Which way should I lean? Help me

[Ramblin Fever]

out here.

The scenerio is the fact that I'd like to turn in my LT265/75 yokohama Geolander AT's, with only 7k by the way. I love them, and I love the height they give the Rodeo, but weighing in at 50# a peice in combination with steel rims, I believe it's just too much on this old girl.

Around town she does great, city and flat highway, but the minute I hit a good hill, she loses a great deal of power. And I feel like I'm just overworking her too much.

Here's the thing, I can trade these in with a great deal off a new set of the Yok's, but their sizes are a bit hard to chose from.

If I get the 265/70's, 4-ply, I stand a good chance of tearing them up and wearing them out real quick with all the dirt roads we drive; and the only other size I'm interested in is the LT245/75's but they are in a 10-ply.

I've got the 8-ply now, and I've ran 10-ply's on this rodeo before. But here's the breakdown, which would you chose?

P265/70 R16 - 30.8 Diameter, weighing 38#/tire with 13/32 tread depth

or

LT245/75 R16 (10ply) 30.7 Diameter, weighing 48#/tire with 17/32 tread depth

I love the tread depth on the 245's, but they're still kind of heavy.

However, if I move from the 265/75's at 31.8 diameter, back to a 30.7 diameter will that alone be enough to give hill climbing power back without worrying about how much each tire weights?

[nirvroxx]

Ultimately if it means gaining power, than I would go with the lightest weight. If you get the P265/70 R16 - 30.8 Diameter, weighing 38, you would be shaving 48 pounds off the total load or 12lbs a tire. Have you thought about getting lighter rims? try going down to a junkyard and picking up some aluminum wheels, they might be hard to come by, but it would definitely be worth the scavange. Im not sure what the weight difference between the steel wheels and the aluminum wheels is, but they [aluminum] are surely much lighter.