cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Going from 16" to 17" would it help

chipster
Explorer
Explorer
Just wondering if I go From my 16" tires with 285/75/16E Bridgestone Revo 2 to 285/17/70E Bridgestone Revo 2.

Think the shorter side wall would give any more stability. its just under 3/4" smaller side wall.

Need new tires in the spring and thinking of adding rims to the equation to bling things up a little.

Brian/Lynette

and the 3 Cubs,

[purple]2004 F250 CC 6.0LFX4. Prodigy Brake Controller, Reese Trunion Dual cam 1700# bars. Rancho RS9000 shocks, SCT Tuner
[/purple]

2009 Cherokee Wolf Pack 30WP

10 REPLIES 10

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
Sdlineman wrote:
My wife might have a different opinion, but I wouldn't think the extra inch would make enough difference to justify the $$$.
I agree.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

Sdlineman
Explorer
Explorer
My wife might have a different opinion, but I wouldn't think the extra inch would make enough difference to justify the $$$.

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
MM49 wrote:
The trailer tires are not your problem. The problem is the lateral movement in the tow vehicles rear suspension. Look into getting a panhard bar for the truck. They are quite rare for leaf spring suspensions. But they do work 100%
MM49
F550's had them on the rear axle.

A stiffer spring pack will help too.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

MM49
Explorer
Explorer
The trailer tires are not your problem. The problem is the lateral movement in the tow vehicles rear suspension. Look into getting a panhard bar for the truck. They are quite rare for leaf spring suspensions. But they do work 100%
MM49

Oldtymeflyr
Explorer
Explorer
I have recently gone from 16" to 17" tires and have found few choices and not necessarily stiffer sidewalls.

The load king between the two is still the 16" tire which I believe will be a stiffer tire. As far as less rubber in the 17" that may be true but you have less capacity so it would seem to be less stiff.

Take a look at the many tire specs available at Tire Rack, it will give you a lot of info into what is out there.

Good Luck!

fj12ryder
Explorer III
Explorer III
I guess this is one of those times when more information would have been nice. 🙂
Howard and Peggy

"Don't Panic"

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
mpierce wrote:
If you are going to change both wheels and tires anyway, go to 17.5's. They are MUCH heavier and better tires and wheels.
I think he's talking about changing tires/wheels on the truck, rather than the trailer. The tires he talked about were LT285/75-16E's, a commonly used oversize off road tire, for 3/4-ton and 1-ton SRW pickups.
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

mpierce
Explorer
Explorer
If you are going to change both wheels and tires anyway, go to 17.5's. They are MUCH heavier and better tires and wheels.

SoCalDesertRid1
Explorer
Explorer
Theoretically, yes, the shorter side wall would help stiffen up an otherwise equal tire. Whether you will actually FEEL any difference, is another story. Not likely, with only 1" difference in wheel diameters.

My main concern would be the wheels:

-do they have sufficent wheel weight rating for the loaded axle weight?
-are they the appropriate rim width for the tire width?

Most of those 'bling' wheels do not have much weight rating....
01 International 4800 4x4 CrewCab DT466E Allison MD3060
69Bronco 86Samurai 85ATC250R 89CR500
98Ranger 96Tacoma
20' BigTex flatbed
8' truck camper, 14' Aristocrat TT
73 Kona 17' ski boat & Mercury 1150TB
92F350 CrewCab 4x4 351/C6 285 BFG AT 4.56 & LockRite rear

fj12ryder
Explorer III
Explorer III
Seems like the shorter sidewall might give it more stability, but also the shorter sidewall may cause more stress on the sidewall in sharp turns. JMO of course.
Howard and Peggy

"Don't Panic"