Land Cruiser Tire Upgrades?

[TDAdams]

Only drove about 20 miles at up to 75 MPH. Initial impressions are mostly very positive. The good: road noise is extremely low, perhaps quieter than the OEM Geolander; ride is awesome compared to OEM, it soaks everything up, even being a little overinflated from the install - there's no harshness now; feels planted and handles well; looks really good; and it (unexpectedly) lifted it about an inch, lowest point of ground clearance is a little over 9" compared to 8" before. The not so good: the on center feel is a little loose, but is to be expected with an A/T; steering wheel is slightly off now and the on center play doesn't help - it was perfectly straight before. Personal preference: was expecting it to lift about ½" per tire specs, but it turns out the OEM tires are almost 1.5" inch shorter than spec - that's not necessary "bad" but it is now extremely close to not being able to open the hatch in my garage (¼" of clearance) and adding roof rails will be getting close now, I don't know that raised crossbars will fit under garage door; it turns out the speedo was apparently off because the OEM tires are smaller than spec, not because it was programmed for 265/70's as I had thought, so now the speedo is off 2 MPH at highway speeds and the mileage is off too - I personally don't like this at all on a new vehicle.

Let me know if you have specific questions, I'll try to answer them and update over time. All in all very happy with them so far, but everything has trade offs. One concern is how much of an MPG hit it will be as these look much more like a Toyo Open Country III or KO2 than I was expecting.


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Beautiful color!

 

[toyotadude]

I’m curious how these tires are working out for you? I just picked up a 2025 LC with 265/60R20 Yokohamas and I’m going to replace them soon. I was defaulting to KO3s but now considering some options. Also, did the Mickey fit all right in the spare compartment? Thanks.

I’m curious how these tires are working out for you? I just picked up a 2025 LC with 265/60R20 Yokohamas and I’m going to replace them soon. I was defaulting to KO3s but now considering some options. Also, did the Mickey fit all right in the spare compartment? Thanks.

The Mickey Thompson’s have been a great tire. It fits perfectly in the spare tire well with no modifications. Tires are quiet for an aggressive tread design and the sidewalk design is badass. They do well in snow if we ever get any.

 

[Stage7]

For reference, 285/70R18 tires on what look to be 0 offset Method wheels on a Land Cruiser at the local dealer.

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Looks more like a +25 offset but I could be dead wrong.

 

[UtahCruiser]

I've been through a journey on tires with my LC, having run the stock michelins, then the Cooper Discoverer R+T, then the Nokain Outpost NaT, and now the Bridgestone Dueler Ascent ATs. I'll be preparing a writeup as time permits and have a lot of data to go with it including MPG impact for each. Here is the vastly abbreviated version, all are 265/70/18 and stock (116) load rating:

• Cooper - very quiet, fantastic in the snow, aggressive sidewall, cost me 2-3mpg freeway at 80mph and 1-1.5mpg in town. Ride was very firm, with some pot holes and imperfections in the road jarring to the ride otherwise no complaints. I ran these on my GX460 and loved them and they are highly rated for a reason. Do not have full depth sipes.
• Nokian - the loudest tire I've had since I ran Super Swampers on my jeep in high school, it's worth noting that others have reported they are quiet, but even Discount Tire said they could hear me coming down the road. Balanced great with none more than 1.5oz, fantastic in the snow and a good ride that soaked up bumps well. Full depth sipes. I never got above 16mpg freeway or city (previously 24 road/20 city with the stock michelins), by far the worst MPG of the three. IMHO the best looking of the three and very aggressive in person with thumb sized gaps in the tread, they look like a mudder in person and the photos online do not really accurately represent them.
• Bridgestone - very quiet and comparable to the Coopers in this regard, so far very good in the snow and ice but need more testing this weekend at the resorts. Ride quality is the most forgiving of the three while being nicely controlled around town and the freeway, they soak up bumps and imperfections in our terrible winter roads nicely. They are firm and controlled but not as 'jarring' as the Coopers. Sidewall looks great but in my opinion they look the least aggressive of the three. Only have 400mi so far on them but I appear to have gained back most of my MPG lost previously with the other two.

So far I have no complaints on the Bridgestone with much better snow performance and looks than stock while retaining the stock driving characteristics and very close to the same MPG. I have found these LC's are very MPG sensitive to changes in the tires (weight and width and rolling resistance), much more so than my GX460 with the V8 or other naturally asipirated vehicles. I attribute this to being in boost more often.

Will post an update here when I do a full writeup, HTH with your decision.

Have put around 1000 miles on the Bridgestone Dueler Ascent so far and really liking them. VERY good road manners and their snow performance has been excellent. I really like that the have full depth sipes and even when worn will be good in the snow, and sipes typically help with slick roads, ice and snow. They have been great so far in loose and packed snow, slush, and limited ice.

 

[luanta]

Yes sir

what size would you guess we can go up to without problem and stock height?

 

[RideWithYanu]

what size would you guess we can go up to without problem and stock height?

There’s dozens and dozens of posts on this here in the forums. Tons of great data to help you decide!

 

[fatsocells]

Have put around 1000 miles on the Bridgestone Dueler Ascent so far and really liking them. VERY good road manners and their snow performance has been excellent. I really like that the have full depth sipes and even when worn will be good in the snow, and sipes typically help with slick roads, ice and snow. They have been great so far in loose and packed snow, slush, and limited ice.

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Thanks for the update! Hard to pass pass on these tires given their reviews and weight.

 

[Markarian421]

what size would you guess we can go up to without problem and stock height?

The short answer is 275/70R18.

 

[Stage7]

what size would you guess we can go up to without problem and stock height?

The biggest I've seen on the forum is 285/70R18 which is about a 33.7" tire with 11.2" width. This is the tire that has no rub even fully articulated from my understanding but the size doesn't fit in the spare location so you'll either need to get a hitch mount tire carrier or put a 275/70r18 in the spare. That being said it was on the TRD wheel that is a +45 offset. If you are staying with the stock wheels then I'd say 275/70R18 33.2" diameter seems to be great for stock height and wheels.

 

[Markarian421]

The biggest I've seen on the forum is 285/70R18 which is about a 33.7" tire with 11.2" width. This is the tire that has no rub even fully articulated from my understanding but the size doesn't fit in the spare location so you'll either need to get a hitch mount tire carrier or put a 275/70r18 in the spare. That being said it was on the TRD wheel that is a +45 offset. If you are staying with the stock wheels then I'd say 275/70R18 33.2" diameter seems to be great for stock height and wheels.

The wheel offset is the important catch there, something near 40 seems to be the sweet spot for not rubbing with 285/70R18 under full flex or turning. Along with the other catch you mention, on at least the US spec Land Cruisers it won't fit in the spare tire location.

 

[Stage7]

The wheel offset is the important catch there, something near 40 seems to be the sweet spot for not rubbing with 285/70R18 under full flex or turning. Along with the other catch you mention, on at least the US spec Land Cruisers it won't fit in the spare tire location.

Yes, it's one of the reasons I didn't go with the 285/70r18s. Well that and the fact that the only load range is E (heavy) with the exception of Falken WildPeak AT4W in C load that weighs more then the E load comparisons.

 

[luanta]

The biggest I've seen on the forum is 285/70R18 which is about a 33.7" tire with 11.2" width. This is the tire that has no rub even fully articulated from my understanding but the size doesn't fit in the spare location so you'll either need to get a hitch mount tire carrier or put a 275/70r18 in the spare. That being said it was on the TRD wheel that is a +45 offset. If you are staying with the stock wheels then I'd say 275/70R18 33.2" diameter seems to be great for stock height and wheels.

thank you so much

 

[RideWithYanu]

The biggest I've seen on the forum is 285/70R18 which is about a 33.7" tire with 11.2" width. This is the tire that has no rub even fully articulated from my understanding but the size doesn't fit in the spare location so you'll either need to get a hitch mount tire carrier or put a 275/70r18 in the spare. That being said it was on the TRD wheel that is a +45 offset. If you are staying with the stock wheels then I'd say 275/70R18 33.2" diameter seems to be great for stock height and wheels.

A 285/70 tire will fit in the spare location fine.

 

[Markarian421]

A 285/70 tire will fit in the spare location fine.

Several people with 285/70R18 tires have said it won't. If it's close it could well depend on the particular tire. Which one fits?

 

[RideWithYanu]

Several people with 285/70R18 tires have said it won't. If it's close it could well depend on the particular tire. Which one fits?

Well…those people are incorrect. My spare 285/70 is currently mounted in the factory position.

Edit: Oops sorry, I missed the specific tire question. Mine are Mickey Thompson Baja Boss in 285/70R17.

 

[LcAz]

The biggest I've seen on the forum is 285/70R18 which is about a 33.7" tire with 11.2" width. This is the tire that has no rub even fully articulated from my understanding but the size doesn't fit in the spare location so you'll either need to get a hitch mount tire carrier or put a 275/70r18 in the spare. That being said it was on the TRD wheel that is a +45 offset. If you are staying with the stock wheels then I'd say 275/70R18 33.2" diameter seems to be great for stock height and wheels.

just to clarify on this comment, counterintuitively a +45 wheel is MORE likely to rub at 11.2 width than a +60 OEM rim. If a 285 70R 18 fits without rub on a +45 (more poke), then it has a higher likelyhood of fitting on a +60 (less poke). More poke= less front and back clearance.

 

[Stage7]

just to clarify on this comment, counterintuitively a +45 wheel is MORE likely to rub at 11.2 width than a +60 OEM rim. If a 285 70R 18 fits without rub on a +45 (more poke), then it has a higher likelyhood of fitting on a +60 (less poke). More poke= less front

just to clarify on this comment, counterintuitively a +45 wheel is MORE likely to rub at 11.2 width than a +60 OEM rim. If a 285 70R 18 fits without rub on a +45 (more poke), then it has a higher likelyhood of fitting on a +60 (less poke). More poke= less front and back clearance.

Depends on the control arm clearance. Not to mention sway bar disconnect bracket.

 

[Honeybadger]

Here to report back after about 6k that the AT4W’s (SL) are absolutely amazing!!!

 

[wwoodywood]

Have put around 1000 miles on the Bridgestone Dueler Ascent so far and really liking them. VERY good road manners and their snow performance has been excellent. I really like that the have full depth sipes and even when worn will be good in the snow, and sipes typically help with slick roads, ice and snow. They have been great so far in loose and packed snow, slush, and limited ice.

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Wheels and tires look perfect. What kind of MPGs are you getting with these now that you’ve had them for a while?

 

[KWLC250]

Is anyone running a 11.5" wide tire on stock suspension/height without any rubbing/issues? I'm looking at the Toyo AT/3 285/70/R17 with +40mm offset. Toyo's site lists them as 11.5" wide.