Snow performance! Look at my username, I spend a lot of time in the snow. Narrower is better in the snow. You don't want flotation, you want to cut through to the pavement. There's a bit of a tradeoff of course for deep sand where wider is better, and maybe highway? The 235's are only 3/8" narrower than the stock tires which I think is not noticeable for every day use. But the 265's are 1.25" wider than the 235's, and that's a bigger difference. You'll probably get a little better gas mileage with narrower tires too, but I'm not sure how much.What made you all choose the 235/85/16 over the 265/75/16?
Diameter is almost exactly the same. I would think on a big heavy van that the wider 265/75 would be a slightly better choice?
@VanGoSki I’m considering this same falken set-up for the reasons you mentioned. How many miles have you been running these? Used them in the winter yet? Any noticable difference in highway manners beyond the speedo being off a bit?Snow performance! Look at my username, I spend a lot of time in the snow. Narrower is better in the snow. You don't want flotation, you want to cut through to the pavement. There's a bit of a tradeoff of course for deep sand where wider is better, and maybe highway? The 235's are only 3/8" narrower than the stock tires which I think is not noticeable for every day use. But the 265's are 1.25" wider than the 235's, and that's a bigger difference. You'll probably get a little better gas mileage with narrower tires too, but I'm not sure how much.
About 10K miles on them. I also have the original tires on a second set of wheels which I've used on some long road trips this summer because there's no point in wearing out my winter/off-road tires on these kind of trips. They seemed terrific in the snow, although I did not see as much snow with them as I hoped. Pretty much all online reviews are extremely favorable in snow and they garner an Excellent snow rating on sites like TireRack.@VanGoSki I’m considering this same falken set-up for the reasons you mentioned. How many miles have you been running these? Used them in the winter yet? Any noticable difference in highway manners beyond the speedo being off a bit?
20mos since you had 10k miles on them, how are these tall skinnies wearing now?About 10K miles on them. I also have the original tires on a second set of wheels which I've used on some long road trips this summer because there's no point in wearing out my winter/off-road tires on these kind of trips. They seemed terrific in the snow, although I did not see as much snow with them as I hoped. Pretty much all online reviews are extremely favorable in snow and they garner an Excellent snow rating on sites like TireRack.
Highway handling and noise was excellent with one possible caveat. When I first installed them I tried a lower tire pressure, maybe around 45 PSI, but they felt vague and swayed a bit in handling which I attributed to sidewall flex. Increasing tire pressure to 60/70s fixed them and they handled as well as the stock tires at that point. Maybe I'll try the experiment again when I put them back on in the fall.
Depends on axle weight. Contact tire manufacture, give them your front and rear weights and they will give you the PSI to start with. That said, I prefer 55 front and 78 rear for normal use. I've gone as low as 25 front and 45 rear for sand as we didn't need more traction than that provided but I wouldn't hesitate to go lower if needed. I run Falken WildPeak AT but in 235/80-R17. Very happy with them @7k miles.To those running 235/85r16s, what tire pressure works best for you on road? And what pressures off road aired down?
Thx!
Thanks, hoping to get some feedback after 30+ thousand miles as that seems to be about when tires are showing possible issues.Depends on axle weight. Contact tire manufacture, give them your front and rear weights and they will give you the PSI to start with. That said, I prefer 55 front and 78 rear for normal use. I've gone as low as 25 front and 45 rear for sand as we didn't need more traction than that provided but I wouldn't hesitate to go lower if needed. I run Falken WildPeak AT but in 235/80-R17. Very happy with them @7k miles.
No strange cupping. Very smooth running. No balance issues. 3 TPMS have died but that's not the tires fault 5 wheel rotation performed at 5k miles and plan to stay with that cadence. I may go wider next time but these are looking to be good for 50k or more.
@Rocksnsalt Ran twice in snow this fall in Utah and Tahoe. Very predictable performance in 2wd. Used snow socks for about 10 mins. to get out our camp spot that was on a bit of an incline but paved. No issues making it over Echo Summit with chain controls...without chains. No one was there checking and the controls should have been already lifted in my opinion. I grew up crossing that pass over and over and over...CalTrans errors on the tourist (read Sacramento/Bay Area) conservative side.
True. The large tread blocks may very well start to cup and/or slap making more noise at that point. At this point, I would still buy them again if they only make it 30k.Thanks, hoping to get some feedback after 30+ thousand miles as that seems to be about when tires are showing possible issues.
I’d bet you’ll be fine with your 5k mile rotation cadence. That’s huge. I’d expect no less than 50k miles of even wear with that regimen.True. The large tread blocks may very well start to cup and/or slap making more noise at that point. At this point, I would still buy them again if they only make it 30k.
They're wearing really well. I do have two sets of wheels, but I've driven almost exclusively on the Wildpeaks because I love them so much. I'm guessing 30-40K miles at least and they have a lot left in them.20mos since you had 10k miles on them, how are these tall skinnies wearing now?
Plenty of snow this year so hows the snow performance been?