Why can't we get 8.25R16 tires here in the US of A? Australia, Europe, and Asia all use them. They even have 14 and 16 ply tires. Why can't we get a good heavy duty pickup tire here in the states? Our only option is 17.5's or 19.5's - which aren't cheap for single wheel rims.

Why can't we get a tire such as this?

CR387 | Commercial Truck and Bus Tires | CST Tires

Or this?

Drive Tyres : Haulmax Tyres* ATT 304

Tall, skinny, industrial heavy duty, etc.

I called CST in Georgia about getting some tires and just got: "Nope, those are for the overseas market only".

WHY?

I am tired of paying through the nose for junk. We run M610ZL Toyo's on our semis and get about 150,000 miles out of them while pulling 120,000 lbs. - and then we put them on our trailers.
All of our pickups that will occasionally pull 10 to 20,000 lbs with will scrub off a set of tires in 20,000 to 30,000 miles and we've tried them all (that have a three ply sidewall that is). Yokohama's and BFG's are the best, but they still suck.

Why can't we get a good frickin' pickup tire?


Temper pressure has stabilized, rant over.

 

Wish I had an answer for you, I completely agree. If I had to guess it's DOT thing, cost of approval vs. market.


There is a huge whole in the market in mid sized traction tires in between pickup tires and heavy commercial tires.

 

I would love to get a set of these bad boys here.. its just our wonderfully regulated state of modern living i guess

 

So it's regulation?

 

I think it safe to say yes. For a tire to be sold for "highway use" in the US it must be DOT approved. What it takes to be DOT approved I don't know but likely safe to assume it's a bunch of very stupid rules that make no since and cost a lot to comply.

 

Yeah, I have to agree.
I also firmly believe that most of these "safety" regulations are dreamed up by some pin head bureaucrat, sitting behind his desk, dreaming up ways to justify his job.
In my opinion, true safety is just common sense. If you don't have common sense, good, do something stupid and make room for someone who does.

 

Yup, best example of that that comes to mind would be the whole Ford Explorer Firestone tire blowout thing back in the day. A few people have a blowout that leads to a rollover most likely resulting from a combination of underinflated tires and a tire unable to handle that idiocy. That leads to a HUGE loss for both companies and standardization of tire pressure monitoring systems.


No decent tire company would risk selling an unsafe tire to the American public DOT regulation or not. In this litigious society with a media always out to make a story out of something like a defective tire it's simply not worth the risk. That simple fact insures that we largely have VERY safe tires, not some pile of federal regulations.


The unintended consequences of those DOT "safety" regulations is that they make tires more expensive. This leads people to buy lower quality tires, keep them longer, and buy cheap retreads. This is dangerous, not letting us buy a perfectly good tire that isn't DOT approved.

 

And the litigation led to Firestone and Ford having a big fallout, after a hundred year business relationship. Harvey and Henry were good friends.

 

Doubt you would want a 14ply tire on a light truck that sees any speed on pavement. It would wonder all over the road.
An OEM steel wheel, and probably most 16" aluminum wheels aren't reated to carry 120psi, which is usually max inflation on a 14ply tire. I think 80psi is usually tops on a 16" wheel until you get in to specialty stuff.
If you want an over built tire like a big trick tire, get a steel on steel tire like a good year g series commercial tire. I have a set of g949 on my f250. Still a load range e 10 ply rating, but the rubber compound is long wearing, steel sidewalls, and they're tough as nails as far as puncture resistance. They're also great at low speeds. But at 60+ the truck is all over the road, even with low psi. The sidewalls are so stiff on a tire like that, and a 16" 14ply tire sidewall is even stiffer. This is on a truck with a completely rebuilt front end, red head steering box, and camber and caster are in ford spec. As is toe. I work in a commercial tire center as a suspension/steering/alignment and tire man. I can't wait to get those tires off and go back to a standard tire. Not to mention a 10ply tire will carry more weight than these trucks were ever meant to safely carry.
Not to mention those tires are Chinese made, and all the Chinese drive tires I've seen wear like crap. Try a steel on steel tires, might be what you're after.

 

Did you look at the tire? I mainly want the 8.25 R16 size (235/100R16) but the added ply rating comes as a bonus. I'll take my chances with them making the truck drive bad (I'll probably never even get the chance). Did your bad driving tires happen to be on a twin I-Beam POS front end? What tires are they exactly. I have found that wider tires tend to drive worse than skinny tires the height has never seemed to make that much difference.

As for weight, see the picture in my sig.

Also, I will never ever buy a good year tire of any sort. There light truck tires may be good, but their ag tires are junk.

 

Of course I looked at the tire. That's why I said they're both Chinese made tires that won't wear for crap.
My front end is a twin I beam, but it's hardly a piece of crap.
As for the tires I have on the truck now, 215/85r16 good year g949 RSA. 5 steel belts and a 1 ply steel sidewall. Just like a commercial truck tire. Probably the same rubber compound or close to what gy uses on a lot of commercial tires. Total misapplication, but I was curious.
I'm not just pulling stuff out of my *** here, I'm going by what I've experienced and seen.

 

So it's the 215's that drive bad?

As for the listed tires, the CST tires are made in Taiwan - IDK if it is a good comparison but they are the company that makes Maxxis motorcycle tries which are by far the best wearing tire I have found.

The haulmax tires appear to be made in Australia. Haulmax seems to be inbed with cat and produces equipment that is basically just relabeled Caterpillars.

I found quite a few chinese tires but it seems you would agree, I despise chinese junk.

 

It isn't size that makes it drive bad. It's the construction of the tire.
I've had the same tire, in a 245/75r16 on the truck, and it still wanders. If I switch to a standard 10ply tire is steel and fiber construction, the wander goes away.
Also, all the wander I'm getting is coming from the rear of the truck. The sidewalls seem to be too stiff to a light duty truck. We install the Ame tires on major parcel carrier vans, and they do the same thing on them. I believe most of the Mercedes vans we see.come with continental vanco 10ply tires, but the company uses one tire for cost purposes.
As for Chinese tires...I do not like them. Some Chinese passenger tires might be okay, but Lt and heaver...no thanks.
The haulmax tire looks like an aeolus to me, which is made by one of the many Chinese tire manufacturers.
Find a good tire dealer in your area that is willing to listen to your needs and I'm sure they can come up with something that will last a while and be good quality. They're out there

 

That's the greatest thing I've heard in a while!

 

I'm betting that I weigh at least 2,000 if not 3,000 lbs. more than your truck so I bet that I don't have that problem.

Bridgestone also makes what looks to be a fantastic tire - the problem is, I need more traction than a straight highway tire as I live out in the sticks, farm out in the sticks, and run cows even farther out in the sticks.

My local tire shop recommends 19.5 tires. I just might need a loan to buy 5 $200 rims and 5 $350 tires.

And they still aren't as tall or skinny as a 8.25 R16.