Sounds reasonable, but my real world 4 wheeling experiences have yielded 3 tire puntures. 2 of those were on the mickey trash 14.5 wide tire on a 10" wheel where I should have had better side wall protection. Keep in mind also, I only ran those 14.5 tires on the 10" wheel for a year before getting rid of them because of the problems I had popping a bead and punturing tires.

 

That's a really small sample size and not statistically relevant, probably more an indictment of Mickey Thompson tires for your application. Thicker side walls and heavier load ratings are certainly a better protector of sidewall punctures. Load range C and I'd be more cognizant of sidewall punctures and definitely run narrow on the wheel width. Load range E, not as worrisome.

 

Enjoy your ride on those load range E tires

Seems as though the industry experts side with me though. Sorry if you are unable to comprehend that fact!

 

Almost forgot, not to mention with a wide tire on a narrower wheel you will get crowning and uneven tire wear. That is unless you chose to run at a lower psi to get a proper contact patch and if you do that, you're mileage will suffer.

 

Well, myself I went with something in between, 8.75" which is on the narrow side of the recommended width for my Toyo MTs. I don't have any ride quality issues because I run a lower inflation rate than I would with a wider wheel. I also have less sidewall flex than I did when I ran load range C tires, and the ass end didn't feel as loose when properly inflated.

There are plenty of merits to both and there are plenty of people who have responded that I would consider to be experts who wheel their stuff pretty hard that have replied to this post. It is largely a matter of personal preference, and for me I ended my trek with something in between with a tire that stands with any other MT out there.

 

I agree with this statement wholeheartedly! I run mine at about 28psi on-road. My MPG, based on the on-board computer, went from about 15.5 average to about 13.8 average!

 

Ouch! 13.8

 

not sure if this helps, but I plan on moving to the 10" wide rim from my current 8" for a couple of reasons

1. it's the minimum recommended width for Toyo's 37/14.5/15
2. I like the deeper dish on the rims I'm going with

it is true that the wheels will be sticking out a couple inches further than what I currently have (same backspacing as my 8"), but I'm planning on strengthening up my axles very soon and if anything breaks that''s when I'll fix it

 

I say 10, thats what manufacturers recommend for proper treadware. I know theirs a thread on this somewhere too... That said, if your doing mostly trails than 8 would be better for reasons already posted. If your mainly on the road I'd vote for 10's. All aside, I have 17x9's cause I feel it offers the best all around performance.

 

GO WITH BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. 8'S UP FRONT AND 10'S OUT BACK