Skinny vs wide tires pros/cons

[scandy]

Delica L300, I think ive got some other things causing the rough ride, went to too stiff of torsion bars, and need to upgrade to bilsteins, but regardless, i do so damn much driving on washboard/rough gravel roads its super important to me. the reason i looked at the falkens in the first place is because i heard they ride nice.

 

[scandy]

Not sure what you’re driving or the load ratings for the “sl casing” you refer to but you could probably get away with LR-D (old rating 8 ply) rather than LR-E (old rating 10 ply). Unless it’s a heavy rig that needs 80 psi max inflation LR-D with 65 psi can be a good choice. Side ply may be more important for your intended use but even LR-E doesn’t guarantee extra side plies. You may need a deeper dive into the specs of each tire compared with your intended use.

looks like the sl is a 4 ply, which is what i had in the revo's which was fine. Im maybe 4500lbs max when really loaded, so really dont need a 10 ply. if the 235/85 came in a 4 ply itd be an easy choice.

 

[ExpoMike]

In the 255/85-16 size, Toyo Open Country MT are awesome and have been very quiet. Can't even hear them with the window down. Never heard any negative outside of price. I saw Toyo at the recent Adventure Expo and they have come out with an AT in this size.

 

[nickw]

And less weight.

The problem is the 235/85s are all LR-E while the 265/75's can be had in LR-C, in this case the wider tires will be lighter.

 

[nickw]

It really depends

I’m looking at a few tires and in a few different sizes for my 16” wheels. I’m thinking 235/85/16, 265/75/16 or 245/75/16(probably not this as I want larger diameter)

I’ve got bridgestone revo 3’s in 265/75, and had cooper at3’s in the past in 235/85 Cooper’s were 10 ply and bridgestone are 4.

I remember not being very impressed with the coopers in 2wd and not aired down, would get wheelspin pretty easy and have to go to 4 in spots I should have been able to pass sticking to 2. with the bridgestone in similar terrain, loose soily gravely Colorado dirt, and loose baseball sized debris. I could cruise along in 2low in situations that I did not expect to be able to. And no airing down. I didn’t do much serious off-roading in the coopers to be able to judge.

now i think the bridgestone might just be a better tire, I’ve been super impressed with it. That plus I think i mistakingly ran the coopers at too high of pressure for the low weight of my rig and considering they’re 10ply, that could have been all the difference right there and maybe it wasn’t a factor of width.

so that’s my minimal experience.
Anyway I’m now deciding between a set of the same size revo’s or try the falken wildpeaks in 235/85, or in 4 ply 265/75.
Weights a big factor on my underpowered right that’s why I narrowed down to the revo’s, coopers and wildpeaks. Otherwise I really wanted to try the st maxx.

my off-roading is typically in Colorado conditions like described above, the typical loseish soil, some wet/ slime. And a good amount in Moab area, so slickrock, sand, loose debris and sand over sick rock.

I could see a wider tire working well for high grip slickrock type terrain, while from what I understand skinnier might be better for looser low grip surfaces?

A big concern of mine is off camber situations and traversing side hills, I’ve got a pretty top heavy rig, not sure how much tire shape can help to alleviate that though. I was thinking skinny tires with spacers would be better than wide tires with no spacers?

265/75s are certainly still in the 'skinny' category, but it's why the aspect ratio voodoo math makes sense, width and "skinnyness" is relative to a tires height.

Skinny tires make a lot of sense, but unfortunately most can't be had in anything but LR-E....that goes for 235/85s and the 255/85s, there may be exceptions, but most are the HD tires. Great for heavy trucks towing, not ideal for lighter weight rigs.....as you point out they are stiff and can be a bit harsh riding, effecting their on-road and off-road performance.

I think the 265/75's are about ideal for a midsize rig....lots of international folks have used them with great success, including Tom Sheppard:

Mercedes-Benz Type 463 G-Class - Luxury SUV Travel & Adventure Road Test - Truck Trend

Read this full Luxury SUV Road Test & Adventure article at Truck Trend: Icon is an overused word, but if any 4x4 deserves the accolade, it's the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. To celebrate its production extension to 2010, I placed a special order for one.

www.trucktrend.com

 

[rruff]

everything else being equal, you should get slightly better mileage with a narrower tire, due to less rolling resistance and the smaller contact patch.

When I researched this awhile back I was surprised to find the opposite was true. Wide tires have lower Crr if the construction is the same. Contact patch is mostly governed by weight and pressure. The narrow tire will have a longer contact patch if the pressure is the same.

I should also add that when I went from the 255/70r18 stock Bridgestone street tires to 325/65r18 Hankook ATMs, the MPGs didn't drop at all. Rather went up slightly. There large differences between tires of different make and design, so this isn't a size comparison of course. Many ATs suck for MPGs.

 

[rayra]

When I researched this awhile back I was surprised to find the opposite was true. Wide tires have lower Crr if the construction is the same. Contact patch is mostly governed by weight and pressure. The narrow tire will have a longer contact patch if the pressure is the same.

I should also add that when I went from the 255/70r18 stock Bridgestone street tires to 325/65r18 Hankook ATMs, the MPGs didn't drop at all. Rather went up slightly. There large differences between tires of different make and design, so this isn't a size comparison of course. Many ATs suck for MPGs.

I'll call bunk on that 'research'. Longer? 'contact patch' is an area measurement, not just a chord. What about wider? And that's not even counting deflation. I started out a long time ago on relatively narrower Norsemans in the desert southwest and very soon migrated to wider tires - 31x10.50x15 being the king for a long time - because I got tired of sinking in sands. Hell the whole ******** Cepek boom in the 80s and 90s was predicated on their wider tire offerings. before the proto-BroTruck movement was even born. Their 33- and 36-12.50-15s were the mall cruiser gold standard back then.
Then there's pretty much most of military history in the 20th century where the movement has been mostly to wider tires and tank treads, for the same reasons of lower ground pressures and 'flotation' on looser soils and mud.
(shrug)

 

[Buliwyf]

Depends on vehicle, terrain, and size. (wheel and tire size)

Pizza cutters are great on old jeeps or any other excessively light vehicle.

Too narrow and too tall, combined, will wiggle and handle poorly on heavy fullsize trucks with campers or trailers. You need the right ratio of width and height. 35x12.5r18 or r20 for example. While 37's can go 13.5" wide. A 37x10.5r18 would be garbage.

Too wide will follow ruts and grooves in the road. Know how the edge of the road tries to pull you off the road? Too wide will make that much worse. Brodozers handle like that. But to really get the idea, put 315 or 355 width tires on all four corners of a 99-04 Mustang. They'll follow every groove in the track.

 

[rruff]

Longer? 'contact patch' is an area measurement, not just a chord. What about wider?

A wider tire has a wider and shorter contact patch, the narrow tire is narrower and longer.

 

[scandy]

Hmm now I’m leaning towards going wider, 265/75 really isn’t a “wide” tire still, and would be nice to not have to go with a 10 ply

 

[deserteagle56]

When I researched this awhile back I was surprised to find the opposite was true. Wide tires have lower Crr if the construction is the same. Contact patch is mostly governed by weight and pressure. The narrow tire will have a longer contact patch if the pressure is the same.

Oh, great. Now we'll be seeing Toyota Priuses running around on big wide tires.....

 

[rruff]

Oh, great. Now we'll be seeing Toyota Priuses running around on big wide tires.....

They do, considering... 215/45r17

 

[tacollie]

Unsprung weight is huge on wash board. Falkens ride great but the lighter tire will ride better. I did run E l range 235s on my third gen 4runner and I thought they rode better than my D real Discover ST. Check the tread depth. Sometimes Es are deeper. If they are the same I would but whenever is cheaper ?

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

265/75-16s are widely available in all types and ratings; that‘s a plus if you need to find one in an emergency. I run them on my 2500HD...stock size was 245/75-16.

 

[RubiconGeoff]

Here's your narrow Load Range C tire, 9" wide:

Here's your wide Load Range C tire, 16" wide:

Either one would be pretty awesome on a Prius.