255/85 R16 Owners Experience

Anyone having trouble finding 255/85r16s? I'm having the hardest time finding the KM2s. I even called BFGoodrich to see if they're still in production (they are) because Discount Tire and 4WheelParts in town can't get them. Discount Tire keeps trying to sell me on what they have in stock or in their warehouse rather than trying to find me the ones I want. 4WP said there's a national backorder (which I can believe).

 

If I was looking for a set today I would look for Cooper SST Max for an aggressive tire or the S/T in an all terrain. I'm telling you he S/T works well, it just looks kinda mild. Had mine in snow last weekend for the first time pretty good. On rocks these "skinnies" climb better than my previous 265/75 DuraTrac (which were pretty good but chunked badly). In the mud I can't say as I have not had the Coopers in any gmarly mud yet.

 

I'm definitely giving the Coopers some consideration. Thanks for the tips!

 

I've had my coopers (S/T MAXX) in the snow with no problems at all. They cleared the snow very well and hooked well enough to always get going, even on very slick surfaces that I couldn't even walk on very well. Had them in the mud, same story, cleared very well, though they slid around a bit, but this was some particularly nasty shit and it made it hard to get up some rocks. Dry, though, those tires will walk up a wall. My only complaint seems to be the same that everyone else has with the S/T MAXX's, they have some impossible to address right pull. It's not terrible and isn't enough to cause serious wear problems, but it's definitely there. Honestly now that I'm used to the pull it's fine.

 

Mine pull to the left. I think, not sure on this, that I had a right hand pull before I rotated the tires....but I'm not 100% sure

 

I'm curious as to why some ST Maxx are reported as having an aggressive pulls while others seem not to. My set drives straight down the road

 

Honestly it could just be my heavier coils. Once I get the weight from bumpers on it in the next month or so, I'll have a better idea.

 

With stock uca and a lift. This is probably why my truck pulls. Not enough castor.

 

I have had these on backorder for a lil over 2 months from 4WP...

Debating if i should keep on waiting for go different tires...agh the dilema!

 

4WP won't even put in an order for me. They kept telling me they didn't have an ETA (which I never asked for), so wouldn't even put me on the list. I think I've decided to go with the Coopers in 255/85r16. I do too much street driving to get to/from dirt, so I need something that won't make on-road suck.

 

I'm sorry if this has been covered already... I'm wondering if I can run the Cooper 255/85/16 on my stock TRD Off Road wheels (5.25" B.S.) without rubbing on a 3" lift? Will I need to do a CMC to fit these? Thanks!

Edit: I'm a dumbass- found as close to an answer as I can hope to get. Sorry!

 

Curious if you have them max out your caster on your LCAs then make minor adjustments on your UCAs? What I've read is that caster from the lca pushes the tire away from the cab mount and increased caster from your uca pulls it towards the cab mount.

 

Unless you have light racing UCA there is no way to adjust caster with the UCA. Most uniballs ucas come built with more positive caster than stock.

 

I do have light racing UCAs. I'm about to go with KM2 255 80 17 and need another alignment.

 

Also, I think regardless of how you adjust caster whether from an adujustable UCA or from the LCA it does the same thing. I am no expert. But caster is the angle of the wheel in relation to the vertical axis of the suspension.

 

With the light racing I always had them set to neutral and then did the alignment. When I got the 3.5BS wheels they rubbed when I left the alignment shop. When I got home I simply loosened the top bolt and put them to the +2 caster setting and it moved things enough to where the rubbing was gone.

If you look at the picture above it essentially changes how the tire is stuffed. If you have neutral caster the tire would stuff in the wheel well straight up and down, if you have postive caster it stuffs more on an angle missing the stuff in the lower rear wheel well (ie cab mount, mud flaps, plastic trim, etc.

 

I'm no expert either, but the LR UCA instructions make reference to maxing out the positive caster on the lca and fine tuning the UCA for better tire clearance. I've read it other places as well and they have talked about it in greater detail. See the link. I think it is the bold section on 12.

Just food for thought. Thanks for the post.

http://www.spcalignment.com/instructions/25480-INS_WEB.pdf

 

Yeah that makes total sense. I believe that the stock ucas and lcas are only capable of about 2-2.5 degrees caster. To reduce rubbing you really need to get into the 3-4 degrees of positive caster so they are saying to max out the cam bolts on the LCA (2-2.5) and then slowly increase the caster on the UCA (up to an additional 2 degrees) until your tires clear.

Regardless of how you do it though caster is caster. When you adjust caster with the LCA you are moving the bottom of the suspension axis forward which in turn forces the top of the axis back with the wheel center point being the pivot point.

If you adjust caster with the UCA you are pulling the top of that axis back forcing the bottom to go forward creating essentially the same effect as with the LCA.

The goal for maximum clearance is to have both adjustments maxed out for optimal clearance without getting too much postive caster to where the truck handles poorly.

 

Anyone running 255/85/16's on 8.5 in rims? I know 8 is generally the max recommended, but would like to hear about experiences. Pics would be awesome.

Really love the MB 72's I've already got, and this would be my ideal tire size... just not sure if the rim exposure is too much.

 

Most places won't even mount them if it exceeds the maximum recommended size