255/85 R16 Owners Experience

Nope, but shouldn't matter. I have Holstein 5100s which result in basically the same suspension travel path as stock. Everything fit fine without a lift. Others have said the same previously. I am now lifted about 3 inches. I put LR UCAs to correct caster. No rubbing until I ran more than 3 degrees. Stock values are less than 2.8.

 

That would be better is a sense of combatting the effects of the tires larger diameter and weight. But... having an auto trans will be a drawback because you won't have the ability to pick your gear and shift points.

 

suprisingly it hasn't been bad at all i have these with a 4 cyl at and you pretty much just hit the pedal and go the trans compensates on the hills and when passing it's really been pretty damn good

 

Ahh, well there you go. Didn't know there was anyone here with a 2.7 AT.

 

oh don't get me wrong it's not a power house in any regard but it never has been. the only power loss i've felt much is on the lower end at take off but i'm hoping the addition of the lce header will help in that respect. the trans actually compensates nicely and living in the foothills of the blueridge i have plenty of hills. haven't had it off road much at all yet with these tires but in 4lo it just grunts and goes

 

Today testing out the shackle flip. This is my second set of 255/85/16, and ill never get another size. Unless 35's of course.

 

Granted I have the v6 but the mud terrains in this size have been great. Quiet, great driving, and not a practical change in how the truck drives. I'm not timing my quarter mile or towing anything so for zooming up roads to get to the woods or mountains, it's great.

(Ahh, I do remember going over the grapevine in 3rd in my '84 4-banger 4Runner...)

And, if you want rear clearance, it's the only way to get it. I was talking to one of the board members of the rubicon trail foundation and he said a winch and 33's were the most important mods to be able to complete it (albeit with the risk of body damage). YMMV

 

Good to know. I thought the taller gearing would be better but I'm new to the Tacoma and off-road game so I'm not sure.

The area I live in in California isn't all too hilly. The truck Is my daily so I have to keep that in mind but from what you're saying it seems like it won't be bad. A taller skinny tire seems to be better than a wider 31" tire.

I plan to do some overlanding and other camping/offroading with the truck. Not really any serious crawling. I can't really go for a P rated tire as it's not durable enough and E seems to heavy. Like you said C rated seems great but only a few tires are in that range. Good to know on the MPG as well because I plan to do some distance with the truck

 

Gentlemen, I have a few questions.

I'm running my second set of 255/85-16 KM2s on OME 886 coils w/ a hybrid bumper and winch. I have no idea how much lift that is, but tire fitment isn't an issue on 4.25" b/s wheels. Rubs here and there under duress. My issue is tire wear due to alignment, or lack thereof. I have the original All-Pro UCAs (not the grey powder coated with 1.5" balls, the black ones with the 1" uniball) for the previous gen (2005) and they DO NOT allow enough caster/camber adjustment for the truck to be aligned 100% correctly. It's close, but it produces uneven tire wear and I end up eating the outer edges off my front tires.

My question, and I apologize for hijacking or if this is the wrong thread, is what are the best UCAs to use to solve this issue? Will the Light Racing UCA's suffice or do I need to look at Total Chaos or ICON?

 

I have Camburg BJ uppers and I had great alignment specs. Is yours a first or second gen? Kind of hard to tell in your post.

 

It's a 2005, first year of second gen. Built the suspension in 2007 for wheeling, re-building it now to be a tow/recovery rig for side-by-sides. Everything is worn out from abuse.

How much lift in front on yours? I'm thinking mine is pretty high and that height in combination with the tire size is causing the problem. And the reason I didn't list Camburg is b/c when I built this truck the first time, word on the forums (then) was that the Camburgs were a bit off in design and limiting in travel and lift height, which wouldn't help me. I'm sure that's changed, but consensus was pretty strong 10 years ago, I guess.

 

When AP first released their UCAs for the 2nd gens (circa 2006/2007), they were rehashed UCAs for the previous gen and were not constructed properly to fir the new suspension. That was the story I got. As for the tech, I've stood there and watched more than 1 try and fail. Lasers or chalk on the tire, can't get it in. The UCAs are bad and I just never cared when it was just a wheeler/extra vehicle. If I'm gonna use it to tow, I need it to be spot-on.

 

My reasoning for getting the Camburgs was because they take factory ball joints, but provide more clearance and add caster. I have almost 4 degrees of caster per side and camber/toe are both at zero. If I am travelling and have an issue, I can find a ball joint in almost any town that can replace what I have. I have around 2.75-3" of lift up front.

 

I think its been a while since I posted in here

 

New meats mounted. Can't wait to get em rollin.

 

Nice! What are those?

 

My first post. This is an excellent forum and excellent thread. My next Tacoma will definitely have 255/85R16s. There're pros and cons to skinny tires in mud, etc. but there's absolutely no comparison on snow and ice, on which I drive thousands of miles a year. My question is wheel availability. Any suggestions on 7", preferably less than 5" b.s., and as long as I'm being picky, black Teflon coated?
Thanks in advance.

 

For those of you struggling to find tires in this size I wanted to point out that a 34x10.5x17 BFG KO2 is basically a 265/80/17, which actually comes out to be almost the exact size as a 255/85/16, but instead it's just a .5" wider and on a 17 instead of 16" rim.

I'd love to run 255/85/16, but I can't stand the lack of options in this size-range.

 

wow - if you find something let us know. I ended up with 4 wheel parts steelie look-alikes and they are .5" wider and .5" more backspacing. Which worked, barely. In retrospect i think i should have just had the OEM's powdercoated!

 

I shopped for a while and was going to go with pro comp steelies but the guy at pro comp said they would not work because of the size of the front caliper on the 2nd gen tacomas. I found a clean set of 16x7 alloys on Craigslist for cheap. They came off of an 01 4Runner. After Sand blast and powder coat they still cost me less than new aftermarkets.