The SKINNY on skinny tires

The area of tire touching the road at rest is simply the weight on the tire divided by the tire pressure. Narrow tires have a longer contact patch (at the same pressure).

At speed, there is some additional force upwards due to centrifugal force making the tire rounder, and the downward force from wind might be upward or downward depending upon the vehicle shape.

The difference in the contact patch area isn’t affected all that much by the width. Softer compounds and aggressive driving will have a lot more affect on wear.

 

I wasn't clear in my last post. If you look at a 235 vs a 255 there is less tire there. There is less rubber, it weights less. I have 235's with 18k on them and I saw about 13-15k I was going to be lucky to get 30k out of them.

 

This has more to do with the tire compound and what pressure you run then the size of the tire. I too am running 235's, currently have 52k on them and will easily get 60k out of them.

 

Too many variables to account for. Tire compound, PSI, tread design, weight of the vehicle, size of rim, road quality, weather conditions, driving habits. Every tire from every manufacturer will wear down differently

 

It's really simple. Which one could you eat faster, half or whole. The road consumes your tires.

 

Who's running a 510 section width tire on a Tacoma?

 

A lot of people complain about how LT 285 tires ride roughly on the tacoma. In your experiences do the skinny’s ride more comfortably with the added height. I hear a lot of people going from 285’s to to 255’s and the inverse, but no comparison on ride feel. TIA!

 

I'm shopping for drivability in sand. Should I just do the math for surface area of the tread (will be related to the contact patch I assume) and get the setup that's the biggest for the weight? Any thoughts on long contact patch vs wider on the rear tire for traction, or the front for turning? 2wd 4runner investigating running a stagger off road.

Are the donuts supposed to be the same size though?

 

Well I figured I would update this for anyone wanting to know if a 255/85r16 fits on a stock 22 or 23 pro with the billet uca.

I got my geolander g003s mounted today on my stock 23 pro 255/85r16 11700km, alignments never been touched. I have rokblokz regular mudflaps with out the spacer on the L bracket so it pulls them out of the way more.

I had heated the plastic in the rear of the front wheel well and heated the flap to mold everything for a bit more clearance before I had the tires mounted. I didn't like how the flaps were sitting, and I didn't cut the extra marked notch on the flaps out. This is what rokblokz says to do to have more clearance but then there is a gap.

As you can see tires clear the factory uca at full lock so no issues there, not sure if my extra clearance was needed on the cab side by the flap but I doubt it. No rub when on road no matter what I do. It may kiss the truck off road a tiny bit but nothing I would be concerned about.

I've seen 255/80r17 and 255/85r16 out perform wider tires many times in the terrain I run and I think they look awesome. I don't really care what instagram thinks about my truck lol. So go nuts if you have a newer pro, it all clears fine. I'm very impressed with how smooth they run compared to every other 10 ply tire I've had in the past.

 

my 255 10ply tires ride almost as smooth as stock. I ran 305/65r18 ko2 on a silverado they were rough. 285/70r17 duratracs and 35 12.50 r17 ko2s on my old colorado and they were both fucking terrible. Rode like shit even at 33psi. I'm seriously impressed with the 255s so far, But I've heard the geolanders run smooth even compared to other 255s

 

@Thegrassisalwaysgreener , others, hows the handling on the tall sidewall tires (on the freeway at 65-70mph)? I imagine with E load they're stiff and stable.

Going wider still sounds appealing to get more traction without raising height as much. Ground clearance not an issue for me at this tome.

 

I was expecting some odd handling being that they are so skinny. I haven't found that at all, They handle just fine. They don't pull like I hear lots of the skinny st maxx do. In my Experience wider isn't better. Had 35 12.50 17 ko2 on my colorado zr2 and my brother would kick my ass on 255/80r17 wildpeaks on his stock sport. It was embarrassing, that was when I decided wider isn't the move for me. I think 255s have a much more unique look, everyone and their dog wants to run 285s. I'm about function over form myself.

 

Looks great!

 

I had handling issues on my prior Taco with Mud Terrain skinnies, did not feel controlled at all in agressive turns (perhaps it was the type of tire ie Mud Terrain). I've read that handling at highway speeds on skinnies is an issue, fine for other applications. I currently have a 20 OR with stock size Duratracs, they handle fine. Not sure I personally would do skinnies ever again. My 2 cents worth....

 

What MT's did you have? I'm running the Geolandar G003's and they seem to handle just fine. I'm sure if I was in a race against a stock Tacoma that my cornering speeds would be a lot less and I'd lose that race. But in no way do I think it handles poorly. It's all relative. Tall, skinny, MT's, no sway bar and a lift all mean I'm compromising on-road performance for off. It's rare when you can have it all.

After hearing all the nervous nellies talk about how sketchy it is to remove the sway bar I was kind expecting the worst. I'm kinda surprised my truck handles as well as it does, lol.

 

Yup I agree on the geolanders they seem to handle just fine at hwy speeds. I ran no swaybar on my zr2 for years with 35s, above 160 shit got pretty weird lol. The only time it bothered me was when I had my big adv Bike in the bed, not fun.

 

I'd be interested to hear why you feel a wider tire will give you more traction?

 

Just came to say Solar Octane fucking slaps.

 

@tacoblender it'll have more tread. Cut the tire in half across the beads and lay it out flat and that's representative of the contact patch which provides traction and flotation.

I'm looking for drivability in sand on stock 4runner suspension, would you recommend 255/75r17 or 275/70r17?

edit. I watched the video. It shows the narrower tire generally deforming more at the same pressures . . . but don't take my summary . . .