33"s vs. 32"s for a 4.0l V6 with stock 3.73 gears and an Automatic 5 speed

Argh! A/TM: A04C/A750F, I had read in several places including a thread here somewhere that 04 was 4.56 but I just checked once more and got something totally different, the 3.73 you mentioned. Jeeze its easy to get turned around sifting through this stuff

 

To answer your other question. Most of the miles will be about 90 miles a day on the freeway with occasional light off-roading.

 

I think the first gen tacomas were mostly 4.10 gearing. Or at least mine was with the V6 auto.

 

stock gears are 373 and you’ll be fine running them with 285s . No real need to regear.

 

You'll be just fine on 33s without regearing. Many people I knew in the socal group and myself in like 2010 - 2015 ran 33s on the stock gearing and our trucks held up just fine in Ocotillo and the like.

 

v6 autos got 3.73, the 6 speed manual got 4.10's. IDK where the hell yall are getting your gear ratio info from. I ran 32.8's for 2-3 years on 3.73 gear, tranny hunted a bit at 75 but 70 is fine. I ran heavy MT's though so your experience may differ. now I run 315/75/16 34.6's on 3.73's and lemme tell ya, things slow.

 

255/85R16 looks great with a close to zero offset wheel, but I don't mind how they look on my stock +25 or whatever wheels. However if you go to a 17" wheel and get 255/80R17s you can usually get a set of C-load tires. Mine are E-load Coopers at about 60lbs each and fuel economy isn't great. It's amazing just how much my fuel economy changes between a 50lb winter 265/75R16 tires and 60lb 255/85R16 summer tires even after proper conversion of manually calculated fuel economy (even when we dip to -55`F).

I'm not a fast driver but it hauls ass when I want it to. I won't re-gear until I go to 35s.

 

What are the advantages of the skinnier wheel? I can imagine they would be a little lighter and might dig in better off-road?

 

Cuts some terrain better, less wind resistance = better mpg. Little less weight, also less rubbing.

 

I recently went from a 265/75/16 to 285/75/16. The truck is noticeably slower from a stop now and hunts gears a bit on the highway. Also, be prepared to do some cutting...fender flares, and wheel well liners were quick and easy but the cab mount chop might be something you have to pay a shop to do (I cut the frame myself and had a shop weld in the fill plates).

In terms of looks, the difference is minimal. The only reason I went up a size is because I wanted to match tire sizes between my truck and trailer and cut the sidewall on one of my tires and they are 4 years old so I went ahead and replaced them instead of the new trailer tires.

265/75/16





285/75/16

 

The contact patch is longer on a skinny 33 than a 265 31.5-32" tire so you get some more traction, typically speaking like the above commenter they're lighter than an e-load 285/75 but usually only come in e-load, so they're similar in weight to a c-load 285 usually. They'll cut into different terrain like snow, shallow-ish mud better than a fat tire. They tend to track really well as well, better than a fatter tire because a fat tire will grab a wider portion of the road potentially pulling you into less than favourable conditions - highway ruts, sitting water, slush/snow.

The only catch is that for skinny tires more often than not your only options are really aggressive AT/MT hybrids like the Cooper ST MAXX, Nitto Ridge Grappler, or MTs like Toyo MT, Yokohama G003 etc. It may be more worth it for you to go for a 285/75(70) for the much better tire selection, and to get a less aggressive tire if you want to keep better on road or highway handling.

In bold is one of the best things about a skinny tire. You can fit 255/85R16s or 255/80R17s on most wheels with absolutely no cutting.

 

I went from 275/65/18 (32 inch) to 255/80/17 (33) and like it so far

Agreed with above, the contact patch is waaay better when aired down. Night and day difference in snow

Now I want a locker and some on-board air

 

I’m in the skinnies camp. 255/80/17 cooper st max. I love how little they stick out, and they do wonderful in the sand. Ran them on stock gears, but I have tons more weight and just recently re geared to 4.88. I do plan on jumping up to a skinny 35 eventually.



Scan guage reading on my way home after regear.

 

I'm in new england so a little skinnier in the snow does have it's advantages.
33" for the number... 31.5-32.5" for the function,weight, price,ply, other stuff. Lol

 

I have 275/70r17 falkens load c and no reheat needed. I noticed more change in braking than I did power. Did slightly hurt my mpg around town but I get the same or better mpg cruising on the interstate. And these run pretty large compared to the same size ko2’s on my friends truck

 

get big tires and DIY regear

/thread

 

I ran 255-85-16s for about a year,ended up loathing the gear hunting on hilly roads. IMO,you need 4:30s for 33's.

 

I would've thought 4.10 would be enough but it's interesting to see all the people talking about 4.56, 4.88, and 5.29 for a tire that isn't that much of a size increase as opposed to 35, 37, etc...

 

Dunno about second gens but gearing on third gens going from 4.56 (stock) to 4.88 apparently feels anaemic with 35s. Apparently 5.29s is the sweet spot for us even on heavy 33s. My truck's getting heavy and I want larger tires for our winters, and summers will go to skinny 35s one day soon.