Tire Size on a 2008?

I don't know much about the pathfinder's, but hopefully someone has run them. I ran the Mastercraft AXT's (Cooper House Brand) on my truck before the ridge grapplers and was very pleased with them for the money. If you don't get a lot of good feedback on the Pathfinder's, I would definitely go with Coopers.

 

When I was on stock tires (275/65R18), I’d often get 18-19.5 mpg on the highway. But then again, I drive pretty conservatively.

 

Haha I thought I did too!! Maybe the 5.7L did a little better on mpg than my 4.7.

 

Yeah that’s what I’m thinking. The Pathfinders are really just the Hankook Dynopro’s from what I’m finding but don’t know much about them.

 

I don’t remember my stock tire size, but it was definitely smaller than 275/70/18. I’ve been running 275/70/18 BFG AT/KO2s on stock suspension and MB 352 wheels with 25+ offset. They rubbed bad on the front forward mud flaps on full lock, especially in reverse. Now that the tread has worn down and front forward flaps removed, I get barely noticeable rub at full lock in reverse.

I’ve read from others on here with the same size tires, stock suspension and stock wheels with no rubbing at all, which tells me that wheel offset plays a big part in whether a tire will rub somewhere. I think stock wheel offset is in the 50+ to 60+ range. So the more they stick out (less wheel offset) the more likely they are to rub the front forward mudflaps or fender/bumper.

I think 285/70/18 would rub much more, especially with a wheel with less offset and stock suspension.

 

What benefits are there to go from a 255 to 275 besides making the truck taller and filling in the wheel wells (and the unbenefit of possible lower mpg)?

Also, if I get new tires should I do a front and rear alignment even though my current tires are wearing evenly?

 

Looks is the primary factor. If you are worried about that being too big of a jump, you can look at a 265/70/18. That's about half an inch taller and wider than stock, but not quite the 33's of 275/70. Your biggest mpg drop is going to be the weight of the tires and a lot of the 265/70/18 are now made in a 10 ply also (load E), so they are going to be heavier as well. Now I couldn't tell you how much difference there will be running each of those.

I did run 265/70/18 on my truck between stock and the 275's I've had for the last two sets. Still fills the wheels up more. As for an alignment, no you don't need one if your tires are wearing evenly and you aren't messing with suspension. Below is with 265/70/18.

 

My stocks were 255s then Went to 275 and have had 3 sets of these now I have the 275 70 18 toyo at2s with 5100s all around and at highest setting in front with one inch block on rear also have rear sway bar and ordered the front yesterday

 

It never hurts to do a front end alignment, but it's not needed when getting newer, bigger tires. It's always recommended you get one if you mess with the suspension, though, such as when lifting or lowering it or getting new upper control arms. I've never gotten a rear alignment on any of the rear solid axle vehicles I've lifted or swapped suspensions (jeep, Bronco and two Tacomas), but I guess it wouldn't hurt.

As for the benefits of bigger tires, the two main ones are looks and off-road performance. Of course, looks are always subjective. Most on here like the look of bigger wheels, but I don't. I prefer smaller wheels and bigger tires, which is probably a minority view on here. As for off-road performance, I'll admit I don't off-road my truck enough to justify the expense and use of bigger tires, but luckily I live in a free country where I can get them anyway if I want. The bigger diameter the tire, the better able it is able to conform to the uneven surfaces and obstacles found off-road. Also, the bigger the tire, the higher the ground clearance for driving over those uneven surfaces and obstacles. For instance, if there's a small log running perpendicular to a road, a smaller tire may be able to clear it, but a bigger tire will clear it better and with more cushion, so to speak. Same with a small dip or hole in the ground. The more uneven or the bigger the obstacles, the better performance a bigger tire provides.

One downside to bigger tires is the loss in accelerating and braking performance due to the heavier weight. The added weight also affects wheel bearings, wheel lugs, tie rod ends, the steering rack, axles, both front CVs and rear axles. Some folks don't realize really big, heavy tires can more easily snap front CV axles, although I haven't read on here of anyone doing that to a Tundra. It happened sometimes with front locked diffs and 35" tires on 1st gen Taco manual hub CVs, though. It's also the reason some swap in one-ton axles to handle really big tires (37" and bigger) on jeeps and 1/2 ton trucks. Also, the bigger the diameter of the tire, the more effect it has in engine performance loss due to the differential gearing. The bigger the tire, the lower (numerically higher) the gearing should be. Luckily, most of our trucks come with a 4.30 differential gear ratio, which helps when upgrading to bigger 33" to 35" tires.

 

I appreciate all of that info. So going from 255 70 18 to 275 70 18 isn’t big enough or heavy enough (maybe 10 lbs more per tire: I currently have Pirelli Scorpions STR all season and looking into an AT Hancock Dynopro) to do damage to front suspension parts but still could hinder the acceleration and breaking most likely?

 

I think the effects will be negligible with that size tire, except for a noticeable drop in mpg. 275/70/18 is the size I went with, and I did not notice much difference in acceleration or braking, only a drop in mpg from 16.1 to 14.2. The added wear and tear from bigger, heavier tires usually comes from really big tires, like 37” and bigger. Our Tundras should be able to handle 35s without breaking parts. In fact, Toyota entered its mostly stock TRD Pro in the Baja 1000 race with 37s and survived. Of course, every Tundra is different, and a lot depends on how it’s driven or abused.

But to answer your question, you should be fine with 275/70/18s. I’ve had them for 2 1/2 years and about 40K miles on mostly street driving with occasional, light off-roading with no problem, and many on here run bigger 295/70/18s with no problem, too.

 

Weird because I’ve read that if you’re traveling 60+ mpg most of the time on going from 255 to 265-275 you actually save/add around 1 mpg. I’d hate to lose more mpg since I commute 32 Miles combined daily but it sounds like the looks and benefits outweigh the mpg cost and sacrifice?

 

When I buy tires next they will have to bigger than 275

 

Got the 275’s this morning and lovin’ the look and feel. Thank you guys for all the help!

 

Since the 275/70 is about 3.3% off from stock, the truck's odo, speedo and calculated MPG will all be off, so the MPG hit is probably more like 1.

 

So what is my real speed on these tires if I’m going 75mph? My gas calculated to be 16.2mpg

 

78.6mph