Advice on tire size

Couldn't find this addressed in other threads--I'm lifting my Tundra 3 inches and plan to do a body chop. I'm moving up to 305s. Tundra is my daily, but I also off-road and do some overland trips. The decision is whether to go 305 50 or 305 55 (20 inch rims; 12 offset). My current tire (Nitto Grapplers) are 50. To go to 55 is about $80-100 more per tire. For those who have gone this route, I'm wondering about the performance differences between 50 and 55 and how the tires look with a 3 inch lift. I realize smaller rims would be ideal, but I like the Black Rhinos that came with the truck and I'm saving money where I can so I can also add a rear locker. Thanks!

 

Looks like itll be pretty noticable.

You state you offroad and overland....so why on earth a 22"?

 

am i missing something here? He said 20" not 22"?

Dont think I have even seen anyone on here with 22s.

 

Your right, misread on my part.

Same question though lol

 

Still, the 1" larger and general additional unsprung is going to be killer on a setup like that. All that for "33s" for intended use, still doesn't make sense to me.

 

I agree, i think 18s should be the biggest wheels if any significant offroading or overlanding is involved. Airing down on 20's would be a pretty jarring experience lol

 

Thanks--yes, 20 inch rims (not 22). I bought the truck from someone who had added them. Wouldn't be my first choice, but they are nice rims and I'd like to save the $ to spend on the rest of the build.

 

Fair but you can usually find a pretty good deal on stockers in 18" in the marketplace pretty regularly if you are so inclined.

 

I'm building in an air compressor along with the rear locker so hopefully that will help with airing back up. I also own a jeep and have experience 0ff-roading and with 35s, so I'm used to baking in the sun while I air up and down! So based on the fact that I will likely keep the rims, what are the thoughts on 50 vs 55?

 

In an offroading context the taller the tire the better. More clearance and more ride cushion.

 

You can sell 20"s to pay for 18"s plus part of the tires if you get affordable 18"s. Why not dump the 20"s???

 

Have you considered moving up to 35s? (Nitto has 35x12.5x20 & 35x11.50x20). The taller tire would give you more sidewall since you are staying with the 20" rims (and 35's would fill out the wheel wells a little better IMO).

 

OK--I completely screwed this thread up from the start with a typo. This is what happens when I spend 9 hours on Zoom and then try to figure out my build! Apologies to everyone who has helped already. I am moving up to 35s (not 305) and deciding between 50 and 55. I do see the disadvantages with the 20s, but the timing of this build (including a re-gear) may make it challenging to sell the rims and tires and find 18s. I'm looking at the nittos (thanks sr5shark) and thanks to Madmax for the feedback on the taller tire. Of course, I could just go with 37s

 

You could join the dirty sevens club

 

I was going to say my 3/1 level kit was running 305/55/20's with no chop needed.Barely even a mudflap trim.

 

37's are great but with a +12 offset you might be hitting fenders on full compression offroad. 35's work great for me (~3" lift with +25 offset and no BMC). I have not re-geared but the powerloss going to 35s has not bugged me enough to spend the $$ on gears. (I am still a little confused about "deciding between 50 and 55". I am not finding any metric tire in size 35 that would measure the sidewall as 50 or 55.)

 

I plan to stick with 35s (although the 37s do look sweet!) and was able to find some oem 18 tundra rims on Craigslist for $650 and Tundra 18 TRD rims for $850, so it may be worth it to go in this direction since the ride will be better off-road and the price difference between tires on 20 rims vs 18 rims is about 60-70 bucks per tire (cheaper for 18s). As long as I can sell my 20 Black Rhino rims for a few hundred bucks I will essentially break even. I think 2mchfun convinced me this is the way to go. Thanks!