285's for the street only...

[Royce Danford]

I'm about to do a pml to my 03' X and currently run 31x10.50/15 mud tires on steel rims...I have the stock S/C 17's that I would like to run on the street only with 285/70's and then switch to the 31's for off-roading...Will the 285's and a pml work for street only duty? Trying to run a bigger, less aggressive tire on the street. Thanks...Royce

[DamnHippie]

It kinda sounds to me like you've got it backwards... typically you run bigger tires offroad and smaller tires on the street. (More clearance offroad, a better match to the stock power curve on the street.)

[Royce Danford]

it may seem backwards, but I'm not ready to install a bl yet and I'm able to get a smoking deal on some 285's and was wondering if I could run them on the street before the bl with just the pml...the 31'' muds are pretty new and want to get some use of them off-road as well, when they need replaced I'll bl the X and get 33's for the steels...hope this helps...I'm on a budget, doing a full frame off on a 67' chevelle and getting married next summer....thanks for any help....

[DamnHippie]

A tire size calculator says that a 285/70r17 is 32.7" tall. That's a smidge taller than a typical 33x12.50, but it's only 11.50 wide. It seems to me unlikely you'd be able to run it even on the streets without rubbing. Then again, on wheels with stock 5.5" backspacing, maybe you'd get away with it. I have more experience with Frontiers than Xterras, so I don't wanna say for sure and have you head off in the wrong direction.