My 285 75 r16 are 32"?

So, my tire dilema goes like this: Hercules Terra Trac tires are 10+ y/o on my 03 Tundra. 8.5x16 rim on King coilovers. Truck is leveled. No rubbing whatsoever. Looks appropriate. Need new tires..can't find load C/SL like I want in 285/r16. Debating going down to 265 75 r16 as there are more choices in SL/ C load. 285 are supposed to be 32.8"ish. 265 are supposed to be about 31.6"-ish. My 285/r16 tires with 90% tread left measure right at 32" with 36 psi. Another route is to go to 17" tires to have more choices at 275/285 70 size in a C or SL. Don't really want to spend a grand on new wheels.

Why the nearly 3/4" difference in my set of tires? These are the first gen Terra Trac at. Thanks

 

My advice is to not get overly hung up on the exact size of the tire to the finest measurement. It doesn't matter all that much; I've never had a reason to get an exact measurement of my 285/75/16 KO2s but I just call them 33's if someone asks. If someone corrected me and told me my tires were actually 32.8" not 33" I would turn around and never waste my time speaking to that person again.

I also wouldn't go up to 17" wheels, stick with the 285/75/16s.

 

Thanks for the reply...what I was getting at was I don't really care what the tape measure says 32 or 33 but with my current tires I only have 1/4" before I will rub the rear mud flap. 285's are supposed to be just under 33". Was more wondering if the 265 were more acurrate in sizing and so close to being "32"...therefore dropping down 1 size. I'd rather stick with 16's but everything is a load range E and makes these trucks ride like a jackhammer. I don't off road or tow. Strickly pavement queen. Current tires are D. If I could finf SL or C...it's a no brainer.

Going to a 17" that starts to put me at 275's or 285's and don't know actual sizes and if they rub until they're installed. I'm not going to hack up my truck trying to shoehorn a tire in there. Seems the tire specs really aren't accurate at all. Thanks

 

Thank you for the clarification on how you plan to use the truck, that will allow others to come in with their thoughts too. Honestly with my 285/75/16s I never rubbed on the rear mudflaps even when off-roading that I noticed but the gap between them isn't that big as you pointed out. I've personally never seen lighter than a D in this size.

I would imagine it's possible that there is a slight variance in exact size between different manufacturers and tread patterns, but I'm not an expert.

Could it be possible for you to go to a tire shop like discount and see if they can help? They might have a 265/75/16 tire in stock that they could bring out and put against your current one to compare.

 

use this tool whenever you want to find out the size of metric tires-