Anyone regret buying E rated tires?
- Thread starter Jrod
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So where to buy them from? I don't see them at DiscountTire or TireRack or BigO.
Toyo and Nitto are from the same factory, but branded differently for marketing purposes. Around here, Toyo is at Les Schwab and Nitto is at America's Tires. Slight difference in tread pattern to keep from being 100% copies.
I have D rated BFG AT's right now with 50k miles on them. They are still in fair condition. They have worn evenly and will still pass state inspection which means they are not warn to the wear bars yet.
I have already purchased a set of Nitto TG 285/75-16 in an E rating. I put 20-25k miles a year on my LC and a lot of it is back and forth from our ranch house in central Texas. Damn near everything in central Texas has stickers and thorns. I bought the D's and now the E's for the puncture resistance and the amount of wear mileage they will give me.
I have no doubt that the p-rated Michelins that were OEM definitely have a cushy ride but that is not all I expect from my tires.
I had no idea Nitto TG and Toyo OC AT IIs were the same! But it makes sense.
Here is something I just found out by calling Toyo: they often have two product codes for the same tire, with a weight difference. They insist the tires are identical, except for black or white lettering. Black lettering is made on the more modern factory right here in the US and the white are made in Japan the "old method". Interestingly, the white Japanese ones weigh LESS! The rep insisted they were identical, but I had to point out that the laws of physics dictate that if two objects have different mass, they are not "identical". The rep finally relented and admitted they are identical in performance in every way. Fine. Anyway, check this out:
NITTO TG LT275/70/18 E weigh 54#
Toyo OCATII LT275/70/18 E weigh 53.1# for black US made
Toyo OCATII LT275/70/18 E weigh 50.9# for white Japan made
The difference is really striking on Toyo ATIIs in 17s:
285/75/17 black 55.7#
285/75/17 white 50.5#
Go figure that the fancy, new, state-of-the-art-personless manufacturing process in the US uses more material and thus a less efficient tire.
Here is something I just found out by calling Toyo: they often have two product codes for the same tire, with a weight difference. They insist the tires are identical, except for black or white lettering. Black lettering is made on the more modern factory right here in the US and the white are made in Japan the "old method". Interestingly, the white Japanese ones weigh LESS! The rep insisted they were identical, but I had to point out that the laws of physics dictate that if two objects have different mass, they are not "identical". The rep finally relented and admitted they are identical in performance in every way. Fine. Anyway, check this out:
NITTO TG LT275/70/18 E weigh 54#
Toyo OCATII LT275/70/18 E weigh 53.1# for black US made
Toyo OCATII LT275/70/18 E weigh 50.9# for white Japan made
The difference is really striking on Toyo ATIIs in 17s:
285/75/17 black 55.7#
285/75/17 white 50.5#
Go figure that the fancy, new, state-of-the-art-personless manufacturing process in the US uses more material and thus a less efficient tire.
two different responses....if talking ride quality and such...the E rated are much harsher.
if talking durability....the E rated are without equal in the Nitto brand at least....never had a cut, puncture, gash or anything in almost 10 years of using them. If I was hitting the trails hard every outing and in situations where I needed them or thought I might...it would be E rated 3ply sidewalls and nothing else.
before then I ran BFG AT and tore two sidewalls on brush stubs on side of trail....tore sidewall all the way through...that is when I switched to E rated heavy sidewall tires. Now after years of puncture proof fun....I am complacent and will likely try lower rating next. Well until I get my next cut tire on the trail and swear to never use anything but E rated sidewalls again....forever.....again! LOL
if talking durability....the E rated are without equal in the Nitto brand at least....never had a cut, puncture, gash or anything in almost 10 years of using them. If I was hitting the trails hard every outing and in situations where I needed them or thought I might...it would be E rated 3ply sidewalls and nothing else.
before then I ran BFG AT and tore two sidewalls on brush stubs on side of trail....tore sidewall all the way through...that is when I switched to E rated heavy sidewall tires. Now after years of puncture proof fun....I am complacent and will likely try lower rating next. Well until I get my next cut tire on the trail and swear to never use anything but E rated sidewalls again....forever.....again! LOL
Power loss was my only complaint moving to a big boy tire. I'm rocking 275/65/18 general grabber at2. Awesome ride. Awesome grip. Awesome tire.
.... But they are heavy and the power loss is noticeable. Even with my 5 speed.
.... But they are heavy and the power loss is noticeable. Even with my 5 speed.
E is heavier and stiffer than D so for me I want:
D for; trails, economy, acceleration, comfort, cost, traction.
E for; highway cruise, towing, cornering, durability.
I recently went from D to C on my light Tacoma and it is a huge improvement for my use. Will run D and never E on the LC because it's mostly for trail/commute use in my case and rarely do I tow or need the stability an E would offer.
just my opinion and experience...
D for; trails, economy, acceleration, comfort, cost, traction.
E for; highway cruise, towing, cornering, durability.
I recently went from D to C on my light Tacoma and it is a huge improvement for my use. Will run D and never E on the LC because it's mostly for trail/commute use in my case and rarely do I tow or need the stability an E would offer.
just my opinion and experience...
Seems the 'D's are going away, I have 285/75-16 BFG A/T's in 'D' but don't know if they are still available.
I know the BFG at in 265/75-16 is no longer available in a D range but the GY-DT is and that's why I switched on the Tacoma.. ( I couldn't see going from a slightly too heavy D to a way too heavy E for an ultralight reg cab 4-cyl truck)
It could be that the Load Range/Ply Count is no longer a good indicator given current technology and maybe we should look more at the tires weight and load index rating?
I don't know quite why this is happening... tire guy blamed it on the full size truck guys that want to run huge mudders on the highway, pulling trailers, looking cool, and therefore influencing the tire market. I guess it could be partly true... big meat used to almost always show up on lighter cheaper junk but I sure see a lot of heavy diesels on mud tires any more.
I'm confused as to why the market seems to be going this way and would love to see a logical explanation... sure would simplify tire shopping!
I know the BFG at in 265/75-16 is no longer available in a D range but the GY-DT is and that's why I switched on the Tacoma.. ( I couldn't see going from a slightly too heavy D to a way too heavy E for an ultralight reg cab 4-cyl truck)
It could be that the Load Range/Ply Count is no longer a good indicator given current technology and maybe we should look more at the tires weight and load index rating?
I don't know quite why this is happening... tire guy blamed it on the full size truck guys that want to run huge mudders on the highway, pulling trailers, looking cool, and therefore influencing the tire market. I guess it could be partly true... big meat used to almost always show up on lighter cheaper junk but I sure see a lot of heavy diesels on mud tires any more.
I'm confused as to why the market seems to be going this way and would love to see a logical explanation... sure would simplify tire shopping!
I was just checking out the Nitto Terra Grapplers today and they have a D rated tire in the 285/75/16 size and 295/75/16.
LT285/75R16 D122Q is a 32.68
LT295/75R16 D123Q is a 33.27
http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/terragrappler#size
Looks like the Yokohama Geolander ATS also has a D range 33 inch tire.
http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/geolandar_a_t_s
LT285/75R16 D122Q is a 32.68
LT295/75R16 D123Q is a 33.27
http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/terragrappler#size
Looks like the Yokohama Geolander ATS also has a D range 33 inch tire.
http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/geolandar_a_t_s
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It is interesting that the Nitto 285 in D weighs 56#. The Toyo OC E-rated weighs 53#. Someone explain that to me! The extra ply has negative mass?
I went from E rated to C rated. E rated must be inflated above 40 PSI to prevent cracking of inner plies and as a result it is pretty hard for the suspension. I went with Sumitomo Encounter 265 75 16 ($650 installed at Walmart) and these tires are Amazing! I drove on snow/ice at 29 PSI as recommended by Toyota, it rode as I had chains on! NOT a single wheel spin. If anyone plans for a set of tires, checkout these encounter tires. I have another set on my 3rd gen 4R and with the recent snow/Ice, I hardly got any wheel spin(29 PSI). Going to get these same tires into my TACO as well.
1) Sorry, "cracking of inner plies"? I haven't heard of this before.
2) Does Toyota have specific recommendations for LT tires on snow and ice?
^
Toyota recommends 29 PSI and you cannot run 29 PSI on an E rated tire. I spoke to Discount tire who installed these E rated tires. They said to maintain at least 40 PSI on E rated tires.
E rated means it is a light truck tire with a max pressure is 80 PSI. The construction of the tire is rigid with many plies (I believe 10) are used to build the sidewall interlayers to hold heavy loads and keep 80 PSI pressures. These 10 ply sidewall interlayers should not flex like a C rated 6 ply tire. When they do, it tends to weaken the construction/interlayer design of the sidewall.
Toyota recommends 29 PSI and you cannot run 29 PSI on an E rated tire. I spoke to Discount tire who installed these E rated tires. They said to maintain at least 40 PSI on E rated tires.
E rated means it is a light truck tire with a max pressure is 80 PSI. The construction of the tire is rigid with many plies (I believe 10) are used to build the sidewall interlayers to hold heavy loads and keep 80 PSI pressures. These 10 ply sidewall interlayers should not flex like a C rated 6 ply tire. When they do, it tends to weaken the construction/interlayer design of the sidewall.
I guess I better quit airing my tires down when I off-road!
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