Picking the Right Tire for the Rims

Sourcing some opinions as I save up to get a new set of tires and rims. I'm going to be building my first gen into an overland rig, so I want to get mods that will suite the build in the coming future.

I think I'm set on getting a set of Matte Dark Brown SCS F5 16x8's mainly because I'm a big fan of the bronze look and rim design. A lot of my reasoning to getting this rim is based off this post here. Pictures from that thread below:




As you can see, beautiful build (which he unfortunately had to sell), but he's running 315/75/16's which are going to be much too big for me. If I had the budget to completely redo the suspension this would be my ideal look, but I'm aiming for a more budget setup. I'll be most likely getting the Biltstein 6112-5160 kit with either OME springs or something different to level my truck (1.5'-2' lift). Just looking for some opinions on where to go from here so when I get the money to make the rims and tire purchase I'll be more informed. Thanks!

 

something in the upper 32 to lower 33 range seems more reasonable on these trucks. 285/70/16 = 32.8x11.2

 

Just note some things that may be interesting to you.

If you go with 16s, should you ever plan to upgrade to 13WL calipers for better braking in the future, you may be shooting yourself in the foot, some 16" wheels will rub the larger bolt-on-upgrade caliper. Choose wisely here.

Load rating matters. If you plan to ride on plenty of roads, aren't planning to crawl, and aren't planning to tow anything substantial (3k+ lbs), you probably want to specifically seek out a tire with load range C, something with an E rating may drive you f'n nuts. (I learned the hard way)

Tire size-wise, this is a wildly variable topic, there are so many potential "aha" and "gotcha" things to deal with. You cannot trust any tire size website to give you accurate info on diameter, especially with A/T tires.

For example...

KO2 in 285/70r17 should be 32.8" diameter per tire size calculator, and it is if you get the C-rated versions, but if you get the E-rated version, it shows up as 32.7" diameter (specs ).
My Mickey Thompson Baja Legend EXP in 275/70r17 should be 32.2" diameter per tire size calculator and only comes in E-rated, but in reality it's 32.5" which makes it only a hair smaller (less than ¼") than what people on here would call a "33" with that E-rated KO2 (specs ).

Lesson to observe: Always look up the specs on your tire to know what you're actually getting in diameter. If you google for site:tiresize.com brand/model size you can easily get specs and variations on any tire. Example search: site:tiresize.com baja legend EXP 275/70r17

Rim width and tire size matter, but as long as a tire calculator puts your tire within ~½" width as compatible, you should be fine, stretch is doable. My 17x9 RACELINE wheels called for a slightly wider tire than I chose, but I was alright. Example, note how tire size calculator shows my preferred tire size should have max rim width range of 17x7" - 17x8.5", well, the RACELINEs I was running (links to pics at the end of this reply) were 17x9, so ... yeah.

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Aesthetically speaking only, sometimes darker wheel choices can look like total ass on white trucks. YMMV, everyone has different taste. Look at lots of pics before you proceed.
Additionally, if you want a "meatier" appearance, you can actually go with a smaller tire size, with a model that has a more aggressive/knobbier look, that tire will look much larger.

Tire rub-wise, a more aggressive tire, especially at larger sizes, puts you at higher risk of rubbing, for example, my 275/70r17 with significantly aggressive lugs definitey does rub, but my 275/70r17 tire is nearly the same diameter as a 285/70r17 with all that extra meat.

Shop-wise ... make sure the shop you choose is able to do "road-force balancing", specifically. Too many dudes on here have found, especially with meatier A/T tires, oversized tires to boot, shimmy is a thing above 55-65mph unless they get road-force balanced. It's a big issue with KO2s specifically.

Rim/tire rub-wise, heed the warnings from the Megathread on wheel offset etc., 1st bullet here, but adding supplemental points too, with links to illustrate some stuff outlined above:

• Wheel fitment (backspacing/offset info) ... backspacing/offset plays an important role in whether or not you're gonna rub when choosing larger-than-OEM tires. If you need help with understanding what ballpark you should be aiming in, this is a good thread to read. Gist: The best put year near the fender edge w/o rub on 8½" wide wheel is ~4¾" backspace, at 9" wide ~4.5" backspace. Popular OEM 7½" wide wheels had 5" backspace. You can run oversize 275/70r17 tires on 17x8.5" wheels @ 0 offset (i.e. 4.75" backspace) leveling up front w/minor rub.
• Wheel fitment (caliper rub): If your truck has larger 13WL calipers, beware of caliper rub! 13WL is std on 2003+
• Wheel fitment (from other Tundras): 2007-2022 Tundras use 5-lug wheels. In 2023, Tundras started using 6-lug axles again, but the hub bore is smaller (95mm on 3rd gen vs. 106mm on 1st gen), so they technically won't work unless you spend a couple hundo on custom-made spacers.
• Wheel fitment (from other Toyota models): Anything from Tacomas, 4Runners, Land Cruiser, LX470 and GX models that are 6-lug will typically fit. Someone here is probably running it already, and pics of it are in the OEM wheels thread.

Lastly, look at my truck with gunmetal colored RACELINEs on it in this thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/sold-new-take-offs-raceline-boost-946g-gunmetal-6-lug-17x9.130803/
If you like those wheels, how gunmetal looks on white, especially for the limited that has smoke/bright gunmetal side trime, and you end up going with those, I've got a new-in-box spare, never mounted, and can give you a great price on it, I really need to get rid of it.

 

So this is would be the tire comparison with what I'm currently running (Size 1) with what I'm looking to purchase (Size 2)


Off of what @shifty` said I'm gonna go with a 17' rim so I can upgrade the calipers eventually. Rim is going to be an SCS Blaze10 with either a -10mm or -38mm offset (link here). Either that or some sort of 17' rim. I don't really mind a little bit of poke outside of the fenders. From what I've read this is the minimum rim size I need to do the caliper upgrade, but it also looks like my sequence of upgrades will be the suspension upgrade for a 2 inch lift, then the calipers, then the tires to ensure proper fitment and no rub.

Correct me if I'm wrong here on tire rub, since I have a bead leak on one of my tires at the moment and if I can do this inversely that'd be more suitable, but in the meantime I'll just be stopping by an air compressor every couple of days while I head to work.

 

I believe with the SCS, most others are running -10 offset. I’d check in with @EvilMilkshake and @FirstGenVol on that one, although I know others are also running SCS wheels.

And I guess I would challenge you on the 285s. Knowing you can get the same appearance and damn near the same size out of a 275, then have to deal with lower speed discrepancy on 275 (at least you can easily Yellowbox), and knowing with 285, you’re only gaining 1/2” diameter max, why bother? I say that as someone with 275/70r17 that’s 32.5” (0.2” away from what you blew looking at) and even with that smaller size, I can’t use my cruise control anymore, with even the slightest hill I start upshifting and hunting like crazy. Maybe it’ll be better with your 4spd tranny? I personally love cruise control for longer trips of highway driving.

I know it’s super trendy to have 285, but I fail to see the actual benefit for what 90% of folks here are using their trucks for, other than bragging rights, “I’m on 33s!!”

 

I’ll look into it! I mean, I’m all about cost effectiveness and if 285’s are the more popular model then they’ll be more expensive than a 275. If the look is the same and won’t cause me issue, then I’m all about going for a 275. Just saw what everyone else is running and that was my first choice.

 

Well... I was going to go with 275/70/17r listening to @shifty` but I got an insanely good deal on some 285/70/17r KO2's. 5 BFG KO2's, four with less than 1500 miles on them and one brand new spare, all came with 5-lug jeep rims w/ TPMS Sensors all for $1100. If I bought 4 brand new tires I'd be close to $1200-$1500 (~$290-$310 a tire in FL depending on where you went). Going to sell the old rims and hopefully make $400-$500 which should recoup me for the new rim installation costs. If selling the rims goes well, that means I got basically brand new KO2's for $140-$150 a tire!

(Inserting picture of the fat stack of tires here once I get home from work lol)

He also threw in the original spare to his jeep with no rim for free, which was also kind of stupid on my part to take since it takes up a lot of space in the garage but free is free and I might be able to get another $50 bucks out of it if I'm lucky, otherwise it'll go to the junkyard.

It'll probably be a while before I throw these bad boys on since I have to get the rims still and now on top of that a proper lift, but I want to keep the lift as minimal as possible and maintain no rub. We'll see how that goes...

 

Both you and your transmission will like those 285’s once you regear the ring and pinion down to a 4.30 or 4.56 gear ratio.

 

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't eyeballing the same, both the new Broncos and some Jeeps are coming with nice 285/70r17. The KO2s are barely smaller than my Mickeys. I really want to get another set of wheels/tires for on-road use, and throw my Mickeys on while going offroad.

That said, what will piss you off more than anything is if the tires you got are e-rated (load rating "E"). Really fucking suck to drive on paved roads, but better for towing heavy loads or crawling. C-rated are so much more comfortable. I don't think people put enough emphasis on load rating when shopping for tires, but it is what it is I guess... you'll see the rating on the tire itself.

 

I’m thanking you for making sure I checked if they were C rated before I purchased them! If you didn’t say anything I wouldn’t have known what to look out for!

 

Bottom up in the stock are 285’s, top one is the current tire I’m running (275/45/20) and the tire off to the side is the original spare not driven on:


Rims:

 

May just be perspective, but that top tire looks like it has hella uneven wear. So does the tire under it. But the bottom three and one off to the left look alright.

 

Just here to say go with -38. But don’t go 305/70. Wasn’t worth, but here we are lol.

 

Top tire does in fact have some pretty uneven wear, I mean you can see a pretty bad flatline right in the middle of the tire. That was from the previous owner when I bought the Tundra and it must've been a previous tire and not a spare that wore down from a bad alignment. No real harm there.

Tire underneath that is just dirty, I went out and checked the tread on all of the tires and it's all even. I think it's just the perspective and the lighting hitting the dirty spot on it.

 

-37.4 (-12mm offset 1" spacer) 285/75r17


Tire selection comes down to what you'll be using them for.

I'd also like to add KO2's are known to be garbage in wet conditions. Something I took into consideration as well as their weight. They're heavier than Lizzo, but I do have one as my spare.