Upgrading to narrower tires on TRD

Wider is better. I run a 13" Wide tire! and when its super icy out. I only have about 5psi in the tires.! and I have awesome traction.

 

My motorcycle will go from 60-0 in under 105ft and my truck will take according to edmunds. com specs 121 ft

 

For the same reason the older willy's Jeeps had very skinny tires

 

Armchair???

 

Stomata
The pore openings underneath plant leaves that can open and close according to the metabolic needs of the plant. They are the ports for exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas for photosynthesis, but also release excess water into the air. This process of water loss maintains a steady flow of water and minerals from the roots to the leaves. To minimize the water loss, many plants regulate the duration and time of day when stomatas are open.


your welcome.

 

From my old truck, the 305's did a lot better in snow and ice than the 315's but also it also depends on what kind of tires you use. The stock bfg's and Dunlops are ok tires but they aren't great. Upgrading to a better AT or snow tires without having to reduce size is another choice for the op.

 

This thread is hilarious.

Just seeing a bunch of tacoma guys trying to be physicists is pretty funny. Not that none of you guys have never taken physics. its just funny. hearing the

NO your wrong.

No your wrong.

Wait a minute i think he's right
deal


my two cents on the matter is tire compound makes a big difference. After a certain temp A/Ts or All weather tires dont grip the ground anymore. Tire rubber is actually designed to sort of conform to all the divits in the road. because the road isnt completely flat like glass. but if the weather gets cold enough the rubber is too stiff to do that.

Also i guess it depends if OP is trying to "CUT" through the snow or "FLOAT" on top of the snow. yeah thinner tires well "CUT" through the snow as you would imagine, but at the cost of a smaller contact patch.

If you want a float on top wider is the way to go, but generally when are you going to want to float on top of snow. i think its kind of impossible even if you have a bigger contact patch. Not unless you are running tracks like in the Ken Block DC video. Snow Cat style. Or you have those super HUGE tires like in the North Pole Top Gear Special. I think the company that makes it is in greenland its some norwegian company that makes the kit.

conclusion: it doesnt matter just buy some "SNOW INTENDED" tires and call it a day

 

or get some chains/straps

 

Without question, wider tires = less traction when you are referring to winter driving.

I suspect more Northerners will understand this than Southerners.

 

No, because the mass of the 18-wheeler outweights the braking power.

As you can see in the link, motorcycles braking from 60-0 take 134 feet to stop. http://www.motorcyclesafetyinfo.com/motorcycle_braking.html

And as you can see here, a 2005 Toyota Tacoma 5 lug regular cab brakes from 60-0 in 122 feet, shorter than 134 feet of a motorcycle. http://www.intellichoice.com/report...62/section/specs/type/used/2005/Toyota/Tacoma

The more wheels that lock up

 

I've been debating between 235/85s and 265/75s myself. I'm pretty much sold on the skinnier tire in the snow based on local experience. I'm wondering if the skinnier tires would also improve fuel economy. Someone posted something about the friction not changing, but I would imagine a smaller contact patch leads to less rolling resistance out of the tire. Your tire psi would be a little higher and maybe cause the tires to wear a little quicker (smaller contact patch = more wearing force per square inch of tire if the trucks are the same weight). Also, I remember this old dude who showed up at a local mud hole one day in this old army vehicle with literally like 8" wide tires. Everyone laughed at him at first. After a while a couple of the guys with 12.5" wide tires were stuck in the middle of the mud hole - this guy starts up his truck, drives into the middle of the mud hole, shuts it off, and gets out and smokes a butt on his hood. Then he climbs back in through the window, starts the truck up, and pulls out like he was parked on pavement - then drives off leaving everyone else stuck.

I think the wider tires look better, but do they really perform better on light(ish) trucks?

 

Worth repeating...

If this doesn't convince you, simpy take the hypotenuse of an isosceles triangle, and divide that by...

 

I am running 245/75 16 BFG Winter slalom on my 2009 DC LB Sport. Took the 17" off and mounted these tires on a set of FJ TRD Wheels. Truck sits a bit lower with this set up and seems to get blown around on the highway a little more. Obviously the cornering is not as good but it actually rides a bit softer. I am very pleased with the way they handle the snow and ice. My only complaint is that they look a bit weak. They do not fill up the wheel wells as nice as the stock set up but what could you do? Its for winter.

 

^^^ What he said..

 

AGREED!!!!
I had 6:00X16 tires on my '63 IH Scout (remember them?) and never got stuck. Ice or snow, I could always move.
It might have been sideways but I could still move.
I also plowed with that truck.

Bought a new Blazer and put big wide tires on it. Really looked good but I got stuck the 1st weekend out, driving in the snow.

Tall skinny tires cut down to the hard pavement and give you traction.

Big wide tires will float on the snow. When you spin, the tires melt the snow and it freezes just that quick. Now you are trying to get traction with a layer of ice.

Tall skinny will get you around better for all-around.
Wide fat tires are best for sand or surfaces you need to float over.

Look at the WW2 jeeps and early 4X4 trucks like Land Rovers, etc.
Tall skinny tires took them around the world.

 

Does anyone have photos of a 245/75 profile on TRD wheels? (I believe they are 7" wide, probably wider than the steelies, but correct me if wrong).

 

Man. theres an awful lot of good tries (and not so good ones) but the right answers are all jumbled between posts. To sum them up:

Narrower tires get better traction in snow/ice/rain because they are able to cut down through the stuff with crappy friction down to the stuff with good friction. Big tires will float on top. There is definetely more PSI on the ground with narrow tires. Thanks to those of you who said that. Friction absolutely does change with surface area. Although a good thought, the bike example just flat out has absolutely nothing to do with this. I have driven wide vs. narrow tires in snow, and narrow is way better. (sorry not on a tacoma, but an S10 zr2). The type of tire/ treadwear has as much to do with it as size. Narrow definitely better though. And a partridge in a pear tree. I think this sums up most of the posts that were right. Thanks to brunes and afwrestler and the others who made sense.
-Bryan

Oh PS in regards to that table- its cute and shows how far tires roll and stuff but whats it have to do with traction??

 

Crazy.
Skinny tires are all you see in experienced snow country drivers.

 

I've never driven on snow. Wouldn't it be the same as driving through mud? You would want something that penetrates to the bottom and grip. So a skinny tire with beefy tread would help.