bamachem

305's... ahhhh, my 305's... be still my beating heart...


where do you want me to start?

1. they're huge. HUGE. noticably larger than the 285's - height and width. they look like they're b/w the 285's and 315's in diameter - i haven't measured, but i would estimate between 33.5" and 34" diameter unloaded. the GY website lists both the 305's and the 285's as 33" diameter, but the 305's are visably bigger - no doubt. HUGE.

2. killer traction. much better than the 285's on the stuff i ran last weekend. call me crazy, but that extra inch in width makes a BIG difference in gripshun.

3. rubbing. before, w/ the 285's, i hadn't done anything to the pinch weld and i rubbed going in and out of my driveway. i put these on and of course, it got worse. at crawfords, i broke out the dremel and cut out the lower plastic and the innermost bottom part of the flare, pounded the pinch weld flat, then covered everything in rubberized undercoating. they still rubbed just a little on the trail (on a 1/4 turn and stuff), but not bad at all. the rear actually rubbed worse on the hex-head bolts holding the rear flares on. to fix that, i'm going to get some flat-head sheet-metal screws to attach the flares and then ditch the hex-heads. on the front, i'll pull the front wheels when i get time and work on the firewall w/ the 5# sledge and then they won't rub at all except on a stuffed full turn on the frame rail. i can live w/ that.

in all- i HIGHLY recommend them over a set of 285's. since i picked these up for $600 and then sold my 285's for $200, i only have $400 in the set - LESS than half price. would i be willing to pay the extra $100 for the 305's over the price of the 285's next time - HELL YEA!

BTW- 305/70-16's are fairly common on Ford Superdutys, so keep your eye out for some used ones if you want to give them a try without sinking $1000 in tires on the first set.

Click the pics for the larger versions...

jacksonpt

305s... they must be pretty close to my 33/12.5-15s, no? what's the actual height/width on them?

My 33s look huge too, even compared to other rigs with 285s... I think it's all in the width.

RTdawgs

Got me convinced.

What gears are you running with them? Supercharged or not? Impressions of on-road characteristics?

bamachem

4.10 with the SC. It's no speed demon but did fine off-road. Now that I have both my front and rear 4.56 diffs, I've just got to find the time to install them and pull the SC. I'm supposed to pick up a commuter car either today or saturday ('90 accord ex), so when that happens and I get some room made in the garage (from all the moving boxes) I'll pull the runner in there and park it and just work on it in increments as I get time...

On-road, they're great. No different than the 285's. Maybe a touch quieter than the worn 285's since these have new tread, but overall, they "feel" about the same on-road except the added diameter (nearly and inch over the worn 285's) has stripped some power on acceleration...

shazaam

Looks good. Do you have side view of them? What size is that guy "hojo" or something running? His looks massive

RTdawgs

I'm anxious to hear how you like the 4.10s.

The LX450 wheels have 4.5" backspacing right? No problems with your control arms?

Swede

Hey Andy, I still think you have the sweetest 3rd gen around by far! What did you do to your bumper after the accident? Looks to me like you got it straightened out somehow.

bamachem

yeah, i'm anxious to see how i like them too... :eyeroll:

yeah, 16"x8" with 4.5" backspacing and they clear the upper a-arms fine.




THANKS! the old one went in the trash. literally. i couldn't give it anyone who'd be willing to come pick it up, so i threw it away and got another one from ARB.

HOJU

as always, your 4runner looks awesome!

AznSky

ok andy, i still don't understand how you're not rubbing with a 16x8 wheel and 4.5" backspacing compared to my 16x7 wheel with 4.375 backspacing.

Is it because your extra inch in wheel width will make the tire stick out further? But with more (higher number) backspacing than me, that brings it in closer? (correct me if I'm wrong, but the higher the number, the closer the inside of the tire is?)

ME: 16x7 and 4.375
YOU: 16x8 and 4.5
Difference: You stick out .875 more?

calrockx

hm, 306/75/16 MTRs...something to consider for my next tires. the 285s definitely are pizza cutters. the goodyear site lists them both as 33" O.D., but you say the 305 look taller, so that's a real world opinion there.
is this size new? i wonder why i didn't get these when i got the 285s, i don't remember seeing this size

FilthyRich

are you going to run the 4.56 w/ the s/c as a test before you pull it.
I am curious how the s/c w/ gears and 305's is.

TStango

Hey Andy,
Are the new meats 305/70 or 305/75?

The subject of your post conflicts with the thread content.

Just to reinforce your comparison...
I have 305/70/16's and they are 33" in diameter. I also run 285/75/16 Revo's in the winter and they are almost identical to the 305's in diameter. However, the width of the 305's combined with the 4" backspacing of the rims I have them mounted on, widen the stance and footprint of my truck enough to make the REvo winter season look almost rediculous.

It changes the way the truck looks, rides, and handles, A LOT. I can't wait to upgrade my 305's to YOKO M/T+'s

BTW, those pictures are worthy of a framing. Turboale seems to have left his mark.

Bigkahuna808

Welcome to the 305 club. I had so much fun trying to find where the tires rub. I cut so much off the fender plastics, that I might as well bought a 3" body lift. I bow before people who can fit 35s. But in my aspect, I should remove the running boards and that would stop alot of my rubbing. Looking good man

Hyperlite

My 305/70R16 only rub the Limited flares. I have OME shocks and coils, 2" body, pan hard drop 2" with 1.5 cornfeds to take the winch sag out and of corse the pich welds and liners are gone. I think my rims are 16x8 with 4.25" BS they stuff nice.

RTdawgs

Bumpin for an update. 4.56s in there yet?

Bighead

I don't think so.

bamachem

argggh.

1. new job that's got me really busy.

2. new house that we just moved into that has me really busy.

3. new DD car that needs some TLC to keep it dependable.

4. keeping up w/ family stuff and taking a breather here and there for myself to keep my sanity.

juggling those four at the same time, i just haven't had time to deal w/ it. i'm counting on about 2 hours to swap the rear, then about 3 or 4 to do the front. the main problem that i have is that i don't have any help to get the diff/third in and out. those things are 90# each. i can do it, but it's not easy to manage it by myself w/o getting a hernia! i'm going to try and give it a shot this sunday - at least get the rear done anyway...

Bighead

I understand Andy. My diffs sat around for almost 3 months before they went in because of the hectic schedule I had. Instead of trying to install everything in a hurry and possibly make a mistake, I wanted to wait until there was time for the install to be done right...the first time.

bamachem

well, rear is in. went for a ride and WOW. now the front is pulled apart and the front diff out before i realized that i was short one outer axle seal. had to quit and wait to go to toyota today to get one. i'll finish the front later tonight...

the rear was swapped in 1 hour 22 minutes from start to complete finish. it then took me just over 2 hours to just get the front diff out. i had only disconnected one of the hard vacuum line attachment points and couldn't figure out what the hangup was. i finally found the other one on top of the diff and got it off, then wrestled w/ the 100# chunk of steel for probally another 40 or so minutes before i got it out. that was fun. putting the other one in won't be as bad now that i've seen how it has to be manipulated to come out...