Tires, your money or your life. FYI Guidelines

[Minivanmotoman]

Tire Guidelines
 Tires are very important for safety and reliability on the road. Your life and vehicle depend upon them. Good decisions avoid/minimize problems down the road, optimize your expenses and give safe, durable operation.
 
1. Get the best tire you can afford. Driver door jamb usually has the proper size and inflation.
2. Research tires for comparison and rating. Tire Rack, Consumer Reports, Prius owners forum report on fuel saving tires, etc... Compare price, performance, durability.
3. Research tires for best price online and in store before you need them to find a sale or deal. Sometimes can get a deal on nearly new tires on Craigslist from those who upgrade rims and tires " take offs". Walmart.com also can find deals.
4. Safety, start looking for tires before you need them. Said that 90% of all flats occur in the last 10% of tread. Won't find a deal when your stuck and will cost more. Plus avoid the hassle and potential danger/ damages of a flat or blowout. Procrastination here will cost you.
5. Check spare for condition and air pressure occasionally. Like, NOW.
6. Check air pressure frequently for maximum mpg and lifespan. Once a week, month.
7. Rubber hardens, weakens and dries out as it gets older (~5yrs+). Giving poorer braking, handling and more potential for flats and blowouts which is dangerous. Acceptable if driving local and slow. Could be hazardous for high speed, distance travel. General rule, replace if more than 5yrs old.
8. Tire sidewall info. Date of manufacture (4 digit code = week/year made. Get less than 2 yrs old, 1 or newer better), treadwear rating ( <500 lower mileage, +700 high mileage), speed rating ( higher means better made, safer), traction and temperature rating (A is best). See pics.
9. Carry can of sealant, plugs and patches, small compressor for on the road repairs.
10. You can drive on a flat if you have to, but not fast or far. Few miles, slowly at most. This will kill the tire, possibly damage the rim so only if you must.
11. Road hazard warranty worthwhile, depending on cost and if with national store chain.
12. AAA or other membership for bigger rigs can be a good thing. Cheap insurance and support.



As BTO sings,  Let it roll, roll on down the highway. Roll, roll, roll...


Would be great for everyone if someone could add info specific to larger rigs such as trucks, class C & A tire specfics.

 

[Almost There]

You might want to add some of the best ways of checking to make sure that you have the tires properly inflated for the weight you're carrying. What's printed on the door only applies to the OEM tires and what the tire sales people want you to inflate the tires to is usually tending to be towards comfort and high tire wear rather than longevity and safety.

 

[Gideon33w]

I've seen a lot of full size vehicles running tires which aren't E rated 10 plys ... THAT scares me.
And ... If you don't know what that means ... You need to educate yourself so you get the right tires for your rig.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah like Gideon says "E" rating for heavier vehicles. IMO a 3/4 ton or above needs a "E" rated tire. off road driving you need an "E" rating. highdesertranger

 

[Gideon33w]

I'd say that E rated tires are needed for almost all vandwellers given the weight we haul constantly.
Certainly better safe than sorry as far as tires. Less sidewall flex improves handling too.

 

[sometimesido]

yeah, i bought my wife "best we can afford" tires at costco for around $750 and she gets a sidewall puncture in 6 months. I give up. Granted they give you "tread credit" but still...sour taste in my mouth. Mind you we had another side puncture before that 2 years ago. both 60k miles rated tires (michelins, bridgestones), now completely useless.

Also, I forgot to add that I've read many complaints about costco tire road hazard warranty in 2017. some just flat out not honoring. I haven't gone to replace the damaged tire yet. Going this weekend. YMMV. We might not go costco next time around if they don't honor it.

 

[highdesertranger]

"Also, I forgot to add that I've read many complaints about costco tire road hazard warranty in 2017"

interesting I have used Costco tire warranty many times never had any questions asked. yes the road hazard is pro rated but they all are. I remember once I had to pay .60 cents for a new tire. unfortunately my size of BFGoodrich are very hard to get so I switched to Goodyear Wrangler's and get them at Walmart. I haven't tried their road hazard yet. highdesertranger

 

[UptownSport]

Load range E? Why would you tell people that, arbitrarily?

There's load / pressure charts to determine inflation pressure, not a recommendation on a forum- vehicle / load sight unseen.
You might also note PSI / load rating stamped in rim may be below that of a 10 ply.
Not to sound like an old crow, but that's a bit irresponsible

You can repair sidewall injuries, my job at a truck tire shop was doing section repairs when I was young
Did thousands of sidewall repairs on all kinds of tires- Germans even make speed rated patches.

 

[highdesertranger]

why do I recommend "E" rated tires for 3/4 ton and above, and for off road driving? experience that's why.

of course you need a rim to handle the load but we were not talking rims we are talking tires.

frankly I wouldn't want to drive the high desert back roads without "E" rated tires. highdesertranger

 

[deadwood]

I've been preaching this to all my kids since they started to drive. You get the best tires you can for your car. It might just save your life. This is not the place to cheap out and try and save some money. Plenty of other places to do that.

I just put a set of all terrain BFG KO's on my van. I have a transit and there are not a lot of tires that fit the stock rim. But thankfully BFG makes a great all terrain and it is E rated and matches the factory specs very closely. I agree with HDR. If you are loading it up then having a much stronger tire will be more stable and much safer. For vans and trucks I think E rated is the way to go.

You don't have a problem until you have a problem. Much easier to avoid a lot of things right from the start.

 

[UptownSport]

of course you need a rim to handle the load but we were not talking rims we are talking tires.

No disrespect, but precisely.
Suggesting a tire with the nifty 85 PSI molded on sidewall, but slide on equal consideration of part it goes on, isn't quite the best thing to be doing, I hope you'd agree.

it's easy to study ply rating v protection of organizations that see harsh offroad use.

HMMWV didn't have 10 plys, neither did CUCVs.
We didn't have tire problems- All company repairs went across my desk, and saw what was breaking in the other units in post maintenance.
No one's going to argue terrain and conditions weren't about as harsh as you get, and this was a massive number of tires, LoL

In short, use tire, rating and pressure specified by chassis manufacturer.
If you feel you're situation is special, there's load/pressure charts to specify exact pressure, load rating.

I do silly things, too, but I don't post about them because someone else might just listen!

You get the best tires you can for your car. It might just save your life.

I just put a set of ... BFG ...

Hated BF Goodfornothings the worst. LoL
Inner liner was always cracked, and quality, in general was a step lower than avg.

Advert campaign must be awesome, people, without any justification, thought they were great

 

[UptownSport]

If you want to spec out stuff, both Bridgestone and Michelin make commercial tires in 16 and 16.5 with steel cable sidewalls like semi tires.
They're intended for multiple recappings, so they're tough.

Right now, your tires just have scary polyester sidewalls, LoL.

 

[Weight]

Yes out in the distant gold fields we need heavy tough tires. But also need special rims to fit those tires. Most vanners will be well served with d rated or even c. It depends on the individual vehicle. Not everyone or even most will need e rated tires. I would not trust a side wall repair, even patched, except as an emergency until it can be replaced. As soon as possible.

 

[highdesertranger]

didn't I say heavy loaded and driving off road. also 3/4 ton and above. as far as I know the only 3/4 tons that don't run "E" tires are older light duty ones with 15 inch rims. finding a "E" rated tire for a 15 inch rim is like trying to find unicorns. highdesertranger

 

[sometimesido]

Speaking of HMMWV's, I do NOT miss changing a tire and dealing with "inner tire" on HMMWV's, in the mud, in the rain, with Kevlar helmet, and Load Bearing Equipment on.

"Bridgestone and Michelin make commercial tires in 16 and 16.5 with steel cable sidewalls like semi tires"

Where can I find out more about these tires?

 

[frater secessus]

I have read that kevlar sidewalls may resist punctures too. Was it Bob who was talking about that?

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah do you have a link for the 16.5's. several people through the years on this forum have tried to find 16.5's with very little luck. a link to these 16.5's would be very useful in the future. highdesertranger

 

[sometimesido]

HOLY COW $763 per tire. and only comes in one size.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...R65MWMTR&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

[sometimesido]

past the edit time limit.

looks like it was for HMMWV only

"Those tires are specifically designed for the HMMWV and double internal beadlocks. More so to handle the weight of a M1113 fully loaded(14,000+lbs). "

 

[rvpopeye]

If I could find some quality E or F rated w/fresh DOT codes that would fit my rims and have proper dual spacing , it would make my day. (81 Chevy G30 1 ton)
The ones on it are 8R16.5 and over 20 years old !
Good thing I only put less than 30 mi @ 45mph or below / year on them right now..
but it sure isn't relaxing mileage!
I've been looking for 16" rims but they're hard to find too (without being bent or dented ).

I do know that you can use higher load range tires but just inflate them to the maximum rim pressure if it's not high enough to match the inflation pressures the tire is rated for.
(Info from a retired tire engineer that investigated causes of tire failures for a major mfg.)