CLASSIFIEDS > Wheels & Tires
Blue Taco, Tire Logic.... wider vs taller?
slowbox:
Please note anything blue taco posts means my novice butt is threading here.....
I've been prowling tacoma forums and discovering some interesting but maybe counter-intuitive bits of info regarding tire width.
In a nutshell I've got a 3" lift planned, and wanting to keep my wheels but possible new tires:
Current stock tires: 265/70/16 BFG
Yet lots of recommendations for: 255/85/16
So less wide, but taller tire. Folks are proposing that the narrow tires actually provide a fair bit of function over the wide depending on conditions.
Here's the thread if curious: http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180050
I found it curious, I dont expect to swap out my good stock tires yet, but didn't know GATR's take on it.
-tom
ATLSRT8:
I am no expert, but I figure for rock crawling the more contact area (wider) the better. I have seen narrow tires on mud rigs and snow rigs because it helps cut through the elements.
DOUG:
For what we do, the more rubber on the ground, the more traction. The wider the better.
Sent off camber
clark123456:
EDIT: I understand the concern with wide vs tall for specific vehicles.
Two dissimilar things are being compared: Width vs Height --- You can have a wide tire that is tall (relative to a short tire) and you can have a wide tire that is short (relative to a tall tire). Do the same thing for a skinny tire and you should get the point.
Wider tires (relative to skinnier tires) can cause/create some issues if you are not prepared for them:
1) Front tires rubbing against parts (control arms & anti-sway bar in my case) in the wheel well is a common issue if you aren't running spacers and/or wheels with enough backspacing. Some times you can have a problem with the rear tire rubbing also, but hopefully not due to turning.
2) Stress on steering components. The extra contact area with the terrain surface can add significant resistance to turning which impacts steering components.
3) Splashing of water and slinging of dirt, rocks, and mud. The extra overhang, especially if you go really wide due to the additional offset you need to avoid issue #1, will allow the tires to sling stuff around.
4) Stress on axle shafts. While not likely to be a concern, the extra width can add stress to the axle shafts in turning situations, especially in situations of really sticky tires with locked axles (not axles with lockers, but axles where the locker is locked up tight (a spool)).
5) MPG hit. More surface area equals more resistance which will theoretically impact your MPGs. Maybe not much, but theoretically there will be an impact.
When considering your tires, think about how you will use them and what you really to get out of them (long life, look tough, Load E rating, comfort on road, etc). Assign some sort of weighting to the various features that makes sense to you. I like to use Excel to focus my attention when comparing things, so I would create a matrix that captures the various tires I'm considering (Y axis) and matches that to features offered by the tire (X axis) (sticky-ness, gas mileage impact, longevity/life, max weight load for towing/hauling, on-road, cost, availability after the sale, etc, etc). Then find the tire that has the highest calculated value based on your weighting and tire feature matrix. Then, forget everything you did and see what you can find for cheap that looks good and that you think will work for your needs :)
This site will let you play with the various tire and wheel sizes and compare them visually and with measurements. http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp
clark123456:
--- Quote from: Doug on January 24, 2014, 09:23:12 PM ---For what we do, the more rubber on the ground, the more traction. The wider the better.
Sent off camber
--- End quote ---
Doug, this guy's document doesn't agree with you: http://www.expeditionswest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version