Tires

[TFucili]

I'm sorry to dredge up another tire question, but I have read old tire threads 'til my eyes were bloodshot. My truck is an '05 3500 QC 4x4 SRW. I am likely to stay with the stock 265/70-17E size, but have not ruled out going to 285s, pending a decision on what it will cost to recal the speedo, and whether I'd ante up and buy a matching spare. My choices are Toyo AT or MT, Nitto Terra Grapplers, BFG AT KO. I don't do a ton of off road, but sidewall protection is of concern due to rocks nibbling away. I am a bit confused with the Toyo ATs. It appears that in some sizes the sidewalls look like a highway tire, but in others they have a bit more of a wrap around tread block for more protection. I've also read, and been told that the Toyo MTs are remarkably quiet, and wear longer than the ATs. I'm gonna have to do something soon. I should add that I don't put on many miles, so, while I certainly want reasonable tread wear, tires that go 100K miles are not of much concern, as the AZ sun will have them weather-checked before I can wear them out.

Advice welcomed!



Thanks guys

 

[jelag]

When you buy an E rated tire you should get about the same construction from tire to tire to support the load and side sway on a light truck. . only when you slide back to a load range D do you see a change in side wall...

I'm guessing that most of the tire vendors will tell you theirs is better. . I have stayed with the same manufactures for several years... . and actually run recaps on the back of my 3500 dually's, however they've all been changed to 19. 5" tires and run stiff as a board...

My thought is to buy the tire you wish... and not worry about the side wall, you state ""I don't do a ton of off road"" so this would tell me that you buy what you need and when your off road just watch for sharp rocks... .

When we used to buy truck tires... 750 / 16 etc... we really didn't have much to worry about as these tires, were of bias construction and most of the sidewalls where more or less square to the tread... these new design radials are there to give us a better ride (what we need most of the time) but carry the load... and they do have more bulge in the side walls...

I personally run Bridgestone's and Michelins on the steer axle and later have them capped for the rear... we're happy with both these tires and the all season rear tire we've chosen works in the winter for us... Not an exceptional tire but functions... and we have a really great cost per mile... .

Just my thoughts

 

[TFucili]

Thanks, Jim. I understand that the sidewalls are structurally about the same, except some are 3 ply versus two. My sidewall question is primarily about the exterior, especially on the Toyo ATs, which are one of my prime candidates. Some photos show no wrap at all, and some show a fair amount, but still less than the Nittos. I've owned a ton of trucks, and have run the BFG Radial ATs, heck I ran 'em before they were radials, and always had pretty good luck. When I had more disposable income, I could afford to experiment, but in these times I can't gamble. This is the only place I'd trust for advice.



Thanks!

 

[MChrist]

15,000 miles on my 285 Nitto Dura Grapplers, and still a lot of tread. Very little rolling resistance=better mpg. Fine for snow and some mud as long as you have 4wd. Just put General Grabbers on my Tahoe and was shocked how good they were on snow!! Much better than my Nittos... Both tires are silent going down the road. .
Hope this helps.

 

[TFucili]

15,000 miles on my 285 Nitto Dura Grapplers, and still a lot of tread. Very little rolling resistance=better mpg. Fine for snow and some mud as long as you have 4wd. Just put General Grabbers on my Tahoe and was shocked how good they were on snow!! Much better than my Nittos... Both tires are silent going down the road. .

Hope this helps.

Good info, thanks.

 

[Regcabguy]

I'm still sold on Toyo AT 285-75-17's. Mine have been great. I bought them used w/20,000 on them and have put another 12,000 on 'em. The prior owner never rotated nor balanced them. I've done both two times. I'll get 37,000 safe miles out of them. They've had cabovers w/CTD's resting on them and pretty severe offroading for the first 20,000. I do wish they'd use a bit harder rubber compound for longevity. Better yet,same size in an M-55.

 

[fishabit]

Toyo has been the best tire I have ever ran. The Nitto Grapplers are nice too but lacking in wet traction, and I got a lot of "slap" noise from them, but I still liked them. If you go with the Toyo's get the m/t's. they have beefy sidewalls and are almost as quiet as an A/T. Plus they are cheaper than BF Googrich, at least in my area.

 

[Regcabguy]

Toyo has been the best tire I have ever ran. The Nitto Grapplers are nice too but lacking in wet traction, and I got a lot of "slap" noise from them, but I still liked them. If you go with the Toyo's get the m/t's. they have beefy sidewalls and are almost as quiet as an A/T. Plus they are cheaper than BF Googrich, at least in my area.

The 285-75-17 Toyo At's are 14# heavier than their "70" cousin. My sidewalls barely bulge @ 60 psi. with the camper. The MT sure looks good though.

 

[SSell]

Ditto on the 285 Dura Grapplers, very quiet&smooth. Drive as good as the stock michelins on road & don't seem nearly as easy to sink off road.

 

[SSell]

Oh yeah, for what its worth... ... ... My first trip camping with my new 285 DuraGraplers I was able to find a 2" pallet staple & flatten my tire--no reflection on tire quality, I just have a gift for wrecking my stuff. 60 mile trip to get it repaired convinced me to spring for full sized spare, put the patched one on the spare, sold the old spare for $25... .





Don't remember how far off the speedo was, it wasn't much. I did pay I think $60 to have dealer update ECM because I was trying to rule out bunch of stuff that may have been causing a low power issue I was having . At least now the fuel economy display is much more optimistic.

 

[Grizzly]

For the little off road use you do, I agree with Jim about sidewalls. However, if sidewall protection is of that much concern, consider Michelin XPS Rib.

 

[AWise]

Oh yeah, for what its worth... ... ... My first trip camping with my new 285 DuraGraplers I was able to find a 2" pallet staple & flatten my tire--no reflection on tire quality, I just have a gift for wrecking my stuff. 60 mile trip to get it repaired convinced me to spring for full sized spare, put the patched one on the spare, sold the old spare for $25... .





Don't remember how far off the speedo was, it wasn't much. I did pay I think $60 to have dealer update ECM because I was trying to rule out bunch of stuff that may have been causing a low power issue I was having . At least now the fuel economy display is much more optimistic.

I got you one better for ruining a perfectly good tire... courtesy of one of the city snow plows. #@$%!



I bought a Smarty Jr. so I could adjust my speedo (among other things!)

 

[MLeix]

25,000 on the Nitto 285 dura-grapplers. Great tire so far. Quiet and has two different sidewall patterns so you can choose your look. Not the best for all out offroad use, but better than your standard all-season tire without the noise. Handled the 3K pin weight of our fifth wheel with no problem.

 

[RonD]

I have the very same truck, Nitto Dura Grapplers, I tow heavy, there a great tire, good traction, good looks, great traction in snow and rain, I have 10k on them, no sign of any wear at this time, if you tow and have 373 gears I would stay with stock size tires, IMO.

 

[Hercules130]

i have 40k on my 285 grapplers and love them. Way better than the junk coopers i had b4. They will need to be replaced in about 3k. i think i want bigger next time

 

[TFucili]

i have 40k on my 285 grapplers and love them. Way better than the junk coopers i had b4. They will need to be replaced in about 3k. i think i want bigger next time

Are they Terra or Dura Grapplers? It's the Terras that I may be interested in.
I don't offroad daily, but I can't even consider a highway tire. There are still a lot of dirt/gravel roads around here(I live on one), and when it rains it gets pretty snotty. We've had a couple days of rain here, and my buddy called me at 5 AM to pull him out of a foot deep of slop where a wash ran across the road. He had Michelin highway tires on his 2WD CTD. When I said I don't do a ton of off-roading, I didn't mean seldom or never ;-)

 

[TFucili]

I'm still debating whether to stay with 265's or to go 285. I called my local dealer(who is no longer a dealer thanks to Obama/Chrysler)and they want $90 to plug in their scan tool and recal for the tire size I'm going to see if my tire guy can do it with his Snap-On scan tool. If he can't, I think I'll stay stock size.

 

[TFucili]

For anyone who has done speedo recalibration with a Snap-On scan tool, I have read that the setting is found in the ABS settings, but what particular setting are we looking for?

 

[NavyDood]

The Dura grapplers are awesome all the way around. Dry, wet and snow. I am running the 285's and they pretty much laughed at the 13+ inches of snow we got here in MD before Christmas. This included venturing off the plowed roads too. I drove in 2wd some of the time just to see how it would handle. It was easily handable. Weight in the back would have helped substantially.

 

[JWadford]

the toyo m-55 is an ugly no hooking up tire that is about the toughest we have found for our work trucks, they are stud ready, we have tried the new bfg km2 and at, also tried the toyo mt and at, the toyo mt chunked out in about a month, the ats were flattened and the bfgs didnt last long at all this is 100 percent off road driving 24 hrs a day.