LT or Passenger rated tires

jaycodrake · April 29, 2005

Going to have to put new tires on my 99 Tahoe before passing inspection in July. I have Goodyear WRangler APT on now. Seems like they required alot of wheel weights to balance. Probably going with Michelins or Bridgestones this time around. My question is, is it better to go with an LT tire to stiffen the suspension/handling on this truck. Seems like I'm sawing at the wheel on windy back roads quite a bit. Truck still has the Bilstein shocks that came with the towing package, I have 75k on it. Any suggestions on tires/shocks, etc. are appreciated.

JD

Indy · April 29, 2005

In my opinion a truck should have LT tires. Every truck I bought came with P rated tires and the truck handled really mushy and wore out the tires very quickly.

I replaced the tires on my '99 Sierra with Michelin LTX M/S the first time and the difference was incredible compared to the stock General's. The second set I got are Bridgestone Dueller A/T Revo. They out perform the Michelin's on everything but highway driving. In mud or snow they are great. On the highway they are a bit loud but they have an aggressive tread design.

Raymond Lowe · April 30, 2005

Going to have to put new tires on my 99 Tahoe before passing inspection in July. I have Goodyear WRangler APT on now. Seems like they required alot of wheel weights to balance. Probably going with Michelins or Bridgestones this time around. My question is, is it better to go with an LT tire to stiffen the suspension/handling on this truck. Seems like I'm sawing at the wheel on windy back roads quite a bit. Truck still has the Bilstein shocks that came with the towing package, I have 75k on it. Any suggestions on tires/shocks, etc. are appreciated.
JD

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LT rated tires get 1 extra cord and a few hundred lbs more capacity. Doubt they would wear much different if that's the only difference. Handling would be a wee bit stiffer but not that much.

If you want a long-wearing tire, the LTX is probably the top choice. Good for rain and highway. So-so in snow and not really made for any kind of off-roading due to their thin sidewalls. The key to long life is regular rotation.

mmmikkke · April 30, 2005

Going to have to put new tires on my 99 Tahoe before passing inspection in July. I have Goodyear WRangler APT on now. Seems like they required alot of wheel weights to balance. Probably going with Michelins or Bridgestones this time around. My question is, is it better to go with an LT tire to stiffen the suspension/handling on this truck. Seems like I'm sawing at the wheel on windy back roads quite a bit. Truck still has the Bilstein shocks that came with the towing package, I have 75k on it. Any suggestions on tires/shocks, etc. are appreciated.
JD

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LT desginated tires have their load capacities derated by 15%. This is to offset the rougher terrain likely encountered by the truck, which could bruise a sidewall if the loading is at the tire's limit.

So if you're taking your truck down rocky trails, and you're using P-rated tires, you're tempting fate. Better make sure you up the load rating by 15% to make up for the abuse you are going to give that poor car-tire.

I have had excellent results with Michelin truck tires. But there are also other excellent tires out there.

You mentioned wheel weights. So you're concerned about the roundness of the tires, and their uniformity.

Look for segment-molded tires. Cheaper tires are done with a 2-piece mold, with a mold line running the whole circumference of the tire at the center of the tread. More expensive tires are molded with a 6 or 8 piece clamshell. No center-of-tire mold line; instead mold lines that go across the tread at 12-o'clock, 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock, etc.

You can see the mold lines on the tires on display at the store.

Ask the salesperson to get out the exact tire and size you are considering so you can inspect it. You need to do this because a manufacturer might use a 2-piece mold on a 245/75-16 but a segmented mold on a 265/75-16. You'll want to know exactly what you're getting.

By the way, most salespeople either play dumb, or don't want you to differentiate, between 2-piece and segmented molded tires. So it must be important.

And the last and perhaps most important consideration is to put the tire on a rim within the design range of the tire. For example, most 285/75-16 tires are designed for an 8-10" rim width. If you mount a 285/75-16 on a 6.5" rim, you're compromising the engineering of the sidewall, and the sidewall stiffeners, and you should expect sub-par handling and stability because the tire was not designed to flex with such narrow rim.

Bill55AZ · April 30, 2005

Bear this in mind, going from P rated to LT means adding 15 pounds of air pressure to what is found on the door sticker....

mmmikkke · April 30, 2005

Bear this in mind, going from P rated to LT means adding 15 pounds of air pressure to what is found on the door sticker....

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That's a reasonable general statement, and if you want more detail, most tire manufacturers rate their tires' load capacities at various inflation pressures lower than the maximum pressure printed on the sidewall. The tire store might have this information, or you might have to contact the manufacturer.

Michelin, for example, will send you a technical manual showing all of their current product line, and load capacities at say 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80psi (depending on the tire).