6-ply or 10-ply?

Grit dog wrote:
Lol at this thread......

lol:)

I had a new set Hankook tires on my truck when I bought it.

It doesn't appear they make that particular tire anymore and I can understand why.

They sucked.

Lousy in the snow and they were history with only 30k miles on them.

So I added them to the list of never to buy tires. :)

I hope your new Hankooks treat you better than mine treated me.

I've seen quite of few tires get noisier as the miles on them increase.

Its due to the slight pattern change as they wear and not the rubber compound.

joeshmoe wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Lol at this thread......

lol:)

LOL at this LOL at that LOL :B

On my F250, I ran LRH 16PR tires rated over 4800 lbs each at 120 PSI. I only needed about 4000 lbs per tire in the rear and 2500 lbs per tire up front and was able to adjust tire pressure to handle that load yet still have better ride than having the tire at full inflation pressure. Also going to this higher rated tire made it stiffer and more puncture resistant than the lower rated one of the same model.

There are reasons to use a higher rated tire than needed...

Gee.....

....another thing to consider is tire weight (C vs. E; brand 1 E vs. brand 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 E tire weight)...reducing rotating mass will give you better acceleration. Also, a reduction in unsprung weight (heavier tires thus heavier wheels outboard of your suspension system) will change inertia in your suspension system and this plays havoc with your suspension geometry....now comparing LR E to LR F/G (look at the weight of a 19.5" rim + the more robust tire, and compare to a LR E on a 16 or 18 inch rim).

Generally: an LRC runs at lower air pressure (50psi); an LRD runs at 65psi; an LRE runs at 80psi; an LRF runs at 95psi..and LRH etc, etc,,,..each "range" has a specific weight carry capability (lower psi load range carries less weight).

Hey zeus, I hope I don't confuse things too much LOL!

The overall wheel weight does change performance. When I changed over to 125 lb LRH wheels from my 75 lb LRE's, I also upgraded to heavier dampened shocks to handle that unsprung weight better. I'm sure stopping and accelerating were slightly diminished with the extra rolling mass, but it was not noticeable. I think if I had changed tire diameter, it would have more affect.

I have a little on/off-road toy with only 20 hp and run a variety of wheel combinations based on terrain - This is a good test bed for experimentation since it is low powered and sensitive to changes. I run a 20" 2-ply paddle tire on 10" rims, 22" 4-ply trail on 10" rims, 25" 6-ply chevron tire on 12" rims and 25" automotive snow tire on a 14" rim. The automotive tire is the most efficient on roadways and almost as good as the trail tire until grades favor the shorter tire. The chevron tire takes the most power to run and is unusable in sand due its mass and height but has excellent traction and clearance. The sand tire is worthless anywhere but on sand and wears quickly but is short and light and lets the engine deal with soft material underfoot without bogging.

The point is that every tire/rim combination will excel at certain tasks and react poorly to others. If you want sports car handling, you will most likely not have weight capacity or traction as its strong points. If you want a soft compliant ride, handling and weight carrying will most likely not be that tire's best traits...

Generally: an LRC runs at lower air pressure (50psi); an LRD runs at 65psi; an LRE runs at 80psi; an LRF runs at 95psi..and LRH etc, etc,,,..each "range" has a specific weight carry capability (lower psi load range carries less weight).

Hey zeus, I hope I don't confuse things too much LOL!

One problem we run into when over tiring a 1/2 vehicle is figuring what tire pressures to run.
As was mentioned in the first reply those super size E tires at probably 3500-3700 lb capacity are replacing a soft 44 psi P tire now now puts the wheels at the bottom of the load match chain.

How much pressure are those 1/2 ton OEM wheel rated for ??

If only 50-60 psi then not much is gained by a big heavy thick tire operating at low pressures.
This topic comes up often for 1/2 ton truck owners in the TT forums looking to stiffen the sidewalls or with a small 5th wheel trailer looking for more reserve capacity.
Many 1/2 ton owners who have gone to a big load E tire didn't like the handling mostly (myself included) because pressure was not enough to stiffen the sidewall because of a low pressure OEM 1/2 ton wheel. Some even sold their 20"ers and went to a OEM 17" tire/wheel.

Geewizard wrote:

DownTheAvenue wrote:
Tires haven't been rated in "ply" since before dirt was invented. Tires are now rated in a load range designated by a letter. On the door jam of your vehicle you will find a label that will tell you the exact tire size, load rating, and tire pressure. That is what you should buy.

If the specified tires are not strong enough to carry the load you are putting on your truck, you need another truck designed to carry that load.

Really? Ummm, no.

The Hankook Tires web page shows:

Ply Rating, Load Index, Speed Symbol

I'd junk my truck before I installed any tires with the name of Hankook. Don't need or want any Chinese **** on my rims...period.

10 ply only with me. Michelins.

SidecarFlip wrote:


10 ply only with me. Michelins.

I considered Michelins on my last purchase. The tire guy told me his customers were getting 70,000+ miles on a set of them. At first I was impressed.

Then I figured that you would be driving on tires with not a lot of tread for a long time, maybe 25-30,000 miles.

We have 4 seasons here so I decided against them.

DownTheAvenue wrote:
Tires haven't been rated in "ply" since before dirt was invented. Tires are now rated in a load range designated by a letter.

TRUE ! Also the actual capacity in pounds is on the tire side label.