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So I've pretty much run the gambit on tires. New, used, cheap, expensive, retreads, and even bias plys, nothing lasts more than a year and those were pushing it. Last week I had a bad tire day(1 ruined, 1 punctured same day) so I took a deep deep dive into the world of tires and came across these guys.
Falken GI388 14ply radial 7.50R16 LT. They just showed up today so no road tests yet. One aspect I'm on the fence about is the fact that they're tube type tires. I've asked the Great and Powerful Google for some insight on tubes and if the tubeless wheels play nice w/ tube tires. I was hoping for all knowing and got Magic 8 Ball instead. I got everything from any rim can run a tube to ”we're all gonna die”, so guess I'm rolling the dice. The replacement tubes are supposed to be in on Thursday, shipping mix up and I ended up w/ 14/15 tubes by mistake. Now for the numbers, I found the tires w/ flaps listed for $119, but if you ordered 2 or more they knocked that down to $113 and change, for a total of $452.20 free shipping. Found the tubes in a set of 4 for $44.99 no tax or shipping. So my grand total is $497.19 to the door, that's $124.30/tire. I'm pretty sure the retreads we're more than that.
How many miles per year do you usually drive? Or maybe I should ask how many miles are you seeing out of your tires?
I've been having a similar problem with my daily commuter car. I drive 25K to 30K miles per year on it (mostly interstate) and I can't seem to get more than 20K to 25K out of a set of tires on it. The last set I bought had an 80K mile warranty and I only got about 25K out of them.
I average 100-120 miles / day 7/365, so probably pushing 36-38k a year. I usually buy mud treads because I need mud treads in oilfield work. I probably average 6-8 months on tires. The truck weighs 10k +- running mostly county and lease roads so it's somewhat expected, but still seems excessive. My hope is that these high ply commercial tires will hold up better. Typically by the time I've worn them out they are so full of plugs and patches I'm beginning to get nervous. If they hold their own I may try grooving some side lugs to better suit my needs.
Finally got the tires mounted today. I had intended to mount them myself like I've done with the last few sets. I am well well past fed up with tire shops jerking me around and nickel and diming me at every turn, so I learned how to do it myself w/ a couple bars and a bead breaker. That wasn't happening w/ these things. After breaking down the first tire and getting the tube in the new tire it didn't take long to figure out I needed a tire machine. Luckily I found an old school tire shop in a little town(by little I'm talking a grain elevator, a post office, and this tire shop) just 10 miles south. So that tacked another $80 on the total, but you won't here a complaint outta me. I got some pics but these are the only ones it's letting me load because of file size. I'll try dropping the resolution on my phone a little and try again later.
Hey, they got 2 whole miles of pavement before hitting the dirt. Then 2 1/2 miles of dirt before their first mud hole. Wouldn't want anyone thinking I'm taking it easy on 'em.
6 weeks in give or take, so time for an update right?.
I've put around 5k on the tires so far and I have to say I'm a little impressed with how well they are wearing. All 4 tires have uniform wear all the way across the tread and look like they only have 5k on them. Couldn't be happier with that aspect.
The tubes... Ok this one gave me reservations from the start, and I've since decided - tubes suck. For starters just figuring out what flavor I needed was a hassle. Then I discover there is no selection to speak of. There is 1 kind of LT highway use tube for this size range. No specs I could find on thickness, psi ratings, or anything to distinguish one from another. Supposably Michelin makes the best quality to money can buy. The problem there is that nobody actually sells them. I tunneled my way through the Googleverse so deep that I actually found the part number for the tube I needed from Michelin's product catalog. Plug that in my search engine and basically the only thing it kicked back was a shortcut to the catalog that I found that damn part number. So I ended up with what I could find and the first one popped on the second day. The second one pops on the third day. The third one actually made it 2-2.5 weeks. So I'm down to 1 tube remaining, and I gave up on tubes. At first I thought this would be a pretty big No-No considering the bead is different on a tube top tire that prevents it from seating as tightly as a tubeless tire would on the rim. Then it occurred to me that irregardless of whether there was a tube inside the tire or not if there was a type of catastrophic loss of air pressure, that tire is coming off the rim and you better be shutting it down. Tube or no tube the result is going to be the same, so I'm tubeless. I say again - Tubes Suck!
Handling and road manners. About what you'd expect from a heavy duty commercial tire. They are skinny so they can catch a rut and try and wander a little. Off-road they are okay. Nowhere near as capable as a dedicated mud tire but as of yet I haven't been stuck and only had to put it in 4wd twice I believe. On road they perform as expected. They do start to whine a little around 60-65 mph, but not obnoxious or unbearable like some mud treads can be.
MPG. This one's a little hard to know for sure. Between the transition from winter to summer diesel compounded with the considerable price increase, which kicks the pump off at $100 bill. Best guess though, I'd say at least a 1/2 mpg improvement possibly more.
Best for last, Durability. This is actually what prompted the update on these tires. Here are a couple pics of what I pulled from the front right tire this afternoon.
Okay the pics aren't wanting to load for some reason guess I'll post what I got and try again after I reboot.
Yeah that dude was buried about 2.5 inches. The best I can tell it went in, hit the steel belts then turned and wedged between the tread and belts. Never punctured the carcass, no air loss, and still running. Whether it was the perfect angle and that's just how it went in the tire or if those belts are actually that tough I couldn't say. I can say I've never pulled anything like that out of a tire that didn't ruin the freaking tire.
So to sum it all up. So far I'm pleased with all aspects except, tubes suck. Here are a couple pics of the tires how they look today for those interested.
No I haven't, but to be honest, I'm not sure an E rated tire is capable of the job I'd ask of it. My last set were some 12 ply bias ply tires. Those things would hook up and go in even the nastiest mud, but absolutely no road manners. They took a pretty good beating and impressed me, but I couldn't take the wandering. These are 14 ply radials and so far they seem to be taking the rough roads and heavy load in stride. I've also considered swapping to a 19.5 wheel to get more selection in the high ply tires. Just haven't managed to convince myself to drop a grand+ on wheels then pucker up for a $1200-$1800 hickey on the tires.
The tube flaps that came w/ the tires evidently wouldn't work w/ my factory steel wheels so they didn't get installed. Not sure they would have made much difference though. The first one pinched in the sidewall area, and the second just split at a seam in the tube. When the 3rd went I didn't even bother to look.
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