AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| Choices: 235/85R16 vs. 265/75R16?
Sooner or later, the G will need new shoes. Currently it has 265/70R16's on. These have served well, but a little extra clearance be desirable. Also, on the freeway, the engine RPM is a still bit past the peak efficiency point. The increase in size is ~5%. The previous tires were 255/65R16, way too small (-5% from current tire).
The 235/85R16 and 265/75R16 tires are essentially the same diameter and can (I believe) be coded into the instrument cluster. What would be the benefits of one or the other? Handling, efficiency, steering ease, sinking in, hydroplaning, vibration, etc.
Hold forth, O tire wizards  |
hipine
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: US, CO, Bailey
Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A
| RE: Choices: 235/85R16 vs. 265/75R16?
If you're hangin' mostly around the socal area, I'd probably go with the wider tires. Not least of which is that they'll have a better "look" for you as the 235's will disappear under the 463 flares. I like skinny tires for cutting through the snow and road slush I face, and they look right with the 461 style flares and 6" steel wheels I use. They seem more stable in the mix of conditions I face than wider ones do. But for you, where you'll see some sand and softer soils off road, I'd stick with the wider ones. Tread patterns today should keep hydroplaning from being much of an issue in either case. The wider tires will also be a better fit for your wider rims than would the 235s. In your "shoes" I'd go with the 265s in a choice between those two. -Dave G. |
