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Which 255's

4428 Views 29 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  Chris04
I looked up Gy site and cant find 255/85. I was so darn sure they made them. I am not sure that I want Bfg I really dont like the look. Also not real sure about Bighorns.
Id really like to shy away from the load E's but I dont think that will be possible.
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I was about to suggest JK Rubi tires, but I'm assuming you have 16s and not 17s like the JK Rubi tires. I just looked those are 255/75/17 anyway.

BFG does have some 255/85/16s in the KM2 Flavor
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-sel ... re-details

Out of curiosity why the 255s instead of 265s? the difference is 1cm width?
255/85/16's are a TRUE 33" tire that measure out at 33.5" tall when new and about 10" wide. They're a great all-around size for daily driver use and off-roading that provide a little more clearance than say a 285 or 305. They're at least a solid inch taller than the 265's maybe more. I run the old style BFG MT currently but have a brand new set of Toyo MT's in 255's sitting on my off-road trailer build. Plan was to upgrade the Jeep to them as well once these wear out-which will be here before too long. Not sure now if I may bump to 35's or not though... Regarding the sizing, the 265's are 10cm wider than the 255's. In metric sizing, the 265 is the width of the tire. 75 would be the aspect ratio of 75% of the 265 mm width. Add that to the 16" rim size and you get your heigth. With the 255/85/16, you'd get 255mm x 85% rather than the 75 of the 265. Add that number to the 16" rim size for overall height.

As to whether or not they're E rated, it's a light duty truck tire and I haven't really seen any that weren't an E rating-then again, I like the thicker tire for off-road use so it doesn't bother me in the least. With a good suspension and adequate air pressure, don't even know they're there. I think Cooper makes a 255 in the STT. Not a fan of the KM2 as I've seen too many of them get sliced up in the rocks around here. Not sure what else you could look at off the top of my head in that size-there aren't a lot of choices really.

Best of Luck,

Mike
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ah forgot about Cooper

as he said 255/85 taller than my 265/75
I just never liked the ride of Load E. Of course, I might of had some crappie ones too (timberline AT's I think).
I am really tring to get everything I my head for when I get my Jeep lifted. I am about to buy 2in spacers :( I really would like to get OME lift at the very least.

I just trying to sell myself on spacers, cuz I dont really have the $$ or time to offroad that much.
Spacers aren't that bad for a temp lift. I've been running 2" spacers for about a year now and no complaints. Yeah it won't give you the best articulation but unless your in trails that need them, and I'm not, its fine.

I'd like to get a bigger lift but if I approach 4" I'm doing LA and thats a lot of work for never really wheeling. My Jeep is a daily driver and she's gone 110K miles in the 3 years I've owned her and only like 5 offroad trips.
I just ordered 5-255/85-16 KM2s from discount tire - $60 rebate on 4 till the 25th sept.

The sidewalls on BFGs are always a problem but I hoping to get lucky .

Super Swamper Truxs is available in 255/85s too. That was my other choice -
forgot about the Coopers thats a Goodyear brand I believe.

No goodyear MTR's in the 255/85-16s that would have been my choice.

As for e-rated tires thats what came on the vehicle - the c rated At/s I run now are smoother for sure, but I attribute that to tread pattern trather than carcass strength.
I am running the 255/85/16 BFG MT (C-rated) and have not has any issues. Deep snow, rocks, mud, not a problem, ice is not a lot of fun but in a SWB Jeep that is the norm. The ride is suprising good on the street and not noticably loud. I drove 12 hours from Omaha to Holy Cross trail, ran the trail and drove the 12 hours back with a few other trails in CO mixed in over a 4 day weekend. My tire were one of the few things I did not have any concerns about. I DD my Rubi and was one of the few that made it to work everyday last winter due to blizzards. (BTW I have the older style MTs (Sale at $130 each)).
chris04,

i am in the same boat, dont really care for the harsh "e" rated tires. Cant find much in "C".
I am running 245/75 16 BFG AT....i like them for the street, but for the dirt....they are harsh...running at 17# when off road, and again they are harsh.

Let us know what you find, probably lots of people looking for 16" in a non "E" tire.
Possibly cooper discoverer s/t
comes in a 255 85 16 in a "D" rated tire
fenderworks said:
Possibly cooper discoverer s/t
comes in a 255 85 16 in a "D" rated tire
I just put 4 of these on my LJ. They are more of an MT than a typical AT, IMO. Call them an aggressive AT? Whatever, I wheeled them at RC and they work great for me. I had a set of the Maxxis BHs in 255/85 before these Coopers, and prefer these STs over them.

I run 40psi in them on the street and they ride fine. Getting 17.5-18mpg is not bad either.

FWIW.
Yea my mastercrafts seem nice (load C) I have really offroaded them only once.
Id say the noise level is comfortable, could be a tad quieter. I dont mind the noise tho, cuz if I wanted less Id got some AT's.
Still want some Nitto Mudgrapplers :D nice to wake the neighors at 3 in the morning
Jim K in PA said:
fenderworks said:
Possibly cooper discoverer s/t
comes in a 255 85 16 in a "D" rated tire
I just put 4 of these on my LJ. They are more of an MT than a typical AT, IMO. Call them an aggressive AT? Whatever, I wheeled them at RC and they work great for me. I had a set of the Maxxis BHs in 255/85 before these Coopers, and prefer these STs over them.

I run 40psi in them on the street and they ride fine. Getting 17.5-18mpg is not bad either.

FWIW.

Thats good to know, I've considered both tires as well. Can you elaborate on why you like the Cooper STs better than the BigHorns?


As far as 255/85/16s the only tires that I can think of in that size have already been mentioned. I could be wrong on the load range but I think this is what each tire is.
Toyo MT (load range E)
BFG KM2 (load range E)
Maxxis BigHorns (load range D)
Cooper ST (load range D)

EDIT: I did a search and also found these

Dean Mud Terrain Radial SXT (load range D)
Remington Mud Brute (?)


If anyone knows of anything else please let us know. I am currently deciding between a 285/75/15 Cooper STT or one of the above 255s.
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jim k in pa,

what psi are you running the coopers at when offroading?
Fargo - I prefer the slightly narrower tread face and the better traction. The BHs were damn good MTs, especially when new. They are also the best bang for the buck out there. But I think these Cooper "hybrids" will prove to be better for the wheeling I do in the long run. I also have gotten tired of the the MT life cycle, and hope these are better in the last 10k miles than the BHs or the original MTRs were.

fenderworks - I ran them at 25psi and that seemed ideal. Not too much loss of height, but adequate deformation and traction on the rocks. They also did damn good in the mud for an "AT". I'll probably keep running them at 20-25 off-road, and 40-45 on road. As I add weight these #s may change a little, but we'll see.
I'm very interested in this size as well and wasnt excited about another E rated tire, but I think maybe for a skinny, tall tire, it may be good for them to have a little stiffer sidewall.

Just my 2 cents.

Fingers
I definitely like a skinny tire over a wide. both seem to serve their purpose. I do like the look of the width of my 265s and I think that is about the widest I want to go.
Too bad no 265/80 or 85s out there.
I have seen 265/80 from tsl, but as we all know swampers not too great for the road
i want some boggers but not if im get about 12k outof them :D
I suspect an E rated sidewall will be more durable than a D rated sidewall, but I have no personal experience that supports that. I am more into overland/expo off-road travel than hardcore wheeling and crawling, and the main thing I want from my tires is durability in all manner of the word. Treadlife is not secondary to puncture and tear resistance, but it's not too far ahead.
yes, jim k

tread life is a must with me also. off road traction and reliability is VERY important, but, lets face it, we drive streets to get to where we want to go
That's exactly why I run the E rated tires. I've torn way too many C and D's to bother messing with them in a Jeep that sees off-road use. With the right suspension setup and shock valving, next in the order is air pressure in the tires for a comfortable ride. Forget the thinner stuff. My E rated 255/85's have held up in places larger, more aggressive C and D's have been torn. I have about 55K on my current BFG MT's and fully expect the Toyo MT to go that long as well, if not more. Rubber compound is similar. They're a tough tire all around, run true, balance very well and LAST both on and off-road.

I did just tear a sidewall in one of my BFG MT's, down on the Rubicon. To be fair, as mentioned I have over 55K on them and was running around 6 psi in some sharp rocks. Plugged it at first, but then tore up into the block of the tread. When it separated, I stopped messing with it and swapped the spare on. Hummm, that reminds me-better do something about a new set of tires soon-don't like running without the option of a spare where I'm at...

Best of Luck,

Mike
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