Tire info/opinions

[MMcConnell]

I am currently running a set of 305-70-17 Nitto Terra Grapplers on my 2006 CTD. Falling only second to a set of Maxxis Buckshot Mudders, they are the worst tires I have ever owned. I have 7,000 miles on them, and they will not stay balanced. I've taken them to multiple garages, and one that has a road force balancing machine. Each time when they balanced them, they rode smooth for a few days and then back to bouncing again. My truck has a 2-inch leveling kit on it, it was already installed when I bought the truck. I love the way a 4x4 looks when it's leveled. I am interested in getting rid of these Nittos and getting something else. My question is, what tire size can I run on the factory 17 inch rims without the truck looking like a roller skate with the leveling kit, and secondly whats a smooth riding E rated tire? I had Toyo MT's on my 2004 and they rode as smooth as silk compared to these Nittos, but they don't come cheap. Have considered going back to some stock Michelins too, but don't know how they would look on a leveled truck. Information/opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[ETavernier]

MMcConnell,

It sounds like a balance problem; possibly the front axle u joints. If they are OK, and you cannot balance the tires you might try Centramatic dynamic wheel balancing rings.

I had a set of Terra Grapplers, and loved them. Long lasting quiet, great in the snow/wet as well as dry conditions; only fair in the sand. As I do a fair amount of driving in the sand I switched to Dick Cepek Fun Country 11's. I had no problems with the Terra Grapplers in the 70,000 miles I had them on the truck. (325 x 16's on my former 98. 5 HO 4x4 SLT longbed).

Eddie

 

[MMcConnell]

MMcConnell,

It sounds like a balance problem; possibly the front axle u joints. If they are OK, and you cannot balance the tires you might try Centramatic dynamic wheel balancing rings.

I had a set of Terra Grapplers, and loved them. Long lasting quiet, great in the snow/wet as well as dry conditions; only fair in the sand. As I do a fair amount of driving in the sand I switched to Dick Cepek Fun Country 11's. I had no problems with the Terra Grapplers in the 70,000 miles I had them on the truck. (325 x 16's on my former 98. 5 HO 4x4 SLT longbed).

Eddie

I would agree it was a balance problem elsewhere on the truck too, except when I bought the truck it had a set of Toyo AT's on it and they rode smooth. When they wore out I bought the Nittos, I almost went with Toyos but I opted for the Nittos because they costed a little less. The day I had the tires installed I noticed a difference. Ended up taking the truck back to the tire dealer within the first week to have them rebalanced. They re-mounted two of the four and re-balanced all of them. They rode pretty good then for a while, then started bouncing again. I have thought about getting a set of balance rings, but I hate the thought of shelling out money for them to make these tires ride smooth, when they should be smooth from day one.

 

[Cosmo]

I balance my tires every six to eight weeks or so, they don't stay balanced. I have a feeling it's because the tires are spinning on the wheels.

 

[TimothyLong]

I have a 2" leveling kit and I run Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor 285's. They fill up the wheel wells pretty nicely and they run pretty smooth. Because the shop where I bought them offers free lifetime rotation and spin balancing, I take mine up and have that done every time I change my oil (every 6K). Before these, I had a set of 285 BFG A/T's. They ran well and with the service interval I use and they lasted me 54K wearing very evenly. Not bad for a 40K rated tire. Part of your balance problem might be the fact that you are running 305's. In doing some research one time, I found that a lot of 4x4 tire manufacturers do not recommend putting 305's on our stock 8. 5" rims. According to a BFG/Michelin Tech I talked to one time, putting 305's on those rims pinches the sidewalls putting more pressure on them than they should have and causing the sidewall to balloon out making it more susceptible to damage/failure. The Tech told me that doing that voids the tire warranty. That being said, I do recall that there are a few tire manufacturers that make a 305 for an 8. 5" rim. I just don't remember which ones. Best thing to do is look at the sizing charts for the tires you are considering to see tire size/rim width info. I am not saying that the 305 size is your problem, it may be part of the problem.



Now for the Goodyear Silent Armors, you may be rolling your eyes and I wouldn't blame you. For the longest time Goodyear Wranglers totally sucked as a 4x4 tire. However, Goodyear made some changes to the tread design for the Silent Armors and I heard a lot of good things about them. The set I have has about 25K+ on them and I have never had a problem with them. The traction is WAY improved over the old Wranglers and they ride smooth with very little noise. In all of the snow we had last winter I had no traction problems with the 4x4. A few weeks ago we got pelted with 8" of wet, heavy snow. That morning when I went to work, it hadn't been snowing long but the streets and roads were covered and slick. I made it all 28 miles of my commute over unplowed and untreated roads in 4x2. I only broke traction once for just a second till the anti-spin kicked in and I was fine. I am very happy with them. So if you are in the market for new tires, you may want to give them some consideration when making your choice.

 

[MMcConnell]

Thanks for the info. TimothyLong. That is some good information regarding the 305 tire size. I looked on Nitto's website site, and the 305-70-17 recommended wheel width is 8. 0-9. 5. Funny thing, the only other set of tires I have owned that did this same thing was also in a 305-70-17. Where I purchased the tires from offers free lifetime rotation and balancing too, I just hate finding the time to take it by there once or twice a month. Are the Goodyear Silent Armor 285's an E rated tire? I would like to stay with an E rating. Had a set of D rated on my 04 CTD and got about 22,000 miles out of them and that was from driving very conservatively. Snow traction is also an important consideration for me, as where I live is extremely difficult to get to in the winter when there is snow and ice on the roadway, the road is really steep. Probably the best tire I have ever ran on a CTD was Toyo M/T's. I know alot of people don't like a MT, me included at first, but the smoothness and low noise they produced was superior to all A/T's I have ever ran. I am considering getting a set of them again, but they are $$$. I would consider an A/T if I could find one in 285 E rated with favorable reviews.

 

[TimothyLong]

Unfortunately, Goodyear does not put a load rating on their web info for the Wrangler Silent Armors. The only thing they publish is a max load of 3,195 lbs/65 psi for LT285/70R17's (which I think is a D rating). Your best bet would be to contact Goodyear directly about the load rating. A retailer/dealer may tell you anything to make a sale. Since you mention that snow traction is a big concern for you, Goodyear has two other redesigned Wrangler series tires that may be better for that, Goodyear Tires | Find The Right Tire | By Size | Results. However, I cannot speak to how good they are. I only know of the Silent Armors because I am running them. To give you a reference, I ran BFG A/T's for a long time and was happy with them, but IMHO, these Goodyears perform just as well and were less expensive (at least where I got them) than the BFG's. I think that the BFG may be an overall tougher tire in that it would take more punishment, but for road/traction performance the Goodyears are just as good if not a bit better.

The bad part is that tires for our trucks are expensive (some more than others) and that sucks when you're trying to find/evaluate a new tire. Especially if you get a set you don't like you can't always return them for your money back. What's worse is that if you ask 10 different people about what a good tire is to get, you'll get 10 different answers and all of them are valid (at least for the folks giving the advice). My inclination is to tell you to stick to the Toyo's, even though they may be pricey, because they are known to you and you are comfortable with running them. Goodyear does offer a 30 day no obligation trail period on the Silent Armors, but not their new DuraTracs or MT/R's. So while we're still in the cold weather season, taking a set of Silent Armors out for a spin might be an option. Just make sure you read the fine print on the the trial period so that you don't get stuck with them if you don't like them.

 

[goodguys75]

when you balance try out lug centric balancing... it is the most accurate way to balance..... and by the way off road tires are hard to balance.....

 

[RMacneil]

This is an interesting thread. I was just getting ready to purchase the same tires (Nitto Terra Grappler 305/70R17 E). You got me second guessing now. This is the first bad thing I've heard about them. I probably better just stay with my old faithfuls... BFG AT ko's. Too bad the largest E rating they have is 285/70R17's. Because I'd like a 34".

 

[MMcConnell]

RMacneil-You may try them on your truck and they turn out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have not been pleased with them. I spoke to a tire shop last week and they are a Nitto/Toyo dealer and they said that they have had several people report having the same problem with these tires. As you mentioned, most people who run them have nothing but great things to say about them. I'd say give them a try if you want them. I think they look great on the truck, but leave much to be desired as for as ride quality goes. I am going to put mine up for sale I think and go another route.

 

[MMcConnell]

Do you guys think that a 265-70/17 would look "too small" on a truck with a leveling kit?

 

[seafish]

Do you guys think that a 265-70/17 would look "too small" on a truck with a leveling kit?

I think that they look too small even on the stock truck.



Unfortunately, there are some excellent tires in that size, load range E, that are not neceasarily available in larger sizes/load range E.

 

[RMacneil]

Do you guys think that a 265-70/17 would look "too small" on a truck with a leveling kit?

That's stock. That's what I'm running with a leveling kit. They look too small to me, but I think they even look too small with no leveling kit! 285/70R17 would probably be the smallest I'd run with the leveling kit. But that's just me. The problem is, 285/70R17 are usually a bit smaller than 33". That bugs me. You pretty much have to buy a 34" to get a 33".

You know, Nitto's are made in Japan and Georgia, USA. Where were your tires made? Does it say on the tire? I know they have a code on the tire that indicates where they were made, but they might also say in plain english. I'm just curious if it's a plant specific manufacturing issue. I think they should warranty that issue. I'd call NITTO and ***** about it. Just to see what happens.

Nitto® Tire U. S. A. , Inc.
6021 Katella Ave. Suite 250
Cypress, CA 90630
(714)252-0007

Your choice of course. But that's a lot of money to spend for a major headache.

 

[MMcConnell]

I agree, I too feel that anything smaller than a 285-70 looks too small on these trucks. Wish there were more options in an E rated tire. I looked on the tires, and didn't see any markings indicating what plant the tires were manufactured in. I assume one of the numbers in the numerical code on the sidewall indicates where they were manufactured. I know they were manufactured in Jan. 2010, but I don't know what the other numbers represent. I may give them a call just for the fun of it and see what they say, but since I have 7,000 miles on them, I doubt they would do much to work with me, but it never hurts to try. I agree, they are alot of money only to have a headache from. I can guarantee them that I will never spend another dime on their products!

 

[TGVET]

I agree, I too feel that anything smaller than a 285-70 looks too small on these trucks. Wish there were more options in an E rated tire. I looked on the tires, and didn't see any markings indicating what plant the tires were manufactured in. I assume one of the numbers in the numerical code on the sidewall indicates where they were manufactured. I know they were manufactured in Jan. 2010, but I don't know what the other numbers represent. I may give them a call just for the fun of it and see what they say, but since I have 7,000 miles on them, I doubt they would do much to work with me, but it never hurts to try. I agree, they are alot of money only to have a headache from. I can guarantee them that I will never spend another dime on their products!

I've use many brands over the past 40 years and to date the best I've found are the Perelli Scorpion ATR 265's. I get them from Discount Tire and when they are worn before their mileage guarantee 12 to 15 months or 40K, I just take them back and usually end up with four new ones under 400. 00. They are quiet, out perform any snow tire or other so called M&S/ all weather rated I've ever had and superior handling in rain. If I could get as good MPG with 285's I get them, but MPG is more important than how kool my truck should look with wide tires. IMO.