Off-Roading with your Daily Driver?

https://i.imgflip.com/18oedk.jpg

 

I will be taking my 100% stock OR through a muddy trail or 2 for sure. I know the stock tires arent up for any more of a serious task, and thats fine with me. This thing will never see a suspension lift either, its high enough as it is for my wife.

 

You will miss out. A simple tire upgrade to a decent A/T will open up capability to your truck that you never knew it had.

 

After some research, sounds like the Cooper AT3 4S could be a good option. Any opinions on that?

As for size, I was thinking 265/75/16 as that's the largest that fit stock. Not sure I want to go much bigger anyway as I'd rather not affect torque too much or MPG.

 

Eh, I agree that I'm incorrect, but not because of that article. It's kinda sloppy and I think him ignoring that the sidewall becomes part of the contact patch sorta helps his conclusion. This is a good read:

http://road-transport-technology.or...E TYPES AND ROAD CONTACT PRESSURES - Yap .pdf

Also, as with all things in life, we should have checked Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_patch

It appears tire construction has a larger impact on the contact area than I assumed.

Thanks to @JoeCOVA for teaching me something today.

 

Off-Road. The mall parking lot is Off-Road. lol.
If you do a 2" lift with the 5100's and an add a leaf in the back, you'll be golden. That's what I did. The truck rides better now than it did on the stock suspension.
All said and done, under $800.
http://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p401/Coil/Bilstein_5100_Kit_(HS16BK-1).html
887
Add strut assembly
No UCA
Deaver Single AAL
$733
You'll need 2.5 degree axle shim kit
http://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p120/Axle_Shim_KIT.html
$32
and maybe
http://www.headstrongoffroad.com/store/p126/Old_Man_Emu_Carrier_Bearing_Drop_Kit_-_FK29.html
$19.99

 

Likewise brochocho, got me digging pretty deep on information and learned a bunch from this convo.

 

It ilustrated the point we are making perfectly fine. There are a lot of variables that affect contact patch but generally speaking a wider tire has the greater contact patch (with all other factors being the same).

Tis be the reason drag cars utilize wide / big tires in the rear for maximum traction contact patch and narrow / small tires up front for less drag / rolling resistance.

 

Well shit, don’t nobody give a “cheers” or “thanks”!

 

haha you too man, that was a great article you posted

I bookmarked these links cuz it will come up again.

 

Sell it and buy a truck you can offroad + car.

 

I risk starting another debate, but the friction between the tire and the ground is only depended on weight on the tire and the coefficient of friction(mhu). Friction = Fn x mhu . And mhu is independent of contact area, how does having a wider tire give you more grip when you are drag racing?

 

Haha... thanks for the emoji beer.... I could use one right about now!

 

Without getting scientific I know from racing that a wider tire has more grip than a skinnier tire. A formula 1 car with wide tires will have better acceleration and cornering than the same car on skinnier tires.

I don’t know the formulas so I guess I have to dive into the interwebs.

After lunch though, I’m burned out haha.

 

Having a wider tire will not always give you the most grip when drag racing. Grip will be mostly dependant on friction which will be ultimately decided by compound.

 

@phdog For what it is, I went with 255/85R16 on a stock OR. Thus far no rubbing and have been on trails like your showed. Limited contact made with rocks. I have the predator tube steps so the drop down stops hit periodically but nothing major. Worked out to about 2" of lift as my stock tires under weight measured near 29" at replacement and the Toyo M/T's measure right at 33" under weight. Lost some MPG, sitting around 18 MPG average at nearly 4k miles. They aren't too loud and make a world of difference being a more aggressive tread than the stock.

As a side note since I know some reading this, @JoeCOVA , point out some of the logical misunderstandings about the "skinny" tire vs the equivalent wider tire (255/85R16 VS 285/75R16), I did not chose the the skinny tire for some belief that it was somehow superior. Rather, it was the tallest tire I could fit without spending a bunch up front for lifts and cuts. I knew the truck needed better tires and higher clearance, got both with in one. The Toyo's also measure in at only 0.25" narrower than stock tires based on tire websites.

 

Oh ya this is true. A soft compound with be faster than a hard compound but will wear faster.

Perfect example is Formula 1. Tire size is standardized for all cars but softer compounds are much faster

 

The width of the tire can be an advantage to gain traction due to the larger contact patch, but most importantly than width, it is the compound of the tire and construction that will give the most grip.

 

That's anecdotal. I know that as well, but I need you to research sir. Answers, we need scientific answers.

 

But, why?