16" vs. 17"

Pick a tire and go accordingly.
I wanted the lightest weight LT fairly aggressive tire I could find. I wanted actual skinny tires, so narrower than the stock 245's. 235/85r16's would have been taller than stock and the 4 cylinders are already geared too tall, so I went with LT 215/85 R16 Firestone Destination XT's mounted on some alloys I bought 2nd hand. Absolutely love the tire performance, and as they weigh less than the stock p rated tires on steel rims, my mileage and acceleration is the same.
Amazing in the snow (Snowflake rated), and great for the soil we get around here.
Heavy wheels and tires suck.
3/4" lift in front to even out the truck, and the front mudflap has since been left somewhere in the bush.

 

There are definitely way more tire options in 17”. Noticed this when looking at tire options for my stock OR wheels

 

215s? Now that’s a skinny!

 

Trailer tire. Haha

 

thanks guys, full disclosure I bought methods in 16" and now im gonna have to sell them and get 17" lol

 

TW at its finest!

 

E load rating, skinny tread, 36.5 lbs per tire, Snowflake rated, and a 115 load index of 2679 lbs, I'm sold!

 

Do you have any pics from front/back?

 

Pic for comparison is vs. a 245. Combined rim and tire weight is 59.4 lbs.

 

One nit pick… the Toyo m55 is an a/t that comes in 255/85r16.

 

I soooooo wanted a 255/85/16 A/T tire with the 3 peak snow designation, but nobody makes them. Unfortunately, I'd have to buy 17" rims to and buy the comparable 255/80/17s. And so far only the Wilpeaks fit that bill, (to my knowledge). And E load is the lightest you can get.

It's too bad, 'cause I absolutely love my C load 265/75/16 Duratracs, but they dont make them in the pizza cutter size.

 

well both 16” or 17” will work. However, for the best of both worlds and not having lack of power without re-gearing try a 255/75/17 which is a true 32” tire. This means you probably won’t notice the difference of an actual 33” (255/85r16) tire because it only gains 1/2” on both sides of the tire…once on the ground the tire squishes some so it’s a moot point.

The weight and price of the 255/75r17 will be considerably less since they come in SL, C, or E load, whereas the 255/85r16 only come in heavy (unnecessary ) E-load. I run the 255/75r17 now and they are great for all my offroad and desert running needs. However, I also have 16” wheels for winter tires…hope this helps OP

 

Oh I'm not judging, I dig it man! They're just so little. Haha

 

Toyo M55 are 3 peak. I have them.

 

Oh judge away, I can take it! I love the look of skinny tires, reminds me of Landcruisers with 7.00x15 or 7.50x16 tires.
I guess the 235's would be a great option as well, but the last thing gen 2 manual transmission 4 cylinders need is a taller 1st gear. The 215's are about 8mm less in dia. than stock 245's, but the 235's add about 26mm over stock. I think if they were any smaller the proportions on the truck would look wrong.

 

you ain’t wrong

But 17” TEs look like poop

 

I stand corrected.

 

They look like a super tough tire, heavy though.

 

Insanely durable. And measure big. Not overly heavy

 

And expensive.