Tire size for gen 1 tundra 2.5 inch lift

Hey everyone. I am about to pull the trigger on some wheels and tires for my tundra. I am going with 17’ methods and either 275/70/17 or 295/70/17 toyo all terrain trails or bfg ko2s (which ever brand is cheaper). I am wondering what size to go with. I have bilstein 5100s on the way. Eventually I am going to long travel my truck and want to not have to buy tires again within a year or year and a half. i know the 295 is best for maximum travel when I get a total chaos kit but I know that there will be some rubbing with my bilstiens which is why I would go with the 275s. Please let me know if the 295 would be possible in the bilstiens because I wouldn’t like to have to buy another set of tires. Thanks everyone

 

Please do yourself a favor, as recommended in your lighting thread. READ THIS THREAD: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

It should answer many - if not all - of your questions. Seriously. Pay close attention in the lift and wheel/tire section. Everything most people need to know is there.

 

ill give the whole thing a good read! thanks again shifty

 

Just finished reading the whole thing and wow there is a lot of valuable info! Thanks so much. I still cant decide whether I go bigger or not now that I know that it's doable. What is your opinion? plus I think 275 may look cleaner before I upgrade my suspention further

 

I'm probably one of the only people here that'll say this, but I think getting sucked in on tire sizes is a trap.

The tire I chose in 275/70r17 are manufactured in oversized format, making them super close to a 285/70r17. But the reality is, in 17s at least, stock size on the later model trucks would be 265/65r17 which is average 30.6"diameter, 10.4" width. Your first upgrade above that (275/70r17) is massive, adding a full inch or more of diameter. Everything after is like half as much for each step, and adds a marginal amount of width:

265/65r17: 30.6" D / 10.4" W
265/70r17: 31.6" D / 10.4" W (+ 1" D)
275/70r17: 32.2" D / 10.8" W (+ ~½" D, 0.4" H)
285/70r17: 32.7" D / 11.2" W (+ ~½" D, 0.4" H)
295/70r17: 33.3" D / 11.6" W (+ ~½" D, 0.4" H)​

Clearly, the gains get small after that first major hop to 265/70r17, you're not actually adding that much after. Think about this realistically: To get as-substantial of a jump as you see from 265/65 to 265/70, you'd need to skip up to 285/70r17. Jumping from 265/70 to 275/70 gives you a miniscule 0.2" taller (not even a ¼"!) from center to edge and the same in width on either side. Do you really think you can see a tire is 0.2" wider or taller from 20ft away? Granted, that's assuming your tires aren't oversized like my Baja Legend EXP, which should be 32.2" diameter at 275/70r17, but are actually 32.5" because I guess that's how Mickey T does it. In that case, I'm actually gaining closer to half an inch, and it shows, but anyway ...

My point is this: Grab a tape measure or ruler and measure out ¼" with your finger. That's how much you gain on the top/bottom/side of each tire with each hop above 265/70r17. Look at that measurement in your hand again. Clearly realize, you really ARE NOT gaining very much going from 275/70 to 285/70 if the tires are true to size. Likewise, it's the same gains hopping from 285/70 to 295/70. Skipping over a tire size (after you reach 265/70) is really the only way to gain substatinal height.

In light of that, @FirstGenVol is probably going to poke at me here ( ), but the two most substantial tire size upgrades I think anyone can do on these trucks is 265/70r17 for a 1-2" lift, and 285/70r17 for a 2.5-3.5" lift. That's what'll give you the best bang for your buck. 285/70r17 is specifically ideal if you're on a budget and lifting over 2.5" b/c Jeep and Bronco all-terrain OEM take-offs are are that size and can be had cheap af on Facebook Marketplace! But if you're legitimately going LT, I suppose you're already prepared to cut fenders and shit, and do other major modifications which are going to allow things to throw and tuck without impact damage.

Look, I don't think anyone on here can really choose the right tires for you. It's super subjective. But while I won't pick for you, I'll offer up some warnings/suggestions I'd toss out, take it or leave it:

• Don't use price as your qualifier: Like cars, tires lose substantial value the minute you mount them. Instead of shopping by price, find three tires you like the appearance and reviews of. Read up on specs for the exact size(s) of those brands you're interested in to see what their actual sizes are (like, my Mickeys are 0.3" more diameter than they should be), then ...
• Decide what load rating you need: "E" rated tires are good if you're crawling or towing, but they're painful as shit on asphalt for a daily driver, I think most sane people would hate them, "C" rated are much easier on the body (be sure to check load rating sizing specs also, since it may be diff't)
• Your rim specs (offset/backspace) is wildly important: Especially to avoid rub, that thread I linked really covers the bases on what you need to know. You also need to consider wheel width, since some offroad truck wheels are 9" wide, but some pizza cutters prefer a wheel width of 6"-8". Stretch is not impossible, half inch of stretch is no big deal, for example. to look up the average stats and support for your wheel/tire.
• There are other sizes with lower width and higher ratio ("pizza cutters") that will net you more height without the width that adds suspension rub risk. A couple of examples in 17": 305/65r17 or 255/80r17 or 235/85r17
• There are other tire sizes in 33" that will get you in the ballpark height of a 295/70r17 with slightly less width, like 33x10.5 or 22x11.5 (latter of those is closest to 295/70r17). I can't speak much to the point, because you'll need to start massaging/hammering/etc. to avoid rub during suspension/steering travel at that size.
• Consider shopping for take-offs if new-new isn't in your budget, or you want to to be frugal, or if you prefer to reallocate some dollars into other upgrades! Just make sure the tires aren't more than 2-3 years old (tires have date codes!). I'd buy a gauge to measure treadwear while you're on-site if buying used, avoid tire shop resellers unless the price is right and they'll mount/balance for free, and don't be scared of buying mated wheel/tire combos and reselling the wheels after to recoup some $$$
• Beefy tires often require "road-force" balancing: Always ask the shop BEFORE you go if they have the necessary equipment to do road-force balancing. If you find your truck steering wheel is shimmying starting around 50mph-60mph, your tires weren't balanced properly. This happens often, and some all-terrain tires are worse than others.

Yep. There's a ton of stuff to consider. I haven't seen your truck that I recall, and I don't know what your vision is. More than that, I don't know realistically what's in your budget, because going LT costs $$$$$$$$$. Finally, we have no clue what you'll realistically be doing with your truck, and whether you're being honest with us, or honest with yourself about it. All that makes it difficult or impossible to say, "Yeah, you need to go XYZ size...."

To that last point, it seems we have a lot of - especially from younger folks - come on here, like, "I'm gonna lift my truck 6 inches, go LT and huck it hard offroad", not realzing that just getting to 4" on these trucks the right way costs thousands of dollars, just for the lift alone. Not even the $2k-4k most people end up having to drop on good wheels and tires. In light of that, I'd ask yourself...

"What am I realistically going to do with my truck, and what is 90% of my driving going to be?"

"Am I just doing this for looks, or do I really, honestly, no bullshit, planning to prep this truck for those activities?"

"How much money am I comfortable investing in this, knowing anything over $2k-3k spent, I'm 100% going to lose if someone T-bones me tomorrow?"​

Whatever you decide, be honest with yourself, make sure you don't cheap out on stuff, don't bother with more than you need. And if this is purely for looks, make that clear up front, because it's going to help people steer you with more budget-conscious choices. I'm not saying we'll give you cheap options, but at least avoid unnecessary bloat. You don't want to go cheap, the damage we've seen on this forum alone from people skimping to buy products like Rancho and Rough Country, only to do thousands in damage to their trucks is (to me, at least) staggering. And know what you're doing before you do it, i.e. don't get stupid ideas, like, "I'm gonna get a 1.5" spacer, and drop on a 3.5" lift, and that's gonna give me 5" lift!!", you will damage your truck. If you don't understand why, educate yourself, ask questions, etc.

(I may edit/add to this later, I gotta head out hiking)

 

I got 285/75r17 and @khooiii has 305's I don't think either one can go bigger without doing some work to the fender well and Khoi would have to modify his firewall.

I've already hammered my pinch weld but I still rub at full lock and if there is ANY compression in the suspension. I've just been putting off hammering extra shit in.

so yea, 275's is probably your best bet if you don't want to really put in too much work with modifying the body to fit meats

 

My truck came with the 17x7.5 - 15mm
I went with a 4runner wheel 20x7 - 15mm
Doing the math, this should have pulled the inner wheel lip about 6mm further outward to get the tire a little further away from the suspension.
I put a set of 305/50-20 General ATX on my truck and ABSOLUTELY LOVED the look but..... I really needed wheel spacers, but wheel spacers would have brought on a whole new can of worms, with the truck jacked up, the suspension drooping, i could NOT bolt the wheels on. The tire hits the A-arm so bad i cant get the wheel on and the lug nuts started. I had to put a second jack under the A-arm and jack the A-arm up to get the suspension closer to ride height angle before i could start the lug nuts. I was able to start the lug nuts and then had to run them down with the impact squishing the tire against the A-arm. Once i let the front end down, and the A-arm went back to the normal angle i could run a business card between the tire and the A-arm but that was it and after about 500 miles the A-arm was chewing a groove into the side biters of the tire from cornering and the tire flexing into the A-arm. I also had a fair bit of rubbing at full lock in reverse and i really didnt wanna cut anything or lose my mud flaps.
SO
I swapped them out for the 275/55-20 General ATX. They are basically the same height but narrower. I still have trouble bolting the wheel up with the suspension at full droop, i can start the lug nuts but i am basically sucking them down with the impact and squishing the tire against the A-arm until i let the truck down and the suspension goes back to ride height. With the suspension at ride height i can stick the tip of my pinky finger between the A-arm and tire, so about 3/16" or so. Occasionally i hear a "brrrttt" in reverse as the tire kisses the mud flap but its not as bad and its only occasional like maybe once a month in the right conditions.

275/55-20 = 31.9 x 10.8
305/50-20 = 32.0 x 12

 

305’s could probably work with less offset but that’s boring haha

 

I think we have the same truck. If 4x4 any tire larger than 32" will be a dog with out gears. As mentioned in shifty thread, anything over 33" is going to work the front IFS on our older modle rc trucks. We have the smaller lbj, and other front end parts.

I think you will like 275's better.