Hey all,

I offroad 95% of the time in sand: dunes and lots of soft sand. The stock 255/75R17 don't have enough surface area for my taste, and I'm considering upgrading to something bigger. I don't want to overshoot though, as too wide tires are also harder to move and provide more frontal resistance.

Right now I'm considering moving down to 16x7 or 16"x8" rims (I like narrow rims since they help in preventing bead pops when using deflated tires) and to 285/75R16 (33x11.5x16") or 305/70R16 (33x12x16") tires. I drive an unlimited rubi, and it's a heavy mofo... 4400lbs curb weight, and 5500 lbs gvwr.

What size should I go with? One of these... or maybe a totally different size? I've heard 15" rims are good since they provide more sidewall flex potential. Not many sizes available in 15" though...

Thoughts?

 

I'm also considering a 33x12.50x15 setup... how would that work in sand?

 

No suggestions?

 

There are heaps of 15 inch tyre sizes to choose from 31s,32s,33s and 35s. For sand I would run 33x12.5 15 ATZs.

 

Its been a while, but I found an AT tire with good floatation best in sand. The important thing is if you go with new rims, don't go too wide - you will want to air down in the sand. 10 - 12 inch wide tires seems ideal on a 7 - 8 inch rim. AT doesn't dig in as hard as MT tires.

Desert Duelers seem nice, but take a look around at what the pre-runners run in the Baja 1000. Toyos and General tires also offer nice options.

IIRC, the General won this year's Baja 1000:


But you'll be going at much lower speeds, thats why I recommend looking at what they run on teh prerunners, not the race rigs.

I miss the gentle squeel of an AT tire slowly chewing up the loose sand.

Ahh...

 

The width of a tire doesn't exactly matter in sand. I mean, wider tires technically get more traction, but narrow tires allow you to cut/turn better in sand/snow. What you want to be asking is what tire has the best tread for sand.

Obviously if you're in deep sand, you want paddle tires. They will be Godly in sand, however, are not street legal. You may want to consider...

- Mickey Thompson Baja Claws
- INTERCO Super Swamper LTB

These two should get you started. INTERCO is excellend for deep/loose terrains. Mickey Thompson in general have very deep treads.

If you're willing to spend the extra cash though, buy paddle tires and just slap them on when you go through the dunes so when you're back on the streets you have AT's.

Good luck with your search.

 

Bigger tires are nice to have.. but with that motor I wouldn't go to big.. so 33 should be the right size.

you want a tire that is designed for drag free travel on sand


here is what I have on my TJ back in Saudi Arabia



here is a close up



ht tp://www.sumitomotiresuae.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id= 21&Itemid=43#

I hope this helps

I've had three sets of tires from them

In my opinion, they are the best sand tires period

traction on wet surfaces sucks though

hope this helps

 

I recently used the factory tires North of Corolla NC on the beach. Did fine. Drove through quite a bit of deeper sand closer to the dunes to go around some drift wood, a grand cherokee helping a stuck H3. Also used the factory tires on sand dunes in NM when I lived there. Very fine and dry sand, did ok. I would've been much happier with 33's and a little wider though. I have never aired down for any trips. Whatever you choose just remember Newton's First Law of Motion: An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion.

 

We have some pretty deep sand, called sugar sand, here in Florida. With the stock Goodyear tires, I had to run in 4-hi the entire time in the sugar sand. With the 33" Procomp MT's, I can run in 2wd the whole time in the sand.

I believe it's just the more aggressive tread pattern that makes the difference.

So, I think if you went with a 33" tire in an aggressive AT or traditional MT pattern, you will see a massive improvement.

 

Yep! The only time I wish I had an automatic is in the sand. The clutch just becomes an extra brake peddle in the soft stuff and it's all about maintaining momentum.