Tire Size Question - 245/75 vs 265/70

I bought a 2014 Tacoma Doublecab Off-road that had 245/75/16 BFGoodrich KO tires that needed to be replaced. I order the new KO2 version of this tire and then discovered later on the inside driver door panel that the stock size is actually 265/70/16.

What's the difference here? Is there a logical reason the original owner would have put smaller tires on? Should I install the new tires I ordered, or return them and buy the stock size?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Edit: I should mention this is my first truck, first 4x4, and I know very little about trucks beyond what my friends and other truck owners I come across have imparted. Total newbie.

 

Both of those tire sizes are stock sizes for the Tacoma and are basically the same diameter, but the 265 is wider. There's a tire size calculator on here so you can check if you ever need to.

 

Only base models and SR5's came with 245 width tires. I changed mine to 265's and couldn't be happier. The truck corners so much better.

 

Thanks guys. This truck clearly originally came with the 265s and the owner changed them to the 245s.

Is there a benefit to using the 265s over the 245s, other than cornering? Are there downsides? I use the truck mostly on the highway and in town, but do occasional off roading for access to river spots and camping. Nothing extreme however.

I don't mind the added expense of the 265s, I just want to use what's best.

 

A narrower tire is a little better in the snow, but probably not noticeably so. All I can tell you is that I like driving my truck a lot more with 265s. Maybe you can find a used Tacoma on a lot with 265s and go for a "test drive".

 

You'll see far more performance gain wherever you want it by choosing the appropriate tread design than with such a small difference in tire size. If you had the same tire in those two sizes, you wouldn't notice any difference on or off road. Appearance is the real difference between the two.

 

The 245s should weigh less, and have less rolling resistance for better gas mileage.

 

I lost about 1/2 a mpg since switching to the 265s. I guess that adds up over the years, but I like the truck better with the slightly wider tire.

 

I usually get about 18 mpg around town on load E 33s with a ton of weight in my truck. 265s won't affect mpg much, especially 265/ 70. Drive wisely and do your math correctly when figuring mpgs.

 

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the responses. I decided to get the 265/70s figuring that using what's on the door placard will give me closest to the listed specs of MPG and towing capacity.

As a side note, what a spectacular forum this is! I jumped in as a newbie and had a ton of helpful responses right away. Thank all of you for being class acts!

 

Mine came with 265/70/16's. Over the 9 years I've owned the truck I've used 245/75/16's once. They are the same height, but 1" narrower. I think the truck looks a lot better with the 1" wider 265/70/16's. If there were any difference in performance I couldn't tell it. In fact I've gone to 267/75/16's. They are the same width as the 265/70/16's but are 1" taller. One reason is that 265/70/16's are harder to find, limited in styles, and actually cost more than the larger 265/75/16. Same reason I bought the 245/75/16's. I couldn't find a 265/70/16 I liked. That is not a common size only used on certain Tacoma models. I'm not aware of any other manufacturer that uses it.