285/70r17 E or SL??

You're going to be hard pressed to find a better overall winter tire than the Wildpeaks. There are exceptions to when they'll excel, but overall, that's a very good snow/ice tire. The SL's have a softer durometer iirc, and you'll lose some strength and longevity (I only got about 35-40k on my wife's 4runner with 285/70/17 AT3W SLs), but you'll get slightly better wet traction. The E rated AT3Ws still have excellent traction and provide a true 10 ply strength with a longer lasting tire. The E's are well worth the extra 15-20 per tire imo.

Keep in mind that a stock tacoma has VERY little weight on the rear axle. Throw some weight in the bed, and winter driving characteristics will change dramatically.

MT tires for a vehicle that won't see a lot of off roading is silly. The loss in MPG, noise, and wet/ice traction is significant. ICE and mud tires are not a good combination.

 

Totally! I have the ARB deflator/pressure gauge ARB and a Viair 400p bag compressor. Makes a huge difference. Practice practice practice.

 

(C Load) Duratracs for the Win!

 

This.

I'm 95% sure Wildpeaks have a harder durometer in the E tires than they do in the SL. SL's are AWESOME...but they won't last you long.

 

E rated tires are a tougher tire that will withstand failures in harsh off-road conditions better than standard tires. They will hold more weight, but the standard tires on a Tacoma will haul more weight than a Tacoma is rated for They PROBABLY are made of a harder rubber compound which may reduce wet/snow traction. Especially on a light Tacoma, they are designed for trucks that weigh 6000-7000 empty and with 10,000 lb GVWR's.

If you NEED a tougher tire for off-roading, they are the way to go. I'm not a fan of C rated tires. They are actually rated for lighter loads than standard load tires and don't offer the toughness of an E rated tire.

In the same size, and tread pattern you won't lose any fuel mileage with E rated tires. But a lot of the bigger sizes, and more aggressive tread patterns are only available in E rated tires. The tires are heavier, and you need more power to get them moving, but once moving they don't use any more fuel. Once again, that is assuming the same size tire with the same tread. If you upsize to larger tires, and more aggressive tread you will lose fuel mileage.

And in the same size the heavier E rated tires will have an effect on acceleration. The difference in pulling away from a light or merging into traffic is noticeably slower with E rated tires

 

Current AT3W are C rated 275/70r17 and not been an issue pulling what I do.

I also already 4.88 gear swapped the truck couple months back and done the KD tune.

I aired them down to 32psi and threw some round tractor weights in the bed I am pretty sure they are 100lb each. so 300lbs. Snow had melted down some but the truck was much more composed. I thought the topper might add enough weight but seemed light in the rear still.

I went ahead and ordered the C or SL 285/70r17 since my truck will be 75-80% DD road use, but still want a more aggressive tread for some of the places I go which might be more mud and slick.

 

Explanation to this comes down to noise, block stiffness, and handling/stability. The C load version was specifically made for the Jeep Gladiator/Wrangler applications, so it had to meet Jeep's criteria for noise, performance, ride, and MPG. The E load is a standard off-the-shelf tire which weren't subject to a vehicle manufacturer's criteria but still had to meet our standards for noise, stability, ride and performance.

In theory, more sipes provide better traction, whether dry or wet.

 

Got the tires on yesterday. Only think I could find in stock was E rated so I went with that.

Per my bathroom scales E rated are 65lbs per 285/70r17.

Take of Falken were 55lbs 275/70r17 so 10lbs per tire I will deal.

So far ride isn’t much different, these are surprisingly quiet for the aggressive design.

Did a little clearance checkin on the rip rap at work.

 

Looks Killer!

It will be interesting how you notice the additional 40lbs rotational weight which roughly equates to 400lbs of chassis weight.

 

I have 4.88 gears. So we will see