[wolfcoast]

Heyo! First time poster here,

Just wanted to say that 225/75R16 (29.3"x8.9") fit without any rubbing whatsoever. The wheels I used are Konig Monza Japans, they are 7" wide with a ET 40 offset, and the tires are Hercules Terra Trac ATIIs.

I upgraded from 215/70R16 tires on the factory steel wheels.

No trimming or removing of mudslaps necessary. I find the larger diameter tires actually match the manual transmission gearing better as well as the speedometer seems to be more accurate. Here is a side by side comparison on the Rav and an all-said-and-done photo:

 

[2003Rav4Lover]

Nice ravioli!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6000 using Tapatalk

 

[05RAV]

I looked for close to three years for a manual RAV4.2 for sale. Exceedingly rare. I'm jealous

Interestingly, the 4AT has a lower first gear, but the ratio gap between each subsequent gear is just awful. I cringe a little bit reading these posts of larger tire installations on RAVs with the automatic, but I have little doubt the 5MT can row 225/75-16's quite nicely

 

[Commando]

Welcome... nice looking RAV4!

Same thing for me: the speedometer is more accurate with the 225/75/16 than the original 235/60/16.

 

[Josh Smith]

Welcome aboard, I like your new choice of wheels.

 

[Ty Chee]

Looks great. My first 1998 first gen is in the tire shop as I'm typing this getting
Toyo Open Country AT III
225/70R16

 

[Hammy]

Hi all! I just picked up a 2004 automatic. I’m looking to do some off-roading, nothing too heavy. I see you guys mentioned that this was a 5 speed with this tires, are there any reasons not to use these tires on an automatic?

 

[05RAV]

I deleted the content due to too many errors. Continued below . . .

 

[Commando]

@05RAV: your chart is very interesting.... but you need to correct the ring and pinion diff ratio.

With this Toyota FWD drivetrain orientation, you don't use the rear diff ratio. This ratio is calculated to get 1:1 with the transmission ring and pinion ratio (via the t-case ratio)... whatever is the trans diff ratio! So the final drive ratio you need to use in your calculations is the transaxle diff ratio.

• U140F: 3.08
• E352F: 4.56
• E359F: 4.56

And now the magic number (for off-road and not highway haha!) is the RAV4.1 manual trans diff ratio....

- E250F: 4.93

 

[05RAV]

Great, that's nice to know. I'll do that and repost.

Those 4.93s would be sweet. I wish I could find some interchangeability with RAV4 gear ratios, being stuck with the OEM garbage is painful. The benefit of having lower gear ratios, as you know, is running larger tires at a 4.93 ratio gains you back some highway efficiency without loosing too much torque on the bottom.

 

[05RAV]

Thanks Commando, that makes a big difference!

Basically, the manual does everything better.

I'm confused though, why the E359F is regarded as yielding poorer city mileage and greater highway efficiency, despite having more gear reduction everywhere? My intuition would be the opposite is true.

 

[Commando]

I'm confused though, why the E359F is regarded as yielding poorer city mileage and greater highway efficiency, despite having more gear reduction everywhere? My intuition would be the opposite is true.

I think what makes the difference is the engine... 2.0L vs 2.4L.

 

[05RAV]

I think what makes the difference is the engine... 2.0L vs 2.4L.

Would be the case if the mileage discrepancy was a 2001-2003, but the E359F is driven by the 2.4L.

 

[05RAV]

I see you guys mentioned that this was a 5 speed with this tires, are there any reasons not to use these tires on an automatic?

Just to be absolutely clear, what the graphs I shared with Commando's help show, is that the 5-spd manual transmission turns 225/75-16s with greater authority (more mechanical advantage) than does the automatic with the smaller 235/60s. This is quite simply, huge. I haven't done the math, but some members here use 235/70s and it looks like this large of tire may still perform like the OE tire when equipped with the automatic.

If I ever find a 5-spd with low mileage, I'll be buying my third RAV4.2.