Realistically, What Tires Should You Run?

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Apr 22, 2019
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I'll play.
First set of tires on the Taco were 295/75r17 STMaxx. Tore a sidewall on second trip. Really good grip on wet rocks, decent in mud, no experience in sand but I would assume they would be decent. Ran them for just over 25k and never had another sidewall tear. My girl is a heavy bitch but sidewalls flexed nicely at 15 psi. Five of them are still in my shed....
Because all the cool kids went to 35s, I got six Nitto Mud Grapplers in a 35/12.50r17. Did the usual fender/bedside trimming and beat the fuck out of the pinch weld. I absolutely loved these tires. Grippy as hell on any surface from wet or snowy roads to mud, rocks, you name it. 4.88s with ARBs front and rear were installed right before the 35s went on as did the supercharger. As you can guess mileage went down a tad. Only bad thing about the Nittos was the tread wear(and the NOISE). I know the soft compound was why the grip was so good, but 28k with rotating 2 spares and I was down to harder rubber and grip disappeared. After a few scary on road incidents, I decided new tires were in order.
Despite really wanting to try the STT Pros, I went with the Toyo MTs because I got a great deal. They balanced well, which is typical of any Toyo, and they were concentric. They have nowhere near the grip of the Nittos, and I definitely have to run lower pressure to get the sidewall flex and grip that I had with the Nittos. Not sure I would buy again, but have about 20k on them and tread wear seems good. Minimal tread chunking despite a decent amount of rock crawling done on them.

@HolyHandGrenade can chime in with firewall tubbing pics and feedback on his tires.
37x12.5x17 Cooper STT Pros. I really like them. Good on the rocks, wear well on the street, good in mud. Good in deep snow. Not too loud. Not great wet traction on the street.

37s on a Tacoma is a shit ton of work.

@Stairgod helped me do it (read pulled my ass out of the fire).

Summary:
-Relocate body mount
-1” Body Lift
-Remove both kick panels inside
-Remove ECU (UCON as well in my case)
-Pull all wiring away from cut / weld area
-Pull back carpet and padding on both sides of firewall (I don’t have carpet so I didn’t have Worry about that part)
-Remove front fenders for better access
-Unbolt everything from top of inner fenders
-Relocate battery
-Space under hood fuse box up while cutting and welding (I used a 2x4 chunk)
-Remove coil overs
-Cut. Turn tires. Cut. Turn tires. Repeat until nothing rubs. Then cut a little more.
-Begin making panels to fill new gaping holes in inner fenders and cab. (Then call your friend @Stairgod when you realize you’re in over your head)
-Weld in new panels, as well as 1/8” plate to rebuild vertical structure of cab
-Seam sealer / paint.
-Remount / relocate everything you unbolted from inner fenders prior to cutting
-Make all wiring fit back under kick panels
-Put front fenders back on and cut to clear tires
-Build flatbed so you don’t have to cut bed:noidea:

Be careful. The factory seam sealer is quite flammable. So is the carpet, padding, and insulation on both sides of the firewall.

Last step? Enjoy your new trail capabilities.

You can probably get away with cutting less. But this is how to do it if you don’t want 37s to rub anywhere at full stuff or lock to lock.

If this sounds like too much work, my truck is for sale :beerscheers:8292F91D-DDF7-4E31-80A5-410E518AFC00.jpeg959B302C-AE18-4BD6-BB6F-925C00F6E9FC.jpeg81A133A6-2DD2-4456-A6CB-3050208A6A8B.jpeg618BB71E-CD2A-4E11-A67D-C0C6F699DDE5.jpeg947BA754-7727-4A85-8D85-79C3CD45B7B2.jpeg03749602-8E08-4D21-96B6-4CC65C360FF1.jpeg02153F75-F9FF-48F6-AE2F-F66AAF3B2163.jpeg9A2D2B69-DA24-419D-B902-AF225AD51F0F.jpeg587E9CC9-8B72-4B32-B259-5E7F1C773625.jpeg082467D9-BFCE-4B7E-948E-6315184E9DCA.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
505
Age
45
I don’t know why the pics are turned. That’s been happening lately. They are oriented correctly on my phone.
 

Stairgod

Two bad decisions away from buying a bulldozer
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
2,439
37x12.5x17 Cooper STT Pros. I really like them. Good on the rocks, wear well on the street, good in mud. Good in deep snow. Not too loud. Not great wet traction on the street.

37s on a Tacoma is a shit ton of work.

@Stairgod helped me do it (read pulled my ass out of the fire).

Summary:
-Relocate body mount
-1” Body Lift
-Remove both kick panels inside
-Remove ECU (UCON as well in my case)
-Pull all wiring away from cut/weld area
-Pull back carpet and padding on both sides of firewall (I don’t have carpet so I didn’t have Worry about that part)
-Remove front fenders fur better access
-Unbolt everything from top of inner felders
-Relocate battery
-Space under hood fuse box up (I used a 2x4 chunk)
-Remove coil overs
-Cut, Turn tires, cut, turn tires, repeat until nothing rubs, then cut a little more.
-Begin making panels to fill new gaping holes in inner fenders and cab. (Then call your friend @Stairgod when you realize you’re in over your head)
-Weld in new panels, as well as 1/8” plate to rebuild vertical structure of cab
-Seam sealer / paint.
-remount / relocate everything you unbolted from inner fenders prior to cutting
-Make all wiring fit back under kick panels
-Put front fenders back on and cut to clear tires
-Build flatbed so you don’t have to cut bed:noidea:

Be careful. The factory seam sealer is quite flammable. So is the carpet, padding, and insulation on both sides of the firewall.

Last step? Enjoy your new trail capabilities.

You can probably get away with cutting less. But this is how to do it if you don’t want 37s to rub anywhere at full stuff or lock to lock.

If this sounds like too much work, my truck is for sale :beerscheers:View attachment 17966View attachment 17967View attachment 17968View attachment 17969View attachment 17970View attachment 17971View attachment 17972View attachment 17973View attachment 17975View attachment 17976
Nothing like looking down thru what used to be your inner fender and seeing a whole lot of tire.
 

4runner DOA

Hold my beer
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Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Messages
15,882
Location
OC
37x12.5x17 Cooper STT Pros. I really like them. Good on the rocks, wear well on the street, good in mud. Good in deep snow. Not too loud. Not great wet traction on the street.

37s on a Tacoma is a shit ton of work.

@Stairgod helped me do it (read pulled my ass out of the fire).

Summary:
-Relocate body mount
-1” Body Lift
-Remove both kick panels inside
-Remove ECU (UCON as well in my case)
-Pull all wiring away from cut/weld area
-Pull back carpet and padding on both sides of firewall (I don’t have carpet so I didn’t have Worry about that part)
-Remove front fenders fur better access
-Unbolt everything from top of inner felders
-Relocate battery
-Space under hood fuse box up (I used a 2x4 chunk)
-Remove coil overs
-Cut, Turn tires, cut, turn tires, repeat until nothing rubs, then cut a little more.
-Begin making panels to fill new gaping holes in inner fenders and cab. (Then call your friend @Stairgod when you realize you’re in over your head)
-Weld in new panels, as well as 1/8” plate to rebuild vertical structure of cab
-Seam sealer / paint.
-remount / relocate everything you unbolted from inner fenders prior to cutting
-Make all wiring fit back under kick panels
-Put front fenders back on and cut to clear tires
-Build flatbed so you don’t have to cut bed:noidea:

Be careful. The factory seam sealer is quite flammable. So is the carpet, padding, and insulation on both sides of the firewall.

Last step? Enjoy your new trail capabilities.

You can probably get away with cutting less. But this is how to do it if you don’t want 37s to rub anywhere at full stuff or lock to lock.

If this sounds like too much work, my truck is for sale :beerscheers:View attachment 17966View attachment 17967View attachment 17968View attachment 17969View attachment 17970View attachment 17971View attachment 17972View attachment 17973View attachment 17975View attachment 17976

How terrible are they in the rain? My km2s actually do pretty well when it's wet but obviously it doesn't rain here often. I want something quieter on road for my next tire, but still need the occasional wet traction.
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
505
Age
45
How terrible are they in the rain? My km2s actually do pretty well when it's wet but obviously it doesn't rain here often. I want something quieter on road for my next tire, but still need the occasional wet traction.
They do OK. I never hydroplane or anything. Starting from a dead stop they spin some on wet surfaces if you don’t go easy.

Last year on the way to Moab, we drove 27 hours straight to my buddies house in CO, from NJ. The last couple of hours were in snow and ice. Same tire, only 35s. They did fine.

The next morning we pulled the Rockies in a snow storm on our way to the Kokopelli. We stopped for fuel at the bottom. TVs in the store were announcing that the highway was closed. We ran some side roads parallel that hadn’t been plowed yet until there was no option to get back onto the interstate. Tires did awesome. It was actually fun.

I should preface that with the fact that I grew up in NH. I have driven in a lot of snow and ice, with way less appropriate vehicles...

But I really like these Pros.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
505
Age
45
I should also say that I’ve been daily driving a fully built and armored Tacoma on 35s for a couple of years. And driving the same on 37s all the past summer. I’m willing to put up with a lot.

I just got this sweet 2WD Dodge Dakota :anon: with a small farm we are buying in PA. I won’t lie. It is kind of refreshing to drive a normal vehicle again...F90A7268-1D91-465F-8B98-C7C6E399D611.jpeg
 

Stairgod

Two bad decisions away from buying a bulldozer
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
2,439
I should also say that I’ve been daily driving a fully built and armored Tacoma on 35s for a couple of years. And driving the same on 37s all the past summer. I’m willing to put up with a lot.

I just got this sweet 2WD Dodge Dakota :anon: with a small farm we are buying in PA. I won’t lie. It is kind of refreshing to drive a normal vehicle again...View attachment 17981
2wd matches your new tractors Farmer Tim
 

Stairgod

Two bad decisions away from buying a bulldozer
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
2,439
How terrible are they in the rain? My km2s actually do pretty well when it's wet but obviously it doesn't rain here often. I want something quieter on road for my next tire, but still need the occasional wet traction.
Get a set of Nitto Mud Grapps. After that any tire will be quiet. And I had Super Swampers bias plys on my CJ5, so I know loud
 

4runner DOA

Hold my beer
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Messages
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Get a set of Nitto Mud Grapps. After that any tire will be quiet. And I had Super Swampers bias plys on my CJ5, so I know loud

Haha. The lower these km2s get the louder they are. Great tires, but loud. Only thing I haven't liked them in is icy conditions.
 

Stairgod

Two bad decisions away from buying a bulldozer
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
2,439
Haha. The lower these km2s get the louder they are. Great tires, but loud. Only thing I haven't liked them in is icy conditions.
Seriously the Nittos were great at everything except noise and tread wear. If so wasn't a lazy fuck I would have a set of them for wheeling and some ATs for street use.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
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Age
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Just put on Maxxis Bighorns in 255/85r16 on mine with a 3" Toyotec/Bilstein lift. Gotta say I'm impressed with the tire and size. Did extremely well. Now I just gotta get some extended bumpstops.
 

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