"Skinny" Tires...

[Redline]

James - Thanks for the enlightening explanation on my 17" wheels. I think I did find a few 235/80R17 tires out there but I was unsure if those would actually fit on the 7.5" width wheel, or if they were just too narrow for the street. I think I would much prefer to just keep the wheels I already have to prevent even more car parts from cluttering up my garage. I like to try and work with what I already have as much as possible.

Now, another question is this: does it matter what type of tread pattern you run on those skinny tires? Looking at a lot of the photos that some folks posted, it appears that mud-terrains are very popular. I'm partial to all-terrains because the majority of my time is spent on pavement. Any reason why I should not shy away from the mud-terrains?

A 235/85R16 or a 235/80R17 are not too narrow for the street, they are great on-road.

Keeping your wheels will save you money, clutter, and add flexibility to future tire choices (widths). You may decide you want 235s now, but 265s next time.

The tread pattern does not matter, you can run any tread you desire, all-terrain tires are good. Search by size on www.tirerack.com to look at many different treads in whatever size you want. Based on your search results you will also have a good idea of how popular a size is.

There are many more tread choices in the 265/70R17 size than the 235/80R17 size, one of the reasons I would personally lean toward a 265, in addition to my personal experience running a 265 on my built 4Runner, they worked very well.

All of the sizes we have been discussing in this thread are readily available in both 16 & 17" wheels, with the exception of the 255/85R16, and they are not what you want anyway.

James

 

[ljtuck]

Now, another question is this: does it matter what type of tread pattern you run on those skinny tires? Looking at a lot of the photos that some folks posted, it appears that mud-terrains are very popular. I'm partial to all-terrains because the majority of my time is spent on pavement. Any reason why I should not shy away from the mud-terrains?

MT's are noisier on the pavement. Also, unless you can get some with decent siping (or have them siped), MT's really are not that great in icy conditions, but that may not be a concern where you live. I use MT's most of the time during the summer, but usually change to street tires if I am taking the truck on long highway trips. I don't usually use the MT's in the winter where I live because there are a good number of days with icy roads (most of my winter driving is in my car with studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5's at all 4 corners. Those tires go anywhere in the winter!). However, I have had great success with the skinny MT's in snow.

 

[downhill]

In addition to possible sidewall lean, a narrow tire like a 235 doesn't offer much later support/stability because of its narrow track.

True. I added 1" spacers to my wheels for the sole purpose of increasing the track width.

 

[JSimmons]

Hi Guys,

Yes, I have been on Tirerack.com a bunch of times for a variety of cars. I've searched quite a bit on there and various other places for several different sizes of tires. I think I will probably go with something skinnier than the 265s I'm currently running, but I might do what downhill did and put some spacers on there to increase the track width.

Nokians have always been tempting but I have not lived in an area with significant snow/ice for some time, so I'll probably hold off on trying those for a while. Still split on the M/T vs. A/T tires. I think I will just have to take a close look at the tread design to see exactly what characteristics the tire may exhibit. Don't want anything too noisy but I don't just want a fancy all-season touring tire either.

The variety of 16" tires is tempting but I think I'd rather avoid the additional clutter in the garage by sticking with the 17" wheels.

This has been a great discussion (or education session), and again I appreciate all the input from everyone on this great forum. Glad to be here.

 

[TexGX]

Check out my Hankook ATM's 255/75/17. I just got them so can not give my option yet other then the size worked with out my lift and are quiet.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/67034-The-Time-Has-Come-My-GX-build/page9

TexGX

 

[mvbeggs]

Narrow wheels, where?

.... I've got 235s on a 7" wheel and they work well, even aired down. I wouldn't go wider though. The 235/85-16 is very easy to find and the choices in tires are great.

Downhill,

Too bad the 16x8 stock wheels are too wide for the 235's. Where did you find the 7" wheel for your 235's? (I saw the pcis of your rig and it looked like you were running stock wheels.. Downhill's rig? )

Edited 02-13-2012: The 2012 stock Tacoma wheels are specified at 16x7. It was verified with my dealer this morning.

 

[downhill]

Downhill,

Too bad the 16x8 stock wheels are too wide for the 235's. Where did you find the 7" wheel for your 235's? (I saw the pcis of your rig and it looked like you were running stock wheels.. Downhill's rig? )

Yep, mine are stock. No other real options for the Tacoma in a 7". I wasn't aware Toyota had an 16x8" stock wheel. I've only seen the 16x7. Luckily they are a good wheel, just not my first choice in style but oh well. Sent you a PM with some info you might be able to use.

 

[mvbeggs]

2012 tacoma rim 16x8??

Yep, mine are stock. No other real options for the Tacoma in a 7". I wasn't aware Toyota had an 16x8" stock wheel. I've only seen the 16x7. Luckily they are a good wheel, just not my first choice in style but oh well. Sent you a PM with some info you might be able to use.

Got the PM and responded. Thanks.

Well, I had the tires off the rims last week and I thought I measured the rim width from outside to outside at 8 1/4". Inside to inside was close to 8". Interesting comment on the 7" rim width. You've got me wondering if I misread the tape measure. :Wow1:

My backspace on the wheel looked to be about 5 1/4" which gave about an inch of clearance between the upper control arm and the inside edge of the 265 tires. Looked pretty tight in there. 235's would give all kinds of room to clear the UCA.

I'll confirm my rim width and report back.

 

[downhill]

The way wheel width is measured is a little funky, but yeah Toyota specs them at 7". I think it is based on the bead itself. I've never actually measured mine with a tape. I've noticed in the past with other wheels that my measurements always seemed greater than the designation.

 

[mvbeggs]

Tacoma Wheels 16x7

Got the PM and responded. Thanks.

Well, I had the tires off the rims last week and I thought I measured the rim width from outside to outside at 8 1/4". Inside to inside was close to 8". Interesting comment on the 7" rim width. You've got me wondering if I misread the tape measure. :Wow1:....

I'll confirm my rim width and report back.

The way wheel width is measured is a little funky, but yeah Toyota specs them at 7". I think it is based on the bead itself. I've never actually measured mine with a tape. I've noticed in the past with other wheels that my measurements always seemed greater than the designation.

Downhill is correct that the Tacoma wheels are spec'd at 16x7.

I verified this morning with the dealer' parts department, using my VIN, that the wheels for the 2012 Tacoma Double Cab with the Off Road Package is 16x7.

 

[brevity_thing]

I wanted to wake up this thread to check on a couple of things. There is some great information here.

First I have a 1995 Wrangler riding on 16x7 rims, and I would love to run 235/85r16's instead of the worn out 285/75r16 I run now. My concern is the width, I used to run 31x10.5-15 tires on 15x8 rims, and I had a lot of bead issues. On tough off road climbs, a rock or even just on mud on a heavy side-load could pop a bead. Also wood fibers got jammed in the beads, and I would have to air down partially to remove the fibers afterward. With the 285 series on the 7" wide rims, I have had zero issues. But on the road, the 285 series tire is too much for my vehicle. The Jeep has a 2.5L engine with a 4.88:1 gear ratio, and it is a little too much weight and rolling resistance with this tire. I consider myself mostly a trail rider, but I do sometimes drive trails that are classified as "Difficult". I prefer to drive the Jeep rather than tow it when I go on out-of-state trips to camp and ride trails. So is it the consensus here that the 235/86r16 would work fine on a 7" wide rim, even aired down? Fender clearance is not an issue as I am currently clearing the 285 tires even fully articulated on the trail.

The other thing that I was curious about is my truck, I currently have a 265/75r17 tire on 8" wide rims which is great. The truck is mostly used on road, but does go onto the beach or dirt roads from time to time on vacations or camping trips. I would like to use a little bit taller tire, and I was wondering if the 255 series would be okay on the 8" wide rim, or if I should use the more common 285 series. The truck has a leveling kit installed and long travel shocks, so clearance will be fine with the taller tire. It drives and rides great currently, it has a 5.3L engine and 3.73:1 gear ratio.

Great site, I hope someday to be outfitted more than I am now. Currently I just pack a fire grate, firewood, tent/sleeping bag/air mattress, and a few other odds and ends In the Wrangler there is barely room for those things and recovery gear.

 

[Plannerman]

I ran 255/75/17 on my old pickup with the Seq. rims they worked great. If you can find some KM1's Rubicon takeoffs thats your best deal. If you see snow or ice get the center lugs siped and you should be good to go.

I found a set last month for good deal and love the tire. It turns out that the Rubicon spec'ed tire is not terribly heavy, too, which is a nice bonus (almost the same weight as my 265/70/17 ATs).

I recently ran 265s and 285 (I've been experimenting) and find the road manners of the 255 are quite good. The skinnier tires do track better on the highway. Unfortunately, they are quite a bit louder.

 

[Plannerman]

Brevity, I am running 255s on a 7.5" width rim with no problems. I would imagine 8" would be fine.

 

[Redline]

I wanted to wake up this thread to check on a couple of things. There is some great information here.snip...

In short, all of your proposed tire/wheel combinations are fine, and within the specifications for the tires you've mentioned. A 265/75R16 on an 8" wheel might be the loosest fit, but I still think it's fine.

As you probably know, bead retention has much to do with your psi, the load, how you drive, etc. Many variables, but I would have no concerns running any of the combinations you've suggested, and I have except for a 265 on an 8" wheel.

A 255/85R16 on an 8" wheel is not a problem, I ran that combo for many thousands of miles on my 2005 Jeep, including rock crawling in Moab.

A 285/75 on a 7" is actually 1/2" narrower than spec. Many do it and this can work fine, though I do prefer 7.5" or 8" wheels with 285s for overall tire/wheel fit.

235/85 on a 7" was the stock fitment on my old F350, I still use the OE wheels, but with 255/85 tires. Either tire works well on a 7" wheel.

A 31x15.50R15 on an 8" wheel is in the middle of the spec. Surprised you have had so many issues with bead retention, but again psi, the wheel, the driver, etc. all impact your results.

 

[chequamegon]

I have read a lot of the arguments for skinny tires, but I am pretty new to this whole deal. They seemed to make sense, so I decided to give it a try.

Just bought 235/85-16 Bridgestone Commercial Traction tires on TRD 16" rims. Got them mounted up tonight.

Excellent road manners, and actually not too much noise for a pretty knobby tire, only a slight bit more noise than the all-season 265/65-17s they replaced. Much less than I thought, and I think that probably has to do with the smaller contact patch. Handling is great, no negative effects. Haven't gotten off road yet, but I am excited to give it a try.