#tacoma overland

Hi, I'm mike and today we're going to talk about Tires. I know this channel has been kinda gear focused, but nothing takes you out of an outdoor adventure like getting stuck, or having to turn around cause you can't make it to the trailhead. And nothing is more likely to ruin your trip than the tires on whatever vehicle you're taking to get there.

For the most part, when you choose tires you have to decide between two basic tread patterns AllTerrain or Mud Terrain. Generally, AllTerrain tires are less aggressive, quieter and more fuel efficient. Mud Terrains have more traction from bigger blocks with bigger gaps between blocks to squeeze mud out and keep digging in sticky mud.

If you want a full breakdown of the differences between Mud and AllTerrrain, check out this video Harry and I did for the Driving Line Channel that compares the two on dirt, snow and rocks. We don't have mud here in Reno.

Speaking of Driving Line, these tires were sent to my by Driving Line so that this vehicle could be used in the videos we produce for Driving Line. Those videos are a paid gig and the channel is sponsored by Nitto so this will mean I don't have to blur out my BFGs again when they show up in one of the videos. Check those out over on the Driving Line YouTube Channel

Hybrid Terrain Tire

So for the last few years manufacturers have been making what they call a hybrid terrain or R/T tire that combines the big tread blocks and voids of a Mud Tire with the siping and efficiency of an AllTerrain. I actually shot a promo for Kenda's R/T out in St. George a year or so ago.

I decided to go with this tire primarily for size reasons. I wanted to try the 255/80 R17 and this is the tire that they had in that size.

This size, commonly referred to as the "pizza cutter", is 33" tall and about 8" wide at the tread surface and 10" wide at the casing. It's only about 1cm narrower, nominally, than the stock tires, but 2 inches taller.

They're also taller than a 285/70 17 which many Tacoma owners like to run. How can that be? Well, it's because the first number, 255 is the width in millimeters of the tread of the tire. The second number is the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the tread width. so the side wall is 80% of the width. The third number is the diameter of the wheel in inches.

So find a tire size calculator to find the tru diameter of the tire and you get about 33" for these.

There are various advantages to going with a narrow tire like this for a vehicle as light as a Tacoma.

First is weight. This tire is only 10 pounds heavier than the BFGs I have on it now. Rolling mass has a great effect on the performance and efficiency of a vehicle and keeping it as low as you can is a good idea.

Second is rolling resistance. The narrower tire has less contact and less friction with the road surface and should get better mileage.

The Tire

These tires are LT255/80R17 E 121/118Q

The LT stands for Light Truck rating. The Tires that come on a Tacoma are P, for passenger car rating.

The E stands for Load Range E and these are rated for a 10 ply sidewall. That means the sidewall is stiffer and thicker than the tires that come stock on a Tacoma and will be able to carry a heavier load and resist puncture. They'll also be heavier and rougher riding than stock.

the 121/118 is the load rating and these are rated for 3195# at 80 PSI.

The Q is the speed range and these are rated for 99 MPH. Though if this truck ever goes that fast it'll probably be falling off a cliff.

Tire Design:

Like most tires these days the tread pattern on the Ridge Grapplers is designed to be quiet. They do this be setting the tread blocks so that the sound waves come off out of phase so they cancel out. It's kind of like how noisecanceling headphones work.

The tread pattern has a crisscross design with big center daggers and blocky side lugs set apart with big voids like a mud tire.

But like an allterrain tire, the lugs are cut with thin sipes to aid in flexing of the tire, and evacuation of water.

The side lugs are staggered to provide more grip and the tread blocks have various features to aid in grip and ejection of rocks and mud.

Like most aggressive off road tires, these have tread lugs built into the sidewall. This will be especially important for such a narrow tire, and certainly help protect the tire when I air them way way down.

Unlike most other tires however, they have different sidewall tread patterns on either side. One side is simpler and less aggressive, while the other is more detailed and aggressive. So you can choose which side shows to the world when you mount them up.

I don't know that it matters much from a performance standpoint. It's random where the tire is going to need grip. Nitto doesn't make any claim as to which is better and lists this as a design feature not a performance feature.