Skinny or wide tires; that is the question...

[98tcoma3rz]

So I had some 32x11.5 goodyear mtr tires on my Tacoma. They were really good on the trails, suck in the snow and suck on the road (very noisy as expected with a mud tire). So I recently got some 33x10.5 all terrain ko2 tires installed. I also bought some refurbished factory Toyota steel wheels. (had the factory alloys). They ride so much nicer on the road butttt.....I think it looks totally goofy! What do you guys think? I've read a lot of threads that say skinnys are much better for overlanding. Anyone have any first hand experience/opinions on this? Maybe I just need to get used to the new look.

 

[Mountainhound]

Skinny tires are best in the snow on roads. I am and have always been a skinny tire guy. I have 255 on my land cruiser.

 

[98tcoma3rz]

Skinny tires are best in the snow on roads. I am and have always been a skinny tire guy. I have 255 on my land cruiser.

How do they do on highway, dirt, or gravel roads?

 

[Mountainhound]

I have never ever had a problem with skinny tires. Heck on my 04 f350 I ran 235/85/15. I am not a slow driver either. Fat tires look cool, skinny tires work better in my opinion but I am sure you will get a lot of different opinions on this.

 

[redthies]

Tall and skinny is the best way to go. Better fuel economy and better handling due to less rolling resistance, and less likely to get pulled around by road imperfections. Better in pretty much all conditions, with the possible exception of sand. That said, a 10.50 isn't exactly a pizza cutter! You just need to get used to the look.

My '01 Taco on 285/75s which are a metric 33x10.50.

 

[marathonracer]

Love the tall skinny look especially on a reg cab! If you search there are tons of threads on this both here and on TTORA. http://www.expeditionswest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html

Read that... It will reassure your decision, aesthetics aside.

 

[deadbeat son]

I doubt you'll get many people here telling you 33x10.5 looks awkwardly skinny. I also prefer them aesthetically to a 12.5" wide tire.

 

[thethePete]

redthies pretty much knocked it out of the park for all the reasons skinnies are better. Wide tires do well in sand and mud on heavy rigs. That's about it. Need more contact patch? Air down.

 

[cam-shaft]

This topic could go for ever. This is a good read for starting.and has been around forever. Really one needs to understand their tires, weight of vehicle, weight of tires, and proper air psi for situation. So many people jump around to different tire brands looking for the ultimate vs understanding their tire and where the PSI needs to be for the conditions they are running. I try to keep my tires as narrow as possible for my set-ups.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html
Cameron.

 

[bkg]

Tall and skinny is the best way to go. Better fuel economy and better handling due to less rolling resistance, and less likely to get pulled around by road imperfections. Better in pretty much all conditions, with the possible exception of sand. That said, a 10.50 isn't exactly a pizza cutter! You just need to get used to the look.

My '01 Taco on 285/75s which are a metric 33x10.50.

Beautiful Limited - rarely see those.

I always considered 285's to be closer to 11.5" wide. A 255 is about 10" wide, a 235-85/16 essentially a 32*9.50. But I guess it depends on brand, etc. Regardless, you're truck is making me rethink the 255/85-16 route I was planning to go...

 

[austintaco]

Daily Driver/expedition/weekend warrior/Road trip/all around = skinny

Mud/Sand/dedicated rock crawler = wider

Both of my trucks have 255/85/16's on them at the moment, but I think I am keeping my 35x12.5's if I go play in the rocks.

 

[p nut]

Personally, I found not much difference between wide-ish and skinny-ish tires. MPG had zero effect. Ride was the same. Winter performance, the SAME! Don't kid yourselves--an inch in width isn't going to make you perform that much better on snow, if at all. My old Civic had 175 snow tires--now those are some pizza cutters. BUT they didn't really do much better than 195's that came stock.

What will noticeably affect your ride and performance? Tread pattern. Be it mud, AT, AS, Winter, whatever. So get what looks good to you, and drive happy. Some like the "skinny" look, and others (like me) prefer 265-285 on a Tacoma.

 

[tanglefoot]

I aways prefer skinny unless you need the width to stay on top of the terrain. In a Taco, you usually don't need the width. I think the 33x10.50s look cooler than the wider ones, myself. 10.50 is even too wide for me. I prefer 9.50 or 235.

 

[Mountainhound]

Couldn't be more wrong. I plow snow and I will tell you right now I hate my 11 f250 for plowing because it runs wider tires than I my 04 f350. That wider contact patch just does not give the psi to the ground that the skinnier tire does.

Personally, I found not much difference between wide-ish and skinny-ish tires. MPG had zero effect. Ride was the same. Winter performance, the SAME! Don't kid yourselves--an inch in width isn't going to make you perform that much better on snow, if at all. My old Civic had 175 snow tires--now those are some pizza cutters. BUT they didn't really do much better than 195's that came stock.

What will noticeably affect your ride and performance? Tread pattern. Be it mud, AT, AS, Winter, whatever. So get what looks good to you, and drive happy. Some like the "skinny" look, and others (like me) prefer 265-285 on a Tacoma.

 

[p nut]

Couldn't be more wrong. I plow snow and I will tell you right now I hate my 11 f250 for plowing because it runs wider tires than I my 04 f350. That wider contact patch just does not give the psi to the ground that the skinnier tire does.

Believe what you want. Tread will affect performance more than a measly 1" in width.