2001 suburban LT 4x4......largest tire

moloss · March 31, 2005

It's about time for me to replace the tires on my wifes suburban and want to put on as large of a tire that I can.......I've thought about a 265/75/16 but I've seen 305/70/16 on a suburban in a parking lot but I'm afraid that the tires woud rub....also what's the difference in a 305/70/16 and a 285/75/16? according to my tire calculator there the same size for side wall, radius and diameter so what's the difference?

Truckman031 · March 31, 2005

I think a 285 is a 31'' tire and the 305 is a 33'' for most brands. I know BFGs are different. IMO, I'd go with a 285/75/16, because it does a good job filling in the wheel well.

Machine · March 31, 2005

You can easily fit a 285/75/16 under your Sub. Anything bigger is going to require some type of mod.

Markeaux · March 31, 2005

This is a good tire size calc:

http://www.secret-secret.com/turbo/DIY/tir.../turbotire.html

moloss · April 1, 2005

Machine in your sig it says that you have 285/75/16's on your suburban......do you have any pics, how does it ride and any rubbing at all? I've been using the Miata site tire calculator for quite a while....it's great.

facn8me · April 1, 2005

the 305 is 305mm wide the 285 is 20mm narrower. Now 70% of 305 is anout the same as 75% of 285 so the height is the same just one is wider.

Machine · April 1, 2005

Machine in your sig it says that you have 285/75/16's on your suburban......do you have any pics, how does it ride and any rubbing at all? I've been using the Miata site tire calculator for quite a while....it's great.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll take a picture this wkend and get it online for Monday. My tires are for the 17" rim - 285/70/17's. Just about the same as 285/75/16's.

It rides good. The ride is a little stiffer than my wife's sub with the stock tires, but still very comfortable. I had a little rubbing on the front driver's side. I easily solved that by getting a zip tie and punching a small hole in the plastic wheel-well lining. I ran the zip tie thru the hole and looped it around a part of the trucks frame. I then zipped it tight enough to move the plastic about 2.5" forward. 5 minutes to fix and not one problem since then. In my opinion, it’s a lot nicer looking than cutting the wheel liner. I'll take a picture of that, too.

The 285’s will cause your speedo to read slower than you’re actually going. For every 20 miles I go, the odometer reads 19. I verified this via my GPS. I have about 6K miles on the sub – so in all actuality, I really have about 6300 if you figure in the discrepancy.

As far as gas mileage with these new tires – nothing really changes. I just filled up this morning and I calculated 13.98 mpg – mostly city.

moloss · April 2, 2005

Just for once I'm actually going to look forward to Monday!........really thank you for your time and effort.

moloss · April 5, 2005

TTT.......pics?

Machine · April 5, 2005

Sorry about that. I'll post tomorrow. The pictures are on my camera and just need to be downloaded.

Machine · April 5, 2005

The picture quality didn't turn out as good as I wanted. I'll get some more up later in the week. In the meantime, here's my 285/70/17's on the stock Z71 wheel. They fit good under the SUV. I only had to zip tie the driver's side, front portion of the liner. That picture came out too dark to show you. Let me know if you need more info.

moloss · April 6, 2005

that's real nice, real nice........thanks for posting....did you recal your speedo?

Machine · April 6, 2005

that's real nice, real nice........thanks for posting....did you recal your speedo?

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thanks.

Nope, I left the speedo alone. The delta between the real speed and the indicated speed isn't worth the time. I just make it a point to remenber that Im going a little faster than posted, and I keep an eye on the GPS