Which should last longer, tall and narrow or taller and wider?

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I had 285/75/16 Bridgestone MT's on my 99 1500 for 10K, I then put them on my 99 2500 and put 35K on them. I alway's felt that the 285's would have lasted longer at proper inflation on 8" wheels. I ran them underinflated (45/32) on the 16x6. 5 wheels to get a full contact patch.

In February, I put 235/85/16 Dunlop Mud Rovers on the truck; after 9K, they are worn down to 8/32 from 17/32. At the rate I am going, I won't get 20K. I rotate every 5K and cross rotate every 10K I have them inflated 65/55 and there is no damage to the outer tread so cornering is not the problem.

Why are the Dunlops wearing so fast?

Dunlop Customer Service said "sorry, go talk to your dealer". Discount Tire agreed that the wear seems excessive for the mileage and agreed to give me half the tire cost as credit and will be replacing them with Bridgestones like I had previously.

Is it due to the smaller contact patch, softer rubber, different tread pattern?

243


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1999 Quad Cab 2500 ST 4X4 SB 24V/5speed 3. 54/LSD Driftwood/Agate
[*] 275hp Injectors, Wastegate Elbow, Boost Module by TXRam, Straight Pipe
[*] VDO Boost and Pyrometer on Autometer Gauge Pod
[*] 235/85/16 Dunlop Mud Rovers, RS9000's, Hella 500 Driving Lights Husky Liners
[*] Smittybilt Sure-Steps, Magellan 315 GPS mounted on shifter console

-- email address removed --

 

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It is a combination of all items mentioned,
larger tires have to turn less revs per mile.
Wider tires spread the load over a bigger surface.
softer compounds wear faster but grip better.

Hope this helps.

Ted Jannetty

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Ted Jannetty, Owner President Jannetty Racing Enterprises Inc.
97 3500 4x4 club cab 5spd. RED, JRE stage 3 power kit, JRE 4" exhaust
JRE 1/2 inch fuel system, Cummins 370 hp injectors, Prime loc,
Cummins chrome kit, US Gear 20% over drive, 3. 54 posi, Autometer
gauges, boost, and Pyrometer, BD exhaust brake.
97 Ski-Doo 670 turbocharged
99 Honda Forman 450 ES

 

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243, I'm not an expert on tires, but it stands to reason that softer rubber will wear faster. Tires with a very agressive tread design would have less rubber on the ground,leading to more wear. Taller tires should get more wear.
I would think in hot regions or running at highway speeds with off road tires would cause excessive wear.

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Missouri Mule 96 White 4X4 ST club cab,(grey int. ),5 spd, 3. 54 reg dif, 8 ft bed, 1 ft high cheater boards, front and side of bed,Pofile V bug shield,
99 Freight liner FL60 blue Cummins 24v 215 hp, 520 torgue,6 spd 3. 59 no spin rear, 16 ft dry box (white) 19. 5 low profile tires,Weight 11,000, gvw 23000, 11 to 12 mpg
Bill Thomas (Wild Bill)

 

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I ran a couple of sets of Dunlops a couple of trucks ago, and really didn't think they lasted a long time.
Just my $. 02

 

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Dave, I've never had a set of mud tires last longer than 10k. Others will tell you they put 50k on a set. Probably has a lot to do with how you drive and how they are used. Thats the price you have to pay for an aggresive mud tire. Thats whats keeping me from putting 36" Super Swampers on mine. I drive 50k a year and can't afford five sets every year.

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98. 5 3500 QC 4x4, Driftwood/Mist Grey, 5 spd, 3. 54, 19. 5 Alcoa's, 245/70-19. 5 Michelin's, Ranchhand front bumper, Ranchhand rear bumper, Ranchhand toolbox, "Scotty Air", TST PowerMax2, Autometer Gauges, Centerforce clutch, Upgraded fuel lines (JRE and Aeroquip), MagHytec Diff Cover, PacBrake

 

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Thanks for you responses...

A softer compound is understandably, going to get fewer miles than a harder compound. One tire tech told me that the MT's would generate more heat running on the highway than a normal tire; my guess is, the heat softens the rubber resulting in the accelerated wear. Is this the most likely reason?

I will tell you this, I would have never believed that a properly sized, properly inflated "skinny" mud tire would have worn faster than my old setup.

My other thought is to buy a set of inexpensive MT's for hunting season and offroad fun and run radials the rest of the year. It just seems like a hassle if you don't work in a tire shop though.

Jeff, I like the look of your truck with the 19. 5's. If I had to put 50K per year on mine then that would be an option. Have you found any decent AT's?

243

 

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You also might try siping your tires. They say it will reduce heat and also provide more traction (rain/snow). It costs about $10. 00 per tire to have this done.

Frank

 

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Dave, I used to run Michelin XZT front and rear, but the fronts wore real fast 30k as opposed to advertised 200k. The rears have 60k and are fine. Probably will need replacing in another 30k. The fronts were replaced with XZE, a highway rib. My next set will probably be Bridgestone. At least until I'm done with school. Then I can afford to play.

 

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243,
I agree with Ted. Tires generally carry a wear rating. I will assume this rating was not equal on both tires. Maybe this isn't financially possible for you, but 2 sets of tires are definitely the ticket. I recently bought a set of used 16x8 Alcoa's to hold my 285's. And since the stock steel rims hardly catch $200 around here. It only makes sense to put snow tires on them for winter and regular, non agressive all seasons on the Alcoa's for the other 3 months. If it makes you feel any better, my Goodyears are almost shot after only 20K. Towing. . MAYBE 5% of the time and 3 short trips carrying 1-1 1/2 ton of stone in the bed. Of course I swear I could SEE wear after each of the trips.

 

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I've seen a lot of comments on fast tire wear. Mine seems to be right foot related. I don't know about the dually guys but it's easy to buzz the tires when rowing through the gears in my 01 SB QC 4x4 5spd 3. 54 even when stock. I'm running 275/70/16 BFG all terrains on the factory 8" wheels- they're about . 3" shorter than the 265/75 setup but have a nice wide footprint. The fronts are wearing well and could easily go 40-50K (11k now, just rotated at 10K)The rear tires (Which are now rotated to the front) are worn about . 160-. 180" more as measured with the end of my 6" dial calipers. If I did not see the wear or have people outside the truck witnessing the spin I would not know it was happening- can't be heard over the cummins rattle with stock exhaust. Just thought I'd mention this factor- I know it's the main cause of my fast tire wear

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01 2500 4x4,SB, QC, black sport, 5 speed, BFG All Terrains, leather, 3. 54, anti-spin, camper package, RBW 15k 5er hitch, tow package, tonneau.

Bombed- gages and DD1's, former PMAX2

Toys- 84 coilsprung CJ-7 with 5. 2 magnum auto transmission, Go2Guy Engineering transfer case clocking adapter (Dana 300) and all the big dog jeep goodies.

Tige 2100i inboard ski boat w/ tower

30'Tahoe 5er with slide, soon to be modded with a rear deck and extra axle to haul the jeep!

 

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FWIW, I ran 39,000 miles on the factory 245's, then 48,000 on a set of Cooper LT 245/75/16, then 34,000 an a set of Cooper AT 265/75/16 with an E rated load capacity, I just installed a new set of Cooper LT 285's in a D rating.
We'll see.
I ran a set of LT's on a 1500 to 63,000 miles
All of the tires were still legal when replaced.

 

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243,

I had a problem similar to yours a while back, except I was running Kelley Safari MSRs. They were the 265 75R16s as opposed to the stock size, which I don't remember. The tires wore FAST, I barely got 25K out of them. They were Load Range Ds, since I got them when Kelley first started making them. The outfit I work for ran Kelley MSR and DTRs on all the PSDs in the Michigan fleet. They were good tires for the amount of time spent off road, but they wore FAST, even the load range E's wore fast. Most all of your aggresive tread patterns will wear faster from what I have seen, Remington, Kelley, Bridgestone, etc. For the money, I would go to a Michelin tire. I've got 25K on a set of XCX/APTs (235/85) and they are just beginning to show some signs of wear. I have no doubt I will reach the 50K mile guarentee. I had two of the tires replaced due to a factory defect (with 5000 miles on them) but that is the only problem I have had with them. Air Pressure: 65 Front, 80 Rear. I get off road quite a bit in Eastern KY and SW VA on some nasty lease roads and the tires have held up very well, even with all the extra weight on the front end (see sig)

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1996 Black 4x4 2500 SLT Laramie CC, Auto, 4. 10, Ranch Hand Double 3" Pipe Front Bumper, Ranch Hand Rear Bumper,
K&N Filter, Boost & Trans Temp Gauges, Trimble 10x GPS, Silencer Ring removed, Muffler fell off on Good Friday!

[This message has been edited by Des (edited 07-04-2000). ]

 

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Happy 4th of July to all!!! I have had very good performance and longevity with the Pep Boys "Adventurer" tires. Even the cheap ones would last 50K-55K miles on my S-10 (when I was sure that each set I bought would be "the last"). The original Goodyears that came on the Ram wore out rather quickly, and I replaced them with the Pep Boys tires in 235/85R16. They now have over 60K on them with about 1/4" of tread left, and they cost much less than brand M. Driving habits, road conditions, load, and tire inflation probably affect wear & longevity more than anything else.
Texan by birth; Virginian by the grace of God. I'll be watching the fireworks at Yorktown, where Gen. Cornwallis traded his sword in for a one-way boat trip back to England.

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95 2500 SLT, clubcab, 2wd, longbed, a/t, 3. 54, 127K miles, "all the usual refinements"

 

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Just a thought from an experienced off-roader. Get a set of rosd tires and run them during the summer. The heat will burn the rubber off any mud tires on asphalt, but they will last twice as long if they are only run in cold weather.

That's my $0. 02

[This message has been edited by Jerry_the_king (edited 07-09-2000). ]

 

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I have a question for the members with taller than stock tires. I'm running 285/75/ 16's and I have the 245/75/16 spare.
I would assume that there's no way I could use the spare on the rear with the LSD rear end,would it work on the front?
Thanks in advance... Also I would like to say that the TDR and it's members are the greatest I never stop learning thanks again!!

 

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I would'nt do it. The 285 is a taller tire, and if you put the 245 on the back in an emergency, those clutch packs in your LSD will be slipping and wearing everywhere you go. You would need to put the spare on the front, and front to back if you got a back flat.

That was the main reason I stuck with stock sizes. I bought Cooper SRM's which come with a 60,000 mile tread wear warrantee.
(of course, I am running a 2wd)

Originally posted by RankRam:
I have a question for the members with taller than stock tires. I'm running 285/75/ 16's and I have the 245/75/16 spare.
I would assume that there's no way I could use the spare on the rear with the LSD rear end,would it work on the front?
Thanks in advance... Also I would like to say that the TDR and it's members are the greatest I never stop learning thanks again!!

 

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Thanks Tow Pro I agree with your reply.
I have a question for members with oversized tires. How many of you have switched to the correct size spare and if so does it fit in the original location.
I hate to use up valuable space in the bed of my truck. Thats not to say a spare tire is of no value to me
.
NRA FOREVER

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99 2500 QC SB 4x4 5sp 3. 54 LSD 285/75/16 Rancho 9000s A. R. E. Camper Shell etc. etc.

 

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RankRam-

I bought a 235/85/16 radial for a spare. It is taller and narrower than the 245 or 265 so it tucks up nice. In the event of a rear tire failure, I will just rotate a front to the rear and put the spare on back.

243

 

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Originally posted by RankRam:
Thanks Tow Pro I agree with your reply.
I have a question for members with oversized tires. How many of you have switched to the correct size spare and if so does it fit in the original location.
I hate to use up valuable space in the bed of my truck. Thats not to say a spare tire is of no value to me
.
NRA FOREVER

My well worn 255/85 spare goes in the spare location, not too close to the exhaust pipe.


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"Roadrunner"-96 4X4 club cab-12v-auto-3. 54 gears-Amsoil bypass filter - all Amsoil fluids-trans filter-britebox-shelfit-DeeZee boards-Rhino liner-Rancho 5 speed shocks-Hellwig rear antisway & overload springs-Warn 12000 lb. winch-dual redtop optimas-combo gauge and trans. temp gauge in pillar mount-255/85R16 Kelly MSR tires-custom pinstriping- Walker muffler-Cummins mudflaps-Tuff Country control arms-2" coil spacers

 

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I gave up worrying about what tires would perform best off-road, and yet would last long on the highway. I decided to go with what, IMHO, is the gnarliest tire ever created, and not worry so much about tread life. I am just so happy to finally be getting better tires, that I had to share it with y'all! Hey TURBO-D, thanks for the input! Check out the sig below:

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Y2K 2500 4X4 5-spd Reg cab
Dark Garnet Red
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Already added:
Blaupunkt AM/FM Cass. & 12 CD Changer, Diamondplate running boards, Clearance and Tailgate I. D. lights
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Being shipped to me right now:
35x13. 50R16 M/T Baja Claws, 16x8 black Rockcrawler wheels, 2" Daystar Front Coil Spacers, Bushwhacker Extend-a-Fender flares.
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In the future:
A big honkin' chrome rollbar!!!! Oh, and more power too!