Tire Size Opinions

Happy Black Friday shopping guys.

I just pulled the trigger on some Fox 2.5"s and am now shopping tires.

The two sizes I am considering are:

285/75/18
295/70/18

I already have 18" wheels (XD wheels, PO put them on and I don't hate them enough to buy new ones)

The 285/75 measure out taller and skinnier which I like, but I really like the KO2's and they are only available in the 295's.
The other tire I am considering are the Nitto Ridge Grappler.

Both are comparable in price.

What would you do and why?

Thanks for your help and wisdom!

))--SLIVER-->

 

Either one is going to be a lot of work.

If the tire I wanted was only available in one option, I'd go with that option.

 

Are you also planning on chopping the body mount, re-gearing, trimming, beating your pinch welds and firewall, and upgrading the steering rack?

 

Highly recommend the Cooper RuggedTrek. Amazing tire. Super aggressive AT tire. Have had zero issues with crawling on dry rock, mud or slate. I actually like them much better than the MTRs I ran on my TJ.

 

The OP is looking at 285/75/18's, though, which are almost 35" tall. Either size being asked about will be a challenge to fit.

 

My brain read that as 17s. My mistake.

 

Haha! I had to do a double take. 285/75/18 is not a typical size I read about here.

 

Yeah right lol.. Man I wouldn't want to deal with trying to fit that on a 4Runner!

 

Like others have alluded to, 285/70/18, or 285/75/18 is going to be a challenge to fit. A very common tire size after lifting (pretty much the go to) is the 285/70/17. The 285/70/17 is just short of a 33x11.2" tire. With that size some people are doing UCA's, aftermarket wheels or spacers, cab mount chop, fender liners, regear, and mud flap removal, a mix of some or all of those mods to make it fit/work

You are attempting to fit a tire that is about two inches taller, and slightly wider. Your best bet is to scour the forums and see who's fit 35's, because that's essentially what you're doing.

My weekend warrior take: Unless you are dead set on 35's, skip it. It's going to be a bit of work to make them fit, and your 4Runner is gonna suck without some supporting mods.

 

Wish OP kept 17in wheels for more rubber and enjoy the high availability of 17in tire options. Even wheel options. Many toyota 4x4shops would be familiar with 17in 35 tire work vs not common 18in.

As said above I too like to stay 285/70R17 world or 285/75R17 world not having to complicate things from aftermarket gearing to strengthening front components for 35in tires.

On a side note, wish Toyota have that option package for 4runner like Jeep does with Extreme package. For 3000bucks you get a bunch of upgrades including 35in tires.

 

Thanks for the reply!
I appreciate it.

 

Current plan is viper cut, UCA's are on the way so I can adjust some at the alignment shop.
No plans to re-gear, or do firewall work. Maybe a body mount chop if needed.

 

I really appreciate your opinions guys. When I bought the runner it had a toytec 3" lift and these 18's on it with the 295/70's. The bumper is trimmed a but, but other than that, the 295's fit without really any other mods. The tires were duratrack's and I HATED them, but ran them for several years until new tires were needed.
Went with KO-2's in a 275.
Now we are upgrading the runner a bit as we plan to keep it for awhile. I have the Fox 2.5's, JBA UCA's, and Rear Dobinson long travel shocks coming.
With this setup I hope to make it a little more capable off road, and a little more smooth on road.

I am also not opposed to getting new wheels and tires, but it's really an expense I don't need if I can make these 18's work.
I do however like the look of the new method wheels.......

 

I'm guessing maybe the previous owner did everything necessary to clear the tires already. That's a much bigger tire than most people go with, due to the amount of work needed. If it didn't feel sluggish, they may have regeared it already, also.

Otherwise, if the body mounts and firewall haven't already been modified, you might find that it's going to rub once you get it in some technical trails and really flex it out.

Is it on stock UCA's now? If so, switching to aftermarket will actually bring the tires closer to the firewall, so you might have new clearance issues.

Hopefully everything works out, though! Post pictures once you get everything done.

 

With those sizes, id count on doing a body mount chop

 

I'll double check to see if the body mount is already chopped. It is on stock UCA's now, as the toytec lift is just a spacer in the front, coils in the rear.

I'm going to price out 17" wheels to see if it's worth switching. I could always sell the 18" wheels and tires to a taco guy and recoup some $$

))--SLIVER-->

 

Have you looked into 275/70/18 options? That is very similar in size to the common 285/70/17.

 

I am on 285/75/R17s, 33.8 inches to be exact. Zero rubbing after some minor chopping. The truck drives and handles great. I face only one problem, my gas mileage is super crappy

 

Your gas mileage might actually improve with a regear.

 

Eventually I will, and when they open the differentials, I'm throwing a front locker in there too, and 35s

 

I still don't understand this re-gear situation. Will learn some day. I wasn't sure after re-gear will I be able to use 5th on a flat highway. With same setup will it be too fast on 1st gear low. Haven't had a chance to drive one. Will see some day.... No hurry as fitting 34s might be a long way. Who knows, may be never. Don't wanna waste all that time and money and if I had to replace the vehicle due a crash or something like last time.

I'm gonna vote to keep 34s. I think it would be much safer on your front components. I think 34s are a win for both financially and reliability. (I think)

 

275/70/18 is actually the exact size I am running now. They are fine, but I was hoping to go a bit taller with this refresh.

 

Pics?

 

I can't really use overdrive with the 295's. If I regeared, I might be able to. It can also help with our shitty crawl gear.

But, it's not necessarily required, especially if you're only on 33's.

I also think a lot of people overcompensate by going too low with a regear, which can probably backfire by making the RPM's too high on the freeway.

 

You do realize you're looking at 35's right? I do not intend to come across as snarky, but you've got some work ahead of you to fit these. 35's do look bomb on the 4Runner though!

 

OP, contact this guy too

https://www.4runners.com/threads/35s-installed-how-i-did-it.20553/

 

Ok, here's where I'm at.

1. Keep 18" wheels and do the 295/70/18's. They measure out to 34.3" tall, 11.6" wide and are ~$1600 for the set of KO2's at Costco (only doing Costco for price comparison).
2. Sell the 18's with current tires for around $500 total. Get the 285/75/17's on some new Method wheels. They measure out to 33.8" tall and 11.2" wide (pretty comparable size to the above). KO2's at Costco are $1354, wheels would be another ~$1100 for a total of ~$2454 before tax. Add back in $500 for the sale of the other wheels brings us to $1954. So with the cheaper price of the 17" tires, plus the sale of the old wheels, I'd be around $400 more to go with new 17" wheels.

Hope you are following my logic.....
What do you guys think? Would you rather have the 17's? Worth $400 to switch things up?

 

The least amount of weight(tire + wheel) the better.

Trd pro wheel weigh 23-25lbs a piece . Anything over that no matter how cool they look is a downgrade.

 

The Method I'm looking at says it is 26.6 lbs/wheel.