I need new tires and are thinking of upsizeing to 315 70 17 s as i think the 265 s look to small for the truck , but i dont want to have problems with handeling or rubbing etc i have an 03 qc short bed 2 w d and mainly use it on road any ideas are welcome

 

I've had 35" tires and now have 285's. They both looked better than the stockers. 35's will hurt mileage in stop and go traffic and should help some on the highway. 285's are pretty good all around and look much better than stock. 315's are similar to 35's so if you do alot of in-city driving, be prepared for the mileage drop.

Handling is another issue and that'll be dependent on which tire you go with. You can experience "death wobble" if your front end is out of spec with the added weight of the larger tires. Keep reading and asking questions to come up with the best scenario for yourself...

 

My advice (and I speak from experience) is to get a 33" (285/295) tire. Not only are the stock tires short, they are very narrow as well. A 33 will fill out the space nicely and they won't give you the headaches a 35 will, such as poor fuel mileage. Also, depending on your gearing and your transmission, larger tires can really stress the transmission and play havoc with your EGT's.
Nobody ever talks about these things on these forums for some reason, but I experienced it firsthand.

 

I went with 285 Toyos and I think my mileage acually got a slight bit better and the ride improved. I like the looks of the larger tires but I use my truck on and offroad for work dailey and it would have been to much of a strain on the truck.

 

will 315's fit under a 2 wd??? You will deffinataly need some lift!! They just barely fit with some rubbing on my 4 wd... I would probably go 285's or 33's!!

 

will 285's clear with out a leveling kit? i am looking at getting new one but not sure if i can get tires now or wait till i level it... Thanks,

 

They will fit easy on a stock 4x4 truck, and I bet they would fit on a stock 2x4 with no rubbing too.

 

yeah i have the 2x4 and i haven't had anyone say for sure yes or no and i don't want to buy them and not get to use them. but i know they will fit with the leveling kit but if i can find a good deal before i get the kit then i would like to know that i can jump on it. Thanks,

 

thanks for the info , looks like its going to be 285 s and bfgs do they make a 285 70 17 ? i can only see 285 60 /65 listed { i seem to remember reading somewere that the wheel bearings can be damaged by going too large with wheels and tyres} has anyone experienced this ?

 

I was going to say that a 315 will get no where close to fitting but you've already figured that out .

285/70/17 is available. Check tirerack or something. Only thing is i generally don't see many people running bigger tires up front, just bigger tires in the back. Don't know why though, but I'd research it... Maybe those people are just rednecks and like that look?

 

Make sure you get the right load range. Stock 3500 tires are load range "E" and I wouldn't run anything else.

 

I cannot tell you about the fit on your truck, someone here surely has done these tires and can speak about that issue. I can tell you that comparing the 315-70-17's to the 35's is like comparing apples and oranges, even though both tires finish out at the same height, their widths are different.

What I can tell you is that I have the BFG AT KO's - 315-70-17's on my truck and they are an excellent performing tire. They really did not affect my fuel consumption either driving in town with stop and go, and I gained slightly on the highway. The tread width is 3/4" wider than the stock tire. They also make a 305-70-17, 285-17-70. Since the width change is less than an inch, the slight width change should not put much if any additional stress on your suspension system. While they are 'D' class tires, their carrying capacity IS the same as the 'E' rated tires, both being 10-ply tires. At one time, the BFG's were only 8-ply, but that changed some time ago, somewhere a couple years ago. I have used them on many previous trucks, dually and SRW, gotten great mileage out of them, and their winter performance has been good in snow and ice. In fact, they have performed better than the TOYO equivalent. I have a set of TOYO AT's on one of my other trucks and I cannot wait to wear them out and relplace them with the BFG's.

When you go to 33's or 35's in the BFG's, their tread width is around 11-1/2" to 12". Some with leveling kits on their 4x4's report interference, so it would be my best guess your 4x2 will also have interference with a leveling kit. The wider tire does put greater stresses on your suspension system. I have used these tires on one of my trucks and when they were worn out I replaced them with the narrower tread 70 series. I had major front end bearing wear and ball joint wear in this 4x4.

Hope that my info will help you in making your choices.

CD

 

THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO It has helped ,and was good reading ,i think i will go for the 285 70s from bfg they seem to get good reports all round ,

 

I've had both 315 and 285 and I like the 285 much better.

 

I've got 285 MT's and love them. No rubbing issues whatsoever.