What affects, if any, could result when increasing tire size?

I currently have 235/75/R15 on my truck and its time to get some new tires but i wanted i little larger size, so im thinking on getting 265/75/R15. I did the tire calculator and im am just wondering if im going to feel quite a bit of power loss. i also just want to know if the larger size is worth it, looks and performance wise. - Thanks

 

IMO larger tires are definitely worth it. You might notice some power loss and decrease in MPG. What tires do you plan on running?

 

OK, so new bigger tires look great. No argument there. But like a boob job there are some things to consider:

A 235/75 is about a 28" tall tire and a 265/75 is about 31" tall. That is a difference that you will notice in several ways...

The Good-

- The 265s will give you additional ground clearance about equal to a 1-2" lift.

- The truck will 'look' better, if you like that 4x4 look (hey, who doesn't- right)

The Bad-

- The 265s are wider so there could be some rubbing in the front depending on your wheel offset? Might have to change rims, or get offset spacers, or do some trimming?

- With 265s your speedometer will be off. Be careful not to get a ticket, the truck will travel faster then the spedo is indicating, maybe by as much as 10mph at about 60? Just a rough guess.

- The larger 265s will likely weigh more and are definitely wider so you will have a noticeable reduction in fuel economy. Maybe 1-2mpg? Just a rough guess.

The Ugly-

- Gearing will be different. Taking off from a dead stop will require more rpms. The truck may struggle getting the tires turning, engine may even stall on steep hills without a running start?

- Road noise and cabin noise will certainly increase.

- Steering and overall handling at highway speeds may be adversely affected.

 

I have 265 mud tires. Im truck dosen't experiance any rubbing at all, My power has been slowed down quite a bit, Fuel mileage, About 1 MPG and my speedo is about 2mph faster.

All in all, Worth it.

 

when i did my tires i am now running what you have the 235/75/15 and i noticed a big diff. so i regeared and now all seems to be cool, i plan on doin the 31's soon so ill have to regear again. I feel it puts a stress on the engine when u go larger esp. in a 4 banger and i dont know if its bad for the truck but like mountainwolfpup there the good bad and ugly. I would says its super worth it for functionality and looks. After gearing it rolls around nicely but the speedometer and odometer will be f*ed lol that would be the long term problem. Gearing will get you back some mpg's too. Good luck

 

Here's your speedo changes:

from the tire calculator

 

tire rubbing will depend on the TRUCK! prerunner vs non prerunner...

Fig out out big u want to go and we can tell u the pros and cons


for example.... ME--- 33x12.5x15 on a REG cab NON prerunner
-had to regear to 4.10
-had to pound in the weld seems in the tire well
-speedo off
-sluggish
PRO
-fills out my Glassfenders(lol)
-Better traction and track for off roading

 

One aspect not mentioned is the stress added that rotataional weight and larger diameter tires add to braking. A 2"jump in tire size will be minimal though and not a real problem?

 

I have a 98 2.7 L 4x4.

It originally came stock with 29" tires and I replaced them with 31" tires. I have been driving it with 31" Tires for about 8 years now.

It all depends on what gears you have in your truck.

I have 3.58 Gears which really is way too high of a gear. It should be 4.10. My gear code is BO2A. To find out what gears your truck has visit http://www.brian894x4.com/Gearratiosanddiffs.html

The only thing that sucks about my truck is highway driving. I often have to run my truck in 4th gear on the interstate at 80. Sometimes I can run in 5th but mostly in 4th.

I could never go back to the smaller tires. The larger tires are better off road and most importantly they look way better.

So if you have 3.58 like me I would consider getting new gears. I am planning on getting new gears soon... finally - should of done it years ago.

AS far as the speedometer goes it didn't make much of a difference. Everytime I have gotten a speeding ticket (10 times in my tacoma) the cops got me at exactly what my speedometer showed.

 

I just replaced my worn out 215/70 R15 car tires on my 06 2 wheel drive Tacoma with some Goodyear Wrangler 235/75 R15 truck tires. I wasn't looking for a larger tire but it was the only way to get a tire with some real tread.

I haven't had them on long enough to notice any loss in MPG but I haven't expiernced any loss in power. I checked and there is no rubbing. I am definitely happy with the increased traction and I have to say the truck looks alot better having the fenders filled up a little bit.

Joseph

 

can u post some pics, not too sure which size would be good, but if the 235's look good then wouldnt have to deal with changing rims or gears.

 

I have 265/70R16 General GabbarAT2 on mine. Had a set of crappy Michelin X (CRAPPY) before these. They were the same size. I love the look of the tires and as stated before, adds a nice little lift. I do not know if I could use the smaller tires.

 

This is great info... I was planning to go larger when my stock 215/70R15s wear out and was already thinking that 235/75s would be best. They would not be large enough to cause a problem with braking or fuel economy considering where/how I drive, but they are large enough to fill the fenders better and to more/less fix the factory speedo offset. Thanks TW!

 

Consider your transmission and your speedometer.

 

I've been doing a lot of research into this and will continue to do so. This is an investment for me as well as an improvement to my truck.

When I got my truck it had undersized Michelin's on it, but they are nice and expensive tires so I'm riding on them and may be for a bit.

My research has reminded me there are many variables in this decision.

The good news is if you can find a tire that has less rolling resistance than your current and has less rotational mass (i.e. weight for this post), you'll gain mileage... then go large as your overall gear ratio will increase and you're more efficient.

Right now my top choice is Michelin Latitude Tour:

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-selector/name/latitude-tour-tires

It has a fuel efficiency of 10 for a SUV tire. (though what is the 10 a scale of?) "Most fuel-efficient tire in its class" caught my eye as well as the P265/75R16 size being green rated.

I don't work for Michelin. I'm just understanding now that I'm paying attention to tires (instead of what's on sale) that the selection is very significant.

More research to go before I shell out ~$800 or so for tires.

Regarding "power", you'd need to provide more information as to what you're doing to need the power. It could be good, could be bad.