Load rating/performance question

targetpanic · March 1, 2016

Quick question guys. My RC 2.5" Level kit (with rear block) arrived yesterday and is being installed on Friday. I have 18" wheels. I am probably going to leave the crappy SRAs on there for the time being, assuming it doesn't look foolish. However, if I were to put a new tire on they will be either BFG AT KO2, Nitto TG G2, or General Grabber AT2. I know a lot of you guys are running 275/70/18 with no problems.

My question is more in the performance (mpg) and tire wear. Would I be better off with a LT275/70/18 E load 10 ply tire 57.5# each or a 265/70/18 SL 4 ply tire 43# each. There is only about 3/4" difference in tire height.

Would the 10 ply wear better? Would the 4 ply give me a substantial better mpg? The last set of tires I had on my F150 were the Gen Grabber AT2 10 ply and they had 40,000 on them and looked like new still compares to the Cooper AT3 I had on there before that which were pretty much junk after 45,000 miles. I wasn't sure if the better wear was due to being a 10ply tire???

I put this in the 2014-2016 full size forum before I saw the tire and wheel forum...my bad

tnchevy · March 2, 2016

The heavier your tire the more energy it will take to get it rolling which in turn lowers mpg's. A more aggressive tread will also lower mpg's. If you like you gas mileage the way it is then stick with more street oriented tire. If you want the looks and capabilities of a heavier and taller LT tire then you have to pay to play which in turn means paying more at the pump, that's just how it is. LT tires are generally made of a stiffer compound and will wear longer but usually means less capabilities in wet weather but tires opinions are like oil opinions, every body has one they think is the best.

amfr · March 2, 2016

The heavier your tire the more energy it will take to get it rolling which in turn lowers mpg's. A more aggressive tread will also lower mpg's. If you like you gas mileage the way it is then stick with more street oriented tire. If you want the looks and capabilities of a heavier and taller LT tire then you have to pay to play which in turn means paying more at the pump, that's just how it is. LT tires are generally made of a stiffer compound and will wear longer but usually means less capabilities in wet weather but tires opinions are like oil opinions, every body has one they think is the best.

Best response. You gave facts and was right to the point.

sent from Florida beech

Gc773 · March 2, 2016

Well said Tn, I can say this at this point in time based on approximately 500 miles on the Ko2's 275/70/18 in reference to mpg. Without any re-calibration of the speedo my mileage stayed within a tenth of mpg prior to the tire change. Last evening I re-calibrated the speedo and expect the mpg to be a bit lower. However, my decision to switch out tires was not based on mpg, but rather having confidence during inclement weather. Targetpanic, while I can't give you a solid answer at this time regarding tire wear, I can say that I expect mpg to suffer ever so slightly. I can say this, these newer trucks perform much better (mpg included) than any of my past trucks over the last 30 years. So, I'm happy with 16.2 mpg during the winter months and I expect during the summer I'll be pushing 18+. Cheers

Big Whiskey · March 2, 2016

The heavier your tire the more energy it will take to get it rolling which in turn lowers mpg's. A more aggressive tread will also lower mpg's. If you like you gas mileage the way it is then stick with more street oriented tire. If you want the looks and capabilities of a heavier and taller LT tire then you have to pay to play which in turn means paying more at the pump, that's just how it is. LT tires are generally made of a stiffer compound and will wear longer but usually means less capabilities in wet weather but tires opinions are like oil opinions, every body has one they think is the best.

Ditto. Good post!

tnchevy · March 2, 2016

Well said Tn, I can say this at this point in time based on approximately 500 miles on the Ko2's 275/70/18 in reference to mpg. Without any re-calibration of the speedo my mileage stayed within a tenth of mpg prior to the tire change. Last evening I re-calibrated the speedo and expect the mpg to be a bit lower. However, my decision to switch out tires was not based on mpg, but rather having confidence during inclement weather. Targetpanic, while I can't give you a solid answer at this time regarding tire wear, I can say that I expect mpg to suffer ever so slightly. I can say this, these newer trucks perform much better (mpg included) than any of my past trucks over the last 30 years. So, I'm happy with 16.2 mpg during the winter months and I expect during the summer I'll be pushing 18+. Cheers

Gc, I plan on putting a set of 275/65 or 275/75 but probably in a cooper, glad to hear your mpg's were not too affected by it. I work in the timber industry and have been driving 1/2 ton trucks for nearly 20 years. My company bids them out and we usually get plain jane trucks with small street tires on them and we usually put on a set of bigger LT AT tires within a few months. It has been my experience that I will usually lose about 2 mpg with bigger and heavier tires and that is with the speedo corrected. My current work truck (F150, 5.0 v8) was getting about 19 mpgs on the interstate in the summer but dropped to 17 when the bigger and heavier tires went on.