Tires

[canuck]

Hello,

Thought we would share our experience with some new tires.

Our current TV, a 5.7L V-8 4X4 Toyota Tundra came with "P" rated tires. IMO this tire on a 1/2 ton pickup is not the best choice. It satisfies the basic requirements and improves the drive comfort of the vehicle.

Upgrading to a "LT" rated tire was on our list of things to do. Well, we recently purchased a set of LT BFG KO2's and pulled our trailer for the first time. The road conditions were, hard packed snow, slush, partly covered and dry. What a difference! I can't say enough about our new purchase and will never go back to the basic "P" rated tire. This tire also has the "snowflake in a mountain" pictogram, an industry standard for winter traction requirements. During Oct-May some Canadian highways will have posted signs designating this requirement , tires must have this "snowflake". The downside is, as a daily driver the ride is a bit more firm and there is a little more road noise due to this tire's tread pattern. But, it is a truck!

I did have to contact BFG's customer support line to confirm the new PSI numbers. This call was easy and very helpful. The dealer that we purchased the tires from did not have the correct information on "LT" tire inflation requirements. OEM pressure, the sticker on the driver's side door was 30 psi in the front and 33 psi in the back. That is what they wanted to inflate to. The new pressure setting is 50 psi front and 55 psi in the back. This is what BFG recommended for our vehicle to get back to the original OEM requirement.  

So, if you are looking for some new tires please do your own due diligence and educate yourself on the difference between the "P" and "LT" rated tires. For our TV, trailer size, driving conditions and frequency of enjoying the great out of doors this is what we thought was best for us.

Happy and safe towing!

[david]

30/33 to 50/55 psi. That s a huge jump. I am sure that the truck feels much stiffer with that much pressure in the tires. Certainly that improves tire "squirm" for lack of a better term and makes towing more stable- less sway and an overall tighter feeling. Not sure about non towing ride though.

David

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Here's a link to an article on tire pressures. You don't always need the maximum sidewall pressure for your TV, particularly if they're load range E. Look up the rated carrying capacity for the OEM tires, make some adjustment for the added weight of TT and stuff, and look up the required inflation for your new tires.

[a href="https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-psi-should-i-run.51690/page-4#post-4723433"]https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-psi-should-i-run.51690/page-4#post-4723433[/a]
[/font]

[daplumbr]

Good move, going to LT tires. If I had known I would be towing a camper when I purchased new tires 2 years ago, I would have done that too. I'm not sure what BFG meant by "getting back to original OEM" on your truck. Tires of the same size do not have the same load capacity at the same pressure if they are of different construction. One advantage of the LT tires is the ability to increase pressure to increase load capacity. Most standard load P metric tires in truck sizes allow for 44psi max and most E rated LT tires in truck sizes allow for 80 psi max. In your case, you could have gone with the info on the door sticker, but the increase suggested by BFG greatly increases the load capacity (up to a point----limited by the truck). If the truck gets squirrely or noisy while unloaded, try slightly different pressures. Here's an article from the Tire Rack on the loading/pressure relationship. 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=195

[canuck]

Hi,

Thank you all for the links! Very helpful.

There was defiantly no "squirm" at all. Funny, my wife even asked if the trailer was still behind us. With the original tires we did notice lateral movement when we were fully loaded with water, fire wood, generator, fuel etc. This was amplified when driving in high winds. The stock tires certainly were adequate but I just wanted a bit more solid ride. Daily driving so far is pleasant. The ride is as expected, firm with better contact feel. But, for daily driving, I am going to try airing down 5 psi then 10 psi and see how it compares.

Fellow truck owners have recommended contacting BFG directly and simply give them your new tire information and also your truck make, model, and year. Then, they will calculate a new psi setting based on your OEM information. I presume they use their own formula to calculate a new psi setting that best matches the original stock requirements. The BFG service representative I spoke with had and confirmed all my original specs. They actually new what they were doing.  

The knowledge of fellow owners and willingness to share is greatly appreciated.

Derek

[daplumbr]

I like the idea of having to ask if the trailer is still behind you! As an aside, I'm surprised your TRD truck came with P-rated tires. 

[scout]

I've been a long time fan of the BF Goodrich LT tires (love the fact the KO2's now have the snowflake!) . If you have a chance to do the "flour test" or "puddle test" to indicate tire pad contact on the road surface, I would use that to assist you in towing different loads (or unloaded). You may have seen this before if you're a long time truck owner...but I will post it for those who are interested...

A tread pattern left on a hard surface (pavement/concrete) with "outside rails" and no inner contact means the tire is under inflated and "cupping" onto the sidewalls (as most LT AT tires have extra stiff sidewalls). Continued travel & under inflation with loaded tires will result in delimitation and can be seen with cracks forming in between the tire lugs (after a few months).

Overinflation would show only centre contact on the tread pattern that is left on the pavement after you drive through the puddle or flour...overinflation can contribute to skidding on slippery surfaces as the corner lugs tend not to grab at the tire shoulders...this usually happens if you have a heavy tongue weight, inflate for tire bulge and then disconnect for the season without adjusting the psi back to an unloaded setting...(for short runs from the camp ground to the beer store it's not so much of an issue)..

an optimal inflation would show the beautiful full lug pattern of the BF Goodrich AT/TA KO2 fully from side to side as if driving through soft mud...hope this helps someone out there...glad to see BFG is providing consult service to their customers!