Advantages of 14.5 or 15" wide tires?

CasterTroy

CasterTroy

Faster'N You
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Wallburg
I've searched several sites, and read JP 4-wheeler, Offroad builder and still can't really find "other than personal opinions" what reason/advantage there would be to having 14 or 15 inch wide tires


I kinda "get" why you'd want 14.5" boggers (more surface area to ride OVER mud) but from a "crawler" standpoint...is there any advantage in TSL's at 15" width OTHER than just having some wide ass tires?
 
It seems to me that you would get more traction with a wider tire. More surface area to grab the rocks.
 
seems to me that on tight trails they would get hung up on stuff, probably moreso in a fullsize rig such as your own. I'd rather have wide tires than some pizza cutters but I dont know how much advantage a 14.50 could have over a 12.50.
 
ridefast said:
plus, they look cool :D
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:handed: FORM over function :D I'll admit to liking my rig to look cool..but only AFTER it's functioning properly and without sacrafice TO it's function

I was just curious more than anything....I'm pretty happy with the M/T's so far...and will probibly go BACK with them next time...just saw several rigs with 35x15x15 TSL's on them down at Galloways and wondered if there was any advantage on the rocks with those.
 
They look cool.

Honestly, there are times when wide tires work better, and times when narrow ones work better. You're certainly not going to get ANY "floatation" from a tire as small as a 14.5 with a rig that's remotely heavy...

Wider tires are also harder on parts...
 
Rich said:
Wider tires are also harder on parts...
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I kinda figured that.....I mean..it's logical, but glad you brought that up.
That'll be the #1 reason why I probibly WON'T ever go that route...well not until I decide to go with a dana 60 front and 14 bolt rear I guess.
 
Depends on what you want you want to do and the weight of the rig. A full size on 38x12.50 when aired down tends to roll the wheel over the side wall pretty bad. On a rig that weighs in the sub 5k range, I prefer a narrow tire, not really over 12.50 or 13.50 at most. I have run both and now run 38.5x14.5 sxs..but I can say my rig did better in rocks (and for my use) on 38x12.50s. There is a reason true comp tires Krawler's etc...usually don't come in anything wider than a 13.50. As for muddin'..I have no clue.
 
A wider tire will give you more flotation on mud, helpful if there is no bottom. If there is a solid bottom under a few inches of mud, a narrower tire that will get down to it is useful.

As for rocks, Im not sure, but wouldnt a narrow tire give more ground pressure and more traction, since there is a hard surface?
 
my cousin's out in Idaho wheel mostly in loose jagged rock....they don't run anything wider than a pizza cutter (10.5 and 11.5).....they say that the rocks out there just eat anything wider all to hell. A somewhat wide tire in the 13.5 to 15.5 range IMO is a bit better around here for the reasons mentioned above.

Here you will be riding in a mix of clay, mud, and some loose gravel rock...eastern wheeln' has it all :D
 
After owning and running several sizes and ranges I like my 38x12.50's. Theres times they dig more due to the tread not really having the width but in the loose stuff are more easy to control as they don't want to fight the ruts. They have performed well for everything they have been in thus far. They dig a little more at times but they still do what they need to do
 
I've ran both 12.5's and 15.5's and like the 15.5's a lot better as far as my rig is concerned. it gives a little extra width and more floatation in the sand and mud. and really wrap around a rock when aired down. and I feel safer on a sidehill for some reason. maybe it's just in my head.

but most of my wheeling is in the muddy ruts and local trails and creek beds.
in the rocks they work good as well. I like the mud as long as it isn't over sidewall deep. as far as better or worse they seem to want to grab better in the snow as well but in the ice they seem to break free easier and slip.

and at the local strip mined mountain area there is loads of sand and silt even an all terrain tire in that stuff will dig in and bury you sometimes. so wider is more beneficial for me.
 
Wider tires are good for flotation.
Narrower tires are good for contact pressure.
You are putting the same amount of weight on a larger or smaller contact patch.
Sometimes a large tire will spin instead of moving forward, not enough contact pressure.
 
i ran a set of half worn 35x15.50 sx's on my grand, and they simply killed my front end, i quickly switched out for a set of 35x12.50 bfg mt's and wouldnt go back for the world, by the by the sx's were on 10's, and the mt's are on 8's, i love the 8's
 
cbzj said:
i ran a set of half worn 35x15.50 sx's on my grand, and they simply killed my front end
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Killed like how? Ball joints worn out? Broken axle-shafts?
 
they killed my both my hub assemblies, which started to create death wobble, and at 172 bucks a pop, i ended up with more in hubs than i had in the tire and rim combo ( i bought them used)
 
cbzj said:
they killed my both my hub assemblies, which started to create death wobble, and at 172 bucks a pop, i ended up with more in hubs than i had in the tire and rim combo ( i bought them used)
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What axle?
 
well the fact that the rubicon 44 uses the same HUBS as the 30, as do most aftermarket 44 conversions,(by this i mean the "bolt in 44's that you find all over the mags, such as drivetrain direct,etc.. most of them re-use the factory knuckle which maintains the stock hub assemblie as on the 30)...
so for purposes of this TIRE disscussion, i think my contribtion regarding tire width was more important that the fact that YES i still have a dana 30 front end, that i might add has Never givin me any major issues
so be easy on the 30 comments :flipoff2:

ps yes i know the 30 is a punny axle, trust me :driver:
 
cbzj said:
so for purposes of this TIRE disscussion, i think my contribtion regarding tire width was more important that the fact that YES i still have a dana 30 front end, that i might add has Never givin me any major issues
so be easy on the 30 comments :flipoff2:

ps yes i know the 30 is a punny axle, trust me :driver:
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But you said the tire width was what killed it and I am saying that it had very little to do with damaging a already weak design axle with that tire size. No worries but I dont think the width was what killed it IMO. :beer:
 
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