33 inch tires
#21
Senior Member
The best A/T tire I've ever had is the Firestone Destination A/T's hands down! Their rated #1 on Tire Rack and when I had them on my 2wd Sport Trac I never once got stuck in the sand like I did before I had them. I live in NW Florida, there is Sand anywhere you go off any paved road. Get these in a 33" tire and you should have no problems. They're priced right too, right now the 275/60/20 (33") tire at Tire Rack is $209. Check the survey results for yourself, the BFG's came in ranked 10th in the A/T class. I'll be putting the Destination A/T's on my FX4 just as soon as I can afford to get it leveled and the tires bought!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey....jsp?type=ORAT
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey....jsp?type=ORAT
#23
Senior Member
Another question regarding going to 33" tires from stock on a 2011 FX4. I would expect a loss in gas mileage and perhaps acceleration. The question is how much loss in gas mileage? A friend of mine went to 33" on his 2011 EcoBoost and said he lost about 1 MPG. What are your thoughts?
Buck, I noticed the billet grille on your truck. It looks good. I checked out a few of them on the market and noticed some are pretty expensive. Any recommendations here?
I am toying with the idea of going to 33" but assume that I will have to change rims. I like the stock rims. They are color coded to the sterling gray. While I can't afford to do a whole lot more to my rig it becomes a matter of what I want the most. So it boils down to billet grille and bull bar or perhaps the tire and wheel swap. Decisions, decisions. Bear in mind that I have quit doing off-roading as a sport. Therefore, the main thing is to get my truck to stand out from the zillion stock FX4's on the street and have a more aggressive look. Any suggestions? Forget the price difference. I am aware that a grille change and bull bar costs far less than tires and wheels.
Buck, I noticed the billet grille on your truck. It looks good. I checked out a few of them on the market and noticed some are pretty expensive. Any recommendations here?
I am toying with the idea of going to 33" but assume that I will have to change rims. I like the stock rims. They are color coded to the sterling gray. While I can't afford to do a whole lot more to my rig it becomes a matter of what I want the most. So it boils down to billet grille and bull bar or perhaps the tire and wheel swap. Decisions, decisions. Bear in mind that I have quit doing off-roading as a sport. Therefore, the main thing is to get my truck to stand out from the zillion stock FX4's on the street and have a more aggressive look. Any suggestions? Forget the price difference. I am aware that a grille change and bull bar costs far less than tires and wheels.
My billet grille was purchased from carriage works. If it were me I would probably go with the tire change and maybe throw on a bull bar with a couple lights and keep the stock grill. The FX4 grill looks real good as is IMO.
And you actually can put 33s on the stock rims. I had my 33x12.50 MTs on my stock rims for a while and it looked really good and worked just fine. Any tire shop that tells you otherwise is lying and just wants to sell you some rims on top of the tires your buying. I think you are safe as long as you don't go any wider than 12.5" on the tire. Go get some 33s slapped on your stock rims and that in itself will really give your truck a more aggressive look. And don't forget a leveling kit if you don't already have it! A leveling kit is a must on these trucks IMO.
#24
Senior Member
I have 35" trail grapplers for summer and 33" terra grapplers for winter. Like them both, but the trails look much better and the terras ride much better. I also really like the look of the Firestone Destination M/T with white letters. Wish Nitto made white letter tires.
#25
Senior Member
Ya you can expect to lose about 2 mpg probably by going with a 33" mud terrain tire. a little because the slight size difference but a lot due to the added weight and rolling resistance that comes with a good heavy duty MT tire.
My billet grille was purchased from carriage works. If it were me I would probably go with the tire change and maybe throw on a bull bar with a couple lights and keep the stock grill. The FX4 grill looks real good as is IMO.
And you actually can put 33s on the stock rims. I had my 33x12.50 MTs on my stock rims for a while and it looked really good and worked just fine. Any tire shop that tells you otherwise is lying and just wants to sell you some rims on top of the tires your buying. I think you are safe as long as you don't go any wider than 12.5" on the tire. Go get some 33s slapped on your stock rims and that in itself will really give your truck a more aggressive look. And don't forget a leveling kit if you don't already have it! A leveling kit is a must on these trucks IMO.
My billet grille was purchased from carriage works. If it were me I would probably go with the tire change and maybe throw on a bull bar with a couple lights and keep the stock grill. The FX4 grill looks real good as is IMO.
And you actually can put 33s on the stock rims. I had my 33x12.50 MTs on my stock rims for a while and it looked really good and worked just fine. Any tire shop that tells you otherwise is lying and just wants to sell you some rims on top of the tires your buying. I think you are safe as long as you don't go any wider than 12.5" on the tire. Go get some 33s slapped on your stock rims and that in itself will really give your truck a more aggressive look. And don't forget a leveling kit if you don't already have it! A leveling kit is a must on these trucks IMO.
#26
Senior Member
I never said height didn't play a part.....However I have to disagree with it playing a larger role than the increased weight and rolling resistance. The width is directly associated with rolling resistance so yes width makes a pretty big difference as you elude to. And unsprung weight (any weight added below the suspension) has been proven to negatively affect performance. All things being equal, all a taller tire really does is effectively change the gear ratio of the vehicle (Which can hurt and/or help the mileage depending on the type of driving you do most). many people report getting fuel mileage back after re gearing the truck to accommodate the larger tires.
Your comparison between the 35s and 33s isnt useless but doesnt mean as much to me since they are two completely different types of tires. You say there is no difference between the two different sizes then go on to say height is everything... If anything you are proving my point more than yours. You saw a bigger decrease going from stock to 35s and 33s (both way heavier and wider than stock tires), but see no difference between the 35s and 33s (both heavy and wide but one two inches taller than the other).
I would venture to say that if a test was done between three sets of tires testing between height differences, weight, and width...the height would have less effect than the width and weight..... IMO going from a narrow lightweight street tire to a more heavy duty and wider tire of any kind is going to negatively affect fuel mileage more than a simply taller tire. However this is hard to quantify since most tire changes include going from the crappy lightweight, light duty tires to not only taller, but also heavier and wider tires.
Last edited by Buck; 02-16-2012 at 04:56 PM.
#27
Sam Houston
33 inch tires
Thanks Buck.
If I go the tire route, I'm thinking about Nitto (believe trail grappler M/T). I would assume that a tire like Firestone Destination M/T or Goodrich would be much cheaper but would be concerned about the quality. I do have another question. How much is the ride affected by going to 33" M/T tires. Disregarding the looks, you can't beat Michelin for the best ride and gas mileage. However, right now I am most interested in making my rig stand out from the norm.
If I go the tire route, I'm thinking about Nitto (believe trail grappler M/T). I would assume that a tire like Firestone Destination M/T or Goodrich would be much cheaper but would be concerned about the quality. I do have another question. How much is the ride affected by going to 33" M/T tires. Disregarding the looks, you can't beat Michelin for the best ride and gas mileage. However, right now I am most interested in making my rig stand out from the norm.
#28
Here is the deal, around town you won't see that much of a difference maybe you will go from 15 to 13. But the second you get on the highway and get above 65 kiss your milage good bye. I had a quad in the back with 20" xd hoss with 33" toyo mt's and i was barley getting 12.5 go to 80 mph and 11.8 to 12.4.
The stock 20" wheel and tire weigh in at 75 lbs. The 33" in toyo mts weigh in at 73.8 lbs and then the rim weighs in at 41.8 . Thats a combined weight of 114 lbs.
My questions is once you start towing a trailer then you really are going to have no milage...
The stock 20" wheel and tire weigh in at 75 lbs. The 33" in toyo mts weigh in at 73.8 lbs and then the rim weighs in at 41.8 . Thats a combined weight of 114 lbs.
My questions is once you start towing a trailer then you really are going to have no milage...
#30
Senior Member
Thanks Buck.
If I go the tire route, I'm thinking about Nitto (believe trail grappler M/T). I would assume that a tire like Firestone Destination M/T or Goodrich would be much cheaper but would be concerned about the quality. I do have another question. How much is the ride affected by going to 33" M/T tires. Disregarding the looks, you can't beat Michelin for the best ride and gas mileage. However, right now I am most interested in making my rig stand out from the norm.
If I go the tire route, I'm thinking about Nitto (believe trail grappler M/T). I would assume that a tire like Firestone Destination M/T or Goodrich would be much cheaper but would be concerned about the quality. I do have another question. How much is the ride affected by going to 33" M/T tires. Disregarding the looks, you can't beat Michelin for the best ride and gas mileage. However, right now I am most interested in making my rig stand out from the norm.