Skinny tires

[colintrax]

Before my current tires are gone I'm looking into what I wanna get next. I'm 2wd so I don't do to much offroading but I do need/want a taller tire. I don't want a fat tire though, the explorers honestly don't weigh enough to make a fat tire useful and a fat tire only means more wasted gas, and a more expensive tire.
I wanna keep it under a 265 width or 10.5". I want a 32" tall tire but right now it's looking like a 31x10.5 or 265/75. I've found the maxxis radial buckshots 245/85r15 but thats it any other tires in that size (thats the size I REALLY want) the maxxis is to aggressive for my tastes. I'm looking for an A/T
and the 15" rims are staying unfortunately

 

[AlexSport'00]

33x9.5-15
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=33X&ratio=9.5&diameter=15.0&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&RunFlat=All

33x10.5-15
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=33X&ratio=10.5&diameter=15.0&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&RunFlat=All

I know they're 33's, but I can't find any 32's that are less that 11.5 wide. But I'll look for a few more minutes.

 

[FIND]

What you are looking for really doesn't exist. Besides, that big of a tire on that small of rim won't be saving you any gas. Might as well go with a larger diameter rim, and then you can find tires in a 235-245 width that will hit that 32" height that have a highway tread. Anyone who is buying tires for a 15" rim with a sidewall that tall though... they generally are doing so because they want something to crawl on the rocks or play in the mud with, and for those, you want a wide tread with an aggressive tread. That tall of a sidewall on anything else... Well, it wouldn't make any sense for an on-road tread, because that is a lot of sidewall to flex while cornering.

Besides, tires that size weigh a lot too. All that extra rolling weight cuts into your fuel economy a lot more than 20 mm in tread width does.

a 235/75R17 gives you a 31 inch diameter, a 9.25 inch width and plenty of sidewall. Plus you have a relatively skinny tire compared to your other options.

Bump that up to 255 and you are 10 inches wide and 32 inches tall.

Really, I can find 17" rims that fit a 2nd gen all day for cheap. Grab a set of 3rd gen wheels, they look great, and you can catch them on ebay for a couple hundred bucks sometimes. I think Ronin just sold a set on here for a couple hundred bucks with some tires on them. There's a set of mustang 17" wheels on there for 230 right now, and some 17" sploder rims for 80 bucks a piece from a guy whose listing says that all 4 are available.

Just saying. The gas savings would make it worth it in the long run. Forget about the fact that it would look a lot better too.

 

[colintrax]

I would love to get some 16" or 17" rims but I don't have the cash for that right now. Those rims aren't cheap (even at the junk yard) and the tires for them are more expensive. And I know they weigh more and that can hurt my gas mileage (of course it also makes my gearing "taller" and that can help gas mileage) but there's no need for the extra width. For now I'ma have to suck it up and deal with ehh handling and hard to find tires.
Alex while I would go with 33's I don't think I could resonably stuff those under my 97 without cutting/lift. I'ma look into that though

 

[FIND]

If I come across some decent 18s to replace the gaudy chrome ones I have, you can have them for just the price of shipping.

 

[Ronin8002]

If I come across some decent 18s to replace the gaudy chrome ones I have, you can have them for just the price of shipping.

If you still want my stock Ironman ones, they are coming off within a few weeks.

 

[FIND]

If you still want my stock Ironman ones, they are coming off within a few weeks.

PM me your price so I know if its still in my budget. They'd have to go to vermillion, SD. The zip here is 57069. If greyhound is cheaper, I can go to Sioux City, IA to pick them up at the Greyhound Terminal. It's only 38 miles away.

 

[AlexSport'00]

Colin: Welp, hope I gave you some ideas. That's all I could find that was skinny and tall...just one inch too tall. But hey, at least I tried. haha

 

[colintrax]

Really? Thanks! Well if you want I can send you my old 15's for the shipping for them if you want some spare 15" rims hanging around

 

[FIND]

Nah, it's cool, I've got a whole set of 16s with some meaty suckers on them already, and I'm probably going to pick up a set of limited 16s for snow tires. If I can help out a forum member and find a good use for parts I don't like at the same time, then that's enough for me. Hang onto your 15s. If nothing else, keep an eye on aluminum prices.

 

[colintrax]

Haha thanks Alex
Find, I appreciate it. My rims will probably never be worth much, don't weigh alot (so not worth much scrap and this new law/rule at the scrap yard sucks) and they got a good bit of curb rash/trail rash.
What rims are these? I'm guessing 16's?

 

[FIND]

Haha thanks Alex
Find, I appreciate it. My rims will probably never be worth much, don't weigh alot (so not worth much scrap and this new law/rule at the scrap yard sucks) and they got a good bit of curb rash/trail rash.
What rims are these? I'm guessing 16's?

What rims are what? The ones I have that I said you could have? They are 18" Enkei LX-M. They've got a couple tiny bad spots for the chrome on them, but nothing that would show using the 30/30 rule. 30 feet or 30 miles per hour. Plus, they will probably polish up, they just weren't worth my time.

Same wheels I bought the truck with. I just haven't bothered switching to anything else, since my tire/wheel package is already a pretty large diameter, so for light off-road or highway use, I didn't see much sense in going much smaller. Plus, they had brand new tires on them, so I didn't feel like wasting them. I just figured I would take my time and find some wheels I liked.

The tires I've got on them are a 265/60R18, but I'll keep them to throw on the new wheels, since Ronin8002 has a smaller tire on than I do. Skinnier tires are easy enough to find and not bad priced either.

 

[colintrax]

Find, thanks for the offer but I cant seem to find many offroad tires for the 18" rim. I think my best bet is going to be at the junkyard, I'll see if they'll let me trade. Throw my 15" rims on an explorer and take the 16" rims off. I'll probably have to give them some cash (if they let me) but I wouldn't guess it'd be that much. With the 16" rim I can get the 235/85 with a good bit of options on tires.
Thanks though

 

[Dono]

Ronin, too bad your so far from me.
This was a great read for me, as I have been kicking around the idea of taller tires, but don't need the width.

The whole aspect ratio thing throws me off.
So, the rubber you currently have on your 18" rims is 10 inches wide, and the height is 30.5. Still works with stock height truck.

Now, 235 65 r18 would only have a width of 9.25 and a height of 30 inches.
Seems pretty tough to get in to the 31" height range and stay under 10 inches width.

Am I missing something?

 

[FIND]

FWIW, mine has shackles and a TT, but yeah, it would still work with a stock height truck.

But yeah, it does get kinda hard to get that kind of height without getting fairly wide, but there is a reason for that...

 

[colintrax]

But sidewall is good offroad err compromises.
The aspect ratio is the ratio of section width to the height. So a 235/75r18 is taller than a 235/60r18. Not to hard to go into the 31"+ range and be under 10" wide. But you need a rim bigger than 15"
With the 16" rim you can get a 235/85r16 or what else I'm considering a 245/75r16

 

[colintrax]

Would I be able to fit a 255/85r16? That's 33.1" tall and 10" wide
I'm guessing it'd rub pretty bad

 

[unclemeat]

Collin

I have a set of stock 16-inch steel wheels from my 05 that I would consider parting with for a low price.

 

[Riverrunner]

Would I be able to fit a 255/85r16? That's 33.1" tall and 10" wide
I'm guessing it'd rub pretty bad

Yeah, those are pretty tall and you'd want to check the actual size on the manufacturer's site because they are not all exactly the same size. I run 255/85-16's on a lifted f350 dually and mine are 33.3" tall according to the manufacturer. You'd have to get the right rims, lift, and maybe spacers to clear them.

 

[colintrax]

Collin

I have a set of stock 16-inch steel wheels from my 05 that I would consider parting with for a low price.

That'd be the wrong off set, I'm probably gonna get the 5 spoke limited rims. Those look pretty good and will have the right off set

So 255/85r16 is no good. I'm just having a hard time finding a 235/85r16. I have Faulken Rocky Mountains and LOVE them, but they aren't made in that size so I'm trying to find a similar tread pattern. The Toyo Open Country AT II is similar and made in that size, but it only comes in load range "e" and weighs 43lbs. Kinda losing some of the advantages of a skinny tire when it weighs that much