Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

Tire guru's I need help. Yes, another tire thread....

$624.98 difference. That's a long way toward a whole new set of tires. Let's say I ruin a tire prematurely due to my gamble. Subtract 175 bucks for a replacement C grade, mounted an balanced. That brings my savings to $449.98 difference.
You run inferior tires on the shale roads you are all but guaranteed to ruin all four tires long before 50000 miles.
 
You run inferior tires on the shale roads you are all but guaranteed to ruin all four tires long before 50000 miles.

I believe you. I think I am going to meet in the middle and go with a D load range all terrain if I can find them in 265/70/16.

That also accounts for things I didn’t calculate like time spent dealing with tire issues when I should be enjoying myself on my hunting trips.
 
I think you will be fine with D load tires. Just keep the pressure below max and don't drive like a bat out of hell. When you find road covered with the blue gray shale, like the stuff at the top of Stocker Branch slow down to a crawl. The Native Americans made arrow heads out of that stuff and it puts holes in tires as if you were driving one nails.
 
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I see some people concerned with ride quality. It's a freakin truck not a Caddie. It's not gonna ride like you're sitting on a cloud. People wanting trucks to ride like a luxury car are the reason most trucks nowadays have been manufactured to be weiniemobiles.
There is no need to inflate E rated tires to the max inflation on the sidewall or go by the placard on the doorjam. That is only when you are loading the tires to their maximum load. On a Taco you can probably do just fine inflating them to 30-35psi when not hauling anything heavy.
I can say for a fact that I have never had a flat caused by rocks or anything else caused by off-roading since I've been using E rated tires. They are just tougher tires overall.
 
I have E load on the F150. It rides ok. Nothing to complain about. Like you said they are trucks.

I am more concerned with the MPG hit. Looks like I may just accept the possibility and go with E load. The only A/T tire I can find in the size I want that is D rates is not very highly rated in the categories you would expect with an A/T tire.
 
I'm sorry, I got confused and thought we were talking about a Tacoma.

I would really like to see these roads in Montana that I'm not able to drive on. They certainly aren't on my MVUM.

I completely get what you are saying.

The deciding factor was the almost complete lack of options for a load range D tire in the size I want, together with the fact that this tire in Load Range C was only 2 pounds lighter than the exact tire in Load Range E. I figure the extra 2 pounds of weight would be well worth the extra durability.

This tire was a full 10 pounds lighter than the BFG KO2.
 
Too late cause u bought some, but I had a Tacoma and had about 2mpg loss and a firmer ride with KO2s in stock size. Didnt bother me because they performed so well off road and had good puncture resistance. They were E rated. C and D are fine for a Tacoma given how light it is. Agree with others on P rated tires.

Nowadays no auto manual I can think of will be like "yah totes okay to put chains on the fronts". In fact, some are telling you not to use them at all (new GM trucks).

I bet those AT3s will ride well and have minimal mpg loss, maybe 1 or so.
 
That was just my experience with my 2nd gen. I think others have seen less MPG loss.

Stock GY 265/70/16 AT Kevlar = 42lb
GY Duratrac LT 265/75/16 Range C = 45lb
GY Duratrac LT 265/75/16 Range E = 51lb

The question in my mind is what is the relationship between tire weight increase and both fuel efficiency and durability. Might only be able to discover this through personal testing. All of my tire failures to date have been metal objects from gravel roads. All on SL tires, none on the E rated ones. Time will tell...

Ugh, Ya'll are muddying the waters for me .:) I had my mind made up. Thinking about losing 4 mpg over the life of a set of tires is causing a cost/benefit analysis of E rated tires in my situation.
 
That was just my experience with my 2nd gen. I think others have seen less MPG loss.

Stock GY 265/70/16 AT Kevlar = 42lb
GY Duratrac LT 265/75/16 Range C = 45lb
GY Duratrac LT 265/75/16 Range E = 51lb

The question in my mind is what is the relationship between tire weight increase and both fuel efficiency and durability. Might only be able to discover this through personal testing. All of my tire failures to date have been metal objects from gravel roads. All on SL tires, none on the E rated ones. Time will tell...

I have the same question.

My final choices were:

Firestone Destination A/T Range C= 40lb On my 3rd set on my Gen 2, no issues whatsoever.
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT 265/70/16 Range E= 47lb
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT 265/75/16 Range C =48lb

In my research I found that some people were having to do some trimming on the flaps on the Gen 3 with the 75 to keep it from rubbing and the Load Range C in 275 was 1lb heavier than the Load Range E in 70.

Went for the E.
 
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I have the same question.

My final choices were:

Firestone Destination A/T Range C= 40lb On my 3rd set on my Gen 2, no issues whatsoever.
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT 265/70/16 Range E= 47lb
Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT 265/75/16 Range C =48lb

In my research I found that some people were having to do some trimming on the flaps on the Gen 3 with the 75 to keep it from rubbing and the Load Range C in 275 was 1lb heavier than the Load Range E in 70.

Went for the E.

That's a good call. Not many tires available in the 265/70/16 size. I may be following suit. I don't really "need" the 31.7" tall tire anyway....
 
Not sure if you bought your tires yet, but if losing mileage due to extra weight is a concern, look at the Goodyear adventure with kevlar. They come stock on later Tacomas and though they are on the bottom end of tread performance off road, the kevlar affords some extra puncture protection and the mileage/wear is good. I could get one more winter out of mine in the suburbs, but I'd not trust them in the mountains this Fall with any significant amount of snow. I'm replacing them with the Goodyear Ultraterrains (265/70/16) a week from Friday. They're SL range and 42lbs a piece.
 
I doubt it’s so much the weight as it is the rolling resistance from the more aggressive tread pattern.
 
Just dropped the Taco off at the shop to get the Coopers installed. I really like the looks and tread design on the tires.

I will post up some pics tomorrow.
Not sure if you bought your tires yet, but if losing mileage due to extra weight is a concern, look at the Goodyear adventure with kevlar. They come stock on later Tacomas and though they are on the bottom end of tread performance off road, the kevlar affords some extra puncture protection and the mileage/wear is good.

That Goodyear is what came on this truck from the factory. With 39,000 miles on them they are very close to finished. Not enough tread left for me to feel comfortable with them on wet asphalt roads for sure.
 
I doubt it’s so much the weight as it is the rolling resistance from the more aggressive tread pattern.

From the research I’ve done it is a combination of the two.

These E Range Coopers come in at 47 lbs which seems very reasonable.

Can’t wait to see how they perform.
 
Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

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