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intheburbs's avatar
intheburbs
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014

Goodyear pulled a fast one on me. Load rating rant.

I was just reading a thread about tires, and decided to go out and check the date code on my tires, to see when they were manufactured. I bought them last November from the local Goodyear store. Goodyear Duratracs, LT245-75-16. They've been great tires and they did well on our trip down to Alabama in late December.

Well, I go outside to look at the date code, and I notice next to the date code this nugget: Load Rating C :E

The Duratrac is marketed to commercial snowplow fleets. I didn't even know they made it in a "C" load rating. So I look up the specs - max load 2205 lbs @ 50 PSI. Well, the door tag on the Suburban says 50 PSI front and 71 PSI rear. On top of that, my rear axle weight on the Alabama trip was 5200 lbs. So I drove 2000 miles with overloaded, overinflated tires. I'm so mad I can barely type.

Yes, it may have been an honest mistake, but that wouldn't have mattered if we had a blowout doing 65 through the hills of TN or KY. I inadvertently put my entire family in danger.

I'll be going to the Goodyear store tomorrow to get a new set of tires for no charge.

Check your tires. Make sure they are the correct load rating.

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