265/75/16

[Robert Hare]

Ok, I've read everything here and elsewhere till I'm slumping into the keyboard, but still have a couple questions. My oem tires are 255/70/16. I do mostly city driving, some highway.



So 265/75/16 may rub a little on a Gen1 without any lift - right? I'm looking at getting a set of Coopers M/S just regular radials, no heavy lugs.



No danger to tranny/rear end/ecm's by going with 265/75/16?



And I may lose a little low end torque by going with 265/75/16?



But probably no noticeable MPG difference?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Robert

 

[Taylor Corn]

When I first went to that size back in 2010, the difference was not noticeable in any way. Think it just barely touched the sway bar only at steering limit. Went from goodyear wranglers to firestone LE1's back then.

 

[Yardsale]

You are going from 255/70-16 (30.055x10.04) to 265/75-16 (31.65x10.43). That's about a five percent difference (5.04%).



I went from 235/75-15 (28.88x9.25) to 265/65-17 (30.56x10.43) (5.5%). They rarely hit (maybe once in four months) - not at full turn, but when the outer or inner part of the tire is close to the outer portion of the plastic fender. The hit is minor with no damage. Yours will be 1/2" closer.



As for performance, some factors are current differential ratio (the lower, the less you'll notice), new tire weight, tread design, actual (measured) size, rolling resistance, wind resistance.



You will notice less acceleration, particularly on up-grades and when passing. Your speedometer and odometer will be off.



You may notice difference in braking, too (I upgraded front pads). You may notice it's a bit more sensitive to roll, but not much (I added the EE anti-sway bar and all is well).



After the tire size change and driving it for a few months, I changed the gears from 3.73:1 to 4.10:1 (9%). This is a bit more than the difference in tire size, but because of the cumulative affect of the factor, it is best to over-compensate a bit. Noticeable difference especially going up grades - far less shifting. This translates to better fuel mileage and more pleasurable driving.



Your experience may be different than mine.

 

[Robert Hare]

BigT - Are those the 265/75/16's in your photos? And for the minor rubbing, that's with no lift? Thx

 

[Taylor Corn]

No I upgraded to 285's in 2014 when the LE's wore out, now have Destination AT's.



I also have a TorsionTwist and Warrior Shackles to give me the needed room.



Back when I had the 265's that was withOUT a lift.