LET'S TALK TIRES>

[JAMES399]

My wife and I live on a farm about 120 km from the city of Medellin in Colombia , South America. I drive a 2003 Hilux "Hi-Rider" DCSB 4x4. We make several trips from our farm to Medellin every month to buy things for our businesses. The trip lasts from 3 to 4 hours depending which road we take.

There are 4 roads to get to the Med from our farm. Each way has its own problems. Without going into particulars, some roads are extremely muddy and steep. Others that are full of potholes, rocks, and washouts that beat my tires and suspension to death. Still others are under construction and are muddy and slippery as Hell. In the rainy season, there are mudslides that block roads, and I have to take whatever way is available. In any case, only about 70 kms of the trip is on paved roads. After being beat to death fighting bad road, I want the ride on the paved road to be somewhat enjoyable.

I have completely rebuilt the suspension on my truck. All new bushings (front and rear), ball joints, tie rod ends, steering stabilizer, shocks, etc. When I bought my truck, I had to replace the tires to pass vehicle inspection here. I bought a cheap set of 255/70R16 China tires to get by. To Tell the truth these skins have lasted way longer than I expected.

But now, I have to buy new tires again. I am replacing my stock Toyota aluminum wheel rims (16x7") with 17 x 8 aftermarket rims. I plan on buying LT275/70Rx17 tires, but have no clue on which tire (brand and model) would be best for my situation.

I know you folks on this forum live all over the world and drive your Toyotas under some of the toughest conditions. Please give me your input on what has been a good tire for you, and why and what you would recommend as the best for me. Thanks!!!

I apologize for being so long-winded

- JAMES

[Mud Dog]

I would stay with the 16" rims, the bigger rim diameter means you have to fit a lower profile tyre ..... not good for ride comfort (less air cushioning) and more likely to get damaged on the rougher surfaces. Also, 16" tyres are more common and will therefore be easier to source if you have to replace a damaged one.

[dalkill]

I would stay with the 16" rims, the bigger rim diameter means you have to fit a lower profile tyre ..... not good for ride comfort (less air cushioning) and more likely to get damaged on the rougher surfaces. Also, 16" tyres are more common and will therefore be easier to source if you have to replace a damaged one.

+1 .. my thoughts exactly as i read he wanted to change from 16 to 17.
Not sure over there in Columbia, but the 2003 model here came out with 15" rims / mags.
So if you want to change, i would even got back to the standard. (or at least standard for us)

more profile, better shock absorption. And i would try to stick with the Chinese brand you had before.
As you said, it lasted longer than expected, so it must be one of those rare lesser spotted Chinese quality product . Better the devil you know, then the one you don't

[Mud Dog]

Yes, I also thought about going to 15" rims and a bigger tyre profile, but while the 2003 model here came out with 15" the Columbian / US models may have been fitted with 16" rims to accommodate bigger callipers and brake discs. In that case, 15" rims will catch / won't fit.

[Mountain Man]

My wife and I live on a farm about 120 km from the city of Medellin in Colombia , South America. I drive a 2003 Hilux "Hi-Rider" DCSB 4x4. We make several trips from our farm to Medellin every month to buy things for our businesses. The trip lasts from 3 to 4 hours depending which road we take.

There are 4 roads to get to the Med from our farm. Each way has its own problems. Without going into particulars, some roads are extremely muddy and steep. Others that are full of potholes, rocks, and washouts that beat my tires and suspension to death. Still others are under construction and are muddy and slippery as Hell. In the rainy season, there are mudslides that block roads, and I have to take whatever way is available. In any case, only about 70 kms of the trip is on paved roads. After being beat to death fighting bad road, I want the ride on the paved road to be somewhat enjoyable.

I have completely rebuilt the suspension on my truck. All new bushings (front and rear), ball joints, tie rod ends, steering stabilizer, shocks, etc. When I bought my truck, I had to replace the tires to pass vehicle inspection here. I bought a cheap set of 255/70R16 China tires to get by. To Tell the truth these skins have lasted way longer than I expected.

But now, I have to buy new tires again. I am replacing my stock Toyota aluminum wheel rims (16x7") with 17 x 8 aftermarket rims. I plan on buying LT275/70Rx17 tires, but have no clue on which tire (brand and model) would be best for my situation.

I know you folks on this forum live all over the world and drive your Toyotas under some of the toughest conditions. Please give me your input on what has been a good tire for you, and why and what you would recommend as the best for me. Thanks!!!

I apologize for being so long-winded

- JAMES

Hi James,

Tyres are a much debated topic with a wide variety of personal opinions. One person can have a fantastic experience with a particular brand of tyre and will therefore promote that particular brand. Another person may have had a terrible experience with the same tyre and therefore will completely hate that brand.

I have found that when buying tyres the cost is probably the biggest deciding factor. Having said that, you need to be cautious when deciding to purchase a tyre based solely on cost. All tyres have a load index and speed rating, so you will find the cheaper tyres may have a lower load index. This may not be much of a factor if you never load your vehicle or never air down your tyres. However if you carry a load (Not necessarily that heavy) and drive with your tyres aired down, you may find the tyre with the lower load/speed index will give out sooner - usually the side wall disintegrates. Unfortunately the load/speed index indicated in the tyre is a cryptic code and you need a table to decipher the index. There are many downloadable tables on the internet.

Because I drive a heavy vehicle, the tyres I have chosen have a load index of 126/123Q which basically translates to 126 = 1700kg per tyre or 123 = 1550kg at Q = 160km/hr at a predetermined maximum pressure indicated on the tyre. The 1700kg that each tyre can carry is drastically reduced as the pressure comes down. So because I would on occasions be carrying a full load but also travelling with aired down tyres I opted for a higher load rating than necessary. Unfortunately this significantly impacts the price of the tyre, however you need to decide what is important to you because other factors come into play when choosing a particular brand or model of tyre like longevity versus traction etc.

There is no single tyre that does everything well, all tyre choices are a compromise. You need to decide on what you are prepared to compromise based on your personal requirements. In the past I have had good and bad experiences with cheap and expensive tyres. Generally you are also limited to what you can actually purchase in your country, some tyres brands/models are not available in some countries.

My focus these days is on a good quality tyre that can carry a load at low pressures on all types of terrain.

I hope this helps you a bit.

[JAMES399]

I would stay with the 16" rims, the bigger rim diameter means you have to fit a lower profile tyre ..... not good for ride comfort (less air cushioning) and more likely to get damaged on the rougher surfaces. Also, 16" tyres are more common and will therefore be easier to source if you have to replace a damaged one.

+1 .. my thoughts exactly as i read he wanted to change from 16 to 17.
Not sure over there in Columbia, but the 2003 model here came out with 15" rims / mags.
So if you want to change, i would even got back to the standard. (or at least standard for us)

more profile, better shock absorption. And i would try to stick with the Chinese brand you had before.
As you said, it lasted longer than expected, so it must be one of those rare lesser spotted Chinese quality product . Better the devil you know, then the one you don't

Muddog & Dalkill -

Thanks for your input.
I agree 100% with what you guys are saying. My '03 hilux 4x4 came stock with 16" rims. I originally wanted to go with a 15" rim and 31x10.5R15 tires in the front and 31x12.5R15 tires on the rear. This combo would give me better load carrying in the rear, and look cool too. Since front and rear are both the same diameter there wouldn't be a problem in 4WD. A friend has an earlier Hilux with the same style factory aluminum rims as my truck but 15" diameter. Unfortunately his rim does in fact rub my front brake caliper. So I opted to go to the 17" rim and the 31" diameter LT275/70R17 tires. The reason is that this tire size is standard on many of the larger SUVs sold here and is easy to find at a good price. Large selection to choose from too. I will definitely go with a China tire. They have a free trade agreement with Colombia, and pay no import duty on their products. American tire import duty is 30% making their retail prices sky high.
Still you both make good points about going to the 15" size. So, I 'm not going to give up on the 15" rims yet. Maybe I can find an aftermarket design that I like that will fit. The amount of interference is very small (about 1/8".) Possibly I can modify the calipers or have a pair of 1/8" wheel spacers made for the front. I have a few months wear left on my current tires and will use the time to make up my mind on which way to go.... 15" or 17".
Thanks again.

- JAMES

[JAMES399]

UPDATE:

We had to get the radiator on our New Holland front loader/backhoe repaired this past week so we took it to Medellin. While it was being resweated, we walked around and looked at wheel/tires for my 'Lux. Based on forum member's recommendations to go with the smallest diameter rim and biggest sidewall, I was looking at 16" rims and the largest diameter tires that would fit my truck without rubbing. (15" rims would not fit.)
One store offered a package deal: 4 DLJ 16" x 8.5" rims and 4 Hifly Vigorous AT601 tires (size LT275/70R16) for
2,270,000 pesos ($765.00 USD) which included trade-in credit for my old tires and rims. Also included were new stems, lug nuts, mounting, balancing, installation, and a written 2 year road hazard warranty. This was way less than I had expected to pay, so I made the deal.
The tires had no noticeable road noise on the drive home, and, after airing them down to 28 psi, they handled the dirt roads much better than the P255/70 tires I had been running.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice.

- JAMES

It's nighttime here, so I'll post a pic tomorrow.

[JAMES399]

[Mud Dog]

Nice!

[Mountain Man]

UPDATE:

We had to get the radiator on our New Holland front loader/backhoe repaired this past week so we took it to Medellin. While it was being resweated, we walked around and looked at wheel/tires for my 'Lux. Based on forum member's recommendations to go with the smallest diameter rim and biggest sidewall, I was looking at 16" rims and the largest diameter tires that would fit my truck without rubbing. (15" rims would not fit.)
One store offered a package deal: 4 DLJ 16" x 8.5" rims and 4 Hifly Vigorous AT601 tires (size LT275/70R16) for
2,270,000 pesos ($765.00 USD) which included trade-in credit for my old tires and rims. Also included were new stems, lug nuts, mounting, balancing, installation, and a written 2 year road hazard warranty. This was way less than I had expected to pay, so I made the deal.
The tires had no noticeable road noise on the drive home, and, after airing them down to 28 psi, they handled the dirt roads much better than the P255/70 tires I had been running.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice.

- JAMES

It's nighttime here, so I'll post a pic tomorrow.

Well done, it seems those tyres are 8 ply tyres with a reasonably decent load rating - I'm sure they will serve you will for many years. However the 265/75/16 would have given you a slightly higher profile sidewall (this may have been an issue with it catching the bodywork) with an extra 400kg load rating and 2 extra plies (10 ply) per tyre. Your dealer may also not have carried the stock on that particular model. Nevertheless, well done on your choice - may you never tire of them.