New tires soon - 285 vs. 265

I'm really happy with my 265/75/16 Duratracs...

 

265's

 

What he said... ^

 

As am I.

 

Hated my 265/75/16's.
Liked my 285/75/16's.
Love my 315/75/16's.

 

Thanks for all the responses - so far the poll is split pretty much half half...which isn't helping my decision haha.

What do you guys think about load rating? What is appropriate for this type of truck? Are the BFG ATs available in all load ratings at both 265 and 285?

 

I think my 285's were load range E and my 315's are D, I think my 265's were D as well.

 

me too!

 

It's not all that big of a truck, I have C's but my bfg a/t's were great in D aswell. definitely not E

 

I have 265/70/16 and I just think they are to small for a 3" lift

 

x2

 

Is there a reason why no one mentions 275's? Is that just an awkward tire size?

 

I have actually debated downgrading to 275/70/17 after my 285s run outta tread.

I average about 17-18mpg with hwy and city driving with the 285s but I gotta keep the rpms down

275s I think would help improve the mpg a bit and still be a little bigger than 265 plus no more rubbing when I backing up and turning at the same time.

The only 275/70R17 that I really found were too damn expensive though and they were goodyear wrangler something. I am sure there are some other brands out there though

 

Mine are E rated

 

I vote 265/75/16 besides not trimming it's a lot easier to keep a full size spare. I think I read somewhere you have to do some cutting underneath if you want to have a 285 spare in the factory location.

Note if you keep an eye on the local classifieds you can find killer deals for a spare. I found a new 265/75/16 BFG AT that came off a FJ Cruiser for $40 J

I must say though I like the look of 285's more.

 

The stock tire size works fine... 265/70-16. It is a 31" tire (30.6" actually). BUT, when replacing I am going up ONE INCH to the 265/75-16... a 32" tire (31.5" actually)... to give me 1/2" more ground clearance... and no body lift needed. Anything bigger will rub.

I will not get BFG All Terrains because of the HIGH number of sidewall failures I have both had with them and seen them in my zillions of Baja trips. They are the most popular tire.. just not the best for the buck, IMO. They sell the tire on their 3 ply sidewall feature and Baja racing record. Well, the tire that is used to win Baja is not the All Terrain, it is a race only model called the Baja T/A. At least General's off road racing tire and their new DOT approved truck tire look the same!

Lot's of tire choices... Right now I have two that I would go with (this may change).. If money is no object: General Grabbers (Red Letter). If cash remains low: Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10.

Good luck! (oh, and I see you are in 'BC' and not the one we also know as Baja California, so you may not want a desert style tire!)

 

I respect your difference of opinion and really mine is based mostly on my own history of damaging my BFG sidewalls frequently.. although to be honest I love BFG ATs and that's all I'd ever consider running.. I just think they could build a tougher sidewall. Actually the BFG sidewall damage issue is well known and documented and a lot of other folks have had complaints about it here.

Anyway any of the radial tires seem especially prone to sidewall damage, they build them so thinly. I guess it's unavoidable. Certainly in every case I can blame myself for jamming, wedging, sliding, or smacking my tire sidewall against granite or other sharp rock surfaces. I now buy five at a time (full spare) so I can swap out the damaged one when it inevitibly happens. They are a long running tire and good performing otherwise - the set I bought at Costco two years ago (~25k+ miles on them) looks new and rides great.. except for the one with the large divot in the sidewall, now my spare.

 

BFG A/Ts sizing

265/75R16 are 31.5"x10.5"

285/75R16 are 33"x11"

go with the 33s, if you have some lift, otherwise they will not fit!

 

Lots of great info on this site, lots of good advice.

I think I am going to stick with 265/75/16 Load range C Goodyear Duratracs

There seem to be less complaints about them than the BFG AT's and they are higher rated for the snow which is a plus.

Now I just need to find the cheapest way to get those and some Procomp 7089's into Canada....any suggestions?

I live super close to Washington - should I go across the border to have them installed at a Discout Tire? Or just ship them to a UPS store or something and bring them across myself? Or try to buy in Canada and pay top dollar?