D to E rated tires
Thinking of going from 8 ply tires on my fiver to 10. It will involve upping pressure from 65 to 80 psi. Nothing but mfg. date on my wheels. Should I be concerned about the extra pressure as far as my...
Forum Discussion
Let face a few facts here. ST tires have inflated ratings out of the box based on the speed restriction(except for the mysterious Carlisle Radial Trail RH). So manufacturers of this type of tires generally tend to say inflate to full sidewall rating.
Now for LT tires. LT tires carry rather conservative ratings that account for a lot of mis-use like overload pickup trucks. LT tires are tested to higher standards from the get go, therefore they do better in a one to one replacement of ST tires within their limits.
My trailer came OEM with the optional Kenda Klever china bomb LT235/85R16E's and the trailer manufacturer placarded the trailer at 65 lbs inflation I believe based on the base ST 15" tires.
In the first year, before a failure, Kenda gave me $110 each to remove and destroy the 5 LT's. I installed Michelin XPS Ribs and ran those at 65 lbs inflation. After a few years I could measure slight more wear on the outer ribs, so I increased inflation to 71 lbs. When I removed them after 40K+ miles and 6.5 years of service, wear was even and around 60-65% tread was left. I installed Bridgestore Duravis R250 and run those at 71 lbs inflation and wear is even across all the tires. Axles weight in at around 10K combined.
Both the Ribs and R250s run cooler than the trucks tires in hot SW weather. which I contribute to the steel ply casing and the rib style tread pattern which creates low rolling resistance. I have recorded a little higher temps on the down wind shaded side in the run from Phoenix to Palms Springs with 40 MPH wind out of the South all day. That run without wind will show the sunny side tires a bit warmer than the shaded side tires. Also the front axle tires run a degree or so lower than the rear axle tires.
Given that I will never have a trailer with ST tires, I do not have a horse in this race of inflation with them. But my advice on them is figure a way to replace them with something more reliable.
Back to the mysterious Radial Trail RH! Is it a better ST tire than others? To soon to tell and not enough in service for a good sample. But the real question is do you want a 3 year tire or a tire that will provide service for 6 or 7 years. And other question is how does Carlisle get around the increase capacity without the speed restriction of 65 MPH? The relationship between weight and speed of tire ratings has a direct reverse effect.
Chris
Now for LT tires. LT tires carry rather conservative ratings that account for a lot of mis-use like overload pickup trucks. LT tires are tested to higher standards from the get go, therefore they do better in a one to one replacement of ST tires within their limits.
My trailer came OEM with the optional Kenda Klever china bomb LT235/85R16E's and the trailer manufacturer placarded the trailer at 65 lbs inflation I believe based on the base ST 15" tires.
In the first year, before a failure, Kenda gave me $110 each to remove and destroy the 5 LT's. I installed Michelin XPS Ribs and ran those at 65 lbs inflation. After a few years I could measure slight more wear on the outer ribs, so I increased inflation to 71 lbs. When I removed them after 40K+ miles and 6.5 years of service, wear was even and around 60-65% tread was left. I installed Bridgestore Duravis R250 and run those at 71 lbs inflation and wear is even across all the tires. Axles weight in at around 10K combined.
Both the Ribs and R250s run cooler than the trucks tires in hot SW weather. which I contribute to the steel ply casing and the rib style tread pattern which creates low rolling resistance. I have recorded a little higher temps on the down wind shaded side in the run from Phoenix to Palms Springs with 40 MPH wind out of the South all day. That run without wind will show the sunny side tires a bit warmer than the shaded side tires. Also the front axle tires run a degree or so lower than the rear axle tires.
Given that I will never have a trailer with ST tires, I do not have a horse in this race of inflation with them. But my advice on them is figure a way to replace them with something more reliable.
Back to the mysterious Radial Trail RH! Is it a better ST tire than others? To soon to tell and not enough in service for a good sample. But the real question is do you want a 3 year tire or a tire that will provide service for 6 or 7 years. And other question is how does Carlisle get around the increase capacity without the speed restriction of 65 MPH? The relationship between weight and speed of tire ratings has a direct reverse effect.
Chris
