Tacoma Feels Sluggish With New Tires

Stock Dunnies were smaller and seemed a little lighter. Since I upgraded my tired to BFG A/T KO, my tacoma feels real sluggish at stop/go traffic stops. Is it just me?

 

Bigger tires = more weight

More weight = more force needed to get truck in motion

More force needed to get truck in motion = sluggish

Also, an AT tire weighs more than a traditional street tire, so that's even more added weight.

 

Only Went from 265/65R17 to 265/70R17. These new tires complement the taco and makes it look more like a truck. They filled the wheel-well like the way it should be.

 

Those are LT tires , the weight difference is probably substantial

 

Small differences, but differences nonetheless. Also, take into account that you've got All-Terrain tires now, which weight significantly more than standard terrain street tires. Of course, it could all be in your head.

 

Here's his old wheels:

 

LOL !!!

 

Went from dunlops to Michelin LTX MS2, in P245-75/16. New tires are 2# heavier, same diameter, rev/mi, section width, but .4" wider. Little to no difference take-off, but the difference in overall performance, especially wet roads, is fantastic.

 

The question is which load range did you get.....

Stock tires are right at 39lbs a piece

Even the load range C of the LT265/70R17 BGF AT is 6lbs per tire heaver @ 45lbs.

And if you made the mistake and got the load range E's which are WAY overkill for the tacoma your at 53Lbs per tire.... 14lbs per tire more.

And its something like rotating mass is equal to 4x stationary mass on a vehicle. 14 x 4 x 4 tire = like having 224 lbs of extra weight in your truck.

 

Thanks for that info, nd4spdbh. fortunately, have the C load on now.

 

even with the same size tire some brands of tires are much heavier than others.

bf goodrich a/t ko's are among the heaviest. 45lbs each.

something like cooper discoverer a/t 3's are only 38lbs each.

 

Larger diameter tires, even at the same weight as your original tires, will accelerate slower. To compound this, your new tires weigh more which increases your unsprung weight. Finally, these tires have a compound and tread pattern designed for grip, not efficiency on Tarmac.

So you've gone up in diameter, weight, and coefficient of friction. The results are exactly as the physics dictate. Making changes to your vehicle without consideration of physics and vehicle dynamics can, unfortunately, yield undesirable results. One option to reduce these effects would be to switch wheel to something weighing less than your current wheels. If you still want the larger tire this is your only option to reduce unsprung weight which will help but not eliminate the issue. Another option you could use in conjunction with new wheels would be an increase in torque via performance modification.

 

I wonder how guys who slapped the biggest/thickest tires on the Taco deal with their turtles? Do you only use your "Riggs" on rock crawling and not so much on paved roads?

 

gear change

 

If you used up all the miles on the stock tires than you are probably also due to change your spark plugs. Might help a little.

 

I have 33" all-terrains and a 4 cyl, so I'm a little sluggish...I just don't get in a hurry lol. It takes a minute to get up to cruising speed for me, but I don't mind. I guess I just don't have the need for speed

 

its just you, it was always sluggish

 

Lol...., true but I swear the stockers weren't as bad

 

You've basically thrown out an anchor and are dragging it with you...LOL