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Tires - fat or skinny - which do you like?

air a 49" michelin down and check out the surface area to float on
it isnt that wide, probably in the 16" range though, but it is very long contact patch
wide tire is pushing more mud = resistance to movement
 
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air a 49" michelin down and check out the surface area to float on
it isnt that wide, probably in the 16" range though, but it is very long contact patch
wide tire is pushing more mud = resistance to movement

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And while that is true, the person posting this question is planning on using a 35"-36" tire so that doesn't apply to them. They will need a wider tire to compensate for the shorter diameter thus giving the same or close square feet of contact when aired down (or at full pressure) /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
at full pressure the contact patch will be a different shape but no larger IIRC
 
In Iceland we drive mostly on snow. Its no way to use skinny tires if you want to drive over the highlands in the winter (or the glaciers on summer and winter). There is sooooo long way to the bottom so there is noooo way for the skinny tires to get through.

So we air our fat tires down to 4 psi and drive on /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
up hear in canada some guyes air down to 2 psi /forums/images/graemlins/yikes.gifone guy i talked to said the difference between 5psi and 2psi is like making it a block or driving to the next province. but they were running 44 with beadlocks.
i haven't gone that low with my 40 got no bead locks though /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif
i'd say if you can always see the top of the mud but you can never see the bottom /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif
 
in general you want a width that matches your trucks weight to get good psi on the ground. if all you go in is bottomless mut pits i guess the wider the better, but for wheeling in general (mud,rocks,sand,snow) you want something not too narrow or too wide. with our trucks thats typically 12-15 width, depending on what you use your truck more on, wider for mud and sand, skinnier for snow and rocks.

i like a 12.50 to 13.50 for what i do with my truck
 
Wider is better to me.. that is why I went with a 17x40x16.5 ground hawg.. we are only allowed 38" tall tires in NJ... all 38's I have seen have a true width of 11" and less... but the 17" ghawgs are 14" wide.... I figure more meat on the ground for a wider stance for better stability... also try and hover on the mud.... now I havent tried to get my truck through NJ inspection yet /forums/images/graemlins/whistling.gif

hopefully soon.... also I went with 16.5x12" rims instead of the 16.5x9.75 which you can run with the 40" hawgs so it would take the height from 39" down to like 38.5" /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
I run 38x15.5 tires. 8 out of 10 times I am glad they are nice and fat. Helps float, and helps stability in off camber situations. That said, sometimes I do end up pushing the mud around (resistance) because they are so wide, and a couple of times that has probably gotten me stuck since I couldnt keep momentum, but that is why we have winches, right? If I didnt have a winch, I would never enter a hole I was unsure of, fat tires or not...
 
I'm aching for a set of 11.00R16 Michelin XLs....

that is if I ever get my junk running again /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif

I'm a fan of the michelins. They can handle a heavy vehicle, can be effectively balanced, and get excellent life. Being skinny means they fit on my stock steelies /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
11.00r16 are just too small
I need something bug enough for a fullsize truck now
damn Don and his 49s
 
wide always looks mean thats why Im going with the 48x25x20 agricutural ones /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif
 
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wide always looks mean thats why Im going with the 48x25x20 agricutural ones /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif

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in a few years when the price of F450's comes down I am going to buy one of them... then put rockwells under it and 53" michelins... street legal truck in NJ exempt from the lift law /forums/images/graemlins/whistling.gif
 
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