255/85 R16 Owners Experience

The 255/85R16 is a great compromise: You get the added ground clearance of a 33" tire without all the weight and additional rolling resistance of the 285/75 which is the "normal" 33" tire. If you have to go further to a street tire then 265/75R16 is still pretty good. If fuel mileage is really critical choose a lightweight wheel and a lighter tire in this size. I have a set of Konig Countersteer wheels that are much lighter than average and plenty strong with 265/75 Goodyear Dura-trac tires, good looking and lighter than factory wheel/tire combination.

Lots of things affect your gas mileage: HOW YOU DRIVE, lift your truck, or add a bed rack with stuff sticking up, add skid plates and or sliders, add heavy plate bumpers, a winch, they all screw up aerodynamics and/or add weight which take more power and thus you use more fuel to get down the road.

 

Go read all the modification guys do to run 35" tires; cut fenders, body lifts, etc. 33" tires are piece of cake compared to the shenanigans these guys have to do.

 

So I am still a little lost with what I have read about re-gearing with the 255's. My truck is a DD and I have no plans nor the budget to spend on re-gearing. I keep jumping back and forth between the 255's and the 265/75/16 and i'm currently running the stock size 265/70/16. My biggest concern is not having enough power to tackle steep mountain grades and slow uphill offroad climbs. The truck already seems wimpy doing those with stock tires and I just don't know how bad it will be going bigger. My plan was to buy the ST Maxx and keep the OR wheels. How manageable is the power loss with a V6 auto 4x4 running a 255 vs the 265/75?

 

I have stock gears and stock height and have driven coast to coast on 255/85/16 cooper ST Maxx tires and averaged 24mpg with over 600lbs of extra weight on my truck.

Quit bitching and get these awesome tires, they are fantastic offroad and are perfect as my DD and cross-country traveler. There ya go, that's the info all you on-the-fence folk were looking for, straight outa the horse's mouth. Get to it.

Enough with the questions!

 

If I don't go 255s I'm going 305s. 1lb more than 285 and the more floatation than 285s

 

Its not bad at all. If you don't have any extra weight on your truck it is not a problem at all. I didn't loose any mpg with my tires. I do feel the truck want to downshift a lot more on hills, however this is due to all the extra weight I have in combination with the tires I have as well. It was doing it with the 265's anyways. I do not have a re-gear, and although I want to re-gear its more just to take the strain off of the transmission with all the added weight and the tires. However that's not going to happen any time soon.

Offroad there is tons of power. I feel a loss really trying to keep at 70km/h without the truck wanting to downshift. However if it is becoming an issue I just take it out of over drive and I am good to go.

 

I looked up the weight of the 255s and they aren't any heavier than my 285/70/r16's....EDIT MY CURRENT TIRES ARE 5lbs heavier....
I'm actually looking at a set on 4x4 tires to order maybe tonight...... Hope they fit .
My 285's only rub in reverse at full lock it's mostly the sidewall that rubs, so I'm thinking that skinny and tall will rub less.

But when I used to actually race a mud drag truck we would put tall and skinny super scampers in the front and use 2-3 inch smaller diameter tires but twice as wide in the back. The tall tires in front spin faster because of the bigger diameter giving you great control they also get the rigs front end up out of the mud and when you start to bog/ slow down the rear end squats and grabs because the front is up....
Different strokes.
Also in the military tall and skinny always gets you there, slow but is better all around tire. Look at a pic of a humvee rim and you can see where an axle and a tractor pin can be used as a winch straight from the wheel center.......

 

If your looking for floatation, why go with 255's anyway?

 

You're a man of extremes.

 

I'm just saying if I don't go 255s I'll go wide, I like the wide look but mileage and a 4 banger hold me back

Only in certain situations.

And what size lift are you guys running? I was set on getting ome 881s for the bumper I ordered which will be 1.75" probably after they settle.

 

I only have the factory Pro lift up front and a 1" block in the back with 255/85/16 BFG KM2s (33.3") on the Pro wheels, and flexed out with the swaybar on I have no rubbing.

 

Any word on whether or not the BFGoodrich KO2s will ever be offered in this size? With this being such a compromise size I figured an AT would be a perfect fit for the use that people see 255s good for.

 

Not sure what the compromise is

 

Currently running 295/75r16 Toyo ATs and loving them on the street very quiet and very smooth.. But with a aggressive 3.5" BS wheel even after pinch weld mod, CMC and some fender trimming the tires still rub Offroad with no sway bar.. I don't rub at all on the road daily driving but I had an idea because I'm not really interested in cutting more of the cab mount and completly cutting my fenders...

Getting a set of 255s (maxxis or km2) and maybe some stock 16" rims for my offroad set of wheels then keeping the toyos and SCS wheels for street use..

Opinions welcome

 

Thank you that helps a lot. I am new to tacoma's having come from full size V8's and never had to worry about power loss issues. My new to me tacoma has a shell on it with about #300 of constant weight including tools. When heading to the mountains I carry another 250# minimum of gear plus the wife and kids. I just put on Icon extended c/o's and dakars so i'm not worried about the 255's fitting nor the leaf pack's ability to handle the extra weight.

I appreciate you keeping it pithy! I have made my decision and am going with this size and tire...no more back and forth.

This might be a stupid question but does dropping it in 4th with an auto cause issues with the transmission over time especially while running at hwy speeds?

 

Would like to see an all weather AT in 255/80/17

 

I'm no trans guru, but from what I have read it's absolutely fine. And just to add a bit more, I only did it for testing purposes, it's not something I do regularly.

I think you'll like the 255 size. I'm stoked about upcoming trips to the desert where I can really test our the new tires.

 

I have had absolutely no issues with my 255s. There is no rubbing off road with or without the wheels turned (OME 886 springs, stock wheels) and there is still plenty of power off road, and that is with front/rear bumpers, sliders, recovery gear and family. I do wish that there were a few more AT options though. FWIW to those wondering about tread life of a MT I have 27,000 miles on my KM2s and they are right at 50%

 

Those of you running this size tire with a matching spare will have some clearance issues between the spare and the rear differential. I recently put my new spare in the stock location and noticed that the differential would contact it when compressed. The fix was pretty easy though.

I removed the tire hanger hoist and propped the spare up to the frame in a way it would actually fit. In my case it needed to be moved back about 1 1/4". This pushed it tight to the receiver hitch and away from the rear diff. I also moved moved it towards the passenger side a little to get more clearance from the driver's side shackle hanger (not a good idea if your exhaust is not cut like mine). Anyway, when I was happy with the location, I marked the frame so that the hoist chain would fall in the center of the spare's hub. I drilled new holes and bolted it back up. It was an easy fix, and I hope this helps someone out.

Your results may very, but here's some pics of mine:

 

You rock!!! Thank you so much! Question for you... How did you hold your spare up there to test fit? Floor jack? My spare is 85 lbs! I mean I can bench press it in but still need a hand to mark/measure. Thanks.