Is any n e running a tall and narrow tire? Something like a 35 x 10.50 ? I am wondering if this size is a good choice if you are trying t minimize unsprung weight, rotating mass and if it would be noticeable . what would the offroad trade offs be other than less flotation in sand?

what are you running?

 

I'm curious about this too. I'm not upgrading the tires until next year sometime but as GI Joe says "Knowing is half the battle".

 

i have duratracs 35X12.50, theyre gread offroad and are fine on road to, i dont think ud rlly be able to tell the difference from driving a 12.5 wide tire compared to a 10.5, IMO but a 12.5 is alot better offroad than a 10.5, bigger footprint

 

Shouldn't less width = less friction = improved mpg too (possibly negligible, but still)

 

For mileage and less rolling resistance a narrow tire is much better. In terrain where you are able to find the bottom, like some mud and snow, a narrow tire is better here too. A narrow tire will cut through better than a wide tire. A wide tire is better for floatation. If you need to get on top of the terrain rather than cut through, a wide tire is better.

As an example, I was out wheeling a couple of years ago in the snow with a couple of buddies. It was deep and very wet. 2 of us had 12.5" tires and 1 had 10.5". The vehicles were very similar with experienced drivers and the tire tread design was very similar. The guy with the 10.5s got stuck everytime he touched the gas. Even aired down to near zero, he still had no floatation. We were dragging him around all day.

At the other end of the spectrum, I was wheeling with a buddy that had 14.50's on his Jeep. We had a long loose hill climb. His tire was so wide that he couldn't dig in enough to get traction. He stayed up on top with the loose marble like traction and had to be winched.

There is no perfect anything. Sometimes it works, others-nope.

 

I wanted something i'n the middle and went with 11.5" they look really good to i'n my opinion

 

Tire height and sidewall flex play a much bigger role on the rolling resistance of a tire than the width of a tire. If they changed form a 315 to a 35 tire but went to a different brand of tire that had a better rolling resistance than that would be the reason for the mileage and possibly drive-ability changed more likely than a minimal tire width change.

Sidewall flex is best kept in check by simply making sure your air pressure is good... but varies between tires greatly. This will make one tire perform better in MPG but that same flex resistance will probably make it worse off road.

Width will affect the rolling resistance of a tire yes, but when your talking an already wide 10.50 vs 12.50 the difference would be negligible if your talking the height, brand and make of tire.

I found this article (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehi...res_light.html) that says the rolling resistance variance in a tire could improve gas mileage by as much as 3%. But we don't buy jeeps for their ability to get good mileage now do we .

my 2c

 

A narrower tire on a lifted vehicle will feel more top heavy and less stable when cornering...

 

Attached is quite an interesting read, if not too technical.

If you are on rocks & boulders, the article says a narrower tire is better because of "contact presure".
I look at this as with the case of a person rock climbing. Putting presure on their finger tips (narrow) is more secure than using a flat hand (wide) to pull themselves up.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/resea...tion_rev1.html

 

OK, crazy idea time. How about putting wide tires on back, narrows on front? Of course both sets with same height. I know it would look nuts, but I've got to think somebody has tried it for an expedition vehicle...