It's almost tire time again for me. I bought a set of BFG Rugged Trail E-rated 265/75/16s that I've been running for over 60K miles now and they've still got a little ways to go. The only issue is that my front end apparently went out of alignment and the toe-out ate up the insides of the front tires on the last 5K rotation.I've read TONS of information on tires and I'm always a function over form guy, which makes it hard to wade through the "they look cool" recommendations I always come across. I've considered a 255/85/16 because I like the tall, skinny (I have 4.10s) aspect. However, I've heard horror stories about getting a flat and not being able to find a replacement fast. I've read good things about the Cooper s/t and the Toyo M55 but I can't afford the Toyos.It seems that the 265/75/16 is a very common tire size so that may drive my decision a bit. The Firestone Transforce A/T seems to be another good tire, but I can't find any mileage reports on it. I know the H/T will last a long while, but I don't really want a pure highway tire because I do a good amount of mountain dirt road traveling. What do y'all recommend in size and brand? I'm not looking to spend a whole lot, I got my BFG Rugged Trails at Sears for $700 with the road hazard warranty, and if it comes down to it I'll just do that again since they're wearing so well. Thanks!

It's almost tire time again for me. I bought a set of BFG Rugged Trail E-rated 265/75/16s that I've been running for over 60K miles now and they've still got a little ways to go. The only issue is that my front end apparently went out of alignment and the toe-out ate up the insides of the front tires on the last 5K rotation. I've read TONS of information on tires and I'm always a function over form guy, which makes it hard to wade through the "they look cool" recommendations I always come across. I've considered a 255/85/16 because I like the tall, skinny (I have 4.10s) aspect. However, I've heard horror stories about getting a flat and not being able to find a replacement fast. I've read good things about the Cooper s/t and the Toyo M55 but I can't afford the Toyos. It seems that the 265/75/16 is a very common tire size so that may drive my decision a bit. The Firestone Transforce A/T seems to be another good tire, but I can't find any mileage reports on it. I know the H/T will last a long while, but I don't really want a pure highway tire because I do a good amount of mountain dirt road traveling. What do y'all recommend in size and brand? I'm not looking to spend a whole lot, I got my BFG Rugged Trails at Sears for $700 with the road hazard warranty, and if it comes down to it I'll just do that again since they're wearing so well. Thanks!

I'm running 255/85r16 and yea they are a pain to find because cooper is the only manufacturer and they get sold as re-brands. however they can be very affordable if you know where to look, oddly for me the best place was a very small shop in Albany OR, bought 5 tires for $170 each. typical shipping can be anywhere from 2 - 5 days, I got mine shipped from different parts of the country within 3 business days. I swapped the spare to deal with any circumference differences if I need the spare. other issue if you don't have a tuner to deal with it your speedo will be out of cal, not much of an issue to me as its been out of cal probably for the last 200k miles anyways.

Is there any real advantage to the 255/85/16s? I'm guessing that I'll have slightly lower cruising RPMs, which is good with the 4.10s, along with slightly better MPG from a smaller footprint on the road. The only problem is that the only tire I can find in this size is the Cooper ST which is fairly aggressive tread - does that cancel out the benefits of the size difference over a 265/75 HT tire?

Other questions: any change in weight capacity? How many miles to expect out of that Cooper ST in 255/85? Is this a worthwhile mod considering the need to buy a spare?

Food for thought: my local tire guy can get me 4 Michelin LTX/MS 265/75/16 E for $800 out the door.

---------- Post added at 01:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------

Another question: what width is the OEM aluminum/chrome wheel on the 2500 (my avatar)?

I do a lot of mixed road usage so the aggressive tread was desirable in my case. as far as fuel economy I'm not sure on the numbers as around the same time I bought the tires fuel prices started to jack upward and I rarely have had time to hand calculate the mileage, I believe based on the amount of fuel ups I have done per week that these are giving me some positive results.cooper is the only manufacturer so that doesn't surprise me that its the only tread pattern or brand found. the tire shop up here recommends Coopers over Michelin as the tires have a better life span as well as a better warranty period.load range I believe are only found in load range "D" I have not seen any others thats usually not an issue unless your dropping more than 3 tons on the axle without dullies. since most people only haul that much weight in a trailer the distributed load rarely exceeds that especially with a tandem axle trailer.I have no clue on your last question about the wheels.

Another question: what width is the OEM aluminum/chrome wheel on the 2500 (my avatar)?

i believe they are 16x6.5 rims. it says on the driver's side door jab sticker last saturday evening, i had the driver's rear tire's belt split. it held air but was horribly warped. had a bad vibration. had to drive on it until tuesday. turns out that almost nobody stocks 16.5s. monday wife went back home(~100miles one way) to get the factory rims. i only had the 16.5s on the back because the front needs spacers. they were 33x12.5r16.5, discount tire beat out sam's club when my wife called ~25 local places. but after they sneaked the bonus warrenties and balances they charged ~$370 to the card for (2)yokohama geolander ats 245x75r16 load range E. at least my speedo is accurate again(odometer too). i noticed that the wheel well has more space:rolleyes: the old tires were real good on the highway because it gave a taller gear and heavier wheels will store more energy(like a heavy flywheel), although the city mileage would suffer.

Big O AT's - 235/85 R16 - Load Range E's These for size have been the best tire yet for highway use... Big O warranty is for the life of the tire... So if I had only 10% tread and stuff a tree limb in the side wall they replace the tire no questions asked. PERIOD! Been there done that... As for offroad tires... Cooper STT - 265/75 R16 - Load Range E's Great for offroad traction but expensive... Also a 2-3 MPG loss because of the extra weight...

Mike, could you take a few pictures of your truck with the 235/85s on? I don't think I've ever seen this size on a SRW truck. Does anyone have experience with a BFG A/T on these trucks? I loved them on a 1/2 ton truck I had but I'm not sure how they'll do on a heavy truck even E rated. I've always been impressed with BF Goodrich tires and will get 80K miles out of the Rugged Trails I have on now.

I run BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO in size 295/75-R16D. Best set of tires I have ever had on a truck. Very quiet, ride smooth, great off road traction, decent performance in mud, and can carry as much or more weight than the OEM size load range E tire. The only draw back is just a minor bit or rubbing on the lower front track bar on really sharp turns. Just the right size tire that fills up the tire well but does not stick out beyond the fenders on the OEM aluminum wheels. http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/name/all-terrain-t-a-ko-tires

Mike, could you take a few pictures of your truck with the 235/85s on? I don't think I've ever seen this size on a SRW truck. Does anyone have experience with a BFG A/T on these trucks? I loved them on a 1/2 ton truck I had but I'm not sure how they'll do on a heavy truck even E rated. I've always been impressed with BF Goodrich tires and will get 80K miles out of the Rugged Trails I have on now.

Sure thing...

Thanks man!It doesn't look as dramatically small as I expected. I may have to look into this size now.

Left: Cooper STT 265/75 R16 Load Range E Right: Big O AT's 235/85 R16 Load Range E Go here and plug in the tires sizes... http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

when I had 265/75's I had a 235/85 for a spare.

I have 80k on my OEM BFG rugged trail 265 70 17 on my 05 and they will go at least to 85-90k before being bald they suck in snow and mud but do extremely excellent on ice. I have a set of BFG km II mt tires on my 02 in 255-85-16 range E and they have been doing good except they don't balance up good at all, I warrantied out a set with less than 1k miles because of it and the new ones are no better but I drive mostly dirt roads so I don't notice it anyhow.

Well, I still haven't bought anything and I'm getting down to the last 5-10K miles with these BFGs. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to go with the 235/85/16E since they're a hair taller than the 265s and skinner, and cheaper.

There are no issues mounting them on the fancier 2nd gen alloys are there?

Should I just go with a major name tire? BFG, Yoko, Nitto, etc.

I would like the Michelins but they're really pricey... although the mileage may make them the cheaper option in the long run. I've heard of guys getting over 100K miles out of the new LTX MS2.

Another question - Is my 10 year old Michelin spare any good? It's what came from the factory and i'm concerned it may be toast, although it's never seen sunlight or road.

--- Update to the previous post...

Here are a couple that I'm looking at:

Mastercraft Courser Radial - $600 mounted (aren't these made by Cooper?)

http://www.kauffmantire.com/tire/65310.html#

Cooper Discoverer HT - $660 mounted

http://www.kauffmantire.com/tire/50597.html

BFG Commercial TA - $690 mounted

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTireDetail.do?tc=MTAVA2&c=5&rcz=30114&pc=38938&ar=85&rf=true&cf=false&rd=16&sw=false&rc=GAAINT&cs=235

Michelin LTX MS2 - $860 mounted

http://www.kauffmantire.com/tire/M19595.html

From what I have seen personally 235/85 tires just do not last especially if towing. Not enough rubber on the road.:2cents:I put a set of Hankook atm's on my 05 and they do extremely well inj snow and ice. Others in the area are likeing them also probably the best selling tire in my area the last 2 years, verdict is still out on how long they will last though.Probably the best all around seller for our area is the toyo tires.

Mike, could you take a few pictures of your truck with the 235/85s on? I don't think I've ever seen this size on a SRW truck. Does anyone have experience with a BFG A/T on these trucks? I loved them on a 1/2 ton truck I had but I'm not sure how they'll do on a heavy truck even E rated. I've always been impressed with BF Goodrich tires and will get 80K miles out of the Rugged Trails I have on now.

From what I have seen personally 235/85 tires just do not last especially if towing. Not enough rubber on the road.

I typically got about 30-35K miles out of set of 265/75 R16 Well I'm up to 45K miles and still got 7/32 on my 235/85 R16's and still going...

Is there anything that says two identical tires, one a 235/85 and one a 265/75, will get different tread lifes if driven the same way?

Never tried it... But I'm harsh on tires anyways being I travel dirt roads and skid trees etc...

Different brands of tires have different rubber compounds that make them last longer. The torque that the new diesels have wears them out faster while pulling trailers also versus the older light 3/4 ton gassers that didn't have that much power thats why 235/85 was a popular tire back then, now days they are not that common as 265 and 245 tires have replaced them. I got over 100k out of a set of 285/75/16 bfg ats and had them siped when brand new on a 1/2 ton gasser and they towed on gravel a lot also. I can guarantee they wouldn't have lasted near that long on a diesel.