Performance road tires on a 4x4...
 

I was wondering how well a performance road tire would work out on my 4x4, the same size as I have, around 31x10.5's. My "mud" tires handle pretty well, so I figured road tires would handle alot better. I never go off-roading at all or anywhere that I would need mud or even all terrains, except for in the snow, since I live in PA. They would probably wear well and maybe give better gas mileage.
Did anyone ever swap anything like these on their rig?


http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...zero_ci2_l.jpg

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires...s_st_ci2_l.jpg

Performance street tires would be fine on your 4x4 in the summer but they would be a real handful in the snow.

My mud tires work great when going in the snow, but not stopping. My abs kicks on and I just slide for a good while, even on a flat road.
I tried putting about 200 lbs of sand in my bed a box, they didn't help at all, they prob made me slide longer when stopping.

i just had a set of (255/60/18) toyo proxes s/t installed last week... pic of the tire;

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sel...ges/ToyoST.jpg

i havent had them long enough to give a good review, but so far theyre AWESOME. noise is about the same as my stockers were generally speaking. noise at freeway speeds is slightly quieter than stock. grip is freaking amazing. plus they look sexy ;o)

dunno how their snow handling is though. youll be hard pressed to find a street/performance tire that handles well in snow i'd say.

I know the snow idea is going to be a little rough, not really worried about that.
Are those tires thick in the sidewalls and tread ply, my tires now seem really thick and I think that's why they handle so well. I don't want a tire that will fold over easily.

the sidewalls are reinforced, however they don't seem as thick as the bfg all terrains or mud terrains i used to run on my old ranger. they are rated for mud and snow though :o) here's the link:

http://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_lines...ck_suv/st.html

They look pretty decent. I am running 15" wheels. They have 295-50-15's which would be sweet.

if you want to put performance tires on your truck you should go up an inch or two in wheel size

I know that, but I want to work with what I have.
By the way, what's the biggest wheel put on a stock/lowered ranger. I looked up some specs, and 22's would def. fit, and 23's are pushing it. I would like to know if anyone has seen a ranger with 22's or 23's.

why go up...for looks? is there puropuse there? just wondering, but i'm assuming its looks

I was just wondering.
Big wheels are awesome. I'm not planning on getting dubs.

i was originally going to go with 22's (biggest ive seen on a ranger is 20) but i heard that 22's dont fit right.

the tires im running are 30" by 10.5" on 18" wheels, on a stock height (in the front) 2WD 2003 xlt, and they fit very very nicely, with minimal rubbing at full turn. i'll get some pics up later today.

Get a second set of rims and load'em up w/ the new tires. Then you'd have a summer set and a winter set (your 'mud' tires).

I know I go months w/o really using the AT's I have for what they were meant for. I'd love to find another set of wheels and load'em up w/ a set of cheap-ish all-season's. Then I could save the AT's for winter (where they do very well). I've been kicking that idea around for a while.. but have yet to follow through.

I thought about it, but the cost for 20/20+" wheels are not what I want to spend compared to just the cost of tires.

I had the Yokohama AVS S/T tires on my truck..

http://fomocoedge.com//Evo/os2.jpg

They were awesome, in rain and dry pavement..

But when the snow/ice came around for those few days, they did fine for a street tire.

Just dont expect to climb small wet/grassy/icy hills. I tried.

It did fine climbing iced and snowy pavement. I liked them

that was such a sweet truck, people suck :madfawk:

there would be way too much side wall and accompaning flex for a 15 wheel to exhibit any real performance
if they stiffen up the side walls too much your ride suffers
either way it is a trade off, but performance tires should have less side wall for better cornering and handling
you really do need another set of rims to gain any measurable performance without bouncing down the road

if you want a street tire look with doing great in the winter look at a some revo's

If you replace mud tires with the same size street performance tires, as proposed in the original post, I say there will be a very noticeable improvement in street traction and handling. Granted, a set of performance tires with shorter sidewalls should give you even better handling. But, bang for the buck, the switch to same-size performance tires from mud tires will make a large difference.

Having said that, I do believe that installing 295/50's on 15x7 wheels (as mentioned in a later post) would be a mistake. These should go on 15x10 wheels. And they are about 4" smaller in diameter which would cause major speedometer error and fuel economy loss, not to mention looking too small on a factory-lifted truck like his 4x4.

ive always thought about geting some cheap rims with some good street tires just to throw on when i am street driving alot in the summer, instead of killing my good off-road tires

you have BFG a/t's there made for the street and the offroad. thats what there for unlike the M/T that hates concrete. those tires are going to last you well over 55000 miles so dont worry

own a set of mudders and watch them just dissaper when you drive...

were those lightning rims?..if so how did they fit? lug conversion?...

was that truck a 2wd or 4wd?...and just one more..lol

what happend to it? :(

the truck is leo's truck. he had to use wheel adapters. his truck was a 2wd edge. that truck is now totaled RIP...

if u cant run 2 sets of wheels/tires then go for the Dunlop Revo or BFG AT. the BFG ATs handle very well for an AT tire.

Living in Pennsylvania, you'd better be worried about snow traction (you said you weren't). Performance tires are for performance (on the streets and highways) cars, which you don't have. In my opinion performance street tires are a waste of money on your truck. Performance tires are for high speeds, as in 90 or more, and high speed cornering. You should look at all-season tires. You'd get good performance on the streets and highways and decent traction in snow. They'd be a lot better than street tires, including performance street tires, on ice, snow, gravel, and for any offroading you may have, or want, to do. If you want some assurance of high mileage from all-seasons, get one that's warranteed for whatever mileage you're looking for. Many of them are not warranteed, but many are.

As to stopping on snow and ice, NO type of tire is going to be much better than any other type. The only thing that will help is studs or chains. Putting 200 pounds of sandbags in front of the wheel well will help with traction from the rear wheels, but not with stopping, on snow and ice. Put a 2 x 4 right behind the wheel wells to keep the sandbags from sliding forward.