285 70 17s

[adamr7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close adamr7]

I used to have a 120 series and gave it a 2 inch lift and fitted 285/70/17 Cooper STT tyres on the 7.5 Inch GXL Alloys. I little bit of rubbing on full lock, but they were otherwise great and looked the goods. Now I have a 150 Series and think Im going to have another crack at it. Ive seen all the comments on previous threads about voiding insurance etc., which obviously is cause for concern. Im going to speak to an engineer about getting it engineered with the 285/70/17s, and to a couple of insurance companies to see whether it is a possibility.

[adamr7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close adamr7]

A day well spent, it looks as though I have it all sorted.

[gxllouie Member Find all posts View Profile Close gxllouie]

hey mate,

i'm really keen to see how you go - i too am considering 285/70-17 muddies for my next set. any chance you can update on how you "sorted it" and how they end up fitting?

louie

[adamr7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close adamr7]

Put simply, all you need to do is get an engineers certificate, a blue slip, take it to the RTA and get them to note it on your registration. You need to carry the Engineers Certificate in your vehicle. Finally you need to inform your Insurance company of any modifications. GIO are accepting of this, others companies may or may not.
I am going to get the engineer to approve the 2 inch lift as well as the tyres, just to be on the safe side and to ensure my insurance is safe.
I have heard all sorts of opinions on whether the tyres will fit or not, personally, Im fairly confident, having had the Prado on the hoist and made a few measurements.
I did the same modification on the 120, and had no problems at all. It gave me excellent ground clearance, improved the off road handling enormously, and gave the truck a whole different look.
The down side is that this process can cost a few hundred dollars plus the cost of the tyres plus the lift kit. Not cheap, but worth the effort.

[Skipmsg Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Skipmsg]

G'day adamr7,
I just posted this on the other thread running about large tyres and thought you may like to read.
How the hell did run such a tall tyre on your 120. It must have rubbed the s#*t out of the inner guard trimmings, especially at the front. I just tried fitting a set and it didn't look good.




Choose carefully
Hello All,

I know I'm a bit late on this one, but over the past few weeks I've become a bit of a 'self proclaimed Prado tyre size expert'.

Before I start I would like to say that I am in the wrong area as I have a 120 not a 150 but this info still might be of some help.

I was very keen to get some more clearance without lifting the suspension to much so I looked at doing this through the tyres. Being impulsive (another word for Stupid) I ordered a set of 275/70-17 Cooper A/T3's and went down to the tyre shop tonight to have them fitted. I may have been a little to keen at the point of ordering two weeks ago as I hadn't done one scrap of research (you know, dive in head first).

Anyway, long story short, the front right tyre hits the front of the wheel arch badly well before it gets to full lock. The left hand side it not quite as bad but still has the potential to rip the plastic trims off, especially while reversing as the tread grabs onto it nicely, attempting to rip it off and spit it out. There is very little clearance at the back of the wheel arch also, 10-15mm max.

But hey there's no problems with the rears, and it looks great. Too bad I can't drive it anywhere to show people.

Jokes aside, it really does looks great, maybe ever awesome, the tyres didn't look like they belonged on a monster truck but unfortunately it was never going to happen without a suspension lift and even then I not so sure it's going to give the clearance needed for such tall tyres. But I'm not giving up without a fight so I'm going to try and make it work.

I have left the new tyres at the dealer and have had the old ones put back on. Now I have to go and get a small lift in the suspension and will then head back for another try. If that doesn't work I have a brand new set of A/T3's in 275/70-17 going cheap.


I'll up date any news after the unwanted lift kit goes in.

PS. as somebody else mentioned early the spare tyre definitely does NOT fit without some mods to the carrier. I think the earlier posting may be right and something like a 20mm spacer behind the carrier should get it out of the body far enough that the tyre should fit.
Oh the joy of wanting something so bad your prepared to stuff your whole car in the process!
May be I should just let it go.


Narrr

[Darren253* Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Darren253*]

Adam... I'm really keen to see how you go with this? I want to get to as close to 33" as I can! I already have a 2" lift...

[gregbme Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gregbme]

Oversized tyres

Don't get it. How would a lift affect tyre clearance? As suspension compresses, you'll still get rubbing. But this time, at speed, with bumps........

[Tones120 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tones120]

I agree, unless you trim/panelbeat your guards, install a body lift or experiment with different off set rims putting a lift kit in won't make one iota of a difference cos it's your bump travel usually when turning you collect your guards.

[Schniff Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schniff]

I haven't heard that 33 inch tyres have been a problem on compression on the 150, but more on the front when turning they rub against the upper arm or mudflap. I think I read somewhere that the 150 has deeper guards for the wheels to tuck into?

Has anyone considered 255/80R17s? They are narrower than the stock 265 so shouldn't rub the upper arm on stock offset. Mudflaps would need to be modded slightly I would think. They are slightly taller than 33 inch. Being narrower than 265, they are about the same weight generally as a 265/70 so there would be less strain on drivetrain components compared to a 285.
This size is not readily available in Australia so i was considering importing a set from the states from tirerack once my supposedly chip resistant Cooper STCs have worn out. A lot of guys with FJs and 4 Runners in the states are running this size.

[II MENZ II Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close II MENZ II]

Hi all,

I've just recently got new Old Man Emu shocks on my 2005 Toyota Prado GXL which set my heights at:
Front Left: 775
Front Right: 780
Back Left: 815
Back Right: 815

Currently I have the stock alloy rims 17x7.5 with 265/65 R17. My next step was to get bigger tires but wasn't sure how big I could go without rubbing when turning or in compression. I was thinking of getting 285/70 R17 but will these fit on my stock rims and would they rub?

Any recommendations to what would fit best and look good. Was even looking at a wider rim if necessary to fit a wider tire but didn't want to go that way as I like the stock alloy rims.

Cheers,

MENZ

[hookedon4wding Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close hookedon4wding]

Hi all,

I've just recently got new Old Man Emu shocks on my 2005 Toyota Prado GXL which set my heights at:
Front Left: 775
Front Right: 780
Back Left: 815
Back Right: 815

Currently I have the stock alloy rims 17x7.5 with 265/65 R17. My next step was to get bigger tires but wasn't sure how big I could go without rubbing when turning or in compression. I was thinking of getting 285/70 R17 but will these fit on my stock rims and would they rub?

Any recommendations to what would fit best and look good. Was even looking at a wider rim if necessary to fit a wider tire but didn't want to go that way as I like the stock alloy rims.

Cheers,

MENZ

You can fit a wider - 275/65/R17 tyre on the standard 7.5" GXL rim. I have them in a BFG AT and they fit well.

[Darren253* Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Darren253*]

I also run 275/65 but I believe 275/70 or 285/70 will rub on the upper control arm at full lock. ( front inside edge)
From my measuring this is the only place that is going to be an issue. I'm looking at wheels with a lesser offset so I can eliminate this rubbing and I'll be going with 285/70. Wheel spacers would also Eliminate this rubbing but they are illegal.

[II MENZ II Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close II MENZ II]

When you say the 275/70 or 285/70 will rub on the upper control arm at full lock (front inside edge) is this on a standard Prado without a lift? I've got 1.6" lift at the front and 2" at the back which is what it work out to be after putting the new shocks on. You think it will still rub?
Also would a 285/70 fit on a 17"x7.5" rim without rolling off the rim when taking corners or dropping the tire pressure for four wheel driving?

[Darren253* Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Darren253*]

I'm also running a 2" lift... I don't think the lift makes any difference to the UCA. I was talking about standard rims and back spacing. If you go and turn you wheels at full lock and have a look at the "front edge toe-in wheel" you'll clearly see what i mean. I think the only way around this is to have a smaller offset (wheel spaced out more) so the tyre clears the UCA. Without this issue there seems to be heaps of rooms in the guards for 33's on a 150.

With a 275/65 there is only mm of clearance.





As for 285's on a 7.5" rim... You could have a point about low pressure turning. I and plenty of others run 275 without an issue though.

[II MENZ II Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close II MENZ II]

Darren,

Cheers bro. Yeah I can see what you mean now with the UCA being right there. Getting an offset might probably be the only way to eliminate that rubbing on a bigger tire. Thanks for the pictures, make it a hell of a lot clearer to me as I'm all new to this. Would need to find out how much spacing is required for 285/70 and whether that issue with rolling off the rim when at low pressure. Ill see if I can get to a tire place sometime this week, probably Friday and see what they say and let you know. I'm really keen to get these 285/70 R17 and pretty much just wanted to know what I need to do to make that happen. Oh I've got a 120 series also.

I'll have to post a thread on "My Rig Built" sometime, show you how mines going. Looked at yours and looks nice man.