2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission The right 19.5 tire??

[geusterman]

Hi boys. My 2002 scrubs the outside on my 295 Toyos which wrecks the blocks on the outside edges. In picking a 19. 5 today I opted for the Bridgestone M724F as it has a traction center but a siped solid outside rib. The Yokohama TY303 did not come in the 245 but would have picked it as it is rated M and S with solid outer rib. Anybody running the Bridgestones? Would have liked a Michelin but nothing came close. I am not familiar with the Bridgestones. Input please? George

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Make the call George!!

Hey George, it might be worth a quick phone call to Matthew or Dan over at Rickson in Sparks, MD. I'm sure they've seen and evaluated just about every 19. 5 rim/tire combination going and this should reduce your own final tire selection to a manageable decision. I'm sorry to hear that the Yokohama TY303s aren't working out for you. They've proven themselves time and time again for me on my 2nd gen 3500 since I had them installed.



Good luck!

 

[geusterman]

Hi John, howya been? The Toyo's I have are 16 inch and really a fine tire, with a 3000 lb rating but I am building up the 2500 to really be a SRW 3500 plus truck and the 16" have to go. The 245/19. 5's will do 4500 lbs per tire and the Rickson wheel is rated as such. Anybody want a Toyo (295) on 2002 steel rims, mounted and balenced for $150 each? Come to Mount Vernon WA and I will save em for you. George

 

[15w40]

Since no one has responded to your question, I’ll give it a shot.



I have been running the Bridgestone M724s on my ‘98 2500 for several years. The tires are 245/70 19. 5 load range G. My reason for choosing these tires was for the solid edge rib as you stated, and they looked aggressive enough for snow. After putting about 75K miles on them they are wearing well with the fronts staying almost flat because of the heavy outside tread. I have noticed that the siping is gone, I guess it isn’t very deep, but there is still plenty of tread left. Traction in ice and snow is not as good as a heavily lugged all terrain tire, but is adequate.



In about 100K more miles I will replace them with 225s instead of the 245s. This will allow me to use the stock, under bed, spare tire mount. The 245s will not fit in there.

 

[geusterman]

Thanks Dave. I have the BS's ordered because of what you said there. DOWD had them and they were squirrly until broken in. He just replaced them at 80K with the 225 XDE-MS which took right off with no breakin. My issue with them is the outer edge is a block pattern, which I imagine will scrub and feather. However, I realize that the rubber is probably harder than my 16" TOYO which feathered right away. The XDE 225 is 3970# and the 245 is only 4080# while your BS's are 4550#. I would prefer the 4500# type tire so I never had to sweat a heavy load. I think is was Fest3er that heated up too hot to touch with his 3600# Yokohama TY-303's and 3500 pounds in the bed at 45 mph. If you drop back to 225's, which ones? What are your load issues? I am really wanting to know if your BS's are quiet or noisy, ride rough or? and are they better in the snow/mud than a highway tire. If not, I may just get a Michelin highway tire and sipe it. And carry chains. Your thoughts here? George

 

[15w40]

When I first put on the Bridgestone M724 tires they felt like the road was covered with grease. I had to check the tire pressure several times for the first few weeks to be sure the greasy feel was not from under inflation, it wasn’t. The road feel improved as the miles accumulated, but it took about 300 miles of unloaded driving before I would load up the truck. The other thing you will notice right away is these tires sing at highway speeds. As the tread break in it gets quieter but after 70K miles it is louder than the stock tires. I believe the commercial tires are designed for high mileage and not for low noise.



I only occasionally load up my truck with brick or cement and this is my reason for adding the capacity. The long service life from the commercial tire justified the high initial cost of the upgrade.



One word of caution. Running empty most of the time I thought lowering the pressure in the rear would help the ride (the Bridgestone’s have 5 steel belts in the tread and a steel belt in the sidewall). With about 50 psi in the rear tires the wheels would spin inside the tires and this screwed up the tire balance. Running at 80 psi stopped the wheel from spinning. Now only the tires break loose.



As far as my next set of tires, I would like better traction in deep snow and thought the 225s, being narrower, might be better. I will have to think hard about giving up the added tire capacity of the 245s.

 

[geusterman]

Hey thanks. It is a brain twister. I am going to check into the Continental HDR tomorrow. It is a 245 M and S but the tread may be too wide. The side blocks are small and it looks like a good snow tire but with lots of small blocks which should be fairly quiet. I just heard from DOWD privately and will call him on how his 225 XDE Michelins are going. I think I will pass for now on the BS's based on your and DOWD's experiences so far. George

 

[geusterman]

Well, finally made a decision. Local Les Schwab tire dealer is now a Rickson dealer and we made the first purchase, a set of steel wheels powder-coated silver. Tires were such a twister. Thankfully DOWG in TX ran the Bridgestones that looked right but were squirrley and noisy and switched to XD Michelin 225's and loves them. The outer blocks are not feathering after 3000 miles (and they should be by now), never squirreled once and handle deep rain real well. I am going 245 so as to never worry about weight (and flats for that matter). I considered almost every tire in the Rickson catalog (more than once). Thanks for your input. George