Need Advice - New Tires This Week

I guess I don't understand. If you have 20 inch wheels, why are you asking about all-terrain tires?

Ruger said:

I guess I don't understand. If you have 20 inch wheels, why are you asking about all-terrain tires?

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Because I use my truck both on and off road and in all weather conditions. Am I missing something? What is the correlation between 20" wheels and all-terrain tires?

SPYC-2X said:

Because I use my truck both on and off road and in all weather conditions. Am I missing something? What is the correlation between 20" wheels and all-terrain tires?

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20" rim significantly reduces the amount of side wall on the tire. When you are offroad this is used in 2 ways, first it allows the tire to form to the terrain providing more grip, second it acts almost like extra suspension travel. Both of these will cause more pinch flats and rim damage when there is not enough side wall to absorb them especially when aired down.

t_j said:

20" rim significantly reduces the amount of side wall on the tire. When you are offroad this is used in 2 ways, first it allows the tire to form to the terrain providing more grip, second it acts almost like extra suspension travel. Both of these will cause more pinch flats and rim damage when there is not enough side wall to absorb them especially when aired down.

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20" wheels were admittedly a purely aesthetic decision, though I did choose Fuel off-road wheels for durability. I was willing to take the performance penalty as I have yet to find it necessary to air down my tires while hunting or ranching.

The above points are all valid, but why wouldn't I want an all-terrain tire? Straight mud tires are what I have now, which are less than ideal for daily driving and wet roads. A street tire won't get me safely across a mud hole or river bed. Perhaps I should have stated my original question differently - which type of tire would you suggest for my specific use case?

My sense is that those 20 inch wheels compromise the off-road capabilities that your Raptor was designed and optimized for. To each his own, of course! If most of your mileage is on pavement with an occasional foray onto a graded gravel road, I suppose those 20 inch wheels and the kind of tires that go with them are perfectly fine.

Shorter tire sidewalls, however, do have their drawbacks as t_j so aptly articulated. And in addition to the off-road compromises, there are roadgoing compromises as well - a harsher ride and greater exposure to curb damage of the wheels. They do look stylish, though.

Again, to each his own. I was just a little puzzled by your great interest in AT tires given your choice of wheels.

I just got a set of Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx Tires and they are AMAZING. Quieter than the factory ATs off road they are unstoppable. I have been driving all over Colorado for the last few days (on and off road) and have only used 4x4 once to turn around. Their design is an AT in the middle and MTs on the outer portions of the tire. They got great reviews so I thought I would give them a try. They make a 35x12.5 20. Perfect size for DD if you ask me, slightly bigger than stock but don't have to worry about rubbing, especially if you go to mid perch. They look good too... IMHO.

These are the exact tires I was going to recommend. Similar to the P3, but cheaper and lighter. I'll be getting the same tires down the road. And these are available in a 35x12.50x20 for your truck.

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CineSLR said:

I just got a set of Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx Tires and they are AMAZING. Quieter than the factory ATs off road they are unstoppable. I have been driving all over Colorado for the last few days (on and off road) and have only used 4x4 once to turn around. Their design is an AT in the middle and MTs on the outer portions of the tire. They got great reviews so I thought I would give them a try. They make a 35x12.5 20. Perfect size for DD if you ask me, slightly bigger than stock but don't have to worry about rubbing, especially if you go to mid perch. They look good too... IMHO.

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Thanks for the info on the Coopers, guys. I'll be checking them out today!

Well, I can't help but wonder who copied whose design...

The Goodyear looks a bit more aggressive... but there certainly are remarkable similarities!