New 1st Gen. - Need Pizza Cutter Advice (Pics)

Finally joined the club. With the help of the pre-purchase guide on here I just bought this 2000 4WD Access Cab. 123k. No Rust. Utterly in Love. (Pics Below.)

I’m replacing the tires and rims. 17” OEM Tundra wheels and skinnier tires. I believe the suspension is stock. Planning to something like Cooper AT3 4S. Nothing super chunky.

According to the max tire size guide the largest with no lift is 265/70 R17.
I’m looking at 255/75 R17. As you can see, they are only half an inch larger in diameter but are also half an inch narrower.

Will this introduce rubbing? Is the max tire guide geared more toward width?

Thank you for the help!

 

Ooh! That’s a great question. I can’t wait to see the answer

Welcome to the community! Awesome truck!

Diameter is going to cause rub, as will width, not sure one will cancel out the other. But before you go by a tire size calculator, look at the actual spec for the tire you want to buy in its size. Like, my Mickey Thompsons are 275/70r17 which should be 32.2” but are actually 32.5” as manufactured.

 

Thanks shifty.

Also adding a pic of the future wheels:

 

These are my faves, I loved mine. Best OEM wheel ever made. Backspace is 5”.

I updated my last reply, with one other thought I had. I’m tempted to say, “go for it!” and if you rub, you can always try to align it out based on where you’re rubbing at. If you do rub I don’t think it’ll be wicked bad if you adhere to the master thread alignment specs.

 

Welcome to the club

I'm not 100% sure but the diameter might make you rub. That being said, I had those exact tires in skinny 33s and loved them on my tacoma

Also is that last picture at Gorman?

 

Welcome to the forum BB!
Those wheels look fantastic. I really like the style of them. Unfortunately there's no way the tall 255/75-17 tires won't rub! The other downside is that the taller tires will make it that much more difficult to load up the dirtbikes in the bed. The bigger downside is that the taller tires will definitely rob you of power. The way to get some of the power back is to regear your axle with a lower ring and pinion ratio...probably 4.10 would work if you never towed anything or put anything in the bed. 4.30 or lower if you do haul stuff.

And if you're hauling bikes in the bed, think about reinforcing the bed's bulkhead with some sort of extra support!

Oh, and i wouldn't consider 255/75-17 skinny or pizza cutters whatsoever. I currently have some narrow 215/80-16 on my truck, those are much more narrow!

 

I have that size BFG KO2 on a 7" wide wheel (4R TRD) with what should be a more forgiving backspacing at 4.5" and I got a fair amount of rub on the front passenger mud flap and fender liner. Removed the flaps and cut away some of the liner now but I also think an alignment with more caster would help me. The other difference between our trucks is that mine is double-cab which affects clearance but I don't remember which cab style is better in that regard.

 

Thank you for the responses!

@Nicklovin It’s Rowher flats. I wish it was Gorman but we haven't been able to ride there since the fire. And happy to hear you like the tire.
@Mustanley and @whodatschrome Thank you for the warning. I’m looking at alt sizes now.

Looks like 235/75 R17 and 255/70 R17 would both come in at roughly the same diameter as the 265/70 R16 stock tires.

Just hoping that 235 wouldn’t look too tiny on there. However, the mileage gain would be nice considering the truck is going to be driven across the country in spring after spending the winter driving in Tahoe winter slop.

 

I doubt you'll see much, if any gain in mileage.


Gears on the other hand...

 

I run 265/75/R16 E rated tires and don't have any problems with rubbing. About 1/2" smaller than the initial tires you were asking about and 1/2" larger than the last tires you mentioned. About 31.6" allegedly, never actually measured them.

I also use a tow hitch motorcycle carrier for my sports bikes, way easier than trying to get them into the bed of my truck by myself. Dirt bikes with a buddy shouldn't be too bad to load into the bed.

 

If you're willing to do the research, look at the exact size of the tire you're considering. I don't know anything (as most here can attest). But I learned that when you're right up at the largest size that will supposedly fit without rubbing, you're rolling the dice. Different manufacturers make their tire in ever-so-slightly different sizes than the advertised size. There's some wiggle room there. And the more aggressive the tread, the more likely the tire may be a little larger than advertised.

90% of 1st gen Tundra owners will tell you 265 75 16 won't rub. They did for me. And as `shifty will also point out, "rub" apparently means different things to different people. To me, any rubbing is rubbing. To others, the rub has to be pretty extreme to qualify as rubbing. That baffles me but I'm willing to accept the knowledge and move on.

An aggressive, E-rated A/T tire in 265 75 16, for me, rubbed just on the driver side, at full lock. If you want the tire you want and are willing to accept some rubbing to have it, that's cool. If you aren't willing to put up with rubbing, look closely at the actual size of the actual tire model you're considering.

 

I just tried to measure mine horizontally and they're about 31.5". Was a lot harder to measure them with only a tape measure than I expected. I've got zero rub and haven't found any signs of them ever rubbing. Anything bigger and I would most likely rub, also I don't want the bed any higher. I'll have to wait and see if I get lucky a second time with this tire size when I eventually change them out for something different.

 

Great looking early 1st gen. Blue cloth? Looks well cared for. I think i run a 31.8" MT EXP w no rub. With front tire guards on it is tight. ( i only run rears). Welcome.

 

I recently got 265/75 R16s- which are about an inch taller than the stock 265/70 R16. Same size as 265/70 R17s. See photo below. My right tire just barely kissed the mudflap at full suspension up travel, which was fixed by some light trimming. I doubt it would've rubbed if my fender wasn't messed up. Before/after photos below.

I was also dead set on pizza cutters for a while, but I'm glad I went with a size close to stock. It drives like stock, rides like stock, and the speedometer isn't too inaccurate. I haven't noticed a change in gas mileage, but this is likely because my new tires aren't too much heavier. They fill the wheel wells a lot better and they still look fairly skinny to me.

Just food for thought. Hopefully we aren't overwhelming you with feedback/options.




Mudflap before trim:


Mudflap after trim:

 

I also have a set of 265/75-16 BFG AT tires. They’re worn down to around 65~70% and they slightly rub the frame. it’s not really noticeable, but if they were brand new, i’d be hearing an embarrassing “burp” every time the steering wheel is turned to full lock.

I’ve also used a hitch carrier on the back of my tundra. It does make it quick and easy to mount up and go. I’m really curious on how well my tundra can haul my big KTM 990 Adventure.

 

I don't have any input as far as running this size on a tundra goes, but I have had duratracs in the 255/75r17 size for a few years now on my 4th Gen 4runner and have loved them. I also have 1.25"spacers on and i really like the stance. In my opinion you're not going to see that drastic of a drop in performance that would warrant the expense of changing the gears.

 

It almost looks like I've trimmed the front bumper in these shots, but I haven't. Only done some trimming/moving of the fender liners.

 

A buddy of mine used to carry his 950 and 1190 on the back of his 2wd FGT and it was fine.

 

won't help you in determining rub on the Tundra, but it's the coolest online tool I've found for visualizing the difference between two wheel / tire setups, including the offset.

P.S. This is a great article as well.

 

Surely not on a double hitch carrier! I would like to carry my 990 on my tundra's receiver hitch, but i don't know if the receiver hitch itself is rated for that much weight. To my bike's defense, it has been lightened up quite a bit.

 

Oh no, not at the same time. Just a single hitch carrier. I've carried my GSXR which is closer to 500 lbs that I'd like to admit, and I can barely notice it's back there. About 500 lbs is the most I'd throw back there, anything bigger and I'd stick it in the bed. My hitch carrier is just one of the cheap black widow ones, I trust my hitch more than the carrier.

 

Thank you everyone for help. It changed my decision entirely.

Just ordered Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S in 255/70/17. I’ll post pictures when they’re mounted up.

Should I go ahead and road force balance them when they’re mounted or is that only a requirement if there is some issue?

 

I had the 235/80 17 Cooper ST Maxx on my 4runner, loved those tires.

 

Heck, just do skinny 35's!!!

 

When i thing skinny, i always thing of the old Super Swamper TSLs that i used to have on my jeep cj7...34x9.50x15. Now those tires were true pizza cutters!

 

I actually saw somebody selling one of those exact tires locally yesterday.

 

Welcome to the club!

Just threw on 255/75/17’s. I run Bilstein 5100/OME 2884 and do not rub. Tires are Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac RTs.

 

My goodness. Two-tone Imperial Jade over Thunder Gray is so good. Plus no fender flares, steelies, and wood bed rack? Absolutely perfect. Wow.

 

I’d have to agree with you on that lol, thank you sir! Picked it up with a wood bed rack and I’m so glad it has one, been great for all the yard waste runs..

 

Updates:

Ended up purchasing four Cooper Road and Trail 255/70 R17. Got them mounted and they look great. I would have gone with the 245/75 R17 but they were $400 more expensive.

I think the truck looks great. I’m happy with the purchase. I haven't noticed any difference in ride quality, noise or performance since the switch.