2xtreme
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Kayak Pt, WA
I don't suspect that this will directly impact many of you, but I thought that the information might be usefull to some and it may spure other questions when you guys are getting new tires for your vehicles.
I have an Excusion that had 38's and recently put a set of Goodyear MTR 40's on it. In the process of looking into tires for this truck several things were important to me:
1. Size, this is typically the first thing that people look at and many times the ONLY thing that people consider when buying new tires. When you get to 40's you don't have as much choice between manufacturers and wheel sizes so your choices are limited. Keep in mind that the "real" size of the tire may also be significantly different than the "labeled" size of the tire also.
2. Load rating, My 38's were Load rated "E" and since this truck is heavy and tows regularly the load rating and the load weight capability were important to me.
3. Weight, some tires weight significantly more than other tires of the same size and most don't advertise these weights without signficant research.
4. Reviews, how others with the same tire in similar applications felt like the tire performed is of significant value. What many people forget with regard to reviews is that they should be similar applications and that everyone has a different experience level with a particular tire.
5. Price, It is not unusual to find price discrepancies of more than 50% between different tire companies for the same size tires.
For my particular application this was not an easy decision. Since I was purchasing new wheels I had a little more option of tire choices; BFGoodrich KM2's, Goodyear MTR's, IROK, and Toyo MT.
Here is how I narrowed down my choices.
1. The Toyo's were both exceptionally heavy and expensive, plus everyone has these on their lifted SD's already.
2. The BFG KM2's in this size are significantly more money than the others and weighed more than the MTR's.
3. The IROK has a SIGNIFICANTLY higher weight rating (load rated "E") and were less money than the MTR, and many people say they are an acceptable road tire on tow rig's. My concern was their weight and road maners and how they perform on snow/ice.
4. The MTR was reasonably priced, less weight than the others but was a load rated "C" tire which considering my experience towing with big tires did concern me.
In the end I decided on the MTR. The sales guys convinced me that the tire load was adaquate for what I was doing with the tires (it is within a couple hundred pounds of the 38's "E" that I was replacing).
When I installed them and aired them up I was in shock. Something I had never even thought to consider was the tire pressure that they are recommended to run at for max load capability. In the case of my previouse 38's it was 65psi and the MTR's it is 35psi!! Which means that I am getting "almost" the same load capability of the old tires at just over 1/2 of the tire pressure.
The first drive in these tires was incredible!!
1. The lower tire pressure is a very "soft" ride.
2. The tires track much nicer (this is probably just due to new tires instead of old tires).
3. These tires are much quieter than the old tires.
I now have about 2000 miles of towing on these tires and I must say that so far I am impressed and very happy with the decision. I still have two significant areas that I am interested to see how they perform; snow/ice performance (which I won't be able to see till winter), and how they hold up over time (tread wear and inner carcas strength) and obviously this will take a long time to understand better.
I just thought that I would pass on the info, some of you might find this usefull for your tires selections in the future.
Michael
I have an Excusion that had 38's and recently put a set of Goodyear MTR 40's on it. In the process of looking into tires for this truck several things were important to me:
1. Size, this is typically the first thing that people look at and many times the ONLY thing that people consider when buying new tires. When you get to 40's you don't have as much choice between manufacturers and wheel sizes so your choices are limited. Keep in mind that the "real" size of the tire may also be significantly different than the "labeled" size of the tire also.
2. Load rating, My 38's were Load rated "E" and since this truck is heavy and tows regularly the load rating and the load weight capability were important to me.
3. Weight, some tires weight significantly more than other tires of the same size and most don't advertise these weights without signficant research.
4. Reviews, how others with the same tire in similar applications felt like the tire performed is of significant value. What many people forget with regard to reviews is that they should be similar applications and that everyone has a different experience level with a particular tire.
5. Price, It is not unusual to find price discrepancies of more than 50% between different tire companies for the same size tires.
For my particular application this was not an easy decision. Since I was purchasing new wheels I had a little more option of tire choices; BFGoodrich KM2's, Goodyear MTR's, IROK, and Toyo MT.
Here is how I narrowed down my choices.
1. The Toyo's were both exceptionally heavy and expensive, plus everyone has these on their lifted SD's already.
2. The BFG KM2's in this size are significantly more money than the others and weighed more than the MTR's.
3. The IROK has a SIGNIFICANTLY higher weight rating (load rated "E") and were less money than the MTR, and many people say they are an acceptable road tire on tow rig's. My concern was their weight and road maners and how they perform on snow/ice.
4. The MTR was reasonably priced, less weight than the others but was a load rated "C" tire which considering my experience towing with big tires did concern me.
In the end I decided on the MTR. The sales guys convinced me that the tire load was adaquate for what I was doing with the tires (it is within a couple hundred pounds of the 38's "E" that I was replacing).
When I installed them and aired them up I was in shock. Something I had never even thought to consider was the tire pressure that they are recommended to run at for max load capability. In the case of my previouse 38's it was 65psi and the MTR's it is 35psi!! Which means that I am getting "almost" the same load capability of the old tires at just over 1/2 of the tire pressure.
The first drive in these tires was incredible!!
1. The lower tire pressure is a very "soft" ride.
2. The tires track much nicer (this is probably just due to new tires instead of old tires).
3. These tires are much quieter than the old tires.
I now have about 2000 miles of towing on these tires and I must say that so far I am impressed and very happy with the decision. I still have two significant areas that I am interested to see how they perform; snow/ice performance (which I won't be able to see till winter), and how they hold up over time (tread wear and inner carcas strength) and obviously this will take a long time to understand better.
I just thought that I would pass on the info, some of you might find this usefull for your tires selections in the future.
Michael