Size Really Matter?

[kacyk]

Visually perhaps but isn’t it all about functionality? Well, at least that’s what I’ve been telling the wife for the past 13 years!

Otay, these are my thoughts on 35” mud tires versus 33” mud tires; more specifically, Toyo Open Country M/T’s 35/12.05-18 versus 33/12.50-18.

First a note about the Toyo M/T’s. I’ve gone through the gyrations of driving on Goodyear MTR’s, Nitto Mud Grapplers, Nitto Terra Grapplers, Toyo Open Country All Terrains, BFG All Terrains, and Mickey Thompson’s on a Tunrda. But the All Terrains didn’t quite have the “look” and the other mud tires were noisy as hell and road like crap. Thus, IMO the Toyo M/T’s are worth every cent for ride and noise comfort.

There is no doubt that the 35’s look great. The “meaty” tires transform the truck giving way to a sinister appearance. However, there are some drawbacks:

1. Tire Rub & Wheeling Limitations – When I first got the 35’s there didn’t seem to be any rubbing. I attributed this to getting the “right” wheels that were the proper offset and back spacing. However, when I got the front end alignment a week later, the tire did rub at full crank on the inner bar. It’s not horrible, but it did make me nervous about any chancing of safely wheeling the beast. Moreover, I had the torsion bars adjusted three turns to give it extra height at the time of the alignment. Also, a week later I went to an independent alignment shop to make sure everything was done right. The alignment was confirmed to be true so the rubbing issue was validated.

2. Power Power Power – I did notice that the 35’s robbed the little I-5 of some of it’s power. I had to floor it while going over two mountain passes while traveling to my cabin. Even around town I pretty much had the pedal all the way down on hills. The power issue was evident when I got the 33’s installed. It was as if a thousand pounds was shed off the truck. Perhaps for this reason alone I am glad I went with the 33’s.

3. Gas Mileage – I didn’t track the gas mileage before I had the 35’s on but I always fuel up at a ¼ tank. At this point I consistently traveled 175 miles. This was tested over a 1,000 mile range. How does that compare with you? Mud tires will rob you of MPG but couple that with an extra 2 inches in diameter and no amount of free flowing exhaust systems or intakes will mitigate the gas consumption.

4. Appearance – Okay, the 35’s do look better in the pics (see my previous pics with the 35’s but in person the 33’s look great also. The combination of added width and aggressive tread really does change the look of the truck, whether you have 35’s or 33’s. The pics below were taken early this morning and they really do not do justice to the real thing (trust me). In fact, I brought some of my coworkers (who are truck fanatics) and asked them, “What different about the truck?” Not a single person could tell!

5. Rock Chips & Legal – Both tires are supposed to be 12.50 inches in width but the 33’s somehow fit in the wheel well better. In fact, they are almost flush. If you have some mud guards you’ll virtually eliminate any “rooster tail” effect and rock chips hitting your rear fender. Also, local law enforcement will leave you alone since your tires don’t stick out two inches beyond the fender!

I know some of you are contemplating 37’s but if this is a daily driver for you, I wouldn’t go pass 35’s. Also, if you insist on going with 35’s you might consider Nitto Terra Grapplers (Not Mud Grapplers) in a 325/65-18 which will give you a 35” tire but the comfort of an All Terrain rubber as well.

[kacyk]

Visually perhaps but isn’t it all about functionality? Well, at least that’s what I’ve been telling the wife for the past 13 years!

Otay, these are my thoughts on 35” mud tires versus 33” mud tires; more specifically, Toyo Open Country M/T’s 35/12.05-18 versus 33/12.50-18.

First a note about the Toyo M/T’s. I’ve gone through the gyrations of driving on Goodyear MTR’s, Nitto Mud Grapplers, Nitto Terra Grapplers, Toyo Open Country All Terrains, BFG All Terrains, and Mickey Thompson’s on a Tunrda. But the All Terrains didn’t quite have the “look” and the other mud tires were noisy as hell and road like crap. Thus, IMO the Toyo M/T’s are worth every cent for ride and noise comfort.

There is no doubt that the 35’s look great. The “meaty” tires transform the truck giving way to a sinister appearance. However, there are some drawbacks:

1. Tire Rub & Wheeling Limitations – When I first got the 35’s there didn’t seem to be any rubbing. I attributed this to getting the “right” wheels that were the proper offset and back spacing. However, when I got the front end alignment a week later, the tire did rub at full crank on the inner bar. It’s not horrible, but it did make me nervous about any chancing of safely wheeling the beast. Moreover, I had the torsion bars adjusted three turns to give it extra height at the time of the alignment. Also, a week later I went to an independent alignment shop to make sure everything was done right. The alignment was confirmed to be true so the rubbing issue was validated.

2. Power Power Power – I did notice that the 35’s robbed the little I-5 of some of it’s power. I had to floor it while going over two mountain passes while traveling to my cabin. Even around town I pretty much had the pedal all the way down on hills. The power issue was evident when I got the 33’s installed. It was as if a thousand pounds was shed off the truck. Perhaps for this reason alone I am glad I went with the 33’s.

3. Gas Mileage – I didn’t track the gas mileage before I had the 35’s on but I always fuel up at a ¼ tank. At this point I consistently traveled 175 miles. This was tested over a 1,000 mile range. How does that compare with you? Mud tires will rob you of MPG but couple that with an extra 2 inches in diameter and no amount of free flowing exhaust systems or intakes will mitigate the gas consumption.

4. Appearance – Okay, the 35’s do look better in the pics (see my previous pics with the 35’s but in person the 33’s look great also. The combination of added width and aggressive tread really does change the look of the truck, whether you have 35’s or 33’s. The pics below were taken early this morning and they really do not do justice to the real thing (trust me). In fact, I brought some of my coworkers (who are truck fanatics) and asked them, “What different about the truck?” Not a single person could tell!

5. Rock Chips & Legal – Both tires are supposed to be 12.50 inches in width but the 33’s somehow fit in the wheel well better. In fact, they are almost flush. If you have some mud guards you’ll virtually eliminate any “rooster tail” effect and rock chips hitting your rear fender. Also, local law enforcement will leave you alone since your tires don’t stick out two inches beyond the fender!

I know some of you are contemplating 37’s but if this is a daily driver for you, I wouldn’t go pass 35’s. Also, if you insist on going with 35’s you might consider Nitto Terra Grapplers (Not Mud Grapplers) in a 325/65-18 which will give you a 35” tire but the comfort of an All Terrain rubber as well.

[kacyk]

Side. For some reason the rear tire looks small in these pics but in person they look huge.

[kacyk]

another

[kacyk]

From this angle it looks like it sticks out a little but it really is near flush. With the 35's I could see the tires stick out as I look in the side view mirror while driving. With these you can't see the tire at all.

Best of all, with mud flaps up front no "rooster tail" or rocks chipping away at your paint!

[Walter_Cronkite]

Nice car. Too bad you have a small dong.

[HummerNewbie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Walter_Cronkite:
Nice car. Too bad you have a small dong. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's not a car dumbass

[Ipedog]

DO NOT FEED the trolls.

[f5fstop]

Remember when figuring mileage to take into consideration the larger tires which will set your odo and speedometer off. When doing 70 mph per the speedo, you will be doing something like 73 in actual speed. If you have a GPS, you can check out the difference between speedo and actual.
However, if your speedo is like mine, you might actually be doing the exact speed shown on the speedo. I checked mine with a GPS and I'm running about 2-3 mph under...when doing 70 on the speedo, I'm actually doing 67-68 per the two GPS units i used for testing.

[f5fstop]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Walter_Cronkite:
Nice car. Too bad you have a small dong. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Walter, why not go and meet up with Peter Jennings beat yourself to death.

[kacyk]

[quote]Originally posted by f5fstop:
Remember when figuring mileage to take into consideration the larger tires which will set your odo and speedometer off. When doing 70 mph per the speedo, you will be doing something like 73 in actual speed. If you have a GPS, you can check out the difference between speedo and actual.
QUOTE]

Good point. I did compare my speedometer with the Garmin 2620 and with the 35's, 60 MPH on the spedometer was 62 MPH (Garmin) and it's dead on correct with the 33's.

[DWPC]

Good, thorough write-up there, Kacyk. Lots of folks don't consider the torque lost at the wheels when they increase tire size, it can be pretty noticeable. That issue alone would keep me from putting bigger shoes on the H3.

[timgco]

Still looks great! I think there is only 1.25" of difference in the overall diameter.

How much did the tires rub with the 35's? If you were to off road with the 35's, do you feel you would have slightly more rubbing or possible damge to the fenders and fenderwells?