They are basically the same size tire, biggest differences are : 285/75 is like 8-9" wide, 33/12.5 is 12.5 wide, and obviously one is 16 inch rim the other is 15. The 285 is also slightly taller. What are the advantages to either of these? I'd need new wheels either way, 16s aren't that much more $$ than 15s, so aside from that, what are the advantages of each?

 

If your truck came with 16's, you can't go back down to 15's because of the larger brake rotor. I don't know if you can upgrade from 15's to 16's, but I don't see why it would be a problem. You would be able to air down better on a 15" rim. Other than that, I can't think of a better reason to use 15's over 16's. If you went with a 33x12.5" tire and you have a 3rd gen, I think you would need like 6" of lift to completely eliminate any rubbing problems.

 

It really depends on your needs. Generally speaking:

Skinny: Better for certain types of snow, mud, and less road noise and friction than wide.

Wide: Usually good for sand, and rock crawling...but more road noise and worse economy.

These are not rules set in stone, but usually the case.

So ask yourself what would work best for your application, and go with that.

 

Assuming the 33/12.5 is a light truck tire LT prefix/suffix (LT33/12.5 or 33/12.5/15 LT) I believe the primary difference is carcass construction. By that I mean the number and type of plys of material nylon, polyester, etc. used in the construction of the tire. The LT tire will be more of a "Heavy Duty" design than the 285 tire all things being equal. My math; correct me if I'm wrong shows the numbers are almost identical. 285/25.4=11.22(width), 75 is the aspect ratio (width to hight)expressed as a percentage (75%).
75(11.22)=8.41 THis is the height of on side of the tire from the bead to the top of tread. 8.41+8.41+16=32.82. So a 285/75/16 is basically a 33/11.5/16 rounded to the next whole size. You probably knew this but I threw it in just incase someone was curios on how to figure it . I say crunch the numbers and buy the least expensive set up, unless you plan on abusing the tires, then the LT33/12.5/15 might be the better bet. HTH
partszar

 

Well I have a 2nd gen...my lift plans are 1.5" body and 2" suspension (coils and cranked t bars) I believe I have 15" inch rims....they are the "upgraded" original equipment rims, I think they are 15x7.5?? They aren't the base rims but I don't think they are 16's. If I went up to 16s what kind of backspacing would I be looking for? I like the sound of more economy and on road manners. I want to be able to take it offroad, but I'd still be onroad like 80% of the time...

 

Tires for 15" wheels are typically cheaper than tires for 16" wheels. Just something to keep in mind.

 

Well I'm looking at Dueler M/Ts, I already made up my mind, those are the tires I'm getting, and those are the two 33" sizes....both are basically 150$...the 33x12.5 are like 143 or something...the 285s might be like 158.

 

Actually a 285/75/16 is about 11.3" wide. See Tirerack

Scott

 

I am totally ignorant to lift concerns seeing as i've never really looked into it, but now that i have my 94 pickup i'm looking to make it look less like a gardener truck.

step 1 was to remove busted camper shell
step 2 was some intake mods
step 3 is new wheels n tires and i'm trying to do this for cheap. i've decided that though it is weird x-breeding, i wouldn't mind having the Jeep OEM 5spoke steel 15" rims on my truck. i've found a set with 30x9.5x15 Michelins. (currently my bid is sitting pretty at 162.50 for all 4)

--my questions are: 1)backspacing: yeah it's hard to tell x-manu, but i guess maybe we'll wait and see how it turns out. if it isn't manageable what are my options? 2) will these wheels fit in the wells of my 94 without lifting? rubbage? hmm.
3) if i need more clearance, where do i start edumacating myself when it comes to lift kits? i don't want my truck to look ostentatiously high because i don't want to look more poserish than i already do riding high in a 2x4.

yeah i'm a newb, i'm willing to admit. but i would appreciate any knowledge y'all can spare. i've been driving honduh's for the past 4 years and it's nice to be back in a truck. (i used to drive a 91 runner SR5 5spd until i totaled it ) and somewhere down the line i'm looking for a cheap bone stock 97-98 s14 to toy with, but for now, my pickup is my baby and it deserves all of my attention.

i'm rambling. anyway, thanks in advance!

 

that's the section width. on average the tread width is around 8-10".

 

Well depending on your year I'd say no rubbing ...I would worry about backspacing. I have no idea what the backspacing is on a jeep wheel...I don't think they even have the same lug pattern (ours are 6x139mm)

 

i believe the lug pattern for my `94 2wd is 5x4.5. which is the same for the jeep wheels. at least according to AAArims (which isn't the definitive source i guess)

the main problem for me is the damn lug pattern. at 5x4.5" there isn't much of a choice for me in the toyota truck OEM wheel world outside of ugly highlander alloys and they cost way too much anyway. i bought the truck for $450 there's no way i'm gonna spend 1200 on rims and tires.

but yeah if the lug patterns don't match, then i have an issue on my hands.

 

Oh I'm probably wrong, I don't think I noticed what type of truck you have. the 2wd p/us could easily be different than my 4runner.

 

12.5" tire will probably rub a little so some cutting in the fender well is inevitable. when you make the backspacing shallower the wheel will be turning on a longer radius which means the edges of the wheel come further into the wheel well and also have a greater chance to rub on the edges of the fenders (front) the back shouldn't be a problem. some wheels, like the black rock crawler rims that I wanted will sit too close to the brake calipers (I'm talking going from 16" stock alloys and optional 13" discs) actually those would have fit tightly but I didn't want to chance it. the thing you want to stay away from is wheel spacers. this makes for a longer moment arm and you risk snapping an axle. I actually had to trim a little of the valance to fit the 285/75r16 bfg m/t's with a 2.5" susp. lift in front. the rims I got changed the back spacing from 4-5/8" (stock rims) to 4. or 4.25" I think. if you put the 12.5 width tires on my stock backspacing then the tread would have rubbed on the upper control arm, now I have .5 to .75 clearance between the tire and the control arm since the backspacing got shorter with the new rims.

 

i did some measuring yesterday and i don't think the tires are gonna fit without lifting/cutting. at it's widest horizontally, the wheel well is 30", and my current tires have a 24" diameter. also, the offset on my oem steelies seems to be positive whereas the wheels i'm buying have a negative offset (i might have switched neg and pos) so the tires will be riding wide on my axles. therefore i think i'm gonna have to lift the body at least a little bit. the question is, how much? that remains to be seen i suppose, but i think they will look good.

anyone know any shops in SoCal that can do the lift work for me? or is it something i can do myself?

thanks

 

What kind of car do you have with this size tire and wheel well? not a 4runner or taco i can tell you that.

Neg or Pos? huh? if you are talking backspacing then if you put on wider tires you want to mount them on wheels with less backspacing than the stock wheels which will give you a wider stance and put the inside tire wall further away from the control or inner wheel well wall. I can't believe you will have trouble clearing 30's, my 4runner came with 31's stock and no lift and never rubbed. what kind of car is it?

what kind of car?

Not trying to be rude I just could help a little more if I new what year and make your truck is.

 

oh it's cool no worries. it's a 94 2nd gen 2wd toyo pickup.

details of the rims/tires...oem jeep steel rims (15" 5x4.5" lug pattern) with michelin 30/9.5/15s.

another (probably stupid) question is, what are the suspension/lift differences on SR5 2nd gen pickups? they ride higher than mine, and is it because they come from the factory taller or is it simply a matter of bigger wheels/tires?

i won the auction today http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ME:B:EOAB:US:6
, so i'm guessing with shipping it'll be $250-300, and for rims and tires i'm happy about that. i'm just worried about potential headaches.

 

You did end up making sure the bolt pattern matched? that's a stupid question but you 'd be surprised.

It's not the tires. if they are anything like the tacos, they came in two different types, a little mini-truck looking thing and a prerunner looking one. yours may have been the 1st one I mentioned since it is 2WD and you say it is shorter than the rest. I don't know much about the lifts for that year truck but the options should be more available than the 3rd gen 4runner. since it is 2wd and with those tires you probably won't be doing any heavy offroading, you should look into spacers and blocks (if it is ifs front and leafs in back) or just blocks for front and back. you could also stop by a 4wheel place and ask them for options, get the info and then do some pricing research on your own. Make sure they deal with jap cars because we have a few here that scoff as you drive up in you yota because you don't have a 15" lift and 48" tires on a chevy silverado or ford f250 - the kind of lift that you could actually climb between the axle and the bottom of the engine. rediculous in my opinion but none the less. 4 wheel parts wholesalers seems to like toyotas if you have one of them close by.