Looking for input

[Jmar2007]

Hey guys Ive been doing reading and getting lots of good info. My plan for my TB tires is this. I just installed a 3" front and 2" rear suspension lift. Im planning on putting the 285/70/r17 BFG all terrains on it. I did get the 1.50 wheel spacers as well. What do yall think of this plan? Just looking to get some more input before I pull the trigger on the tires. Thanks!

[DirtyBacon04]

Are you keeping your stock rims or are you trying to get new ones?
Make that decision before you order your spacers. Most of us get adapters 1.5" from the 6x5 (stock) bolt pattern to the 6x5.5. Opens up a wide array of rims for us, and it's much more common than the 6x5. The standard 1/2 ton GM truck uses the 6x5.5 pattern (Avalanche, tahoe, silverado, etc)

[Jmar2007]

I was planning on keeping the stock rims actually. Is it necessary to change the rims in order to do the tires?

[DirtyBacon04]

negative.
6x5 spacers is what you need then. good luck!

[Jmar2007]

Thanks bacon! So how do you feel about going with the 285/70? Do you think thats to big, like should i come down to a 32 instead or 285 will work good?

[The Roadie]

Here's my essay on tire choices I've posted a few dozen times over the last ten years. Until you know how you intend to use the truck, any discussion of brand, tread style, or size is premature.

... what size is best...There is no ONE best tire, like there is no ONE best house, job, or girl.

It all depends on YOU deciding and being able to articulate what YOU want to do using the tire as a tool.

Here's a consolidated version of my answers to the usual "what tire should I buy?" question:

My usual advice is to fit the tire to the mission. What's your mix of use, on and off-road? Is quiet running a factor you value? Then Goodyear Silent Armor Fortera or Wrangler might be your choice. Is price a consideration? Mud versus sand versus rock for your off-road travels? Dry versus wet. Rain versus monsoon? Snow and ice ever?

Size is almost a secondary characteristic of a good tire compared to tread design, belts, sidewall and tread compound, and price. I recommend not pushing to decide on size first - get a handle on your mission first. Then choose a few tire styles, and see what sizes they're made in. Not all tires are available in all sizes that might fit, and if you fixate too soon on a size, you might overlook a better compromise of a tire.

I've learned ever so much while on my own quest for off-road mods. Good driving technique can make up for a bit of shortcoming in ground clearance, as can a good rock spotter. Good maps and knowledge of the trails can keep you out of trouble even more than fantastic equipment. And recovery equipment (winch, straps, snatch blocks) is there for insurance, not to be used regularly for us, and shouldn't give you the overconfidence to take on a trail that will break the vehicle.

So back up a bit, describe more of your intentions, and the Zen masters will prescribe some suggested solutions, a solution of the whole thing, not just the small issue of size or tread design. It's not just size that matters, it's texture, and how you use the rubber you put on.

Every solution is a compromise, says the engineering side of my brain. So you have to tell us exactly what your needs are, and how much you value each of them in a prioritized list with weighting factors. Then we have to figure out how well each of the tires fits those needs, multiplied by the weighting factors, and come up with a score.

You can imagine that not everybody here will have your exact needs, and I guarantee not many people know all there is to know about each of the tires.

So anything you get here would be a guess, maybe a SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess), and I recommend you do the research and come up with the scores yourself.

Factors you might consider are the following, but again, we have no idea how much any of these mean to you:

* price
* warranty
* availability down the road if you have to throw one or more away
* reputation of the tire mfr.
* reputation of your local tire store
* tread pattern
* how well the tread pattern matches the exact mix of trails you go on
* trail driving style and speed
* forest roads?
* sand?
* rocks?
* mud?
* highway driving style and speed
* curvy?
* straight?
* hilly?
* flat?
* tread noise when slow
* tread noise when fast
* tread wear mileage on road
* tread wear mileage off road
* performance on wet roads
* performance on dry roads
* white lettering?
* wheel guard molded into the bead?
* sidewall flexibility for airing down
* sidewall puncture resistance to rocks and cactus and sticks?

[DirtyBacon04]

Thanks bacon! So how do you feel about going with the 285/70? Do you think thats to big, like should i come down to a 32 instead or 285 will work good?

285 is what I'm running, as are alot of us. also depends on your gear ratio. But I'm pretty sure Roadie covered it all.

[Jmar2007]

I used to tell people the same thing. The shop I worked at we would do lifts and such and people always wanted the biggest mud tire they could get but yet all they did was drive on the interstate. Its funny mention the silient armour Im between it and the BFG all terrain

[Wahugg]

It's not just size that matters, it's texture, and how you use the rubber you put on.

I think someone in highschool said that once too....

[ErikSS]

It's not just size that matters, it's texture, and how you use the rubber you put on.

I think someone in highschool said that once too....

She was just trying to make you feel better.

[Trail X]

All kidding aside, Roadie's essay was good stuff. Also, before you choose a diameter, be sure to check the gear ratio calculator and see what sizes will give you the performance you want, given your gear ratio.

[v7guy]

The gear ratio was going to be the first thing I mentioned. It's well covered here though and it's probably to rehash that here.

A few years ago I asked the question "what made you determine your mission". The consensus seemed to be experience.

At the end of the day you're gonna need to make an educated guess. Roadie gave you a pretty great list of things to consider, from there you're going to either be happy and make small tweaks, or you're going to realize you want more and you'll have a pretty solid base line of experience to go off of.

[ARC-]

Which brands have the skinny, on narrow, tall tires that will fit oem 18 wheel? like a 235/85-18 or any other narrower and tall tires to fit the OEM 18" wheels, if not Ill jet get a new wheel set...

[Trail X]

Not many tall skinnys, especially not in 235 skinny range, very few in 85 aspect ratio, and especially not many in 18 wheels. There are some real tall skinny swampers... really hard to discuss all the possible options here. I'd suggest looking through the tire chart and seeing what you see regarding wheel diameters. You'll probably decide you need 17" or 16" wheels.

[navigator]

I think it might have been Battlemode that ran a 255/85/16 but that is about the only tall/skinny I remember here.

I had actually thought about running the 255/85/16 as my next tire but I keep falling back to tires that are more common and easy to get a replacement if you get in a bind.

I figure if one of your buddies you are riding with doesn't have one, most tire shops will have a used 265/75/16 or a 285/75/16 lying around to get you home.

[DustinC1989]

I'm running 265/60-18 Hankooks with no spacers, not real tall, not skinny. But mounted on factory 18's and clear the ball joints, they are big enough that they look decent with a small lift though.
With spacers, 265/65-18's will fit and they are fairly common and available in a wide variety since they are what the new silverado runs with the factory 18's