Forum Discussion
LarryJM
Sep 17, 2015Explorer II
Huntindog wrote:myredracer wrote:Well like yeah.:BBite N Hold wrote:
Myre- Why LT tires? I put Hercules load range E as they were recommended by a friend who has had good luck with them.
It was a little poke of fun at those who insist that LT tires are the ONLY tires to use on a TT instead of the typical ST tires so you will never have a blowout. :D Always a hot topic along with you MUST have at least a 1T truck and a Hensly WDH.
Actually the OP sounded like he had resigned himself to the inevitable.. That's the part I don't get. Why are so many expecting a low standard of performance from their TT tires. It doesn't have to be this way.
Before everone jumps on board with the red herrings and LT Koolaid that is the standard fare of the LT tire groupies I don't think the real issue is mainly as stated a "low standard of performance" as it is a "low reserve capacity issue" seen in most ST OEM trailer tires.
You would never put up with this on your daily driver, so why should the TT be any different.
What you are convenienly ignoring is the fact that tires on passenger and truck vehicles must conform to the max speed rating of what the vehicle is capable of and not what it's typical usage is. Thus for trailers that is set at 65mph which seems reasonable at least IMO, however, almost all manned vehicles have a speed rating in excess of 100mph so just by law the tires found as OEM will already be basically "over tired" by a much higher margin than that found on a typical TT and that is just the way it is. Furthermore almost all vehicles with LT tires will have a much lower front weight than rear weight rating so the overtiring from the speed rating will be further increased from this increase in load reserve capacity on the front. Thus it's IMO not so much about us putting up with the tires found on TT as compared to a normal vehicle, but understanding why what we have on each and this is mainly an artifact of this vehicle speed rating coupled with the sizes of LT tires manufactured which in the 14" and 15" size largely found on TTs are close to non existant in the LT variety and those available are only thru special order for the most part and not normally carried in store in most locations. AFAIK the vast majority of LT tires are all 16" and above. Thus going from an ST tire to an LT tire will force one to go to a much higher reserve capacity in that LT tire and that is where the increased reliability and performance come from. It's not that it's an LT tire and as stated below using the same ST tire with an equilivant load reserve capacity could potentially get you the same and maybe even more reliability.
It is not rocket science. ST tires ARE built and tested to a much lower standard than what is required of LT tires. (this is a fact. Read up on the govt. testing standards for a real eye opener)
Again there is more red herring and LT Koolaid fare talking here than real information IMO. No where does the link you gave HERE say anything about "build standards", it only addresses testing. You call the differences significant and they should well be since ST tires are not operated typically at the same speeds as a normal vehicle nor do they carry passengers. About the only REAL signifcant difference in testing in that link is the endurance speed difference of 50mph for the ST and 75mph for the LT tire which makes sense from the standpoint that ST tires are typically limited to a set 65mph max where as normal vehicle tires have no specified max only limited by what the vehicle can attain which is easily in excess of 75mph. Thus both ST and LT tires are typically operating at speeds in excess of the testing standards set for the endurance testing specified in that link.
If you want the same performance out of your TT tires that you take for granted of your TV tires... Use LT tires.
Or simply "upgrade your existing ST tires to the equlivant LT tire you are considering, but in an ST version and for the same load max I submit you will not see any significant differences in realiability between the the ST and LT tire. All the increased and for the most part IMO perceived increase in realiability is not from using an LT tire, but comes from using a tire with much more reserve capacity and I would wager a small bet that an ST tire the the same load capacity as an LT tires might well perform better and be more reliable that it's equilivant LT tire as long as the speed ratings are followed.
Finally, one again IMO important factor in this ST - LT tire debate is the fact that this is a trailer based website geared more to taling about issues and not about the "millions" of successful miles the vast majority of ST trailer tire owners are experiencing. Here we only hear about problems for the most part and to make matters worse the amount of LT tire experiences here is I would wager a guess about maybe 5% of the total usage so trying to conclude that using LT tires are better just because they are LT and not ST tires is not valid and for all of Huntingdogs LT tire success I have had similiar success with the GY Marathon ST tires over the last 20 years so we basically cancel each other out in the voting for which is the better and more reliable tire. I would also bet for every LT tire groupie there is at least one and maybe more ST tire groupie to balance that data point out from being actually a significant factor. All this means IMO no one can actually prove or say one tire is better than another solely based on it's service category .. I.E. LT, P, ST, etc.
Larry
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