What tire pressures were you running? were they wearing evenly? what sizes?

 

I run mostly unloaded at 55/60 with very little highway driving, and 65/70 loaded with mostly highway driving. Yes they are wearing evenly, just seem to go through tread pdq. LT265/75R16 Michelin LTX

 

I found the michelin ltx's that come stock are a bunch of garbage...worst tire that could come on a torquey truck in the rain...went up a slight hill when it started raining...slick asphalt=eelout with the least throttle input...it threw me sideways when it shifted...went to some small company...something like Wildcat radial a/t or something like that...here's a link Wildcat A/T (LT) by Dean - Vulcan Tire Sales 15 thousand on em rotated twice already...looking like at least another 25k

 

i have a buddy that runs the toyo open country at's on his duramax and he loves them says they run very well on wet and snowy surfaces. they are very simailar to the nitto terra grapplers in tread pattern

 

well comparing michelins to nittos you are going to get a lot better mileage out of the michelins which are going to ride better as well but the are not going to have the traction of a nitto terra grappler since that is an all terrain tire but if you want to go to the nitto i would go ahead and spend a little bit more money and get the toyo since it is the same company as nitto but toyo tires have more technology in the tire. as for a wildcat who makes a tire called a wildcat?????

 

as for a wildcat who makes a tire called a wildcat?????

Wildcats are made by Deans Tires and sold by various dealers thru out the US. Here in the NW they are sold by Les Schwab. Here is the website:
http://www.deantires.com/ Plug in your zipcode and you'll see who sells them.

 

Strange, I couldn't hardly wear out the stock Michelins that came on my '99. They were LTX M&S LT245/75 16E's and I got 125,000 miles off of the stockers!!! That's right, 125,000 miles!!!:thumbsup :thumbsup Most of that was highway miles. And if I were real daring, I could've gotten 150,000 miles, but I was going into winter and I bit the bug and put on a set of Coopers!! I've got 56,000 miles on my 04.5 now with the Michelin LTX AS LT265/70 17E's and I can probably get about another 20k miles out of them. Great wearing tires, just not great in snow or wet roads!!

 

Interesting feedback, that is why I posted :thumbsup

In hindsight, I was unfair with my appraisal of the Michelin tires. I failed to mention that my first set wearing out in 25k was entirely my fault! However I have been very careful with the 2nd and current set. Even though they are wearing evenly, could they have worn prematurely from under inflating them?

I like the price of the wildcats, but prefer something with more feedback.

That is a good tip about the Nitto/Toyo relationship. I had already have received a couple of good recommendations on the Toyo. Traction is only an issue for me about 14-21 days a year during winter. Wet roads are not great either but I can usually keep things under control by being careful with the throttle. Would you guys consider the Michelins to provide longer wear over the Toyos?

btw DW, 125k-150k is awesome, I think I may need driving lessons from you!

 

The terra grapplers are good tires. My boss runs them on our shop truck and has almost 50,000 miles on this set (265/75 R16's) with a fair amount of heavy towing, but a completely gutless GM 6.0 gasser)

George

 

i have the terra grapplers on my truck. they really have great traction in all weather. i have less than 21,000 miles on them and have rotated them every 5,000 miles. i most likely wont get another 3,000 out of them. i will not buy them again. im looking at buying the BFG ATKO's. i want a tire that i can get at least 35,000 out of.

 

I have approx. 33,000 miles on my 285/70/17D BFG AT KOs and they look like they will easily go another 20,000 miles. I run 65psi(sidewall max) all of the time and rotate every 7,500 miles.

 

with 30k miles on em I'm looking for some 30k odd more miles off of em. Great in the rain...alright in sand...can't say much for snow...not the greatest slimy mud tire...but that's why you do more of this eelout

 

Still exploring here, thanks for all the input! :cool

I only tow about #6500 with less than 500 in the bed at the same time. Any thoughts on going to a D rating to help soften the ride?

When do you usually replace your tires? I typically start looking when the ride goes to crap and there is about 3mm of tread depth left.

 

It has been my experience that D rated tires on any 8 lugger will wear out too fast. There may be exceptions, but that has been my experience.

George

 

I would suggest getting your tire pressure up to at least 10 psi from max inflation. For example, on an E-rated tire, 70 psi is a good recommended pressure to get maximum tread life and fuel mileage. Avoid following the manufacturer's pressures listed on the build decal in the door jamb of your truck. They are placed there for the best "ride" and usually are much too low to provide good tire wear or fuel economy. To those that cannot tolerate a stiff ride, then you WILL have to sacrifice tread life and fuel economy for that better ride. The problem with lower pressures is that the tire will generate more and more heat as tire pressure decreases. It is not a real commonly mentioned aspect of the tire industry but as far as tires go, more heat = more wear. One directly affects the other. The lower the pressure, the more heat generated per mile. I've seen 70,000 mile rated tires wear out in 8,000 miles and in a span of 7 days. Why?? Because the tires were being tested non-stop, 24/7 at a test track and the intense heat generated by the long-term driving absolutely destroyed the integrity of the rubber compounds leading to maximum tire wear. They did this repeatedly with every make and model of tire in the book, including Michelins which usually win in the mileage category. So, longer tire wear is a function of correct air pressure (as I stated above) + regular rotation intervals. If tires are not rotated, subtract around 15,000 miles from the overall life of a tire, regardless of brand. Keeping air up and constant can net good wear and better fuel mileage in the long run. Hope this helps.
:thumbsup

 

im sure that holds true to most tires but i ran my nitto's at 70psi the entire time i have had them until now. they have just plain worn out way too fast. i have had them rotated every 5,k and check the pressures at least once a week. i have recently dropped the pressure to 55psi to make them wear more evenly. seemed to wear more in the center. i want to get at least another 5'k out of them.

im up in the air on my next set of tires. it is between the BFG ATKO's or the pro comp extreem AT.

 

RobertP,
The Nittos are not necessarily the best-wearing tire in terms of good wearing tires. Their parent company, Toyo, makes a couple different tires that look very similar to the Nitto Grapplers but wear a bit better. On the two tires that you're thinking about for the next set, choose the BFG A/T's. There isn't a comparison to be made between those two. The BFG "should" wear much better and longer than the Nittos have for you. Hope this helps.
:thumbsup

 

I agree with WD, BFG AT is a great tire and wear really good. I do lot of gravel roads and the Xtra ply in the threadis helping avoiding flats where Michelin, Good Year and, of course, Firestone had failed. When not loaded, I run the BFG in the 40's...I know...but it gives me better traction.

 

Just had nitto terrra grapplers put back on the truck, got 32,000 out of the last set. They wear nice and min. noise. I kept em at 65psi.

mike

 

Great information from everybody and thanks for the tech info from WD.

It sounds like the Nitto/Toyo would work best for me in the winter and the Michelin in the summer. I was not on top of rotations this set so 15k would seem about right especially with having run them low on psi for most of the time.

Thanks again guys :thumbsup