I have what i think are stock sized tires on my 98 runner 265/70/16 and was wondering what is the max size i can go without any rubbing on a stock setup. More importantly i have been looking at which tires to put on my runner- heres what i need.
-I tire i can run all year round
-something that preforms well in snow (driving over rocky mountain passes)
-decent dry and wet preformance

mainly the snow thing is my concern. we always have snow on the ground up here in the winter- its dry and not always deep, but i do travel the highways during the winter and need something good. heres a list of tires i have started getting quotes on.

Bridgestone Revo
Firestone Destination AT
Pirelli atr
BFG AT

any other suggestions i would love to hear as well as past experiences
i have used the search and have found some info, but want to get right to the point of my dilemma

 

I have had good experience with BFG AT's on a couple of trucks...but the BFG Rugged Trails that came stock on my '05 Taco sucked in the snow in my opinion dunno why, they just did not work as well as I expected from experience with the AT's. don't have any experience with the other ones...

 

i have the firestones and they work fine for me, even in winter through the Rogers Pass

 

i work in a tire store... if theres a BIG O Tires or anything equivalent in your area, id check out the Big Foot X/Ts.. the tread is more aggressive than the all terrains, but not as aggressive as mud terrains. also X/Ts get AWESOME traction in snow, water, dirt, sand, mud, etc. theres not much snow here in vegas, but up on mount charleston in the winter theres always snow. people swear by the X/Ts.

 

I like the AT's as I've posted a few times. Great mileage out of them. I've had 4 sets on different vehicles.

There's quite a few anti-AT guys that will probably have something to say too.

 

good- cause thats where i go. calgary as well



will look to see if there is a big o in calgary here

 

i really dont get anti all terrain guys.. i mean come on, theyre better on the street than STREET tires of the same size. for awhuile on my truck i had DOMINATOR street tires... looked really aggressive, and hey cant beat 31's for 78 bucks a tire. they got little to no traction in the rain, and god forbid if it started hailing, theyd slip so bad id have to stop and throw it in 4x4 and go super slow just to get traction. in the dirt, no traction oncesoever. these all terrains i got now do the job.

 

265/75/16's are the next size up and about 1" taller. Lots of people get this size with stock suspension.
Check out Nitto Terra Grapplers.

 

I also will need some good Winter tires as I'll be going to school in Salt Lake City.

 

275/70's are a good size too, actually made my speedo more correct. I am at 1 mph at 70 off. They are wider than the 265's and almost as tall. I went with Toyo open country AT, you can hear them on the freeway. Some days I wish I had gone with mud terrains since they look so good. Everything is a tradeoff on any tire or size.

 

now i love mud terrains, but since i work in a tire store, i know a lot about them. they dont have any water grooves in them, so if your on concrete when its raining, its hard to get traction because they dont expel water like other tires do. i would like to get my hands on 4 mickey thompson M/Ts though... oooooh

 

One thing to consider is that BFG A/T's and the Pro Comp A/T's have the severe weather rating on them. I have the Bfg's on my 4runner ('99) my brother has the PC's on his Taco ('00) and my friend has Toyo open country A/T's on his 4runner ('98) The BFG's were hands down the champs in our winter outings. Our snow is quite wet where I live though.
Every time we had to turn around was because they couldn't go any further I could have just kept on truckin'. The Toyo's were the worst of the bunch though, He had to chain up before I even put it in 4WD . Dry snow is a little easier to handle though.

 

he had to CHAIN up? whoa... there goes my respect for Toyo tires.. haha. im so glad i have my BFGs... theyre so nice for everything . just make sure you rotate your BFGs every 3000 miles, since they dont wear as well as other tires do.. no idea why. ill stick with BFGs through fat and thin

 

Yeah, I've tried many brands M/T's and A/T's and for A/T's I'll stick with the BFG's but, people have different terrain elsewhere and a different tire may be preferred.

 

Check out the Nitto Terra Grappler AT's. They ride great on the street and have excellent traction offroad.

 

i have got the best price thus far on the destinations out of all these tires- have read some pretty positive things about them in the snow and think i might just have to go that route

 

look at the Cooper st's a great tire on and off road gave me no problem in the snow last year. I ran the 265/75/16 on my stock '99 4runner and no rubbing. I have them on my 04 tacoma but it has a ome lift

 

As a former tire installer...

You can definitely squeeze some 265/75's under there, maybe some 285s.

The pirelli is an excellent tire, does great in mud.

From my experience, though, the Pro-Comp All Terrain does the best overall in a variety of conditions than the Pirellis and BFG's

They aren't too pricey, either.

 

No contest. They are a lot of dough, but the KO's are the best in snow, period.
I live at 8000 feet and I see all kinds of snow, from super dry powder to slush.

They are load range D, and have super tough sidewalls. They last a long time, and they look great. They handle well in rain too, unlike M/T's. What more could you want?

 

Nitto Terra Grapplers

Yokohama Geolander A/T+II

There is no way you are going to fit 285/75s on an un-lifted 3rd Gen without rubbing.