Mounting the Bighorns on the Tundra and hitting the highway confirmed what the balance machine told us: The Bighorns and 17-inch forged aluminum RW wheels are a good combination and well balanced.
Backing out of my shop I was immediately reminded of how flexible the Bighorns are, at 35 psi the ride was very compliant, almost soft.
Up to 70 mph on the freeway the only thing I could feel was a slight rumble on the rear axle caused by the prior uneven wear. After a few thousand miles on a properly aligned and conservatively driven truck the poor wear patterns should disappear.
Loud
Perceptions and opinions about tire noise vary, and the truck can make a big difference too, though except when new I’ve found Bighorns to be a little on the loud side. This set didn’t disappoint, and the irregular wear added to the rumble.
Noise aside, the Tundra seemed happy with the Bighorns mounted and they’re a nice addition to the fleet for my upcoming multi-tire fuel economy test.
Copyright © 2012 James Langan
Love the blog too!
Does the truck track straight and true with the Bighorns?
I was going to mention it later, but since you asked James…
With the cross-caster settings where they are for the Dick Cepek F-C II treads, the 285/70R17 Maxxis Bighorns do drift left after a few seconds of ‘no-hands’. This is exactly what I expected, and consistent with my past experiences with 255/85R16 Maxxis Bighorns on my 2006 4Runner.
On two similarly modified Toyota IFS platforms Maxxis Bighorns have needed very little cross-caster adjustment to drive straight, the common 1/2-degree for road crown seems about right. These same 4WDs have also both needed substantial cross-caster, 1+ degree, before the much loved Dick Cepek F-C IIs stop drifting to the right. With 1+ degree of cross-caster, it’s not surprising that some tires (Bighorns) want to drive off to the left, but there are tires that still pull to the right with this high cross-caster; Toyo M/T and M55 tires specifically.
The set of 285 BFG A/T spares I have drift left a bit more than the Bighorns, but this doesn’t bother me as they’re spares and I don’t plan to use them for anything else. Might even sell them.
Love the blog.
Those are sharp looking tires.
How about next time a photo of the whole rig?
thanks,
Art
Glad you love the blog.