Stuwy123

iTrader: (1)

I'm ready to finally buy a set of tire, I thought I was set on a size but now I'm thinking of going with a wider tire (10.5 to 12.5).
Are 12.5" wide tires harder on your steering? How quickly does it fall apart?
How are 12.5" tire as opposed 10.5" on snow and ice?

Tubbyfatty

Im sure wider tires put more stress on the steering stuff but as for snow and ice, wider tires will "float" on top of everything vs cutting though.

9o7yota

Im sure you've already thought about this. So i'll help you confirm it.

Wider: You will gain traction on ice, only because you have more rubber gripping the road at every given instant. With snow, it acts like mud until you get to ice. Thinner tires cut snow faster and get down to ice quicker. Sometimes this is a bad situation..studs help cure that. Wider, you'll take longer to cut through snow, and you will lose a certain amount of controllability in heavier snow...lots to that tho...
Mud you will stay on top of the loose stuff longer, spray more, make a big show..then finally get down to the packed mud that will be your traction.

If you have a 22re, i suggest sticking with the thinner tire until u re-gear your truck to handle the wider tires. the 3vz has enough power to handle 12.5's no prob.
With a 22re, you'll lose gas milage, considerably. especially stop and go, and some of your highway abilities will be lost. 22re's are gutless.. GEARS!..

Next, weight.
That has a lot to do with the gas milage, but most of all.. STRESS!!!
Power steering? Maybe? Maybe not. I dont have it, and i can barely move my 10.5 33's around when im stopped at all.. Power steering would help, but thats still loads of stress being put on the steering. Toyotas are made for small tires. ALl of this is assuming your going with bigger tires. 31's can fit on any stock toyota, so if your buying new ones....why not buy the nice looking 31s? haha..

I see you have stock tire size though.. which i dont know what the size is..but wider will most certainly stress your components, the pitman/idler arms on yotas are average.... They hold up well but dont go harpin on them with wider tires.

In the long run, you'll probably never have to replace any steering components if you stay with your same tire size but go wider. 12.5 will rub, so you might need to cut some off of your front fender/wheel well.. unless u get wheel spacers.

hope this helps..

Weight:

Matt16

Wider tires are going to be worse on ice. Its just a fact. Look up the Expedition West article if you don't believe me. I'd much rather cut down to something hard than float on top and just spin, but that's just me.

volcomdork182

more surface area means more grip wider does get better grip on ice.

toyota4x4907

nevermind

Ed in Maine

I vote for the 10.5 for functionality, 12.5 for looks,
Ed

AxleIke

It depends on what you plan to do with the truck.

If you get out in the dirt on the weekends, and like to run fire roads, or whatever, then the 12.5's will be fine. Keep in mind that your truck is older, so, IMO, its best to replace your ball joints, and tierod ends, and get new bushings (preferably brass) for your idler arm.

Then jump up to the larger tires. The new parts will make a huge difference in longevity, as your parts are likely already worn out, and the large tires will just push them over the edge.

If you are hard on stuff, I wouldn't go wide. I couldn't keep a front end together for more than 1 trip when I had 12.5's. I'm now running 9.5's and its great. Blow an idler every now and then, but its not bad.

Stuwy123

iTrader: (1)

My stock tires are the tiny 225's on 4.10 gears. I bumped it up to 31 x 10.5 in the summer and swapped the gears to 4.56's. Gas mileage is better than stock (acceleration as well).
I picked up a set of OEM 4.88's and I want to jump to 33" tires.
I'm really worried about my daily commute in the winter. I like the look of the wider 12.5" tires and I understand the effectiveness of the 10.5".
I'm about to buy some new tires and I don't want to regret my purchase because it's not as awesome looking or because my truck now drives for in the snow.

I ran the tiny 225 street (i don't think they are even All terrains) tires all winter last year. I got into some hairy situations on the icy roads but overall not too bad.
We do tend to have long winters with a fair bit of snow, lots of thaws that turn the streets to ice, and poor plowing/sanding when the deep stuff hits (turns major routes to ice).

I've got my tire choices nailed down to two with two different widths.
BFG A/T 33 x 10.5 x R15 or 33 x 12.5 x R15
or
BFG Mud terrain KM2 33 x 10.5 x R15 or 33 x 12.5 x R15.

I have no experience buying tires. I've talked to a couple people about both these tires. The A/T's are great for street and snow/ ice conditions, trails are fine, mud not so much.
The KM2's are decent for snow/ ice conditions, street is resonable (decent wear), trails and mud are amazing.


I will be getting a locker in the near future, probably in the spring, if I don't get drunk and order one.

I'm stumped. I don't know what to get.

OrRunner

iTrader: (1)

i was looking into this a bit my self, right now i run a 31 10.5 and was looking at either a 33 10.5 or 33 12.5, i found that i like the wide look of the 12.5 but again the weight and the fact of that much surface area was not for me. to reslove this i decided to get a new set of wheels first which i picked up a set of 15x8 with a 4" back space. this gives me the wider offset type look with the narrower tire. just my opinion, good luck and post some pics

AxleIke

Eh, I don't think the narrow tires look bad...Just my opinion though.

33x10.5KM2s



33x9.5 AT's

James Dean

Math says 20% more friction. But it really depends on what you do with your rig.

brian2sun

Different tire widths give you different results in different types of snow. I've found that skinny tires work better in slushy or deep snow, wide tires work better on hard-packed or icy surfaces.

A/Ts give you more control on plowed roads, while M/Ts dig through deep stuff better and throw lots of snow fast. Usually this is a good thing, but sometimes you'll dig too deep and get stuck in a rut.

I run 305 M/Ts (33x12s) now and I think they're just a little too wide for me. My old 265s (10.5" wide) honestly did better in most conditions. I'm going to compromise and get 285 M/Ts (33x11s) this winter. I love hitting the trails in the snow so M/Ts are the choice for me simply for their digging power in fresh unplowed snow.

annoyingrob

If you want to spend a bunch of coin, you can order Interco Trxus MTs from Kal-Tire. They're apparently amazing in snow. They're expensive though. Last time I checked, a set of 5 installed and balanced was like $1500cad.

I'm not sure what the roads are like where you live, but near my place, they're never shovelled. The street gets so rutted there's a car stuck atleast every day. I much prefer having a narrow tire to cut through the deep ruts than to try to float over them.

brian2sun

The Trxus M/Ts are great tires. My neighbor had a set and he loved the way they handled in the snow, but yes, they are very expensive. The best tires I've ever had in the snow were Cooper Discoverer STTs and they were about $200 ea. Still not cheap, but they did last a long time - 2 1/2 years/35K miles.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Cheap tires usually means a harder tread compound too, hard compound crappy snow/ice tire.

after living in Alaska and Upstate NY for a long time, I prefer a narrower tire for snow and ice. only been driving for 27 years...12.5's suck on a DD during the winter IMO especially with a light truck like a toyota mini..AxleIke and TC do wonders with narrow tires.

limon32

Don't know if you've decided yet but i'll try and help confuse the topic...

My experience here in Alaska hass been that my 33-12.50 BFG A/Ts are super slick on ice. It comes down to ground friction. Our trucks are super light and putting on a wide tire reduces ground friction further. So I take off the summer tires and put on BFG winter studed tires which are 245/75s, something like 7.5 inches wide I believe. Any how, with the narrower tire and some weight in the back, you have reduced the surface area of the tires which increases ground pressure and adding weight further increases the ground pressure.

Similar theory applies in the spring/summer here. When the ground starts to thaw in the spring, the wide tires go back on and I can drive over soft ground and never brake through, my buddy who still runs 245/75 ATs goes right through to the mud below.

I'm assuming based on your post you only want one set of tires so I vote 33x10.50 in a good AT pattern. Although I really recommend some Nokian studded winter tires in a 245/75 and some 33/12.50 summer tires...

Side note, I spend a LOT of time on the beaches around here which was the reason i originally selected 33x12.50 and they are GREAT for that. I actually spend most of my time in 2wd going about 50mph down the beach, lots of fun. My v6 turns them OK with stock gears, regear would be nice though! Also, the BFG ATs have performed much better in mud than I expected!

brian2sun

That's makes perfect sense. What's under the snow is so important too. I live in an area w/ steep curvy roads everywhere and it's usually slushy after the 1st day. I want to be able to dig down through 6 or 7" of slush straight to the pavement w/ skinny M/T tires and my 305s suck for that.

But, the 305's do better offroad in the snow because w/ mud underneath, they float a little better - like snow shoes. The more surface area the better if you want to stay on top. That's why I'm hoping 285's will be a good compromise for my needs.

tj884Rdlx

i'm glad limon finally mentioned the important part of traction with wider tires: the weight of the vehicle. the reason we wear snow shoes is cuz they are wider and distribute the weight of your foot to larger surface area. so you float on top. there's more traction per square inch with a smaller contact patch. secondly, the 12.5s are much heavier. so, less wet traction, heavier= longer stops, easier skids.

if you want a wide stance look while still keeping an appropriate width tire for the weight of the vehicle, manipulate your offset.

stock wheel is 15x7 with 3.75 backspace. that gives 3.25 on the outside face.
i have 15x8s with 4" backspace. that moves the tire out of the fender well an add'l 3/4"
i once had 15x9s with 4" backspace having 5" on the outside. you can do 31x10.5 or 33x10.5 on a 15x9 and have the tires 2" outside the wheel well. just don't air down below 12psi because of the rim width you may slip your bead.

summit racing as some steelies as low as $40 ea. used GM 6x5.5s in 15x9 are all over the salvage yards. good luck man!

camo31_10.50

i thought stock toyota rims were like 15x6 or 15x7 with like 4.5in backspacing..

the smaller the backspacing number the farther the tire will stick out..like 4" will stick out a little more than stock but not much..

3.75 will do even more..and 2.5" will put em WAY out there..lol

of course the width of the rim (6", 7", 8", etc..) will make it stick out more too