Car Tire Question

scesnick · Nov 29, 2011

I live up a 2.5 miles dirt/gravel road that can get a bit rough at times. It seems that this road is killing my car tires. I seem to always get slow leaks and i am sick of patching them.

I don't have an issue with my pickup truck tires. obviously because they have a higher ply.

I'm sure there are plenty here that know alot more about car tires than I do. So, my question is are there any higher ply passenger car tires out there or do they all have the same ply? If so, could you point me in the right direction.

NIXON · Nov 29, 2011

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JD 4520 · Nov 30, 2011

Yes there are many tire options available that are designed for different driving conditions. If you have access to multiple retail tire stores, take some time to visit more than 2 and educate yourself. Let the professional know your driving conditions and habits and what you are looking for.

If you become confused, respond back. Good luck.

scesnick · Nov 30, 2011

gbomalley said:
Yes there are many tire options available that are designed for different driving conditions. If you have access to multiple retail tire stores, take some time to visit more than 2 and educate yourself. Let the professional know your driving conditions and habits and what you are looking for.

If you become confused, respond back. Good luck.

I understand there are many options availbale according to driving conditions but i have yet to see anything about the number of ply's in car tires like you see daily on light truck tires.

JD 4520 · Nov 30, 2011

The ply is generally the sidewall strength not the tread strength so to speak. A truck tire is built different on the height for the side wall, you don't see a car tire built that same way.

That said you can get different quality of tires and varying tread patterns which I'm sure that you understand. Still to my original comment, visit a few shops ask questions and learn what options are really out there. I think you will be surprised.

I am a bit rusty on the latest tires but if you can't find what you are hoping to get reply back and I will get a suggestion for you.

scesnick · Nov 30, 2011

gbomalley said:
I am a bit rusty on the latest tires but if you can't find what you are hoping to get reply back and I will get a suggestion for you.

Not sure what i am lookiing for really. What I want is a tire that this gravel /rocky road won't puncture in a month or so. so, I guess i am looking for a tire with a thicker tread.

I guess It will boil down to trial and error. I do know that the Hankook Optimo tires that came on my new Hyundai Elantra really sucks and didn't last long.

Wifeys Continentals on her Outback are also pretty crappy. But, we do have a set of winter treads that were on our old car that weren't bothered at all by our road. But, i don't want to run winter treads all year.

ultrarunner · Nov 30, 2011

We used to use truck rated tires on the Ford Galaxy and Chevrolet Impala... They held up really well... the trade-off was noise and cornering.

scesnick · Nov 30, 2011

ultrarunner said:
We used to use truck rated tires on the Ford Galaxy and Chevrolet Impala... They held up really well... the trade-off was noise and cornering.

Yeah, I thought of that but wifey shot it down pretty quick. She didn't want a set of 305's on my new Outback for some reason.... Not sure why....lol...

ultrarunner · Nov 30, 2011

The right tires can make a huge difference.

The key is finding the right one for the application...

Are you getting tread or sidewall damage?

Some highway tires are very fragile... one curb bruise and you're finished.

Some of the jeep guys would run special tires for snow and another set for desert... like Desert Dogs or BF Goodrich All Terrains.

The serious off road guys would always run tubes with tube liners... the liners were hard to balance for highway driving... but made the tires almost impervious to punctures.

Some manufacturers like Honda and BMW equip with run flats... kind of expensive.

What sizes are OEM for your car?

scesnick · Nov 30, 2011

I am getting tread damage. Wifey's car has 225/60/17. It snows alot here and I have to plow the road in question so sometimes wifey is putting her Subbie to the test if I am at work and didn't get the road plowed. So, we are going with snow tires this winter like we walways do.

The real issue is with our All Season tires. It seems that we have a flat or a slow leak atleast once a month. the gravel is **** on the tires for sure.

Like I said, i don't have a problem with my pick up truck. I have 10 ply's on it. Te issue is with our everyday commuters.