265/75R16 or 295/75R16

That is a large jump in size. I went from 265/270 to 285 and found that the power of the vehicle was negatively effected and the fuel usage increased slightly due to the larger diameter. I have kept the 285 on and went a turbo to fix the performance issue however to 295 this is a significant increase and may have effects on registration and insurance (however I am still to find a single person who has directly been effected by a tyre size insurance issue).

So you may get less revs at highway speed however you will consume more fuel and need more power at lower revs. I myself would not go that big and top out at the 285 but this is personal choice. Good luck.

DM

My troopy came with 31x10R15's. The motor seemed to be screaming a bit for the speed I was doing. With a couple of BFG 33X12.5X15 on the rear and with the GPS running I tested them. The engine revs reduced and both the GPS and speedo gave the reading. I been running the 33's all round for several years now.

If you go for the 295's you will find you'll initially be a bit sluggish and slow on take off compared to the 265's but you will quickly accustom to that and you will notice the engine is not screaming its head off.

According to BFG's specs the rolling circumferences are: for 265's its 2436mm, 295's its 2569mm.

I run 285/75 16s on my troppy which is an old leaf spring model, they just rub on the spring on full lock which is no problem.

I have the power so the larger tyre is of no corcern at all.

If you have the horsepower, you may try running a slightly narrower tyre but with an 85 profile, say 255/85 16s which will be about 10mm taller than the 285s.

I will probably go that way on my spare set of 7inch rims.

One of the greatest problems I've found with the larger size tyres (I run 285/75 16's on the Patrol) is trying to source them once you're away from the major centres. Try finding a tyre of that size even at Alice Springs regardless of manafacturer. It's damn difficult and it gets worse in places like Karatha, Hedland, Broome etc etc etc. Just another factor to consider.

Cheers

Mick

Hi troopyman,
I run 285/75R16's on my troopy and can't say I've noticed any negatives over the old 750x16's.

You probably want them because they look bigger but I won't tell anyone if you don't!

Oh, mine are on a 2006 model RV with the factory TD.

Geoff

If you want a wider footprint than a 285/75R16, but are happy with the gearing that size provides, why not consider going to a 305/70R16? Virtually same diameter, but wider footprint.

I'm thinking of going to that size when I need to replace the 315/75R16s I'm currently using.....just to try and get some fuel economy gains from the 6.5 Chev V8.

Yep, another one who stepped up from 265s to 285s.
Would not go any wider than the 285s- and no real need to imho.
The larger rolling circumference changed my final drive so my speedo, which typically used to over read now under reads by 4%. So i used to have a safety margin, but now when the speedo reads 100km/h i'm really doing 104km/h. No big deal but something to take note of when a cop car is behind you or you are passing a speed camera.
As for difference in power delivery, my petrol/gas injected 80 series has possibly lost a bit down low but barely noticeable. However fuel economy has taken a dive.... dropped from 370km/tank to 320. But factoring in that the odometer is reading less kms with the larger tyres, maybe the efficiency has dropped by 30km per 70L of gas. So its noticeable.