Replacing my 19.5's

[cwbyinjeep]

I've had 19. 5 Goodyears on my Dually for about 70k miles now and the fronts are getting a tad shy on tread. Have tried finding a re-grooving service but it's a dying art so I am looking into replacements and surprised to find that the Goodyears and Michelins are all about the same price these days. Goodyears were the cheapest big name brand I found last time around but after having to true the crap out of the 647 fronts that are about dead now and the fact that they don't do squat in GA clay in spite of the truck being 4wd I'm thinking of going with drive tires all around this time. In the rear I have G154's which Goodyear doesn't make anymore and they have quite a bit of life left.



Any feedback out there on a decent drive tire for all wheel positions and not be numb steering or buzzy ride? This was the main reason for a steer tire in the front last go around and will avoid that this time.

 

[Wertles]

I only have about a thousand miles on my Bridgestones so far and I have nothing else but stock to compare to so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I like them so far. I don't have any numb feeling on the steering but these tires do sing a little to me on the highway. Traction is great. I was parking the 5er this weekend in a little mud and never had to go into 4wd. I also considered Toyo's but the Bridgestones have a higher weight capacity and I was told they wear a little better.

 

[HBarlow]

I have no experience at all with 19. 5" wheels and tires or the various selections to choose from but in my experience, with light truck, motorcycle, or car tires, you cannot buy a better tire than Michelin.

 

[Wertles]

I have much better advice than I gave at 3 this morning. Call Ricksons. They all there have first hand experience with all the major brands of tires. Heather can tell you all the goods and bads about each tire. Each one has different ride, handling, wear and balancing characteristics. She really listened to what I needed and wanted in a tire and picked out the best for me. She also steered me away from some name brand tires I was interested in because they had some issues with maintaining balance. If you go locally for your tires, make sure you get match mounting and balancing. It's much more expensive but makes a big difference in these tires over just balancing.

 

[EricBu12]

Called Les Schwab Tire. . At a Commercial store, ask about a "Ring Tread" this is a retread but the cap is made in a continuous ring beforehand... . the tire is ground down, prepare for the cap, the cap is stretched over the tire, then it goes into the autoclave to vulcanize... Seems better than the flat long strip where it has an ability to come apart.

I am considering this as it makes it about $150/ tire . I have a heavy 5th wheel but with the cap in a continuous ring, there is less chance for it to come apart.

 

[Wertles]

Is this OK on a steer tire? I thought you couldn't (well shouldn't) put a retread on the steer but it is fine on the drive tires.

 

[JExum]

I have cheap chinese made 265/70/19. 5s with almost a 100k on them. You can use cheaper tires but I think the best way to to make them work is to have them shaved to truely make them round, centramatics and regular balancing weights. One of my tires still has a 6oz weight on it but its not shaking the truck. Rickersons is the best way to go but alittle more pricy.

 

[CUMMINZ]

I had my tires regrooved.



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[fest3er]

Is this OK on a steer tire? I thought you couldn't (well shouldn't) put a retread on the steer but it is fine on the drive tires.

I don't think a reputable shop will install recaps on the steering axle. I believe there is a law prohibiting the use of recaps on the steering axle on any vehicle.

 

[Barry]

Have Ricksons now with Goodyear 225/70/19. 5s.



Just bought a set of Visions with Michelin 225/70/19. 5s... ... ... ... ... I'll try them for awhile... ... ... ... .



Really like the looks of the Bridgestone 250s in load F 245/70/19. 5

 

[morbius]

Be careful using Bridgestone M729F ... Great tires but loud on the highway and anywhere when you have concrete roads. Great off road and heaven help on gravel roads ... . you will spend time picking all the rocks out of the groves ... LOL !

 

[BigUglyRacing]

Well one option is regrooving the tires yourself. It is really not to hard and is relatively easy. I have done it for many years on many types of tires. Here is a link to the groover i use. Tire Groover - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop

 

[Barry]

MOrbius... ... ... ...



Thanx for the tip. I was planning on using the 250F road tread since 99. 9% of my driving is road trips. I learned very quickly not to get off hard surface with the 19. 5s. They are very unforgiving in this Florida sand.

 

[Barry]

I am having a problem with uneven wear. Despite the fact that I am using Centramatics and have the wheels and tires balanced, I am having uneven wear on the front tires. I bought the set used. The guy I bought them from said the fronts were like new and the backs are marginal. Well, over 60,000 miles later, I am still running the rears with tread left!



The fronts are a different story. While I have plenty of tread left on the fronts, they have uneven wear and are scalloped. I have new shocks and had it aligned. If I could get them to wear even, I am sure they would go 150K... ..... I am also very pressure conscious.



This next week, I am going to take them in to be trued. Don't know how much tread I will have left but hopefully I can run them another 30K.



Bought a set of Visions from a guy with Michelins. I will run them awhile and then decide which set I will keep and which I will sell... ... ... ... . Have 5 matching Ricksons but only got 4 Visions... ... ... . If I keep the Visions, I will just go back to using my OEM spare.



mi dos centavos... ... .

 

[HBarlow]

Someone, somewhere, once told me that once an uneven wear pattern is started on a radial tire it will continue even after the cause is corrected. I don't know if that statement is true and accurate as I have not experienced it.

 

[Barry]

Uncle Harvey,



Do you think or know if they will continue to wear like that even after I have them trued?

 

[HBarlow]

Uncle Harvey,

Do you think or know if they will continue to wear like that even after I have them trued?

Barry,

I don't really know but my guess would be if you had had them shaved immediately after the front end repairs or after purchasing them and before using them on your truck you might have halted the uneven wear.

I'll be interested in your report to prove or disprove this old information someone shared with me after you run the tires awhile.

 

[Barry]

UH,



That sounds plausible. But the scalloping and cupping I thought would be from a balance problem which I assumed should not have happened with the Centramatics... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ?



Both tires are also wearing on the inside of the tread more rapidly than the rest of the tire. I am wondering if I need to replace or re-arch the front springs. I do have a little right front sag... ... ... ... .....

 

[HBarlow]

Barry,

I don't know the answer but I agree that scalloping and cupping normally suggest a balance problem. Don't know a thing about centramatics.

Wear on the inside edge of both tires suggests toe out misalignment or a ride height change that makes the factory alignment incorrect.

Edit: Might suggest excessive loads on the rear squatting the rear and transferring weight from front wheels to rear and leaving the front suspension extended into the rebound position.

 

[Barry]

Well Folks, I had the tires trued... ... ... ..... and what a difference. I am thinking that whenever I change tires from now on, I am going to take them to the shop and have them trued.