i did not bypass my radiator cooler. it's a popular discussion on here though. i was concerned with the "strawberry milkshake" so i just replaced my radiator with a new koyo brand radiator. i don't tow much and i think the aftermarket coolers are a waste unless you do heavy towing/hauling. my truck has an a/t oil temp warning light, mine has never gone off so i'm confident my radiator cooler is more then sufficient. i also don't have to worry about it running too cool, which might be of concern. either way works though. welcome to spokane!

In general the 4Runner is excellent in the snow. I've got some Wild Country XTX Sport AT's in 275/75. If you're just driving around the city of Spokane, your 4Runner will be fine no matter what tires you have on it. But be careful in the ice. If you're in a situation where you need to commute on the state highways or go over the mountain passes in the winter, you might want to get a more aggressive snow tire. Not because you'll get stuck in deep snow, but because people slide off the roads in the winter when it's icy and they're driving too fast. That's the bigger danger, I would say. My tires have some built in sipes but probably nothing is good on ice short of studs or chains. To me studs seem overkill on a 4Runner, but I'm a carefull, slow driver. I carry chains because sometimes I'm on back roads that aren't plowed and can be muddy.
Well, I hope that helps.

You may notice an increase if you go with a 235/85 AT...the 235/85 Hankook MT is actually a pretty heavy tire, so no increase in mpg's there. I'm assuming it's the 10 plies plus the big MT lugs that create the most weight.

They're a good tire, but didn't really notice much of a difference between them and 265/75/16. So i'd just go with a 265/75 as you have unlimited tire choices in that size. And load ratings!

They're stiff when aired up but pretty pliable when aired down, the hankooks at least.

235/85 is a dually tire, but you shouldn't have any trouble finding some.