Talk me out of 285s, (UPDATE I didnt listen)

So I have put some significant thought into this tonight. Thank you @jsinnard for the vote of confidence. I hope I can offer something to help your decision making process. This post collects my thoughts, as a fella running 265’s for a couple years, that is also troubled by the desire to bump up to 285s. I consider bumping up to 33”s all the time, but also hesitate. It is super easy to just say “do it”, or “go big or go home”, but not everyone on this site has the same motivations. Also, note that my thoughts are a consideration of 265/70/17 (265/75/16) vs 285/70/17 (285/75/16), or the good old 31” vs 33” debate. I am not talking pizza cutters or 32” tires, or other peculiar bias ply sizes. As well, this is a discussion of their merits of these tires for occasional offroad travel and multipurpose use. There is no benefit (absolutely zero benefit) I can imagine from having 33” offroad tires for all-pavement commuting other than as a pure and simple fashion statement.

My true feeling on this subject is that is it not a “cut and dried” or “signed, sealed, and delivered” question. There is a good chance everyone needs to follow their own path to 33”s and back, or not. I might go down this path myself someday.

The first truth: whatever you do, don’t get rid of those OEM SEMA TRD wheels. They are the best looking wheel in the history of the human race. If I had a Bugatti Veyron, a Porsche 911, and a Unimog, all in my garage, they would all be on TRD SEMA wheels.

Casual observations:

Observation #1:
31’s get the job done:

The “oldman hunter crew”, the “poor wheeler crew”, the “bonafide outdoor enthusiast crew”, and the “just fuckin send it bitches crew” are often on 31”s in my neck of the woods. The fellas who want a low-maintenance rig, purpose-built for hunting, remote access, and logging road travel are almost always on 31”s. Either 265/75/16, or 265/70/17. These are the guys who have no instagram account, no skottle, or just no money, or have been doing this thing for decades and know exactly what works best, drives best, and is the best compromise. Also, I have been extremely surprised that some of the most hardcore wheelers I know run 31”s or even 30”s. Mainly because they are kids with no cash and 31’s are plentiful and cheap. They crush the trails in their beat up runners and old Tacos on 31’s. Some of the guys I know specifically want a smaller lightweight tire as they produce less unsprung weight and tend the smooth out the potholes and washboard sections that can plague the backroads of BC. The increased range that comes from running a smaller lighter tire can reduce worries about running out of gas in remote areas. Also, the smaller diameter 31” tire can spool up faster with the low torque we tend to suffer from with these truck. In offroad situations where instant torque is needed, the smaller tires can be an advantage when things get sticky.

Observation #2:
33”s increase maintenance:

The people I know who upgrade the tires on their Tacomas and 4Runners to heavy 33’s typically will have issues with front and rear wheel bearings sooner than later. I’m not exactly sure of why this is. Whether it is just from the sometimes necessary increase in wheel offset, or from the pounding that the bearings take from the larger heavier, tires, I don’t know. However, without question, you’re paying a long-term maintenace price for the big boots. I also would say they tend to break more CV axles and strip more diffs out. I think this is because the larger tire has greater leverage working in opposition to the driveshaft, so it’s easier for the tire to trap itself solid, and the CV axle or differential to destroy itself trying to move it. Also, when the larger, heavier wheel is spinning, and it suddenly gets traction, the forces are a lot greater with the greater inertia of the tire.

Observation #3:
Every guy on 31”s wants 33”s at some point:

You just can’t help it. My 31” Tacoma tires look manly, beefy, and positively huge compared to the tires on my wife’s Camry, or parked next to my buddy with a stock SR5 Tacoma on 245’s, but if I park next to a Tacoma on 33”s.......it’s like sand got just kicked in my face. Ooosh. Those big old tires look so good! I want to CMC my truck right then and there. Having said that, sometimes when I see a capable, practical, no-nonsense adventure rig I really truly like, that I am sincerely jealous of, I will assume it’s on 33”s, then when I look closer I realize again it’s just on 31”s and I end up thinking “this guy actually knows his stuff”.

Observation #4:
There are true gains for a larger tire:

When in the really rough, technical, stuff, 33”s tires do make some things look smooth and easy. The larger diameter tires do roll over stuff with greater ease, don’t drop into every divot, and when aired down don’t decrease your ground clearance as badly. My truck can go everywhere I care to take it on 31’s, but it might be a smoother, less damaging, and more controlled ride on 33”s.

Observation #5:
There’s a trade off in ice vs snow:

On icy tracks, a low truck with minimal lift, on 31”s feels way safer and controlled than a tall wallowy rig on 33”s. In deep snow, the extra ground clearance from a bigger lift and 33”s could keep you moving effortlessly when you’d be plowing snow on 31”s. On icy roads, 31”s, on deep snowy tracks, 33”s. Pick your poison.

Observation #6:
You gotta live with physics.

There’s going to be arguments about P-rated, C-rated, E-rated etc, but you are going to lose torque and burn more gas with a larger diameter tire in almost all cases. You will also have less effective braking and worse handling in emergencies. The biggest negative in my mind is the torque issue. These trucks are not torque monsters, so if your go to 33”s, are you also going to regear? Or will you drink the Koolaid as say “honestly I can’t tell the difference”? I call BS on that every time. I noticed a significant difference going to C-rated 31”s from the stock size, in both initial torque and fuel economy. Also, you are increasing your unsprung mass and the ride will be rougher on pavement with 33”s, if all other suspension factors are held equal. If you air down your huge heavy tires on pavement, to smooth out the ride, your mileage will suffer even more.

Observation #7:
The truth takes a year to reveal itself:

Guys who fit 33”s with no CMC, and no regear, and say “I can’t tell the difference” will be OV Tuning, CMCing, regearing, or selling the truck within a year. It’s typically not right away.

-There are those guys who put the huge boots on their taco, ruin the truck’s performance, get fed up, and then sell it for a New Ranger or a 4Runner which they proceed to keep ‘bone-stock’ because they secretly learned their lesson. They only did half the work required to fit larger tires to their Tacoma, and weren’t really trying to do anything to increase their rigs capabilities other than to have it look good in Instagram posts.
-There is also a crew of tinkerers, who fit 33”s, then fit 35”s, then fit 37”s because it’s a cool hobby and they like to tinker. The opinion of these fellas is mostly moot as their motivations are based on the challenge of modifying their vehicle with no real purpose for the mods in mind, other than to see how it runs and looks on huge tires.
-The guys who seem to know what they are doing, and truly want their truck to perform well on and off road, match their gearing to their tire size.

My honest advice:

Decide your uses. If a smooth ride, fuel efficiency, safety, and practical offroad capability are all you want, stay with a good quality 31” tire and be happy with this low maintenace, low cost option. If you like the look of 33”s (I don’t fault anyone for this) and want more offroad capability from a larger tire, then do the job properly. Budget for the 33”s, a CMC, and a re-gear. Don’t ruin your truck’s performance with big tires then start hating it. You’ve got a beautiful quicksand Taco, rolling on the best looking wheels in the world. It deserves a proper gear ratio to match the diameter of the tires to maintain something approaching the stock levels of acceleration and torque. I would argue, 33” tires, on a 3G Tacoma, without a regear, is just a fashion statement. If you are just trying the big tires out, to see if you like them, for sure skip the regear, but if your goal is to make the large tires a permanent thing, make sure you’ve got the funds set aside for gears in time.


I’m kinda guessing you are likely to try these tires out. If you do go 33”s, I want to know if I should follow your lead. Please don’t tell me you “have no rubbing on stock suspension, have noticed no loss in acceleration or mileage, and the ride is much improved”. I won’t believe you.

Cheers Man!

 

Jason, I would be against it as well. Way too many negatives like more wear and tear on suspension, fuel mileage, loss of power, CMC, speedo calibration, needing bigger breaks. Those are some of the negatives, now if your looking to do 285/70/17s I would look more at the 285/75/17s. Now is it important enough to you to hurt all of the aspects for a little more than an inch or so just for looks. I personally see no benefit other than the looks factor. I will almost bet your better off with the 265s over 285s and pizza cutters. Its just a happy medium size tire. Look you have no rubbing, calibration issues, fits great, no loss of mileage, calibration is dead perfect and looks bigger than stock. I personally think these tires are the perfect size. My neighbor has a 2016 with a nearly same set up as us. He runs 285s on TRD 4R Sema wheels and no CMC was needed. You can roll over here and Eddie will let you drive it, but hurry up because I know he is getting new tires soon or might already have. Text me later and I will call him. He is going to 265s Nittos.

 

I live in Chesapeake

Poll is made, make your choices.

 

@Stocklocker and @mds08

Thanks again for being the voice of reason, I forgot about changing out the steering rack on my 04 after about 8 years of larger heavier tires

Mark, since your buddy is going back to 265s that helps me make my mind up.

I know I'll be back and forth a bit longer but curious.

Let's see how the poll plays out.

 

265s don't look so bad. I love the SL sidewalls, light and combined with the Sema wheels they are lighter than the factory set up. It's just a great all around size tire.

 

I went up a size on my 4runner. All stock, no lift all original garage kept. I needed new tires so I went 265/75/16 Toyo open country at2 SL just like on my 18 Tacoma. I highly recommend you try them.

 

265/65/17 Nitti Ridge Grapplers is what i have only weigh 40 pounds

 

It’s only money. Spend some to try out the 285’s, regear, etc. Spend more to try the tall skinnies, and then spend a bit more to go back to 265/75’s.

 

Yeah, it's like the "dating a red headed stripper" phase I need to go through again. Sometimes you never learn.

 

There's a crash video showing how the 3rd gen Tacoma buckles on a 1/3rd head on collision. The way the engineers designed the truck it keeps the front wheels from going into the cab. 285s will require you to cut into the cab mount. I have to wonder if chopping the cab mount will cause someone to lose a foot in that particular crash.

 

Actually fuck 285s. 35s for the win

 

Buzz kill

 

285/75/16

 

Beautiful

 

I went from 265 to 285 and back to 265. I’m 2nd Gen but 285’s caused my VSC to be super sensitive which I took care of with a switch. 285’s looked great but my mpg’s suffered and even with cmc/uca, they still rubbed a little off-roading. If I baby it, I can hit around 20.5 mpg hwy. It’s the city driving that’s going to eat most of your mpg. So if this is your daily, I’d stick to 265.

We use 255/75R17’s in the 4runner which is a little taller than the 265/75R16’s I use now. Previous used 275/70R17’s as well but those only come in E’s but no rubbing.

 

The thread was asking about 285s and wanting objective opinions. Often people go for a "look" and don't care about the consequences. It was the general consensus in another thread that the wheel is definitely coming in the cab after a cmc in a particular crash. But with all the factors who knows.

 

I had a Jeep with 255s and I went to 315s: the ride and the handling went to shit.

More width means more contact patch transmitting harshness and vibration into the vehicle, as well as greater unsprung weight at each corner.

Personally, 285 is as wide as I’d want to go on a truck. This time on my Tacoma I stayed with the factory width (265), increased diameter 1” and added more tread. I’m very happy with the results. I’d do it all over again.

 

285 with 2" looks great

 

Studies show more college age kids have DUIs than 4th graders.

 

Awesome. I've been driving on beaches all my life. I also wheel in sand dunes and pits multiple times a week. I also live less than 5 miles from 3 sand dunes and sand pits. I also live 2 miles from a race track with mud bogging course... I've grew up off roading. I live a mile and a half from pavement. I've lived on the same road most my life except during my time in the military. I've been driving 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, dune buggies and side by sides since i was 6 years old.

If you're not willing to actually research the facts and provide evidence for your claims I'm not willing to argue it.

"A tall, narrow tire is a better choice for all off-highway surface conditions with the exception of soft sand, snow and soft mud that's depth exceeds 110% of the vehicles minimum ground clearance"

So depending on how deep the sand, mud or snow is will determine which tire is better. Tacoma, especially the 3rd gens, having quite a bit of ground clearance makes it even better suited for skinny tires.