35x11.5 on a Sasquatch – Bigger or Smaller? I finally have my answer…

[Doc TOC]

The extra weight shouldn't make that much difference on highway MPG.

You are right.
New tire to new tire, you added 8lb/tire, or 40lbs total, maybe 50lbs if your factor in worn tire vs. new tire. That's still less than a bag of cement. Don't know why people over focus on such a non-issue.
The weight affects rotational momentum, which mostly affects braking. So your brakes may need new pads 4 weeks earlier. WTHK - probably only Federal-Mogul or Brembo know the answer on that one.

I think a significant factor in these new tires looking smaller is caused by the white lettering. It draws your vision inward, creating the optical illusion of a smaller tire. Notice it even makes your white wheels appear smaller too.

Right on, right on, right on.
You can always swap sides to put the white lettering facing inside. These are not position specific tires like on performance cars. Personal preference. On the Bronco, I like the black tire beefy look. My brother keeps the white lettering outward -but he is old old-school. (Still loving the Plymouth Roadrunner days ).

Sponsored

 

[Doc TOC]

... the pizza cutter hype ...

There are a lot of thoughtful anecdotal online videos on this. Pizza cutter is getting more focus (again) as (1) more bloggers pick up the issue, and (2) more ute vehicle drivers go off road.

This goes way back to WW2 when GM raised the issue with the US Army. (German Army was transitioning to wider tires; US took a pause before committing $100s of millions to build out and produce 10,000,000 tires). The theater feedback was they weren't failing in the European terrain. And that continued during the Korean war. So heritage wise, that stuck until "mud" tires got heavy marketing. So, here we are.

I doubt any of the tire companies are willing to release the internal studies. This is too good an issue for the tire marketing group. Keep it vague and inconclusive. Make buyers resolve it for their personal situation, then further confuse other buyers.

How many of you have dual sets of tires, or maybe triple (winter, summer, off-road)? Be honest, raise your hands. I've seen your garages.

 

[SkyKing]

You are right.
New tire to new tire, you added 8lb/tire, or 40lbs total, maybe 50lbs if your factor in worn tire vs. new tire. That's still less than a bag of cement. Don't know why people over focus on such a non-issue.
The weight affects rotational momentum, which mostly affects braking. So your brakes may need new pads 4 weeks earlier. WTHK - probably only Federal-Mogul or Brembo know the answer on that one.


Right on, right on, right on.
You can always swap sides to put the white lettering facing inside. These are not position specific tires like on performance cars. Personal preference. On the Bronco, I like the black tire beefy look. My brother keeps the white lettering outward -but he is old old-school. (Still loving the Plymouth Roadrunner days ).

a bag of cement in your car is very different than that same weight existing in the rotating mass of your tires. It's like the difference of hiking with 30-pound backpack versus putting 15 pounds in each of your shoes.

 

[Razorbak86]

My original plan was actually a 37x11.5, but I couldn’t find one with the snowflake rating, so I settled on the 35x11.5 to see what all the pizza cutter hype was about. Didn’t expect it to change the stance this much. You might’ve been right.

Using the term "pizza cutter" in the context of an 11.5" tire width is hilarious!

 

[BCT1212]

I got the KO3s 35/12.5 so wider and kind of wishing I went narrow sometimes since the passenger front tire kisses the sway bar at full articulation. To fix the issue I’ll probably get some aftermarket wheels with a negative offset.

How are you liking the day to day drive with narrow tires and off roading performance with them?

A little kiss never hurt

 

[timhood]

Using the term "pizza cutter" in the context of an 11.5" tire width is hilarious!

Agreed. People don’t realize that pizza cutter references something like a 195 size tire, not a 315!

 

[crzyhawk]

It's not that they "lie". But no one should be taking measure from under load. For the OP's case, he was comparing the old/new under load so it is a somewhat apples to apples comparison. Though, it doesn't account for the tread wear and softer sidewall.

The stock GY tires are soft C rated tires so under load, height is lost. You are correct that they always come out to 34" under load. Measuring the spare will yield a better measurement.

With regards to tire dimensions and rounding, if the tire measures a fraction beyond the closest whole number then they get rounded up to the next whole number. 34.2" and it suddenly is considered a 35" even though under load, that tire can easily measure smaller than 34".

the videos I had seen measured with the wheels off the vehicle. That's not under load.

 

[Knownman]

Falken 35", 11.5" x 17" measure out at 34" or so on the Bronco at 39 psi with stock suspension Sasquatch. They might be pizza cutters but I think they still look good. Although compared to the 35" 12.5" x 17" Baja Boss MT's they're not as good on gas or street driving dynamics. But they're way better in comfort and noise. And they climbed quite well on a recent jaunt over the mountain from Big Pine to Coyote Flats. If you know the trail you know what's up.

 

[Knownman]

You are right.
New tire to new tire, you added 8lb/tire, or 40lbs total, maybe 50lbs if your factor in worn tire vs. new tire. That's still less than a bag of cement. Don't know why people over focus on such a non-issue.
The weight affects rotational momentum, which mostly affects braking. So your brakes may need new pads 4 weeks earlier. WTHK - probably only Federal-Mogul or Brembo know the answer on that one.


Right on, right on, right on.
You can always swap sides to put the white lettering facing inside. These are not position specific tires like on performance cars. Personal preference. On the Bronco, I like the black tire beefy look. My brother keeps the white lettering outward -but he is old old-school. (Still loving the Plymouth Roadrunner days ).

The extra weight reduces mileage per gallon and changes dynamics. Accelerating, stopping and cornering. It's a thing that is noticeable. I went to the Falkens ATW4s thinking they would be less drag with a 11.5 width versus the Baja Boss MT's with a wider and much more aggressive tread pattern. Turns out the Mickeys handled, accelerated stopped better and got an extra half a mile to the gallon compared to the heavier Falkens. Same rig, same wheels just different tires and overnight I lost 1/2 a mile per gallon. Mickeys had 55 K miles on them so I'm not sure the actual weight but the current data claims they are heavier than the Falkens, but I'm almost positive when I bought them they were listed as less weight? In any event the change was noticeable overnight when I bought the new tires. They're really much more comfortable around town and way way way quieter than the MT's, but they aren't as quick handling as those old MT's?

 

[Firemarshal]

How big of a difference is the noise? That's the issue with my significant other...

 

[timhood]

How big of a difference is the noise? That's the issue with my significant other...

Your significant other makes too much noise? Or your tires are too noisy for your significant other?

Sponsored