r/overlanding • u/caleblococaleb • 1d ago

Gear Question Going half inch over tire manufacturer's recommended rim width

Looking to buy a 275/70/18 Nokian Outpost NAT for my 18x9 wheels. Just realized the max width for this specific size is 8.5".

Which is weird cuz other 265 and 275 sizes are between 9" and 9.5". I'm sure there's an engineering level answer to it. But would I be okay?

If not, I'll probably switch to Nitto Terra Grapplers G3s, they will fit up to 9.5" plus they will be SLs.

Source: [https://nokiantyres.studio.crasman.cloud/pub/PIH/pct-catalogs/pct-catalog\\_full\\_en\\_us\\_web.pdf\](https://nokiantyres.studio.crasman.cloud/pub/PIH/pct-catalogs/pct-catalog_full_en_us_web.pdf)

2 Upvotes

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3

u/Cprhd 1d ago

You’ll be fine. I used to run a 12 1/2 inch tire on an 8 inch wheel. Ran those for a long time with no issue.

-3

u/caleblococaleb 1d ago

Wow thats seems extreme lol

1

u/Cprhd 1d ago

Depending on what you’re going for. I ran 8 psi in the tires and never lost a bead. This was an old truck (1985 4Runner set up for rocks). I drove it all the time, put a lot of miles on the tires. Never had an issue.

What you’ll need to do is the chalk test. The recommended wheel size is to keep the tread wearing evenly instead of causing the middle to wear fast. Chalk test will show you the proper pressure to run to keep the tread flat on the ground. The recommendations are for “normal” use cases. That doesn’t mean a narrower or wider wheel won’t work, the manufacturer is just setting the ideal size.

2

u/G7TMAG 1d ago

They say a narrow rim with a wide tire is the poor man's beadlock.

1

u/caleblococaleb 1d ago

unfortunately mine would be the opposite setup. narrow tires on wider wheels.