Those guys running load range E tires oem size,
does your mpg's suffer a little cuz of the weight?
Thanks

Mickey

 

If you stay with the OEM size it'll be very little, but yes the extra weight will have some detrimental effect on economy. It would be most noticeable in city/stop and go driving.

I see you're in Pagosa Springs. Would that be downtown Pagosa Springs, and do you have a feed store??

 

No, not in town, 10 miles west side on the 160, no feed store. You live in Pagosa?

 

No, in the old C.W. McCall song "Wolf Creek Pass" the last thing that happens is they crash their truck into the side of a feed store in downtown Pagosa Springs after losing the brakes. Give it a listen, it's pretty funny.

 

I doubt it makes enough difference to notice but.... a counterpoint to the extra weight is a stiffer tire with less rolling resistance than a soggy 4 ply which may actually improve milage a little... all else like tread pattern and aspect ratio being equal.

 

Ha ha.. I have heard that song a few times..yess ye, coming off Wolf Creek pass going west it can be intense .. thanks for the reminder.


Mickey

 

I got to thinking about that and you're probably right. All told it would likely be a push. I always run LT-E tires but theyre always 2-3 sizes up from stock which gets considerably heavier (like 65 lb per tire in my case) and obviously mileage suffers.

 

As long as we're kicking this can down the road,
Currently I'm running cooper at3, load range C.
Worst tire I've ever had, I do tow a tt with the bed full of everything, and run my 6ply at 50lbs
makes for a crappy ride empty. I'm thinking if I go up to load range E , when I lower the psi to a comfortable range not towing the ride will be there and carrying a little more weight in the bed off road and not be concerned about rocks etc in the Rockies.
Mickey

 

You'll certainty have a tougher tire with the E, but I really don't think you can improve the ride quality regardless of where you set the pressure. You really can't use the heavier construction to carry weight in lieu of air pressure. I'm not saying you can't air them down to 35 empty, but you could do that with the C tires as well, and they'd ride better than the E's at 35. It's that darned "no free lunch" thing again. Or as John Adams (2nd President) said, "Facts are stubborn things".

 

I understand, I think it might be a little phycological. When i air down my coopers to lessen washboard rocks and such I get a little concerned. I also off road with a Pop up slide in camper on those same roads, weighs about 1200 wet.

Mickey

 

I did switch from a standard LT or "P metric" tire to the heavier "E" 8 ply tire ....I did notice a bit of MPG loss. That being bout 10-20 miles per 1/4 of tank.
I have run lower PSI in the tires to help soften the ride, whether it has or not is hard to tell. Running about 38psi right now, they're suppose to be up towards 50psi. If I intend to haul or tow something significant, I can always air up the tires closer to recommendation. & return them back after I am done

One of the reasons I went to the "E" rated tire was to get deeper tread depth. If I recall right I gained another 1/8" of tread depth in the "E" rated tire in comparison to its LT 4-6ply counter part of the same tire.