I looked at a '95 Dakota Sport with the regular cab and short bed over the weekend. The guy is supposed to bring it by today. It has new tires but they are just basic street tires. A southern Indiana winter needs better tires. I'm trying to decide which size all terrain tires to get. Which is more effective for ice and snow. 235 or 31 inch tires? No lift and it will be off road so I'm not looking for appearance, I want tires to get me through. It's been years since I bought tires for on and off road.

 

The tread pattern and width will make more difference; you're comparing width to height, which is ... not a valid comparision.

For instance, my 235/75R15s are nominally 29" tall. HOWEVER - a 31" tall tire is typically about 10.5" wide, and equivalent to a 265/70R15. BUT. 31" doesn't require 10.5" wide; 31" can be had in 8.5" wide to 18.5" wide (see https://tiresize.com/chart/ ).

Don't forget, too wide and you'll just float on the snow; you actually will want a skinnier tire to weigh down to the roadbed below said snow and ice.

RwP

 

IMO a tall skinny tire is best for winter...... Wide for sand and mud.

 

You'll note I only mentioned height. Back in the late 70's, we had a blizzard here that shut everything down for nearly a week. I had an old Dodge with NDT tires and I busted right through major drifts. My concern is more with mud and snow packing in the wheel well. Newer tires tend to clean themselves better than the older ones. Skinny tires are what I plan to get, I'm just trying to decide if I want the taller tires. I have to deal with granite outcrops on my farm so I know the tread pattern I want, just the over all height. I've also noticed that 15 inch tires are getting hard to come by.

 

ACTUALLY - you mentioned a width (235) and a height (31").

Which was my main point; I'd actually look for a 215/225/235 75 R 15 if you could find one with the proper load capacity for your truck.

OTOH, if it's out in the woods ... get the 31" tires, probably in the most common 10.5" width so that it'll go over all the granite you'll have (for rocks and crevasses, you want the wider tire so it takes an even wider crack for it to fall in and seize you.)

RwP

 

You're quite right. I've never really gotten the hang of metric tires. I still remember the old letter sizes (G65, L78) and the even older numeric codes (6.75X14). My tree farm is on land that isn't good for anything else. It's granite outcrops. Not anything like off road parks.I'm tending towards a skinnier tire to get more weight per inch on polished granite. You almost need one leg shorter than the other.

 

Like those special cows they have out west to graze the hillsides.

 

They sure are fun when you go cow tipping.

 

Depending on which way you try and tip them.......

 

I usually tip in cash.