Smaller or larger tires

paokarathodoros · Nov 28, 2014

I am opening a more or less theoretical discussion top

Many of us here have installed larger tires

Given though that the biggest flaw of the patriot is torque at low revs

The off road Benefit of larger tires is that we increase the footprint but simultaneously we reduce the torque (bad for offroading)

So in sum (apart from better looks) are we increasing or reducing the off road ability of the patriot?

Or would it be better to put smaller tires (205 like the basic edition) which in effect would have increases the torque?

Tyler-98-W68 · Nov 28, 2014

It's a bit of both, most larger tires are a bit more aggressive than the smaller tires so their performance offroad is better, but you are right the larger the diameter it is, the higher(bad/worse) our lowest "Crawl ratio" becomes

From what I've noticed is that, with a set of rather aggressive tires (weighing 40lbs each) vs a set of tires weighing 34lbs each, which only a 6lb difference in tires weight actually is a huge difference handling wise, and you can feel it in every aspect of driving (offroad on road ect)

Super aggressive and large tires aren't going to help any patriot or compass because after a certain point the poor engine isn't going to have enough power to utilize them effectively offroad.

There is simply other factores limiting the offroad performance on the MK platform.

From my research, the lightest and most aggressive tires are usually found in the 235/75/15 size, which is about 29" tall. I"m currently running 29.5" tall tires 245/65/17 and the tires weigh 34lbs which is pretty much the max weight in my opinion you want to run before you are going to run into issues with bogging down ect.

The problem with running smaller overall diameter is that then we lose what precious little ground clearance we have, so unfortunately we can't have our cake and eat it too:doh:

I know everyone is really focused on stuffing the largest tires they can on a patriot, but the fact of the matter remains, large aggressive offroad tires are very heavy and would be very detrimental to the ability of the MK's.

The best bet is to find a set of very light aluminum rims to bring the rotating mass weight down.

Now debate away

Sandstone · Nov 28, 2014

paokarathodoros said:
I am opening a more or less theoretical discussion top

Many of us here have installed larger tires

Given though that the biggest flaw of the patriot is torque at low revs

The off road Benefit of larger tires is that we increase the footprint but simultaneously we reduce the torque (bad for offroading)

So in sum (apart from better looks) are we increasing or reducing the off road ability of the patriot?

Or would it be better to put smaller tires (205 like the basic edition) which in effect would have increases the torque?

If you air down when you off-road you will decrease the effective rolling radius of the tire, which is basically the same as using a smaller tire as far as torque, but you also gain in that the tire will grip irregular surfaces better.

Here's a good guide for off-road tire selection written by Scott Brady of Expeditions West.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html

O'DubhGhaill · Nov 28, 2014

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/31096-Why-skinny-tires

paokarathodoros · Nov 28, 2014

Ι have already put 2256517

I just opened this "theoretical" debate (given there are many many threads on the suitable larger tire)

to discuss whether were are moving towards the right direction... or our approach "put larger tires" is very simplistic

PS Very informative linked articles

RossoRacer · Nov 28, 2014

Yes, larger tires will decrease torque a bit, which gives the CVT an advantage to pick a good ratio, and smaller tires are usually less likely to be off-road ready. Tyler made a good point of finding the sweet spot in tire weight/performance with these vehicles. I myself, if I can ever get the right kind of lift made for mine, would likely be trying to find Goodyear Silentarmors for it if I can, or maybe Destination AT's, either way something that does good in sand and snow. From what I hear Silentarmors would have been a good choice if available in the right size/weight, as they would suit my purposes for my Patriot. http://www.moabjeeper.com/articles/general/listing.cfm?articleID=444

Jdog · Nov 28, 2014

clearance is king !
*also combined wheel/tire weight is huge with our little 2.4 liter 4 bangers. Keeping it on the lighter side helps the pat a lot.... I always recommend staying away from heavy steel rims if you offroad your pat. Especially FDI folks without the lower gears.

Smaller or larger tires

paokarathodoros

Tyler-98-W68

Sandstone

O'DubhGhaill

paokarathodoros

RossoRacer

Jdog

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