a couple of tire questions....

[shendren]

i'm not a big tire guru. i just want to put a good tire on my truck. i've had good luck with michelins in the past. that is what is on my truck now. they were on it when i bought it used last year.



i have been searching the different sites. it seems that the 245/75/16's were stock on it. now it has 265/75/16's on it. what is the basic difference in the size? will one be a better performer than the other? i understand that the difference is the 20mm measured across the top of the tire. which means more rubber on the road. but will the mileage decrease with the 265's vs the 245's?



also, i see the yokohama's are all rated very well and they are very inexpensive compared to the goodyears/michelins, etc... .



any one have the yokohama's? do you like them?



thanks for the input.....



scott.

 

[BRUTUS]

Scott



I have not had good luck with Yokohama tires in the past. I had four thread separations and all were under 20,000 miles of use. They all had different lot numbers.

On the current truck, my stock Michelins have over 22,000 miles on them and after the third rotation, they look good and appear barely used.

FWIW

 

[Dave MacArthur]

Scott,



You may want to consider 255/85's also. I have them in the Dunlop Radial Rover. I would love to have them in a Michelin but they don't make anything in that size. The 255's are narrower than the 265's but about 1. 5" taller. I think this size looks great on our trucks. The Dunlop's give very good traction in all conditions but they are wearing faster than my old Michelins. I have about 28K on them now and will probably be lucky to get to 35 or 40K.



Dave

 

[shendren]

thanks for the input. i've had michelin's in the past and they wear very well. i'll probably stick with them. thanks. scott.

 

[Oil Ape]

Tire wear consist of a couple of different factors.



First the tread pattern. The more aggressive the pattern the louder the tire and the lower the mileage you can expect out of them. Also with extremely aggressive tires you can also expect to lose some of the fuel mileage due to an increased friction with the road and increased air drag. But if you need the traction don't skimp. It is much cheaper to replace the tires more often than doing body work when you slip off the road in bad weather.



The Second factor is the type and hardness of the rubber. A high mileage tire generally uses a harder rubber that gives outstanding performance on the dry asphalt but can get a bit greasy in the wet.



There are pro's and con's and combinations of both factors out there. I seem to do really well with a higher mileage A/T type pattern in just about all situations.



The width difference of a 255/85 in comparison to a 265/75 is almost negligable. I do like the height of the 255 but not the $$$. They are quite a bit more expensive and a lot harder to find. The 235/85 is as tall/taller than the 265/75 but quite a bit narrower and I've gotten superb mileage out of them in the past. It all boils down to personal preference. I don't think you'll lose any fuel mileage going to the 265/75's nor do I think you'll get any better(I don't seem to). I lost going to the 285/75's for a while. Make sure that if you do go with the 265/75's you get either the load range D's or E's.

 

[shendren]

i'm thinking i'll go back to the stock 245/75/16 and i may get a little better mileage. who knows.



thanks.

scott.

 

[Dennis Garrett]

I went from 245's to Firestone SteelTex 265's last time. I have 3:54 rear end, and it geared the truck up quite a bit. I'm moving a true 75 mph at 2000 RPM now. It made the same difference as going from 4:10's to 3:54's, about 200 rpm in lock up "D". I had to regear the speedo drive to get the odometer right, the, at a true, constant speed, pick the speedometer needle off the shaft, and reposition it to the speed I was travelling by the stopwatch, with the cruise on. Didn't make much difference in mileage, may be a little better on trips due to the lower RPM.

 

[illflem]

Scott, you're not going to like the looks if you go back to a smaller tire, your wheelwells will look like empty voids.

 

[Cooker]

Scott,



I don't think you will pick up mileage going to a 245 from a 265 (you have 3. 54 gears right). If anything I think you may lose a little MPG given a higher cruising RPM (assuming the speedometer is accurate and adjusted with both sizes of tires).



Given the miles you seems to drive, I think the Michelins would be a good choice. JMHO



Also, I'm with Bill, 245's just don't look right.

 

[WadePatton]

Love the 265's at the speeds I drive and lack of towing and 6-speed.



And the Michelins are very impressive too. They have 55,000 miles on them! I used to always buy the cheapo tire and replace them every 15-20,000 miles, 'cuz I'm HARD on tires (in the corners).



Anyhoo, I'm plannning on more Michelins this time. And if you're not ASKEERT of 'em look for special prices on "blem" Michelin tires. Some of those went like hotcakes around here recently for about $120 a pop!