Pay extra for Load Range E's?

[puckgrinder85]

I bought tires at WalMart, Goodyear something or another, and was the same exact tire you get from a GoodYear dealer, only $75 cheaper. A house brand may be inferior but a name brand and specific model has to be the same, unless you know something I don't know. Plus you get service with a smile. I have no problem getting tires at WM.

You may be able to get some tires there that you could anywhere else, however 90% of the tires they sell are cheaper because they are low grade tires. Im sure they can drop the price from buying bulk, thats how thier whole system works for the store. Just my opinion, i think they are cheap and I dont like cheaping on tires.



About the tires.. Most load range E tires are rated for around say 3000lbs. Thats 12,000 lbs total your tires can haul total, likely way above what you're going to be hauling -in the truck-. If you've got a 2500 and hauling a 3000lb pallet in the back of your bed then yea, i'd recommend you sticking it out with the E's. But if your truck is a grocery getter/ haul the kids and random crap around there is no need for them, way overkill unless you like them for other reasons which is totally fine. If you want to save the money and can do it safely by all means.

 

[JDgreen227]

You may be able to get some tires there that you could anywhere else, however 90% of the tires they sell are cheaper because they are low grade tires. Im sure they can drop the price from buying bulk, thats how thier whole system works for the store. Just my opinion, i think they are cheap and I dont like cheaping on tires.



About the tires.. Most load range E tires are rated for around say 3000lbs. Thats 12,000 lbs total your tires can haul total, likely way above what you're going to be hauling -in the truck-. If you've got a 2500 and hauling a 3000lb pallet in the back of your bed then yea, i'd recommend you sticking it out with the E's. But if your truck is a grocery getter/ haul the kids and random crap around there is no need for them, way overkill unless you like them for other reasons which is totally fine. If you want to save the money and can do it safely by all means.

My OEM Firestones are rated 3042 pounds per tire @80 psi. With a full fuel tank and 7 passengers, my GMC weighs 7540 pounds. Yes, E's are pure overkill for my situation.

 

[3930dave]

I wish they still made the steeltex tires.

Saw some Steeltex on a low mileage F350 dump body, recently restored truck. Standing up well, and very good tread still.

I run Transforce ATs on my E350, and like them. I'm OK with their ride, but my van will be heavier than JD's truck, and I didn't buy an E350 expecting a limo ride.

I've seen these Transforce ATs stand up very well locally in tow truck use.

Rgds, D.

 

[Case485Guy]

If you dont haul over the tires limits, which really is hard to to do, then do you what you want too. I mean why buy a 10 ply if you dont need it? Screw all the TBH attorneys here. I am here to tell you, nothing better than Walmart for road Hazard, say what you want but when I ran hot shot trucks, for the most part it was replace and go, no questions asked and they are everywhere. Not the fstest srvice but the cheapest.

 

[mangus580]

Personally, I would stick with E's on it. My brother has a 95 Suburban with the 6.5 diesel in it. It had D's on it when he got it, and was real 'squishy' in curves and such. It all went away when he put load range E's on it. While D's may be rated to handle the weight of your Yukon loaded, they will not handle as nice as the E's will.

I have 2 suburbans, one a 99, one 95 both with the diesel as well, and I refuse to put anything less than E's on them. I dont think you will see a ride difference at all, and I suspect you wont like the way the D's handle in the end.

 

[RobertN]

What does your book say? I originally went by the door sticker, but just wound up wearing the middle of my tires. I towed, but usually really light loads(utility trailer).

For my Ram2500, it has an addendum. For 265-65-16E, it has a full load inflation and a "light load" inflation.

Full Load = 70psi rear, 55psi front
Light Load = 40psi rear. 45psi front

My truck came with 265's option, but 245 was standard. Book says:
Full Load = 80psi rear, 65psi front
Light Load = 40psi rear. 50psi front

While we are on the topic, got a 2005 2500hd 4x4, when from stock 245 75r16 to 265 75 r16. When I run 65 psi all around I.swear the tires seem.over inflated, touching only in middle. Truck is used really just for driving now, no loads over 1000#. should I reduce psi to 45 like the half tons? Door says 55 front, 80 back. I did go to load D

 

[JDgreen227]

OP here...owner's manual for my GMC says to "refer to the label on the driver's door for CORRECT COLD TIRE INFLATION PRESSURES" (emphasis added) and the label says 50psi front, 80 psi rear. There is NO mention whatsoever in the owners manual about tire pressures other than what I just stated.

 

[sld]

On my last 3 Superdutys I went from E 265's to D 285's and there was less than 100 lbs per tire difference. In my opinion, I would be concerned more about the sidewall weight rating than the E or D class.

Also, for nails and such, I thought the E rated tires only had 10 plies in the sidewall. Has nothing to do with the tread thickness. I could be wrong.

On edit, the best way to check inflation is to wet your tire and drive on concrete to check the foot print. Pretty much self explanatory.

 

[RobertN]

I did too on my Ram. Looked nice, worked well out hunting. But, the handling under load was definitely affected, as the tires were "squishier". Went back to E rated after that set wore out. Much better towing the 5th wheel, tractor etc.

On my last 3 Superdutys I went from E 265's to D 285's and there was less than 100 lbs per tire difference. In my opinion, I would be concerned more about the sidewall weight rating than the E or D class.

 

[timswi]

Doubt the Op will be towing a 5th wheel with a Yukon XL...Just sayin.

 

[RobertN]

A little work with a Sawzall...

really though, I noticed the squish with the flatbed bumper pull trailer too. Would be similar for a travel trailer etc.

Doubt the Op will be towing a 5th wheel with a Yukon XL...Just sayin.

 

[TomSeller]

If the tire place you are buying from is paying attention, they won't install under rated tires. They could be liable themselves if there was a blow out resulting in a serious accident. The lawyers would dig in on that.

 

[crashz]

Load range D would be fine (most will exceed your GVWR and axle WR), but I've found them to be more expensive than the more common P or E tires.

Load range C would be on the edge of usable and the ride and handling will be awful. Expect it to feel like driving on a road bed of marshmallows. Squishy and unpredictable. Unlikely that a good tire store will even mount them.

Before trading my 1/2 ton, I put stock sized E tires on it. Cooper ATs I think. They were reasonable and good tires. If it were me, I'd put a less expensive E tire on it vs a name brand tire with less load capacity.

 

[bdeboer]

Thanks for the input from all of you...I too have not seen any Load Range D's locally in that size. The main reason I was wondering about the issue is that when I was at Wally World yesterday the price for a premium load Range E (Goodyear) was about $65 more than the same size in standard load. Spent a half hour comparing prices at Discount tire online and their price for a standard load tire (midgrade) is only about $15 less than a LR E. I am leaning toward the Cooper Discoverer HT LR E. Tread on the OEM Firestone Steeltexes is still good, but the sidewall are beginning to get very hard and cracking around the rim is getting to be noticable.

I did not check all of the replies, did you check one of the local dealers that services pickup trucks, tractors or trailers? I usually save some from online prices with truck tires at our local Deere dealer.

I ran a set of load range E MasterCraft AT's on a 2002 K2500 Suburban from 50K (when I purchased it) to 98K when I traded it in. MasterCraft are a Cooper off brand. The MasterCraft tires were at the end of their life when I traded it in. Changed out the factory Firestones because they tended to hydroplane in rain although they had what seemed to be a decent amount of tread left. I do have a set of Mastercraft AT2 on a 1/2 ton now with around 30K and they are noiser than what I remember the MasterCraft AT's being.

 

[bdeboer]

Still trying to figure out why load range E is needed on a Suburban...On my 14,000# class C MH, I get it..Having owned Suburban class vehicles in the past I can say I never bought or needed them unless you're towing a park model TT in a serious HD XL..

Saftey police aside.

I've towed (more times than I can count) 6,000-10,00 loads with LT tires and never had anything that concerned me...

I had a 2002 K2500 ton Suburban and it would not feel stable when the rear tires were not the 80lbs (from the door sticker) when pulling an 8000lb travel trailer. Usually I kept them at 65lbs for normal driving. It did not take me long to check the air pressure on the Suburban along with the trailer tires before I left.

 

[JDgreen227]

Despite the factory recommendation on the door sticker to use 80 psi front/50 psi rear (cold) I usually ran all 4 tires at 50 psi unless I was towing a 30 foot TT (loaded weight 6450 pounds) and then I bumped the pressure up to 60 for all four. Every tire is wearing evenly and I never felt the rig was unstable even at freeway speeds.

 

[3930dave]

Despite the factory recommendation on the door sticker to use 80 psi front/50 psi rear (cold) I usually ran all 4 tires at 50 psi unless I was towing a 30 foot TT (loaded weight 6450 pounds) and then I bumped the pressure up to 60 for all four. Every tire is wearing evenly and I never felt the rig was unstable even at freeway speeds.

Hi JD,

That 80psi (rear, I suspect) is a worst case #.

As in, GM would have tested your truck pulling Max Rated load, through Arizona in the peak of summer heat.

Then, they'd add a bit of a fudge factor, as many people (not you) don't pay much attention to Max Rated Load.

Living in MI, pulling under the rated load, it should never be an issue for you with LR E. But, that said, you would probably still see a rear tire temperature difference (sidewall temperature, IR measured), between running 60 vs. 80 psi, even with your load.

For your case , the operating temperature of a LR E would probably still be OK at 60psi rear. Max Load, Phoenix, August first weekend - not so much.

Let us know what you end up deciding to go with.

Rgds, D.

 

[timswi]

I must have a far larger tolerance for "squishey"...I had a 2500 diesel Suburban 4x4 with LT 265x75x16's on it and never felt any of that. Don't even know if it called for "E" rated tires or not (been a good while since I owned it)..I put what I wanted on it.

I will say when I want from GY Eagles to Cooper Disco AT3's on my GMC P/U I did notice a slight lack of cornering for the first 1/2 mile...Don't notice it any more.

 

[JDgreen227]

Thanks to all who responded to this thread...I learned a lot from all of you. Decided to replace the OEM's with the same E load range as the differerence in price for a set of four is only about $80 at Discount Tire. As I stated in an earlier post, the reason I originally wondered about the issue is the extreme price difference at Wally World for LT tires versus the E range. Appears that WW has a very limited selection of E Range tires at the local store and the E range tire they carry is a premium model. Given my driving habits are less than 1,000 miles a year on the GMC, I was reluctant to pay $70 per tire premium for the E range, but $80-90 per SET is very reasonable. Appreciate all the feedback. :thumbsup:

 

[bdeboer]

I must have a far larger tolerance for "squishey"...I had a 2500 diesel Suburban 4x4 with LT 265x75x16's on it and never felt any of that. Don't even know if it called for "E" rated tires or not (been a good while since I owned it)..I put what I wanted on it.

I will say when I want from GY Eagles to Cooper Disco AT3's on my GMC P/U I did notice a slight lack of cornering for the first 1/2 mile...Don't notice it any more.

It didn't seem as bad when I got rid of the OEM tires a couple months after I purchased it, and I never notice it with my '08 Diesel but the TPM makes me keep those aired up.