ricster wrote:A
SJC, bud I must disagree with you ....
quote " Thats why I fitted 255/85r16's. The Dunlops i fitted, were R1k cheaper per tyre than the 285's (but same height).
To me the height is more important than the width, but that is just my personal preference...It seems that a lot of people prefer wider tyres... "
You cannot have enough rubber on the road. The smaller the tyre the less rubber you have on the tar... less rubber on the tar with a heavy vehicle means your more likely to break traction before a wider tyre. When I want to stop my 3ton Iron Maiden, I want it to stop immediately, and therefore the softer rubber compounds and a bigger footprint on the tar is going to ensure that I do stop as quickly as possible. On soft sand soft ( deflated ) wide tyres are brilliant.... I know from experience with my diesel at Atlantis dunes in the Cape. Skinny tyres would have made me sit for a long time going nowhere slowly. The Patrols ( station wagon ) if I am not mistaken come out with a 31" tyre. A 33" tyre automatically gives you a 1" lift. combine that with a 2"lift and you have a 3" lift which is pretty much perfect for the Patrol. Not to mention how much better they work on 4x4 tracks and trails
The patrol pickup came out standard with 235/85r16, a 32" tyre. (not sure about the new model).
I am not sure what 31" size tyres patrol wagons use to come out,maybe 265/70r16? (I actually thought it came out with 32").
Anyway, 255/85r16 got a bigger footprint than both these mentioned sizes.
And when deflating a tyre for offroad use, the length of the track is more important than the width..
More rubber on tar will be better for braking, stopping etc, but marginally. Unless we are comparing 7.5 split rims to 12.5" wide tyres.. Not much difference between 255 vs 265 vs 285
"A 33" tyre automatically gives you a 1" lift." - which is why I say height is more important than width.
There is a misconception that wider is better, but this is not always true:
https://outbackjoe.com/macho-divertisse ... p-in-sand/
And here:
http://www.expeditionswest.com/research ... _rev1.html
Just saying that if I had to choose between a 265/75 vs 255/85, I would take the taller 255/85 (33").
Which I did ....twice. But that is just me.