worse in snow and rain after lift and 31s? | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums

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worse in snow and rain after lift and 31s?

I've also read that about the revos, I think I'll go with the Silent armour wranglers, they had good ratings on tire rack.
 



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Siping won't hurt your traction in anything, it makes your ice traction a lot better.
 






but it can also increase your wear.

I LOVE my Baja claws in the snow and they have never failed me in the rain. The only draw back to them is they are VERY loud at highway speeds. They kind of suck in a burn-out too :)

The biggest difference I noticed when switching from stock to 31's was acceleration and mileage. Both got worse due to gearing. I think it actually improved my overall handling because I went with a wider offset wheel that gives my truck a wider stance.
 






Siped

what does "siped" mean

If you go to a local Discount Tire or America's Tire, they will explain it to you in depth. There is no real drawback to it except for cost, maybe. I'm told that it will actually quiet the road noise a little as well.
 






well in winter i always run a 235/75/15 i take my 32's off a smaller tire in my mind is way better then a big wide(ski)tire in the snow
 






well im only gonna get 31s and they are not that much bigger im gonna go 31x10.5x15.. so its not much diffrent... but im not gonna have 2 sets of tires.. i habe no where to store them so im gonna run the 31s regularly so i wanna make sure i know what im in for first
 






What's Really bothering you about this?

I'm curious though, do you have rear sag?

I was driving today.. and I saw a sport... it was Horrible....
 






well in winter i always run a 235/75/15 i take my 32's off a smaller tire in my mind is way better then a big wide(ski)tire in the snow

have you ever noticed how skinny skis are?
 






bottem line it that the wider your tire the crappier it will be in the snow yeah skis are skinny good thing you noticed that i never would have
 






no, you want the maximum tread contact with the ground. my point was that skis would be wider if wider meant less friction, and faster speeds, but it doesn't. so wider tire = more ground contact = better traction.
 






You're actually wrong, the wider the tire.. the worse the traction gets.
 






You're actually wrong, the wider the tire.. the worse the traction gets.

how do you figure that? i'm also thinking that typically the wider the tire, the deeper & wider the treads. if we are talking specifically in the context of small 25-31" tires then maybe i am wrong.
 






I don't know the exact logic to it, I'm sure someone will explain it.
Depends on the road condition also.

And just so Aleej doesn't get confused, with these 31" tires [31x10.50x15].. I have zero problems with our Alaskan winters/road conditions. A couple weeks ago we got over a foot of snow.. and these tires were fantastic. They're not too wide for this kinda condition.
 






tire contact

You will receive better traction with wider tires - a bigger contact area to grip. Which a wider tire will do. That being said... in rain, snow, slush, mud, (soft terrrain) etc. you actually want to cut through that soft stuff to get contact to solid ground, which is where you get your true traction from.

If you want the best of both worlds, big tires - good looks and good traction, your best bet, logically, would to go with say, 30x9.50's or even 33x9.50's for more clearance.

Your rims will play into effect with your contact patch as well. Say if you have stock rims that are only 7" wide, versus an aftermarket rim that is 8" wide, with the same size tire, your tire contact width will be narrower with the stock rim because of, what I call, the "squeeze factor".

Just go to your local tire service dealer (Not Walmart's Tire and lube express either) and they should be able to show you what I mean. I've confused you enough! :confused:
 






i have to disagree with the wider tire is better and having a wider rim like you say more tire in contact with the pavement with a 8" rim well i been doing this for a long time and yeah a wider rim will will make the tire fuller on the rim make it look a lil bigger but as you say there will be more tire on the road not true if that was the case a 7" rim would screw a tire then if all the treads arent on the road ya know what i mean like we get bad winters here in cape breton and all the fella that have the truck with the 35's and larger tires all put little tires on and if you ask them why it cause big wide tires are garbage in the snow when i drove my 32/11.5/15 in the snow thay sucked and there a mud tire but when i put my winters on wich are a 235/75/15 it was much better there a m/s tire iam not going to argue its all in your opinon what you want to do but ask around and see what ppl say
 






I had a ranger with stock rims (6.5" wide) with 31's on them - no rubbing. I bought a set of aftermarket wheels (8" wide) with the same offset and mounted the same tires on the new rims. Guess what? Rubbed. Bad. As I worked for Goodyear at the time, I pulled the little truck into the shop and trimmed some fender just so I could turn. Which is why there are "approved rim widths" for tires.

I'm not disagreeing with you. As you read in my previous post, I stated that, "you actually want to cut through that soft stuff to get contact to solid ground,..." which a narrower tire will do better than a wider tire. Snow is soft. I run 30x9.50 Goodyear MT/R's on my X and get better traction than what my brother gets - in the snow - with his Wrangler on 31's MT/R's. Could be the vehicle, but I believe it's the narrower tire cuts through the soft stuff better than the wider 31's.

On dry pavement, the wider contact is better for traction. Disagree with me all you want, but why would NASCAR, Formula 1, and other auto racing organizations run with wide tires? For contact purposes.
 






i currently have a thee inch lift with 31 10.5 goodyear A/T. The size of tread on the bigger tires will help alot in snow and rain. Also depending on the tire the road noise will increase, some find it anoying but i dont mind it, its music to my ears. One problem that i have ecountered with my 31's is that in certain situations where the suspension is flexed the front tires rub against the fenders, it also occurs when i make tight turns. Small price to pay for the looks of the 31's
 






oh i agree with the wide tires on the pavement cause i run a 88 mx-6 gt turbo and the factory 205/65/15 wouldnt grab the road so i switched to a set of 225/50/16 and what a difference but getting back to the wide tires like i always said a dully with 6 tires or a regular 4 tired truck ya know what i mean skinny tires just cut into stuff better but like i said before ppl have there own thoughts about stuff soo what ever floats there boat dont bother me as long as there happy eh lol
 






better finish this id rather get 4 tires stuck the 6 rite if you get what iam saying you will understand what i mean sry if ppl dont get it its just the way it came out lol
 



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What's Really bothering you about this?

I'm curious though, do you have rear sag?

I was driving today.. and I saw a sport... it was Horrible....

what do you mean what is really bothering me about this.. and yes i do have rear sag... but all sports do.. that doesnt bother me so much tho..

You will receive better traction with wider tires - a bigger contact area to grip. Which a wider tire will do. That being said... in rain, snow, slush, mud, (soft terrrain) etc. you actually want to cut through that soft stuff to get contact to solid ground, which is where you get your true traction from.

this is why i asked in the first place.. cuz i know that when you plow you want skinny tires to cut thru the snow, but i wasnt sure if the agressive tread would counter act that at all, or if 31s really werent so much bigger so they wouldnt make much of a diffrence...

If you want the best of both worlds, big tires - good looks and good traction, your best bet, logically, would to go with say, 30x9.50's or even 33x9.50's for more clearance.

i would never run a 33x9.5, just too skinny for me...

I had a ranger with stock rims (6.5" wide) with 31's on them - no rubbing. I bought a set of aftermarket wheels (8" wide) with the same offset and mounted the same tires on the new rims. Guess what? Rubbed. Bad. As I worked for Goodyear at the time, I pulled the little truck into the shop and trimmed some fender just so I could turn. Which is why there are "approved rim widths" for tires.

well i guess im not gonna get wider rims then ...
 






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