19.5 tires need recapped at 45,000 miles

[Hemmen1]

we are running bridgestone 19. 5 tires and are not happy with the durability, they do get worked pulling heavy trailers full time but had heard we should get at least 100k out of them before needing to be recapped -- can anyone with 19. 5 experience comment on their experiences

 

[RobG]

I have the General LMT400 225/70-19. 5 tires on my Rickson wheels, and I hate 'em too. They aren't wearing that well, they're awful in the rain, and there is no M+S rating (which had I known about ahead of time, I would never have bought them).



Two of them are very badly worn thanks to the pull-to-the-right condition that my old '96 RAM had, so they're on the rear now. The others are in better shape, but as I said, they aren't wearing well. I figure I have about 25k miles on them since new, and they're between 1/3 and 1/2 worn. That sounds a little better than your Bridgestones, but I dunno for sure.



Now I need to find a place that can handle balancing these monsters, as they're due.



Rob

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

My 19. 5s are wearing Yokohama TY303 rubber with an agressive M+S profile, ideal for the coming winter months in the mountains. I've got almost 15k miles on them now and rotated them once at 10k and they're still all looking like brand new. I kinow that if I floor the go pedal when the road surface is a little wet, I can make the rear end slide a bit, but that's down more to the efficiency of the BOMB mods I guess



Hope this helps guys.

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by JohnMcIntyre

My 19. 5s are wearing Yokohama TY303 rubber with an agressive M+S profile, ideal for the coming winter months in the mountains. ...

I, too, have TY303s. They seem to have stopped wearing. I'm have 50K miles on them now, and they have about half the tread left. This despite the fronts feathering and being real loud, and at least two wheels bent (one *very* noticeably so). Once they warm up, they're nice and sticky. They still stick quite well on wet roads (though they do slip on wet roads at oily intersections). Granted, I don't haul or tow much, but I don't drive like an old man, either, especially along the twisty, mountainous, VA311 here. My brother recently commented that the truck handles more like a sports car in the curves than a 7K lb. pickup!



While not all folks can do it, I would suggest an initial 'break-in' of new tires. That is, run the tires for three hundred miles or so to get them reasonably hot. Then let them sit for a couple days. In essence, this performs a second vulcanization process. I did this with mine, and the tires are wearing at least as well as I expected. For that matter, I kind-of did this with the OEM tires when I first got the truck, and I got 50K miles out of them, even though one was mounted 180 degrees off (had a bad bounce), and the front alignment was really bad. (I had driven at 75MPH to SW MN, about 500 miles, and then let the truck sit for a few days whilst visiting. )



THe only other thing I can suggest is ensuring that the air pressure is set to give a 'proper' tread contact with the road. This usually has to be done trial-and-error. If I have the rear tires to hard, only the middle 3 inches of tire hit the road and traction is *real* poor. (OTOH, too soft, and the tire spins on the wheel too easily, since the 19. 5 inchers don't have tightly sealing beads as do passenger tires. )



Good luck!

Fest3er

 

[RobG]

I remember when I first got mine... the tires were AWFUL until they had completed their heat-cycling process. That took a good 500 miles in the case of my LMT400's. The tread squirm was unreal.



I'll say this... to anyone who gets 19. 5" wheels, don't plan to bolt 'em on and then load up your camper or trailer or whatever and go on a long trip. Plan to give them time to heat cycle as Fester suggests.



Rob

 

[Red360]

I'm running the Cooper C-140's. These are very aggressive tires and seem to be wearing very well despite the lug design. I have 9,000 miles on them so far and I bought them used. I haven't used them in the snow yet, but it was 22 degrees this morning.

 

[NVR FNSH]

Originally posted by RobG

and there is no M+S rating (which had I known about ahead of time, I would never have bought them).

Rob

uhh, how could you not know? It's in the paperwork I got from Rickson.



Brian