"E" rated tires

[gearguywb]

So I am continuing to shop for my first upgrade on the "new to me" 06 and after spending 7,000 hours reading old posts I see some pretty negative comments about "E" load rated tires, citing substantially decreased mileage, loss of power, rough ride, etc. I have run "D" rated tires on a previous 100 and thought they were fine. With the current 18" wheels the 33's seem to come pretty much only in the "E's" (looking at the Nitto TG). So what say you wise folks?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I have never heard of decreased mileage or loss of power, those are new ones. How would you loose power?

Rough ride maybe. I have BFG AT "E"'s and they ride fine, no different that the D's they replaced.

 

[LCWannabe]

Decreased mileage or loss of power compared to stock size tires- sure. Other than that, my E rated tires are fine. Haven't noticed any difference from my previous D rated 33's.

 

[cary]

Keep in mind, that you have already gone to a tire with a stiffer sidewall when you went from a Pmetric to a D rated tire. The E tire will have stiffer sidewall and likely slightly higher rolling resistance, but you are talking small percentages on a vehicle that rolling resistance is not super critical (i.e. compare to a Prius or Civic).

 

[Brock]

I have E rated...reasons for decreased mpg is they are just heavier....all that toughness for sidewalls and such comes at a price. I lost about 1mpg for my e-rated Nitto tires. The sidewalls are stiffer so they do not compress as readily but they also do not compress as easily on trail. Harsher ride due to stiff sidewall but you have less chance at damaging a wheel on a severe rock or obstacle impact.

I dont think they are higher rolling resistance...but do have higher rolling mass so it takes a bit more to get them started from stop in city driving..on highway it is negligable in my opinion.

I will take the 1mpg hit for the tough sidewalls as I have never had a sidewall compromised on my Nitto or KM2 tires when I went with the stronger sidewalls.

Great tires...just a slight hit on mileage around town due to weight of the extra protection in each tire.

 

[mtnracer]

I went from P275-65R18 Bridgestone Dueler HTs (stock tire on new Tundra) to LT275-70R18 E-Rated Cooper Zeon LTZs and the difference was quite huge. I dropped about 2 MPG and lost a LOT of power. I can hear the engine "try" hard all the time and the tranny has to downshift much more to maintain speed on grades. Most of this is just due to the big weight increase.

If I lived out West or at least went off-roading every weekend, then the E-RAted tires are great. However, for daily driving and sporadic off-road trip, I would stick with a 275-65R18 XL rated (Nitto Terra Grappler for example).

I am selling the Coopers because I just don't need the E Rating although the tire itself is great.

 

[gearguywb]

Cetainly makes sense that a heavier tire with a stiffer sidewall would make the ride a bit "harsher" and would require more effort to get it rolling. The problem (at least with 18's) is all of the 33's that I can find are "E" rated. Do you give up an extra 1" of tire to get a lighter, better rolling tire, or live with the negatives of the larger tire?

 

[mtnracer]

Cetainly makes sense that a heavier tire with a stiffer sidewall would make the ride a bit "harsher" and would require more effort to get it rolling. The problem (at least with 18's) is all of the 33's that I can find are "E" rated. Do you give up an extra 1" of tire to get a lighter, better rolling tire, or live with the negatives of the larger tire?

Go Off-Roading all the time = 35s
Go Off-Roading a few times per month = 33s
Go Off-Roading a few times per year = P or C Rated 32s

Just my 2c

 

[1loudLX]

E load tires on my truck ride fine, but that's probably because it weighs so damn much.

btw, mtnracer: go offroading a few times per year = 35s!

 

[andyhess]

I just swapped out my BFG AT (285/65-18 D) with Nitto TG (305/60-18 P). I opted for these instead of 285/65-18 E Nittos as I was really burnt out on the harsh ride of D & E rated tires. The new Nittos ride great, but I think my milage has dropped about 4%. Also, there is VERY slight rubbing of the control arms and sway bar when it's really cranked over, but it doesn't seem to be a problem (~1000 miles and one mild wheeling trip). I do like the look of the fatter tires...

 

[informationjunky]

You might want to look at the duratraks also. they seem to have a good following in the 80's section.
Welcome back BTW! wheeled with ya a few times with the upstate crowd

 

[gearguywb]

You might want to look at the duratraks also. they seem to have a good following in the 80's section.
Welcome back BTW! wheeled with ya a few times with the upstate crowd

Thanks! It has been tooooooooo long!

 

[BorderCruiser]

I recently upgraded to 275/70R18 Hankook Dynapro RF10 load range E and have not seen a decrease in highway mileage. The city mileage has dropped very little due to I am guessing the weight. The ride is just as good as before and the doesn't mind them at all. Remember if upgrading from stock size tires (275/60R18) you increase the circumference by approximatley 6% therefore the odometer and speedometer will be off that same amount unless calibrated of course. It appears on my '03 auto mpg guage that the mileage has gone down, until I multiply it by 1.06 and all is good again, sometimes even a little better on longer drives due to less rpm's at same speed.