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35 Inch Tires: Pros and Cons

Baylin

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Aug 25, 2017
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australia
Hey everyone!
I was wondering what are the pros and cons when adding bigger 35 inch tires/rims to a LC or Hilux. I know that bigger tires help you crawl up things when four-wheel-driving and that they can slightly help fuel consumption but what else do they do and negatives do they have.
Thanks for reading!
 
Thats a very vehicle specific question Baylin i believe 35's will fit an 80 series LC without much bother at all whereas an Hilux would need some serious modifications before it could wear 35's

The up and down sides will also differ dependent on vehicle .
 
When people fit 35's they generally go for a mud or a/t tyre which has quite a negative effect on fuel economy.
 
When people fit 35's they generally go for a mud or a/t tyre which has quite a negative effect on fuel economy.

Ok, thankyou. I know they can make it worse to that's why I said can help :tonguewink:
 
Thats a very vehicle specific question Baylin i believe 35's will fit an 80 series LC without much bother at all whereas an Hilux would need some serious modifications before it could wear 35's

The up and down sides will also differ dependent on vehicle .

I know sorry. I am more so just wondering what effect bigger tires have in general. I know a Hilux would need a lift to fit 35s; I don't know if that is still too big for it, I am not very educated in tires and their sizes. I am just trying to learn a bit about them. Probably a bad question to ask, but those are the two cars I really like and 35s are they only larger size I've heard of. I was just wondering what effects they would have on the driving experience. Thank you for replying
 
Some of it is really quite cosmetic. My 80 just looks right with 35's on. If I went back to the original 31.5 or whatever it was it would look ridiculous. It does also slightly increase diff clearance but of course only by half of the overall tyre size increase. But an extra inch under your diff is always good. Fitting a lift kit rarely gives you much improvement where a tyre fouls. You need to lock your front wheels over to see that it is the corner of the tyre that is the issue not the circumference. When you lift the body or fit longer springs, this relationship doesn't change that much. Economy can be better if you are doing a lot of high miles on tar. Because you travel further per each revolution you cover more ground for the same fuel. So highway cruising can be better. But because they are bigger you also lose torque and power when accelerating or climbing. You then suffer. I fitted 35's and 37's but each time re-geared my diffs. In truth on an 80 you'll not see much difference on 35's. It's such a bad ass engine that it makes little difference but it will affect your speedo.
 
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Your gearing will be off and general wear and tear is what i can think off. Hilux will need a lot of work doing to if fitting 35's.

My 76 series right now has 33'' (285/75/R16) tyres and to be honest i think its the perfect size. No real affect to fuel economy and still accelerates through the gears as normal, of course i now have better off road capabilities. It also looks better!
 
Pro's, they look right on my 80, a bit more ground clearance, mine drives nicer on them (in comparison to my 255/85r16 which measure 33") I like rocks so have a nice big tyre for grip, they stick out past the body a little so offer some protection, on a long run it's better on fuel and mid range accelerating there's no real noticeable difference.

Cons, Speedo is wrong, I'm 2mph out the wrong way, round town mpg is slightly worse, accelerating from a standstill is slightly slower but the flip side in the wet it doesn't easily spin tyres, long or steep hills need a bit more loud pedal and sometimes manual gear selection, some of those hills I've never driven my 80 with smaller tyres so might be similar (single track roads in the Yorkshire Dales/moors etc)

There's a couple of hills on 60/70mph roads near me the 80 out accelerates our Beemer.
 
Would 35s fit on an 80 with a 2 inch lift? Or do you reckon it would catch the wings as a wheel went up off road?
 
Would 35s fit on an 80 with a 2 inch lift? Or do you reckon it would catch the wings as a wheel went up off road?

That will depend on the type of wheels you have and their offset Josh.

The further away the rim is from the diff (-ve offset) the more chance there'll be for the tyre to hit the steel wing.

Conversely, with only a 2" lift, the closer the rims are to the diff (+ve offset) the more chance there is for the "corners" of the tyre to catch the front of the sills, on full lock.

There's a compromise, but it's difficult to advise because there's so many variables, such as:

Lift height;
Body lift vs suspension lift;
Wheel & tyre diameter;
Tyre width;
Rim width;
Rim offset;
Standard vs modified bump stops;
Spring stiffness.

The list kinda goes on and on....
 
That will depend on the type of wheels you have and their offset Josh.

The further away the rim is from the diff (-ve offset) the more chance there'll be for the tyre to hit the steel wing.

Conversely, with only a 2" lift, the closer the rims are to the diff (+ve offset) the more chance there is for the "corners" of the tyre to catch the front of the sills, on full lock.

There's a compromise, but it's difficult to advise because there's so many variables, such as:

Lift height;
Body lift vs suspension lift;
Wheel & tyre diameter;
Tyre width;
Rim width;
Rim offset;
Standard vs modified bump stops;
Spring stiffness.

The list kinda goes on and on....
Thanks Clive I see what you're saying. The only thing I know is that my wheel are 16x8 and believe they're original toyota items. With regards to their offset I haven't a clue! I'll have to do some more digging
 
Thanks Clive I see what you're saying. The only thing I know is that my wheel are 16x8 and believe they're original toyota items. With regards to their offset I haven't a clue! I'll have to do some more digging

If they're standard 80 alloys, I believe they're zero offset.

No guarantees mind...
 
Mine's lifted 2.5" (more like 2" when loaded up) with 35's and only had a few bits of plastic to modify for rubbing, wheels clear arches off road etc. Bump stops are extended front and rear.
 
I have 35's with -35 offset IIRC and they're well clear. Sure I have a lift on there but they came form a fairly std 80 originally. OEM alloys are zero off set.
 
Pro's, they look right on my 80, a bit more ground clearance, mine drives nicer on them (in comparison to my 255/85r16 which measure 33") I like rocks so have a nice big tyre for grip, they stick out past the body a little so offer some protection, on a long run it's better on fuel and mid range accelerating there's no real noticeable difference.

Cons, Speedo is wrong, I'm 2mph out the wrong way, round town mpg is slightly worse, accelerating from a standstill is slightly slower but the flip side in the wet it doesn't easily spin tyres, long or steep hills need a bit more loud pedal and sometimes manual gear selection, some of those hills I've never driven my 80 with smaller tyres so might be similar (single track roads in the Yorkshire Dales/moors etc)

There's a couple of hills on 60/70mph roads near me the 80 out accelerates our Beemer.

Thank you, that helps a lot. Can you get the speedo re-calibrated?
 
You can get a plug in speedo adjuster thingy to adjust to whatever you want, dead simple to do, and if u change wheels, tyres etc, just dial it in to the new.

I got mine from Marks 4x4 in Aus
 
Me too. Expensive but easy and reliable.
 
I have the speedo correction aswell and it is a must when you have an automatic gearbox because on the older ones (80series for example) use the speed signal to determine shift points.
You should ask yourself what you are going to to with cruiser/hilux and if you really need 35s ? On 33s they go pretty far.
 
My auto behaves nicely with the Speedo being out tbh. Torque converter locks at 42 mph (44mph actual speed) gear changes are good.
On the 33's the Speedo is accurate btw.
 
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