I've ran to this day. Japanese quality!

 

[seanpistol]

Pulled the flares and mounted the 35 on the rear and then the front. I'm going to ditch the flares for good. Been reading a bunch on Tacomaworld about cutting and rolling fenders... Marked 3" in the front and 2" in the rear. IGoing to cut into them tomorrow and be ready to tub the firewall next weekend. All supplies have been gathered. 'll probably start with half what I have marked for the initial cut on the fenders since you can always remove more, but ya can't add it back on.

My front and rear bumpers will need to be trimmed as well. Photo below has the 285 in the rear. With 15/32 tread, the 285 Duratrac measures 31.75" mounted. The 315 MTR measures 34" mounted.

"35"s are beautiful... Almost brings a tear to my eye!

 

[toyotech]

getting exciting here!! everyone is going 35s!!
Im only on 32s and would love to jump up to a 34 but really dont want to regear since i dont plan on doing a locker

could you get some front end shots and some pictures showing how much the BFF bumper sticks past the fender without the flares. thank you

 

[marathonracer]

Wow... There's just something about meaty tires on black rims filling the wheel wells that just looks awesome on tundras

 

[Adventurous]

I'm aware that when you go to a mud terrain, you'll never have "excellent" hardpacked snow traction. Some of the reviews I've come across on the MT/Rs and BFGs sound downright scary, but maybe these people don't know how to drive in snow... I found some reviews of the Coopers blowing up going down the highway, and the reviews on the Toyos seem to imply that they're actually one of the best M/Ts for snow and do well all-around. Also found a review that says the Toyo is the best MT for highway driving.

I consider myself to be a very competent snow driver and my KM2s are pretty abysmal in hardpacked snow. Luckily Denver only gets a few days of that per year, but if I was regularly in those kind of conditions during the winter I would most definitely choose a different tire.

 

[dyogim]

Sean, skip the 35's and go with some 37's...

...or maybe some 38.7's

It'll only require just a little bit more cutting in the front. LOL!

 

[seanpistol]

Haha, I heavily debated just going to 37s... You can definitely make room for it. Decided it may not be the smartest choice for the IFS drivetrain.

 

[dyogim]

Haha, I heavily debated just going to 37s... You can definitely make room for it. Decided it may not be the smartest choice for the IFS drivetrain.

Yeah, which is why I downgraded from the 38.7 michelin XL's to 37's. Those XL's where heavy. I busted the pins in a lock right locker with those tires. With the 37" military tires in conjuction with the humvee wheels, those were also heavy as F@$%! So, I went back down to 35's. I'm looking into going back to 37's in a AT version. Only downfall, most of the AT's available in 37's require a 17" wheel. So, I'll have to get rid of my 15" steelies.

 

[seanpistol]

The first photo of your truck on 37s looks goooood! 15" steelies are pretty sweet, too...