285s; Would you do it again?

thanks..not sure why people here slam these tires. Tire rack and reviews on other platforms are usually great in snow

 

Good looking truck in the elements. Did you have any traction issues? Ive only had the tires a week so can't give my opinion on performance yet but Im happy with the way they look.

 

if anything I’ve noticed the rain to be more of a challenge for this truck, certain scenarios, turning while gassing on initial movement etc..But nothing I’d call an issue or common

 

I certainly didn't want to believe the all the bad reviews the first few years I ran the Ridge Grapplers. I know from past experience the Ridge Grapplers I owned performed very poorly on that last trip.

Here's a few more shots of when they were newer, they performed satisfactorily on that trip (and others) which consisted of snow, near zero weather over both packed and rocky terrain at times. The other silver Tacoma in the one picture ruined a new BFG KO2 tire the day before due to sharp rocks down a certain canyon (notice the different spare tire on the LR).

 

I just bought these Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs for my wife's Tacoma. They have a severe snow rating and 60,000K warranty. For comparison they were about $30 less than a set of new BFG AT K02s and MT is offering a $100 rebate so double win in the price dept. Reviews are very positive for this tire especially for snowy conditions.


I won't scrimp when it comes to tires. Snow and icy conditions can be the most hazardous IME.

 

Speaking of slamming tires I don't understand how a tire can be great for some and terrible for others but I hated toyo at3's. They were not good on wet payment from the very beginning. My current mickey Thompsons which look to have less siping are WAY better in the rain plus they've been great in every other situation as well.

 

Tire reviews are very subjective due to many variable factors: speed, on and off road conditions, weather, ambient temp, tire size & pressure, vehicle itself, driving style and many more.

 

Glad to hear that! Your truck looks great. Thank you for your support!

I'm glad to see that you're taking advantage of the 8" rim width of the FX Pro. We purposefully designed the 17x8" FX Pro wheels for optimal fit with 285/70R17 tires.

 

Personally, I would sack up and go for a 295/70r17 or a 285/75r17. The 285/70r17 doesn't have enough sidewall imo. rather build a truck once then spend more money to buy more tires, etc

 

easy choice. Dylan was easy to work with.

 

for a moment at first glance thought that truck was all articulated up... then noticed the different tread... and then the size...

 

285/70R17 is a good choice for anyone who doesn't want to:

• Be required to do a body mount chop.
  • You can fit most 285/70R17's without the need for a body mount chop, especially if you have aftermarket upper control arms which allow for more positive caster.
• Trim large sections of plastic to eliminate rubbing.
  • Only minimal trimming is required (typically).
• Lift the truck more than 2".
  • 285/70R17 fits well with most 2" lifts.
• Re-gear their truck.
  • 295/70R17 isn't too far off and wouldn't necessitate a re-gear.
  • 285/75R17 (34" OD) is pushing it in terms of stock gearing, but it is doable.
• Lose too much brake performance.
  • In my experience anything much larger than a 33" OD increases the stopping distance too much with the factory brakes.

These are somewhat broad generalizations and exact fitment will vary a little bit depending on the exact wheel/tire/suspension combination. However, I feel that 285/70R17 is the best choice for the maximum tire size for the majority of Tacomas.

This is not to say that you are wrong in stating that 295/70R17 or 285/75R17 are good choices as well, but 285/75R17 tires in particular are going to require a lot more time, effort and money to make the necessary modifications for the truck to drive properly.

 

To your point, cutting plastic, cutting the body mount, cutting pinch welds, is still pretty likely with a 285 section tire. UCAs (except for SPCs) dont help with rubbing, they just make your truck drive right. rubbing and metal contact is 100% due to scrub radius which is dependent on wheel offset and tire width. a + or 0 offset wheel is likely not going to rub with a 285 and aftermarket UCAs. A -10 or less offset will likely rub no matter what.

I do agree that that acceleration, braking, steering, will all be worse with a bigger tire. That is just part of the game when you increase un-sprung mass. But if you're upsizing and already making the earlier worse, why not go big, go with what you really want, and make it look right?

 

The first gen Tacomas are a different story, but I believe we're talking about second and third generation Tacomas here. I can tell you with certainty that for the last 20 or so years we have installed many of our wheels with the following specs on 2nd and 3rd Generation Tacomas:

16x8" +0mm offset and 285/75R16 tires
or
17x8" +0mm offset and 285/70R17 tires

and we haven't had any rubbing on the body mount or pinch welds on a 2005-2023 Tacoma as long as the tires aren't super aggressive.

The 2005 - 2011's require more plastic trimming than the 2012-2015's, and the 2016-2023's generally require the least plastic trimming with 17x8" +0mm offset and 285/70R17 tires.

I also try to look closely at the tire manufacturer spec sheets and recommend a tire with a 32.8" or less overall diameter (OD) and a slightly narrower tread width to avoid rubbing on the body mount. Some 285/75R16 and 285/70R17's are more aggressive and have larger dimensions such as 33.0" or 33.1" OD's, and those slightly larger diameters will almost certainly rub on the body mount.

Offsets which are excessively positive (i.e. the OEM wheels with +25mm to +32mm) or wheels that are wider without a reduction in the offset will probably not rub the body mount with 285/75R16 or 285/70R17 tires, but these combinations will rub on the upper control arms due to the higher backspacing that comes with higher offsets and/or wider rim widths.

+0mm to +10mm on a 7.5" to 8.0" rim width are ideal for minimizing rubbing.

I have recommended wheels with 8" rim width / +0mm offset / 4.5" backspacing for nearly 20 years to my Tacoma customers who want to install 285/70R17 with minimal issues.

Agreed. Negative offsets combined with wider rim widths will definitely increase rubbing and the likelihood of cutting being necessary to eliminate the rubbing.

Increasing un-sprung weight is part of the problem - I agree. This is why I have advocated and offered light weight wheels for the Tacoma for a long, long time (long before the other wheel brands came along a few years ago). There's more than just un-sprung weight to consider when you increase the tire size.

Customers often call me and tell me that they're excited to order FN Wheels because our wheels are light weight, and so they won't feel any loss of acceleration with 285/70R17 tires because the overall weight of the new combination is about the same as their heavier OEM wheels and stock tires. It would be dishonest, albeit easier for me, to go along with their assessment. The truck will definitely accelerate and stop better with a lighter weight wheel and tire combo vs. a heavier wheel and tire combo, but I always inform my customers that weight is only part of the equation. This is because increasing the overall tire diameter also effectively lowers the final drive ratio which makes it feel like you have longer gearing and consequently less acceleration.

In my opinion and also based on the feedback from my customers, an OD of about 33" is about as tall as most Tacoma owners can tolerate with stock gearing (i.e. 285/75R16, 285/70R17, or 285/65R18). You can make an argument that the 34" diameters you mentioned (285/75R17) are OK with stock gearing, and some people feel that 34's are fine, but most customers that I speak with + my own personal experience is that 34" is pushing the very limit of stock gearing. Definitely anything over 34" OD will require re-gearing the truck.

I totally get what you're saying about going all out modifying the truck and leapfrogging over 285/70R17 tires to install bigger tires while you're at it. I don't take any issue with that at all, but there are lot of Tacoma owners who are more than happy to install a good quality 2" lift, a nice set of 17x8" +0mm offset wheels and 285/70R17 tires. If the OD of the tires is 32.8" or less this typically just requires a little bit of plastic modifications. This type of setup can be put together for right around $3,000 (+/- depending on the quality of the components), and the truck will still drive great.

If money is no object, if the truck isn't daily driven, if comfort and convenience aren't as import as looks or if maximum ground clearance/offroad performance are required, then definitely one can go for 285/75R17 (or larger) tires. I personally just wouldn't issue a blanket statement that every Tacoma owner should forego 285/75R16 or 285/70R17 and jump right into 34" diameter tires.

 

if its the toyo at3 its because of issues with them.. i had a set of 285/75/17s years back on my 13 tacoma and they did great on everything but didnt last worth a damn... not even 5k miles in and the tires slipped belts and would howl at 35mph and i couldnt hear my passenger in the truck... other then that they were great but wont ever trust them again...

 

ive ran 265/70/17, 255/80/17s, 275/70/17s and 285/75/17s
the skinny tires were awesome! the only down side was off camber stuff they seemed to want to tip more then anything wider ive ran. but as others have stated you can only get mud tires and thick sidewall tires because of the size sadly..

the 285/75s were awesome minus the fact they were heavy and a pain to get to fit but overall was a great tire.

if i had a choice thou id go back to 275/70/17s... which im currently running now. still a decent looking tire and overall size if you are not planning on wheeling but only wanting a look or to do some camping. 285/70/17s are the standard everyone does these days and they are great tires and a great size but be prepared to cut things on either plastics or the body mount... ive seen people try to run them without cutting and for daily driving sure they dont rub but once offroad and they truly articulate it will hit... no way around it on a 2nd gen its just tight in that area.

 

Very in depth insight here and all points are 100% valid. I completely agree on the light wheel/tire points. People who run heavy wheels, in my opinion, are completely backwards. Rubbing and gearing comments are also accurate. I think gearing on a 34" tire also depends on the wheel/tire package and its weight. Weight dramatically affects drivability and lighter wheels and tires will keep the driver happier with the factory gears.

Also, your comment on my blanket statement is correct. I would not recommend a 285 section tire to everyone... its all dependent on use case. To my younger self and my friends with stock 3rd gens, I always tell them to skip the 285/70r17 and go big-spend the money now, not 2x. I did not go with a 295 years ago because my truck started out as a cheap lease and I didnt want to cut up and void a warranty on a brand new truck with 11,000 miles on it. I now own the truck and looking back, I wish I just did it. On my personal truck I wish I had bigger tires and I run a 275/70/17 on my wifes 4runner and I would not go back down to a 265. As a blanket statement, "285's would you do it again?" Maybe. Bigger tires>smaller ones

 

currently sitting on 265/70r16, looking to upsize to 265/75r16 and put a bed camper shell on the tacoma later. I think for the stock auto gear box's gearing, 285/70r17 would be a little too much for it especially with any weights in the truck. Not going to go anywhere crazy rocky so I think 265/75r16 will be just fine for my needs.

 

Is this photo I have steel skids (engine, transmission, and transfer case), a low profile front bumper with a winch, 285 75 16. The wheels are light weight FN wheels. (Less than 19 pounds each) and the tires are 56 pounds each which is one of the lighter 10 ply "33's" that you can get. Plus the camper shell was full of stuff, pulling the trailer, etc. The truck had no power issues whatsoever. I was very impressed. I drove 55 to 60 and the rpms still stayed around 2,000. When not towing I averaged 18ish mpg. With that being said I put stock tire size back one and took off the camper shell because my truck became my daily driver and I commute 100 miles day. Still have the bumper, winch, and skids installed and I can get over 21 mpg on my daily commute. So yes if mpg is important I would stick with the 265 75 16. It's a good size and will take you places most people want to go. Pair them with some fn wheels and you will have a killer set up. I only put on my 33s when I plan more serious off road trips.

 

that is very impressive, I could see that being the advantage of a 2nd gen taco since my 3rd gen even in stock form leaves me some more power to be desired due to gearing IMO. I have also found that the OD of the tire size affect power/torque output and mpg much more than the weight of the tire/wheel combo, that being said, of course the lighter the better. I like fn's but I am set on the toyota beadlock style wheels due to I just love the look of them. Now I am impatiently waiting for the KO3 to come out in the size of 265/75r16 (weighing 50lbs each) in August 2024. Cheers!