Help me decide 265/70/16 or 265/75/16?

Whelp, I guess I'm kind of back to square one. I wanted 265/75/16 in SL but no one seems to offer it here in Hawaii. 265/70/16 is offered in both SL and E.

Maybe need to go back to drawing board and look for a different tire. Same has a great deal on KO3s at $260 a tire. But load range E.

 

Check wallmart Faulken Rubitrek 265/75/16 SL
Showing $155/tire. Not sure if there are any shipping restrictions to HI

 

I just purchased a set of Cooper Discoverer Road + Trail AT in size 265/75R16. The look awesome. The size is just right for the truck. I was hesitant at first because I didn't want the tires to look like donuts, but they look great. This size and especially this tire in this size, really look nice on the truck.

 

pics?

 

Sams has 265/75/16 Cooper Discoverer Road + Trail AT SL for $179.

 

If I size down to 265/70/16 there are many more options in SL
-Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs
-Toyo Open Country ATIII
-Falken Wildparks AT4W
-Cooper Discoverer Road+Trail

So basically my decision is if I want 75s I have to settle with an E load tire (or the Cooper discoverers which I may be leaning toward).

If I want SL I have to size down to 70.

Kind of stuck here.

Or am I overthinking things?

 

OR buy 17" rims and have more tire options. Haha

 

I switched out my stock tires when new for Goodyear ultra terrains 265/75/16 sl. Constant balance problems sent me into wildpeaks at4, couldn't be happier since the change, same size. Sold off the ultra terrains.

 

Tire tread is measured in 32nds of an inch, as an example the LT265/75R16 E BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO3 has a tread depth of 16/32", 16/32 of an inch is only 1/2 inch of tread, not a full 32/32 or one inch, at 2/32 a tire in down to the wear bars and unsafe according to the DOT.. It is recommended to replace your tires at 4/32 of an inch, so if you remove 4/32 of treadwear that leaves you 12/32 (16/32-4/32=12/32) of an inch, 12/32 = 0.375 or 3/8 of an inch of safe usable treadwear..

So going from a LT265/70R16 to a LT265/75R16 only gives you about 3/8 of an inch more treadwear, not a full inch of treadwear, so a worn out LT265/75R16 KO3 is still 5/8 of an inch taller than a new 265/70R16 KO3 if it has the same 16/32 of an inch new (looks like the KO3 is not made in the LT265/70R16).. The LT265/70R16 KO2 is only 15/32 of an inch...

 

Just installed some 265/75/16 mickey Thompson Baja boss AT in SL. I would definitely stay away from E. Complete overkill for our trucks, terrible ride and way too heavy causing more strain on everything. I used to run 265/75/16 duratracs in C load before they discontinued them. Perfect load rating for our trucks. Time will tell if the SL Baja boss hold up. Highly recommend them though, if you can get your hands on them. They have been fantastic in all conditions.

 

Might be overkill, might not be. Depends on your use case. I’m running E-load Wildpeak 3’s and really like them (except on ice): great traction on the trails I run, tough, predictable on-road manners, quiet at 17k miles, even wear, and easy to balance.

Most of what passes for tire wisdom on TW is opinion, not fact. Sometimes, with enough opinions, you might get a real sense of what’s going on. Other times people think what they have is The Best. (Maybe I’m guilty of this, but also I’ve run KO2’s, Coopers, and the current Falkens so I kinda know what works for me.)

 

I’m running the Discount tire offbrand, has been an excellent tire. The 265/75/16 with 5.29s and 5100s set to 1” is a lot of fun.

 

That sounds like a good price, I paid ~$205 each from discount tire a few weeks ago. There was a $100 mail in rebate through Cooper, but who knows when I'll get that back.
I've only put about 1500 miles on them, but so far they feel good.

 

Coopers in 265/75/16. Good tires except for noticable drop im mpg compared to the 3 other sets of tires Ive had in that size.

 

I do like the white lettering!

 

Is that up near Antero? I think I camped there once . . .

I'd do the 75's. Minimal change to anything really, a little more clearance, fills out the wheel wells more.

 

Just installed 265/75/16 on my truck. Seems to be the popular opinion around here.

 

Above Saint Elmo.

 

I’ve heard good things about wild peaks and the e is 53 pounds which isnt bad compared to other e loads. I just feel like unless you spend all your time rock crawling that e are overkill.you are paying for load capacity you will never use. The truth is ply rating doesn’t make much sense anymore due to modern tire construction. It is most helpful regarding load rating. Unfortunately there are not a lot of 265/75/16 options outside of E load tires.

The cons in my opinion outweigh the expected durability. Worse ride, braking, acceleration mpg, and wear on components. I’ve never had problems with c load tires, ironically my e load ko2s had more issues. Tacomas are relatively light vehicles at the end of the day. I’ve run, ko2s, duratracs, copper STT pros, pirrelli scorpions, Toyo open countries, and now MT bajas. So I have a decent bit of experience with tires, also worked as a tech at Goodyear for years. Installed my fair share of tires over the years. It’s all personal preference, I prefer a more aggressive hybrid terrain that’s meets the 3 peak snow rating and will hold up to the sharp rocks here in Colorado. Still tend to a stay away from E load tires though. I Think most Tacoma owners are better of in d load, c load and SL rated tires.

 

Yup having a hard time finding load C or SL tires in this size. Hawaii is an added layer of limited availability. Might have to go with stock size… I’ll keep looking.