Tire selection (1 Viewer)

[landtank]

Here is the EBAY auction http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2447628843&category=33745.

Just e-mail Nikki, she is down in Florida. She gave me a much better price than what was on their web site. It seems thay are trying to get a web bussiness off the ground .

BTW tyler. the is a guy LT on here, damn near gave me a brain cramp trying to figure out who you were talking about

 

[cruiserdan]

How dry I am.....................


:whoops:

 

[T Y L E R]

Checked out the site Rick ; great prices . I'll email Nikki at some point ... maybe she can even get a good line on my wheels .

I called you LT cause I was being lazy . I wanted to call you Rick , but couldn't remember if you had divulged your real name here or not .. I see now that its in your sig line ... sorry for the brain cramp . Don't want you having a stroke eh ?

relyT

 

[Junk]

Cdan getting it done->

 

[Pitbull]

Check out Toyo M-55's. They are a little known tire that are real good looking and will give you a smooth ride on the street but they wear like iron and are so tough the rock quarry companys use them on their trucks. I will bet that any Toyo dealer that you go to won't have them in stock but when they look them up they will say to you wow, I did not even know we had these. They should run around $100 each. You can expect 75K + miles out of a set.

 

[Pitbull]

TIRE REVIEW: TOYO M-55
An all traction radial that's rough, tough, and ready for action.

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by Peter D. du Pre

When it comes to choosing a replacement tire for pickup, SUV, or light duty commercial vehicle, most of us are in something of a quandary. We know we need new tires, but what to buy? There are almost as many tire models as there are bikinis on Baywatch and choosing between them is difficult. Each tire brand has a competitor that offers models in similar size and tread design. There are a myriad of choices and only a limited amount of time to choose. Once the wear bars start showing, you have to get tires right away. Of course if you use your vehicle only on the street for commuting or deliveries, the decision is really rather easy. Simply drive to the nearest tire store and buy what ever model/size tire is recommended by the clerk as the replacement for the OEM tire. However, if your truck regularly sees multi-purpose use, such as daily highway use, regular jaunts down dirt roads, or even off road, the choices become more difficult.

That was just the situation we found ourselves in when it came time to replace the tires on our 1984 Ford F-250. This vehicle is driven daily over paved two lanes and also sees a fair amount of off road use on construction sites and on dirt trails during elk hunting season in the Pacific Northwest. We certainly didn't want to return to the inadequate OEM treads and the large lugged mudders we had been running just didn't work that well on the highway. Not only did they wear out quickly on the pavement, they howled like a Banshee in a midnight storm.

Although we could have installed an all-terrain tread for general purpose use, it was decided that we would opt for a more "commercial" designed tread that would hold up to heavy everyday use on the highway and at the job site. Our F-350 sees a lot of heavy hauling under a variety of conditions and we need a tire that would do the job, so we looked at Toyo's M-55 Light Truck All-Position Traction Radial.


TIRE CONSTRUCTION

Although the M-55 has been in Toyo's lineup for some time, this medium range commercial grade tire has not received the attention that the more "glamorous" off road and performance models receive. This is something of a shame, really, as the under rated M-55 is an excellent all-purpose tire for the vehicle that sees heavy work during the week and heavy off road use on the week end. It has excellent medium duty off road ability, is not too noisy on the highway, and delivers good all around handling and traction as well.







Open groove design lets water drain away quickly,
so tires maintain optimum traction at all times.

Toyo markets this tire for commercial/agricultural use, as well as to people desiring function over form and wanting an upgrade from the stock tires. It is available in a variety of sizes from LT215/75R15 through LT235/85R16 and in load ranges from C through E.

Toyo engineers told us that the M-55 is designed to handle demanding commercial applications as well as rough terrain, mud, and snow with ease. As a consequence, the tread pattern is an aggressive design and side wall construction is heavy duty. Key design features include a heavy duty bead construction with high bead filler to stiffen the lower sidewall, two-ply polyester casing to provide flexibility, two full-width steel belts to keep tread patch stable and provide puncture resistance, and special under tread compound designed to help the tire run cooler and last longer.

The aggressive tread design features large lugs with an open shoulder design for improved side bite. The corners are bull nosed for quiet running and the tread surface is heavily siped to help improve wet weather traction. Rounding out the construction details is a tread depth of 17-18/32s for increased puncture resistance and long tread life.


WHEEL TYPE

Anytime you purchase new tires, it is a good idea to carefully consider the wheels you are using. For everyday work trucks, most folks stick with the stock wheels for the life of the vehicle. Our F-350 came from the factory with attractive aluminum wheels. The advantage of such wheels is that they are nice looking and light in weight. The disadvantages is that cast aluminum wheels seldom hold up well in corrosive work environments or for exceptionally rugged off road use. Ours had seen better days. They had been gouged, chipped and one was bent. New wheels were needed. However, not just any wheels would do. We needed heavy duty wheels that would stand up to the demands of logging and construction, as well as off roading. Aluminum wasn't doing it and we doubted that a return to base OEM punched steel wheels would be any better, so we looked for an alternative and found one in Stockton Wheel.






M-55 mounted on Stockton solid center steel wheels looks attractive even while it says "no nonsense." Although wheel looks like it is spoked, that is just a reflection of the lug nuts in the mirror perfect chrome finish.

This company is the oldest wheel manufacturer in the United States, being founded in 1883 by the Holt brothers to build wooden wagon wheels. Since then, Stockton Wheel has built a reputation for innovative custom wheel design and fabrication and currently manufacturers wheels for everything from tractors to hot rods. They are also the only wheel manufacturer to have a display in the American History Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

After listening to our problems, the kind folks at Stockton recommended that we install their Off-Road wheels. These wheels feature a solid steel stamped center with a rolled edge center for extra strength. Stockton will build the wheels to your specifications in rim sizes that range from 15x6 through 15x14 inches and 16.5x8.25 through 16.5x14 inches and in 17x8 inches. They are available in 5, 6, and 8 lug patterns, with bead locks, and come either unpainted or in chromed finish. We chose chrome because it looks good, sheds mud easily, and is a breeze to clean. Simply hose off.

Our wheels were manufactured in 16x7 inch size with 4 inch backside spacing. These wheels look attractive and are truly heavy duty, weighing in the neighborhood of 32 pounds apiece. But weight savings wasn't the issue. We wanted strength and between the Stockton wheels and the Toyo LT235/85R16D tires, we got it.


ON THE HIGHWAY

When we initially looked at the M-55, we were a little apprehensive about the heavy, commercial design lugs. We'd been putting up with a lot of noise on the previous tires and did not want a repeat of the problem. However, Toyo engineer Harold Van Der Meijden assured us that these tires were relatively quiet for an aggressive tread. He was right. As soon as the tires were installed with 50 psi, we headed out for the local freeway where grooved cement paving gives the rubber a chance to really make some noise. As we sped up the ramp, we began to notice a slight hum at around 45 mph that stayed constant up through highway speeds of 75 mph. Yes, we could hear a hum, but it was a subdued noise that didn't intrude on in cabin conversation or interfere with low level stereo operation. The tread composite, heavy siping, and round shoulder tread design really did the job and it was nice not to hear an ear piercing howl for a change.



3/4 angle shot illustrates the tire's large water grooves and masculine tread pattern. It also better illustrates Stockton's one-piece wheel as reflections are minimized.






Overall shot of truck with wheels/tires mounted.

With sound problem out of the way, we cruised the Interstate in sublime quiet and noticed that ride quality was improved over the stiff-walled, large-lugged mudders we had previously been running. A bonus we were glad to receive. As we left the freeway and headed down the local county roads we also noticed that the flexible sidewalls helped to improve cornering and make the truck's overall handling a lot better. Hitting wide sweepers at 50 mph no longer brought on rear wheel hop and in tight turns, the squealing was gone.


OFF ROAD ACTION

Our off road driving test consisted of hitting our favorite logging road, a rutted, mud, rock and log infested trail through a clear cut area. Here we were also quite pleased with overall performance. Over hard pack and gravel the tire performed as expected. However, it was when we first encountered soft earth and mud that we got better performance than we bargained for. We knew going in that the M-55's tread design would give good overall performance in mud and snow since the tire is M+S rated. And true to form, in soft earth the aggressive tread pattern had a solid bite, leaving a mirrored mud trail of the tread's design behind us.



Tread fills quickly with muck, but a quick dab on the throttle pedal clears the treads and lets the tire bit regain traction.



Soft earth reveals how M-55's computer-optimized tread design grabs the ground to push vehicle forward.

It was when we encountered the soupy stuff that this tire amazed us. The M-55 is not a mudder by any stretch and is not designed for really deep goo. We noticed, however, that in moderate muck, the kind of mud most of us see most often, performance was excellent. Sure, as when we first drove into the mud, the treads filled as you'd expect. And easy throttle let us loose traction and spin the tires. Again, as is usual. We were just about to stick the truck into 4WD low to get out when the driver gave the gas a quick gun and the tires quickly cleaned themselves of muck and pulled us clear. Of course, We wouldn't want to drive into a stewy Georgia clay, but for medium mud, the performance was impressive.

Also nice was the confirmation of the tread and sidewalls over obstacles such as logs and rocks. When we left the highway, we aired down to 37 psi as a target inflation level for optimum off road work. It was while at this pressure that we coaxed the M-55 over a couple of large rocks to test sidewall flexibility and lower pressure traction. Here we noticed excellent side wall flexibility and conformity around the obstacle, with the open shoulder lugs adding significantly to tractive ability.

Our off road test also included a couple of 10-inch deep water crossings where we noticed that the large water channels really shunted water away from the treads. This was something we were glad of later, when we headed for home down rain drenched freeways that had smaller vehicles hydroplaning.









Side wall confirmation/deflection over rocks shows excellent flexibility with open shoulder lugs providing additional traction. Excellent for scrambling up and over.


SUMMARY

For our hard working F-250, the combination of Stockton's solid center Off-Road wheels and Toyo's M-55 All Position Traction Radial, was a good one. We got strong wheels to replace aging and weakened aluminum alloys and a better all-around work/play tire than the mudders we had previously been running. Additionally, we found the quiet operation, improved ride quality and handling, and mud performance better than we expected. Consequently, we recommend it to anyone needing an aggressive commercial style tread pattern and wanting long tire life. If you are looking for specific off road performance abilities, such as rock crawling or mud holing, this is not your tire. If, on the other hand, you want a heavy duty tire that is rough, tough and will get the job done, the Toyo M-55 deserves your consideration.


SOURCES
Toyo Tires
See your local tire dealer
or call 1-800-678-3250 Stockton Wheel
648 W. Fremont St.
Stockton, CA 95203
1-800-395-9433


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A NOTE FROM THE TOYO TEST FACILITIES

Even before we build a tire and test it at the TOYO test facilities, our engineers examine it using our revolutionary computer analysis. Now, for the first time, changes in the contact area between a moving tire and the road can be simulated and measured moment to moment in variable driving conditions. Those constant changes in contact area are important to you because they ultimately affect a tire's performance. If a tire doesn't pass the computer analysis, it's not going to make it to our test facility - or to your vehicle.

 

[T Y L E R]

Geeze Pitbull , next time could you at least offer up a smattering of detail ?

Seriously though , nice to see a wide variety of choices highlighted here .

 

[Pitbull]

Guess I got a little carried away :-[. Just thought I would add something new, since we all get carried away with the normal tires everyone uses and don't look that deep. I know several guys that run HD diesel trucks with these tires and get 75K+ miles out of a set. Not easy miles, big loads, off road up in Montana and Colo. I run BFG AT/KO's but I will go with the Toyo M-55's if I ever wearout the BFG's

 

[IdahoDoug]

While we're talking unsung hero tires, I'll toss the Cooper Discoverer S/T in the ring. I've been more impressed with that tire than any other, including the much marketed BFG AT. I heard about the Cooper from inquiring at several local tire shops who cater to the mining, logging and mineral extraction trade as well as on that handles the Forest Service account. Universally, all said "Coopers". These are people who's livelihood depends on getting their jobs done. Loggers get fired for not making it to the job site as there are a lot of people willing to do the job. Ditto mining, hunting guides and other outdoor employees. These things last well for people who can't afford to keep replacing tires. And they get them around when the rest of us stay at home.

I had them on my full size Montero and found their traction amazing and their road manners truly first rate. They were so good I would (and did) recommend them to my own brother. He's happy with them as well.

Check 'em out. I see they're now available as a Commercial version for even heavier use and these will be my next tires. This model is the Discovery S/T-C.

DougM

 

[Rogue]

[quote author=Junk link=board=2;threadid=8668;start=msg74888#msg74888 date=1071241824]
You could always check into getting a set of XML's too.
[/quote]

 

[Rogue]

or these?

 

[yooper]

[quote author=IdahoDoug link=board=2;threadid=8668;start=msg75404#msg75404 date=1071346321]
While we're talking unsung hero tires, I'll toss the Cooper Discoverer S/T in the ring. [/quote]

Look good:

or these:

 

[yooper]

Here's a pic of the Toyo M-55:

 

[yooper]

However, this is my next tire :

 

[yooper]

The "Wild Country" tires made by Multi-Mile are another well kept secret:

Look at the Radial RVT (FW, PE) on this site for a good inexpensive all around on/off road tire:

http://www.tbcprivatebrands.com/multimile/radiallight/page2.html#aw

here's a pic:

 

[scottm]

Cooper Discoverer S/T (siped). I worked construction for a couple years, if I didn't get myself and my trailer to the job site I carried a whole lotta tools and materials from the road. They also needed to get me down the highway in snow/slush/ice. Tough, fairly quiet, good all-around tire.

 

[IdahoDoug]

I don't think much of the STT, actually. It's just a run of the mill M/T and not notable in any way. The strength of the S/T is that it's an astonishing road tire, yet obviously has excellent traction as an A/T with that computer aided tread pattern. I actually engaged in a bit of a "duel" with an identical vehicle in Moab that had the STTs on and he was unable to hang with our vehicle. We have several chunks of video showing him taking the exact line following me and the tires kept slipping on typical Moab fare (climbing onto rock out of sand, etc). It looks aggressive but doesn't live up to it in terms of actual traction.

DougM