Need new tires. Questions about upgrading..!

DatacomGuy wrote:
Holy crap. Factory tires are 43lbs. Going up 10lbs+ per tire is going to hurt, no? GRR. I have no idea what to do.

Yes, a higher rotational mass will hurt acceleration and mpg loaded or unloaded.

Although probably done a lot, one should not be putting a higher load rated tire on a lower load rated wheel and run with max pressure.

I've been looking at new tires for my F150. Has load range C on there now but not too many of those anymore. Not sure if I want E rated tires for what I use my truck for. Seems like most of the P rated tires have the same or higher load rating as the Cs I have now.

I did similar when I owned my 2010 F-150. Went from 275/55R20 "P" series tires to "LT" tires that were 275/65R20. I did notice them and it dropped me a few hundred RPM at highway speeds from where the truck was at previously. I had about a 5% error on my speedo given the new tires. I actually bought Goodyear Duratracs and I loved them. They rode rough for the first 1,000 miles until the tire wore in and it didn't howl as much after that. What's nice about the Duratracs is that they are mountain/snowflake branded, so they can be considered a traction device on light duty vehicles, so no need to chain up or get winter specific tires if that's a concern in any of your travels. Yep, LT tires on average put on from 10 to 15 lbs over the "P" rated tires. But what you're getting is a tougher carcass. Also note, to achieve the same load ratings as your "P" rated tires, you need to actually run MORE air in the LT tires to achieve the same load capacity. In my instance, I only needed to run 35psi to achieve the load ratings for my F-150 with the OEM tires. To achieve the same load handling in an LT tire, I consulted an inflation table and ended up going up to 45 psi so your ride will in general be rougher. I also added Bilstein 5100's at the time since I wanted a nice leveled look on my truck. Then I realized I was overloading my F-150 with the chores I do every spring and summer so I traded for a new truck and am now waiting to buy a trailer of some sort.

Hope this helps some!

Had a set of the Cooper A/T3's in 275/6518 (stock was 265/65/18) for 11k miles and didn't notice anything negative! Very happy with them in all Mi weather!

Only reason we no longer have them is we got a new truck! Great step up fromt he factory P rated tires!

Ugh. I'm not making any progress.

Toyo OC AT2 in a LT275/65R20 is 57lbs.

Cooper Discoverer AT3 in a LT275/60R20 is 58lbs.

Bridgestone Revo 2 in a LT275/60R20 is 53lbs.

Michelin LTX A/T2 in a LT275/60R20 is 61lbs.

Holy crap. Factory tires are 43lbs. Going up 10lbs+ per tire is going to hurt, no? GRR. I have no idea what to do.

Correction. Cooper Discoverer AT3.

Did feel somewhat spongy.. but it was also my first tow ever, with a set of fair-to-poor tires, which i will not do again.

I think i'll stick to LT, just for safety sake.

I think i've narrowed down my list to Continental AT3 or Toyo OC AT2's.

Either in a LT275/60R20, or LT275/65R20.

DatacomGuy wrote:
Oops, LT, sorry. I thougt i saw a few.. Duratracs, Toyos, Michelin..

Do i need LTs? This is where i get confused.

You don't "need" them. But how is the feel when you're towing? Does it feel spongy or like jello? On the ram1500diesel forum, a few guys did put on 275/65,and those have more LT options, but you will see your speedo go off and your gear ratio will be a little taller.

Increasing overall tire height will change your effective gear ratio and make your 3.55's feel like 3.31's if the new tires are tall enough..

You'll also have to recalibrate your trucks computer for the taller tires so the speedo/odo are accurate again. With today's computer controlled transmissions, the shift pattern will also change and make your shift points different.

Good luck!

Mitch

Oops, LT, sorry. I thougt i saw a few.. Duratracs, Toyos, Michelin..

Do i need LTs? This is where i get confused.