Narrow tire on an 8" wheel question

[Erich_870]

It's about time to replace my summer driving tires and I'm interested in killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. I currently run a set of practically bald Firestone Wilderness LE's and in winter a set of studs from Les Schwab Tires (letters are face in, so I can't recall the specific tire style)

I'm not happy with the performance of my studs so I'm planning to go with retreads from TreadWright Inc. containing thier "ultra-grip" compound. I've read and been part of the whole retreads controversy so I'm not approaching this blindly. Not to get too bogged down, but I've done the mental push ups and they should work very well for my driving situations.

Back to my question... I want to try 235/85 R16's and I want to know if 235's will look like balloons on my 16"x8" wheels from Wheeler Off-Road.

I'm willing to go with a size that more closely resembles my stock tire height with a narrower tread if I have to, but the whole idea is to go with pizza cutter tires. A little more height is just a bonus.

Thanks for your input.

Erich

[Erich_870]

Bump

[4Runner202020]

i know that a narrow tire on a wide rim will wear the outside of the tire fast compaired to the rest... my lil bro on his xterra has 31x10.5x15 on a 15x8 in wheel and it is really wearing the outside of the tire. i wouldn't do a narrow tire on a somewhat wide rim. hope this helps.

bobby

[mastacox]

i know that a narrow tire on a wide rim will wear the outside of the tire fast compaired to the rest... my lil bro on his xterra has 31x10.5x15 on a 15x8 in wheel and it is really wearing the outside of the tire. i wouldn't do a narrow tire on a somewhat wide rim. hope this helps.

bobby


31x10.50's on an 8" wide rim are a very common combination (I have been running 31x10.50's on an 8" wide rim for a long time). Your brother's problem sounds tire inflation related, not tire/rim related.

For the OP- a 235 is 9.25" wide, so it might look a little off on an 8" wide rim (as it is a 235x85r16 is only about 31.7" tall, not much extra height IMO). Now a 255x85r16 is a cool tire size...

On off-road trucks, IMO its best practice to keep the rim at least 2" narrower than the tread width of the tire. For example, I would mount a 10.50" wide tire on a 7.5"-8.5" wide rim. There probably won't be any serious problems mounting your 235's on the rims you have, but the look may be off...

[Erich_870]

31x10.50's on an 8" wide rim are a very common combination (I have been running 31x10.50's on an 8" wide rim for a long time). Your brother's problem sounds tire inflation related, not tire/rim related.

For the OP- a 235 is 9.25" wide, so it might look a little off on an 8" wide rim (as it is a 235x85r16 is only about 31.7" tall, not much extra height IMO). Now a 255x85r16 is a cool tire size...

On off-road trucks, IMO its best practice to keep the rim at least 2" narrower than the tread width of the tire. For example, I would mount a 10.50" wide tire on a 7.5"-8.5" wide rim. There probably won't be any serious problems mounting your 235's on the rims you have, but the look may be off...


This is what I was wondering. Since 235's roughly compute to 9.25", I'd want to stay with my stock 16x7's to prevent improper wear and the tires looking lame. I think adding an inch isn't too shabby for a tire upgrade. Granted it's nothing to brag about. :P

I'd love to jump up from 265/70R16's to something like 255/85R16's but that's going from ~30.6" to ~33.1" and my gearing would suffer. I'm hoping to go with a size that gives me a smaller foot print (higher PSI) with roughly the stock diameter (keep power and speedo the same).

Thanks for info so far and keep it coming. :thumbup:

Erich

[mastacox]

You could also try 245x75r16's, they are a similar diameter as a 265x70r16. One way or another, I'd personally want to use a 7" wide rim on 235's or 245's, but 8" will work in a pinch.

[Erich_870]

You could also try 245x75r16's, they are a similar diameter as a 265x70r16. One way or another, I'd personally want to use a 7" wide rim on 235's or 245's, but 8" will work in a pinch.


Decisions, decisions... I'm leaning towards the 235/85R16's because I'd still have to stay with my stock 7" rims with 245's. I also like the additional inch they'll give me over my 265/70R16's.

Here's the tire on the top of my list right now http://treadwright.com/Tires-235_85R16_ATD_ULTRA-P35.aspx

Erich