Small sized All terrain/aggressive tires? 235/55/17ish? Bueller?

I have a 2010 X3 that does not get used like your typical X3. I use it to access hunting camps and other non-maintained roads in the summer and winter. I strongly believe that the car is infinitely more capable than the mom-mobile it's regarded as. As such, I'm looking to put something meatier on for tires, but I'm coming up with nothing at all. Basically all I can find are all weather summer touring tires or rally tires... The idea of running rally tires is very awesome in my head, but the 2000 miles I'll get out of a set is the big drawback there.

Can anyone help in finding something that fits the bill here? I'd be happy to go up in size if needed to clear, but I can't go smaller than a 17" wheel due to caliper interference.

Any help would be appreciated. Surely I can't be the only idiot that wants to put a set of BFG TA/KM2's on his little baby SUV, right?

Is width or height more of an issue? Toyo AT2's can be had in a 235/65/17

I love this forum. Did not come across those in my search, and that'll totally fit.

Thanks a lot!

How much clearance do you have around the tire for additional height? You're almost certainly going to have to settle for a larger tire overall to get a really aggressive pattern unless you're OK with running snows all the time.

I'm seeing the stock sized tires at around 27.3" overall diameter. The Yokohama Geolander AT-S comes in a bunch of small 17" sizes with the shortest being a 27.1" diameter 215/60R17.

For the most part everything else gets you stuck with a 29" tire:
General Grabber AT2 in 255/55R18 = 29" diameter
Hankook Dynapro AT-M in 235/65R17 = 29.1" diameter
Kumho Road Venture AT51 in 235/65R17 = 29" diameter

What is your stock tire size?

golfduke wrote: I love this forum. Did not come across those in my search, and that'll totally fit. Thanks a lot!

They are actually a pretty damn good tire too!

I spend all that time browsing Tire Rack and java just comes in and snipes me while I'm typing

Stock is a 235/55/17 currently. I did some lock-to-lock testing and I think* I'd be okay with a 29" tire diameter, so long as it doesn't get wider as well. I know some tires are larger than others, but it seems that 235/65 will fit.

29" pizza cutters plus wheel spacers. Trim as needed.

I'll second the geolander ATS. I put them in 33s on my truck. Great road manners but also good off road.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=Scorpion+STR&partnum=355HR7SCORSTR&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

I need to get you to a damn rallyx.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: The Yokohama Geolander AT-S comes in a bunch of small 17" sizes with the shortest being a 27.1" diameter 215/60R17.

I run Geolanders on my Disco. Quiet highway tyre with good grip on the road in dry or wet (not sure about snow) and does decent in the soft dirty stuff. I have gone through a few mud puddles that came up to the side steps and not gotten stuck with them. I recommend

Just wanted to bump-date this thread. I ended up putting a set of 235/65/17 Yokohama Geolandar ATS on my X3 mentioned above, and can safely say that after about 10k miles and a mix of summer highway cruising, class 6 roads accessing the hunting camp, and a decent snowy/icy winter thus far... these tires are great. They are very well mannered even in a significantly bigger size than stock. The are amazing in snow and winter slop as they're siped pretty aggressively, and they haven't left me stuck or stranded anywhere. Not to mention, the increased tire diameter just looks better on the X3. IMHO it's the way it should have come from the factory.

Just figured I'd share if anyone else is weird and wanted to make their mom-mobile SUV a little more competent in marginal conditions.

Hey, throw a pic on here (before and after would be perfect, if you could) I'd be interested in what it looks like now!

Your current tires have a diameter of 27.2". I run 225/65/17 Geolander G015's on my 2015 Outback which have a 28.5 diameter and are .4" narrower. You can also get the BFG K02's in that size.

In reply to Hal:

BFG K02s are great in snow, haven't had a chance to play in the dirt yet, though. Well mannered on the road and wet pavement, but kinda noisy on the highway.

X2 on pics of the X3.

RealMiniParker wrote: In reply to Hal: BFG K02s are great in snow, haven't had a chance to play in the dirt yet, though. Well mannered on the road and wet pavement, but kinda noisy on the highway.

The only reason I stayed away from the K02's was because they are offered as a 6 ply LT tire only in the size I needed, and were something like 25# heavier per tire than any other offering. I didn't want to completely destroy fuel efficiency or my butt-dyno's expectation of power. Otherwise, I totally would have done that.

I'll work on pics tonight. Not even sure if I have a before picture, haha.

In reply to golfduke:

Yup, they are heavy sumbitches. I can see how they would make a difference on an X3. Don't really feel it on my Expedition, though.

KO2s. Yes, handling, braking and acceleration all decreased compared to the original all seasons on my Range Rover, but the improvement in poor weather performance and off road performance more than makes up for it.

They are worth it and I can't imagine owning a truck of any sort that I don't put these tires on.

golfduke wrote:

RealMiniParker wrote: In reply to Hal: BFG K02s are great in snow, haven't had a chance to play in the dirt yet, though. Well mannered on the road and wet pavement, but kinda noisy on the highway.

The only reason I stayed away from the K02's was because they are offered as a 6 ply LT tire only in the size I needed, and were something like 25# heavier per tire than any other offering. I didn't want to completely destroy fuel efficiency or my butt-dyno's expectation of power. Otherwise, I totally would have done that. I'll work on pics tonight. Not even sure if I have a before picture, haha.

The weight is why I decided against the K02's also. In my size they are 10# heavier than stock. By using the G015 Geolanders and a Sparco wheel I ended up losing a pound on each corner from stock.

I too, deem this thread to have insufficient pictures.