LT tires on a P rated vehicle???

[harski]

I'm considering putting an LT tire on my 04 Suburban since I seem to be using up my P rated Revo II tires in a hurry. The suburban is mainly a winter tow vehicle with a few trips around town. In the summer it's used rarely also other than to put the boat in once in the spring and take it out in the fall.

I'm towing a 3-4 place enclosed aluminum trailer and have added Air Lift air bags in the springs for stability. I have a feeling the tongue weight of the trailer and the air bags have accelerated the wear on the tires. So with all of that said, I'm looking for some advice on pros/cons with the change. Thanks in advance for the advice and obviously I have a snow problem as I'm thinking about the winter far to often these days!

Thanks again,

Harski

 

[ezra]

I thought lt were the lowest load rating for light truck tires?
that is what my last 150 came with .
they were goodforayr something or another lt
they were awful for towing the 4 place enclosed they squatted very bad and truck was very unstable white knuckle driving through the Dakotas.
after I put some load range D tires on it completely diff truck towing no more sway and just fine for day to day driving .
I always try to put C or D on my trucks just because they do drive much better when loaded down . not to mention a 50 or 60k tread Warranty on a d range tire is huge when u consider they are under the assumption that tire is going on to a 1 ton or 3/4 ton truck that is hauling . u slap them on a 1/2 ton grocery getter they will wear like iron

 

[srt20]

Yeah, IMO P metric tires are for cars. LT tires on trucks big SUVs etc. They wear much better on heavier vehicles with stiffer suspensions. And with additional weight from hauling or trailering.

I only put Load range E (10ply) with Load index 125 (3600 lbs per tire) or higher on my 2500 diesel. This set of tires is about shot now but have 70k+ miles on them.

Just remember if you put heavier duty tires on your factory rims, those rims may not be rated to higher air PSI. Though it sounds like you have a 1/2 ton burb, you probably dont need E tires at 80psi either.

 

[mrbb]

I would still suggest a load E tire, they DON"T have to run at 80 psi, I run mine at about 60 in front and 55 rears IF I decide to haul heavy I do add more air, BUT since your NOT loading up the truck, you should be fine
the added load rating will handle towing better, and in LIGHT use IMO< as your using it for basically winter time,use only, will last longer too for you

as for a tire recommendation, since again your mostly using in winter time, I would look at snow ratings on tires and pick one that works best in SNOW/ice, as that is your main use
and IF you need it in warmer weather they will still be fine, just will wear faster in summer time use than winter time, but you will get better traction in winter time, your main use>

 

[harski]

Thanks for the tips guys. I was swaying like mad too on the original Wilderness LE tires with like no traction whatsoever! The Revo's that I have on now have provided more stability (with the air bags too) and have great traction in the winter! I'm just chewing them up fast (20K since 2011 and the dealer is telling me to keep an eye on them). I check tire pressures on each trip and rotate them every 5,000 miles so these tires are just getting beat up from towing IMO. The dealer now suggested a Destination AT LTR and if I remember correctly he wanted to go 270/275 x 70 x 17. I don't remember the load rating but I will inquire on the D and E ratings along with the appropriate tire pressure for my rim. I do remember asking him about the higher presser and he said it was okay to run the 35PSI per the truck rating. I have to admit I'm not sure of that thus my reaching out for others opinions. I'm leaning on giving it a whirl but will definitely do further homework.

Thanks again for the input and I listen to others as they post.

Harski

 

[chunk06]

Yeah, IMO P metric tires are for cars. LT tires on trucks big SUVs etc. They wear much better on heavier vehicles with stiffer suspensions. And with additional weight from hauling or trailering.

I only put Load range E (10ply) with Load index 125 (3600 lbs per tire) or higher on my 2500 diesel. This set of tires is about shot now but have 70k+ miles on them.

Just remember if you put heavier duty tires on your factory rims, those rims may not be rated to higher air PSI. Though it sounds like you have a 1/2 ton burb, you probably dont need E tires at 80psi either.

70k on a diesel? That's really good, what brand you running? I have never had a set make 35k.

 

[mrbb]

I am running Firestone destanation AT's in a 285-70-17 load E's(there load D's have actually LESS tread, so DON"T get them, they will last even less on you!,
I am on my 4th set, and I have YET to get more than 28k of them, I think there JUNK< (stuck with them after the first set died so fast, due to dealer told me that I must have got bad one's??? then got an even lower priced deal on third set due to how fast the second set wore out??)
BUT I was getting them at a price that was hard to say NO two, and then the last 2 sets are ONLY due to I have had flats on two tires at about half way point, and was still cheaper to just buy two new to keep things going than toss two good tires, BUT this is MY LAST set, going back to Michelin tires, in about 50+ sets of different brand tires over the yrs, Michelin's always OUT lasted the rest buy a LOT, but they do cost more, and well they were not the best in MUD on the farm, but lost the farm last yr, so going back to them for sure next set
going back to there LTX AT/2, comes with a 60k warranty, and work well in snow and every where but slimmy deep mud LOL

 

[srt20]

70k on a diesel? That's really good, what brand you running? I have never had a set make 35k.

Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 285-70-17

By far the best AT tire I have ever used. Quiet, good traction in snow and rain ( I don't go muddin' so they might suck in mud) and obviously long lasting. I could have probably gotten more miles out of them but I had to drive 150 miles home with a front wheel bearing coming apart. Cupped the tire some. I put it on the back and kinda smoothed it out some.

It's a dodge 2500, so the whole front suspension was getting pretty sloppy. Was starting to chew the tires up some. I rebuilt the entire front suspension a few months ago and getting tires this month.

The right rear tire, which hasn't been on the front in probably 20-30k miles has plenty of tread left. And I will keep it for the spare. The others are wearing funny from the sloppy front and lack of rotations.

I also had these tires in a p-metric 265-70-17 on my wife's truck. She is hard on brakes and tires. She went through 4 sets of tires in ~120k miles. I put the Hankooks on here truck and she got 65-70k out of them as well. She didn't have any funny wear, she just wore them out.

They are cheaper than most name brand tires. They are Asian made though. I'll have to look, but I think my tires were made in Korea.

 

[harski]

mrbb, that is the same position I'm in now too. They are offering some warranty $$$$ on my Revo's then if I'd wait for a sale it would be a fairly cheap replacement. My mid-life crisis is starting to creep in so I see a 2500 series diesel replacing my suburban in the next few years. With that said, I may try to suffer through the Destinations until then. The jury is still out though.

Harski

 

[mrbb]

well I hear you, I hate to say it but I wish I would have got rid of my firestone after the first set, as they honestly suck for mileage/life of the tires what I spent on all them I could have went back to the michilns and saved money, rather than the at the time cheap tires offered at me to stay with them, (they sold me them at 70% off) so was a hard to say NO< but crap barely getting 25k on them sucks, its a once a yr need tires deal, and these darn truck tires ain't getting any cheaper
I will suck uop the loss this time when the two wear down and toss the other two or sell on craigsllist or??
Firestone won't make any more money off me, and Brigdstone is a sister company MY Firestone dealer tells me the duelers LAST longer than the firestone 's I have, SO< if your going from the duelers to the Firestone at's your actually going backwards LOL
and thats from a Firestone rep?? as he tells me he wants me to go to them after these wear out??
offering me another deal, But told him **** NO< done with them

 

[sweeperguy]

One thing to look for to make sure of good traction in the snow and ice is cuts across the tread lugs, Sipes. We used to sipe tires at the station. We had a machine to slice across the tread lugs down to just about the wear bars. Look at ice tires, michelin arctic alpins, or Bridgestone blizzaks. They are heavily siped. The more sipes across the tread face will give better traction in snow and ice, and it will also make for a longer lasting tire, as it helps dissapate heat build up. Make sure the tires are rated M&S , mud and snow, not all All Season radials are. Aggressive looking tread is not always the best for traction in winter conditions. Aggressive lugs make good mud tires but not snow.

 

[mrbb]

One thing to look for to make sure of good traction in the snow and ice is cuts across the tread lugs, Sipes. We used to sipe tires at the station. We had a machine to slice across the tread lugs down to just about the wear bars. Look at ice tires, michelin arctic alpins, or Bridgestone blizzaks. They are heavily siped. The more sipes across the tread face will give better traction in snow and ice, and it will also make for a longer lasting tire, as it helps dissapate heat build up. Make sure the tires are rated M&S , mud and snow, not all All Season radials are. Aggressive looking tread is not always the best for traction in winter conditions. Aggressive lugs make good mud tires but not snow.

well I agree and dis a free with you
more edges is what works best in ice and snow for sure
BUT them smaller edges wear faster as the edges get rounded faster and that accelerate wear along with flex due to the less rubber to support things
a true snow/ice tire is also made of a softer rubber that doesn't be effected as much by the cold as standard all season rubber tires are
that softer rubber and more edges is what make it grip so well, and thus, the reason the don't last so long in the warm weather too soft and wear fast! not having the lope temps to help cool
rubber compound is a HUGE part of traction and tire wear/life
just look at off road racing MX tires can be exactly the same tread and just different rubber compound and have a BIG difference on traction!
also big difference on wear and even handling too LOL
raced mx bikes for a LONG time so?

 

[ezra]

I put on the e range Michelin ltx . the 2 that have not been replaced from nail/ screw warranty love discount tire for that. have like 49k on them and are prob 5/8 wore out deff get a solid 25k out of them if they dont get a nail in them before that
and harski think long and hard about buying that mid life oil burner. my Gasser with a 5.0 cast less to pull the 4 place enclosed west than the 14 powerstroke or the 13 cummings in our crew .
the new oil burners have lost ALL the things that made diesel great . they can be made to make big power but that is also coming at a price and most of the time the body has to come off the truck when that bill comes due.
I am looking at new trucks right now prob late fall I will be getting a 2500 just because now days they are the same or less money than a comp 1500. but thinking of going 6.2 gas really want a eco but I know my self to well and do not need the temptation to void the warranty

 

[mrbb]

I am not sure why your gaser did better on fuel than the diesel's
as MAN I have gone on many trips me in a gas 5.7 hemi and auto 2500(2006) and ONLY towing a two place aluminum trailer
and my buddy in same exact truck as mine JUST a Cummins same and 2014, so newwer, and he topwed a 4 place enclosed and I rode right behind him on our trips and he averaged like 16 mpg and I averaged about 9 mpg
I have owned 7 dodges now, all with either the gas 360's or the hemis, all had 4.10 gearing and auto trans
and every single one of them averaged the same MPG towing in my area same roads same like sleds/atv's dump trailer
its all up hill, down a hill and back up a hill here driving
and I have never seen a gas get the same MPG's as a diesel towing ever !
I DO agree the new diesels are WAY over emission controlled and to get REAL power out of them gets REAL price in todays world
but even so they just chug along SO much better than a gaser on hills, all the more so when you GO heavy on a trailer
BUT if you don't TOW a lot, the benefits and any cost savings are a WASH, and maybe a sink hole at times with up keep costs between the two
BUT if you do tow, its a way better truck to be driving IMO
I cannot justify the added costs for HOW little I tow these days, or I would never own a gas HD truck!

 

[ezra]

just the way it is cant say why . my gas 7.9 yanking a 4 place enclosed at 80 for 3400mi the power stroke and the ram both at 8.9 and 9 .same trailer same speeds same drivers on shifts. so the extra cost of diesel then add the cost of urine cheaper to drive the gas.
my bud who got the power stroke 3500 last yr kept it but got another truck for the fleet this yr went with the 6.2 gas.99.9% of the time hooked to a trailer dump or 4 mower steel or bobcat. cost has something to do but he is just not that impressed with the powerstroke compared to the gassers in his fleet . the new ones just do not get the mpg they once did. **** my old 2500 suburban non turbo oil burner would get 17 yanking a steel 4 place . yeah deff not the power of the new stuff but it went 298k before I lost the air cleaner bolt down the manifold and it worked its way down to take out a cylinder . still used it at the cabin with that cyl out for a few more yrs .

 

[harski]

erza, I agree that the Michelins LTX's are great as I'm on my second set of M/S series on my mid-size SUZ. No problems at all, low road noise and great wear. I may drive a little harder in this SUV than I do my suburban so I don think I had gotten the full mileage out of them but I was still very pleased. As far as your suggestion to re-consider the diesel, I truly hear your point. I get quite puzzled hearing some numbers of mileage that come out at times. I know I get 8-9 mpg at 3k rpm in my burb pulling a 3-4 place enclosed with extra 6 inch high roof and 2 1/2 sleds. And that's at 70mph too! At times it makes me feel on the edge of the vehicles ability and it could just be me. For once in my lifetime I'd like to feel the towing stability and power of a diesel when heading north the winter wonderland (thus my "mid life crisis" comment)! I'm a conservative individual and I totally agree that they are not but lighter on the pocket book (60K loaded)! My burb is an 04 with 58k and is in mint condition to which I really hate to let it go. The last reason for wanting a diesel is we may starting camping with the kids so a whole new weight issue comes up depending on the size of the camper. We'll see.......

Mrbb, I may do the same and just take the loss and sell the Revo's on craiglist. I did that with the first Wilderness tires that were on the vehicle. Worst tires I ever had!

Harski

 

[srt20]

We take my buds 12 GMC duramax 2500 crew cab out west. 31 ft trailer 7 wide. 4 sleds, 3 guys. 12-14 mpg on way out depending on wind, every trip. Return home trip is 14-15 mpg every trip.

Never taken a gasser out west.

Speed is always 72-75 mph.

 

[harski]

Erza and SRT, what rear ends are your buddies running in their diesels? That has to be the difference in mileage?? (I know we're getting off topic here but it's great info).

Harski

 

[srt20]

I don't know for sure. It's a 6sp auto, so I believe it's 3.42 or similar. I don't recall the rpm exactly, but I do know his rpm at 70 is lower than mine. But I have 3.73 in mine with a 4sp auto.

His top trans gear and my top trans gear are close. .70ish. Pretty much all auto trans have close to the same top gear ratio.

- - - Updated - - -

Btw I don't recall a time ever that his truck has downshifted on the interstate. Once at speed it says in 6th gear.

Wind makes much much more difference in mpg than weight. My truck gets the same mpg going up north whether I am pulling my 12ft clamshell or his 31ft trailer.

 

[mrbb]

I will take a stab here, all my trucks(last 10 or so) have all had 4.10 rears
due to I know I am not at the torque level a diesel is , so opt for the lower gearing always, plus again I live in hill country so its always up hill driving every few miles
and then the real kicker for me is, I always end up going from stock 29-30 inch tires (245-70-17 or 265-70-17's) to 285-70-17's which are 33's which end up dropping my gearing down mroe or less to about a 3.73 equivalent , from changing tire diameter , in return anm changing gears rations more or less

BUT all my buddy's that have diesel trucks , most all have dodges so cummins
most all have either 3.43 or 3.73\
but they too also go yup to 285-70-17 tires, so there gear ratio's are for sure lower, BUT they have the torque to poll better even with the higher gear ratio's
which does make them run at a lower rpm, then even on the factory smaller tires will
we all run the hi ways at about 75 mph, they will pull away from me on bigger hills and or longer hills
and I will play catch up once over the top and ON many hills, I will be running at about 5,000 rpm to get over them and still be dropping speed, where as they can just stay at speed, which I am sure is why they get better MPG than I do, PLUS they don't have to run to play catch up too!

I have owned a LOT of trucks, and travel to the same places towing the same trailer now for 20 yrs, and EVERY GAS motored truck I have owned(about 20 or more since the late 70's)
the few diesel trucks I have been able to travel with on SAME trips were a TON better to travel in, they just chugged along at what ever speed I set and rolled the same hills my gas motors had to scream at to get over them
BUT again, I don't tow enough to justify buying one
IF i had any say in tucks today, I think the transmissions are the weak link in MPG
there just too far away on shift points even in the 6+ speed auto trans
the trucks loose way too much momentum, before they will down shift, or need a TON of throttle to get them to down shift, then the motor has to scream to make up all the RPM"S and momentum the truck lost, when it hits a hill or??towing a heavy load
they also spend TOO Much time bragging about HP numbers and sadly MOST all trucks today GAS ,one's,
MAKE HP in RPM ranges we seldom are driving in!
so, there making piss poor HP in rpm ranges we run at, further make them rev up to make any real power, and all this UP and down, is what kills MPG's