Help, im lost on choosing a tire size :(

[mysticclam]

Ive been dwelling on this for weeks. Everything has pros and cons and I dont know which is the best compromise. Ive searched the board extensivly and its like I have too much info to make a choice.
My X
91 xlt 3.73 LS gear
4x4
factory rims
I dont care about city mpg as i have a car too. Highway milage I care about some as I drive long trips to the beach - mountains etc in it.
I would buy new rims but I dont want to spend the money on gears, Id rather a winch, bumpers that sort of stuff.
I am going to do a 3 inch body lift and then coil spacer shackle if nessesary.
I drive on sand a fair amount and I want to do some of the easier to moderate trails (want to go to some of the scenic places you cant get to in a 2wd and just want to make the x a little better.) I think Id chose 32x10.5 in a heartbeat If it was more common. I know I want an AT tire
so my choices are
31x10.5
(wider for sand) not as much clearance, plus I just kind of want a bigger tire for looks)
32x11.5
(needs new rims and I feel like it might hurt mileage the most on the highway being wide and heavy compared to stock
33x9.5
I think the skinny tires look military so look is not a prob but on the stock rims it seems like im going up alot and not wider so will loose stability plus they wont help as much on the sand.
33x10.5
I think these would work except 33s are going to be a bummer with my gears.
Anyone have any thoughts as to what will be best.
I guess my main question is do i need taller or wider more? I guess I could use rims or spacers to move the skinny tires out a bit.
Is there a common metric size close to 32x10.5?

 

[Xplorer12686]

265/75/16 is very close to 32x10.5. thats what i have on my truck. Im getting 14-15 mpg in city but i also have open 4.10s. I had the same dilema as you had. I did not know if i wanted to go with a smaller tire or a taller tire. 265/75/16 or 275/70/16were my options. I went with the the taller tire. I thought ground clearance would have been more beneficial to my needs. I think for you find out what size tire will do best for your gears since you dont wanna re gear. I dont know much about gearing so i cant help you out there. But some people in here are very very good. I hope i was able to help some.