I've been looking at tires to go with an ome medium duty 2" lift and have come to a bit of a crossroads.

I had been looking at the 265/70r18 general grabbers (the bfg copies) because they seem to be popular and relatively cheap for an 18" rim. However, I'm legitimately worried about the lifespan of the puny stock axles and bearings with roughly 55lb of tire stuck to already heavy rims.

So I was thinking about going to 16" rims (like everyone does) and a 33" tall tire that is relatively skinny, say 235 or so... to keep rolling resistance and mass down. Does anyone have any experience with a similarly sized wheel and tire combo both on and off road?

 

The rolling mass isn't really a concern. It's the increased torque of the larger diameter.

I'm currently running the same tire in 275/70/18, and previously had 285/65/18 on another D2.

The only negative to the heavier setup is greater inertia and rolling resistance - slower to start and slower to stop, uses more fuel.

By the way, I've always used airsoft pellets as balance beads with these setups, and couldn't be happier.

 

On the subject of mass, with overall dimensions being equal, is the aluminum 18" or steel 16" wheel and tire combo lighter?

 

What? I've never heard of this technique. How does it work?

 

255/85 16, good to go.

 

Forum or web search should provide a wealth of info.
......

 

8oz per tire does the trick in the 32-33in range. Plenty of info on google about balance beads.

 

For 33" I second the suggestion for 255/85R16 on a D2.

 

Yeah, I've tried searching and there seems to be a lot of conflicting info. Thanks for the simple explanation.