corneileous
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2016
- Posts
- 6,852
- Reaction score
- 3,918
- Location
- Podunkyville, OK
- Ram Year
- 2018 Ram 1500 Limited 4X4
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
I don’t think it’s the tread, it’s that there’s more rubber that makes up the weight. I mean what, we’re probably talking a difference of around an 1/8th of an inch in tread depth?The Defenders are just a bit heavier, most if it is tread depth. But that will hurt city mpg more than highway.
The real plus for most D or E equivalents is the ability to resist punctures - SRA's puncture very easily.
But yeah, I get it, the SRA’s, and even my Michelin Defenders would puncture more easily but that goes back towards more of where you’re gonna be driving it. Even the 10-ply Defenders might not be the best off-road choice but there are still places that tire could go that would still shred the P-rated version.
I never ran my Defenders up to 80 psi, there just isn't any need to run that high since the axle rating is significantly lower.
I did run 55-60 psi often, which firms things up but still gives a good ride with weight on them.
Well no, and I’m not saying they need to be ran that high for weight concerns but they still need that higher pressure.
I myself personally would never run a 10-ply anything on my truck but if I did a lot of towing, an 8-ply is far more than all anyone should ever need and for that, I’d inflate it to the max when I towed because taking an OEM-sized BFG all terrain for example, max load at 65psi is 3000 pounds. That’s only 320 pounds less than my max-aired Michelin defenders.
But see, lol, if there’s not a reason to even air a 10 ply up to its max pressure, then that just even more proves that a 10-ply on a half-ton is overkill unless it’s there strictly for off-road purposes.
I guess if you towed absolutely that much and didn’t mind the more truck-like ride then I guess I have to agree with you on that but in all seriousness, I really don’t think it’s all that necessary. But that’s just me. I’m not saying a LT tire is bad for towing, so don’t assume that, I just don’t think the sacrificed ride, mileage and extra cost of the tire justifies the need.Look at it this way, take an SRA, run it up to the limit at 44 psi then you take a weighted down truck ( most likely bed has stuff in it as well as the trailer weight and force), now go around bends at highway speed during the hot summer daytime (which generates significant heat). The side loading force goes up pretty quickly at highway speed, really stressing the tire.
Would you rather have a maxed out SRA or similar under you or a D or E rated tire running at 60-70% capacity?
It isn't the static even load that I worry about, it is the side load at speed where I want a better tire.
I guess that’s about right, I mean, I wonder what GoodYear would say to run those at compared to what BFG told me to run the all terrains I had which was 55, with a minimum of no less than 50. Before I got rid of them, I settled on 50 in the front and 45 in the back. That was about the best I could find that made the comfort level go up a little bit but at the same time, didn’t make the tires feel overly soft and under inflated whenever I had to take a curve, or slam on the brakes when they were only inflated to 39.I have an Outdoorsman that came with Goodyear wrangers w/kevlar E-Load tires. My minimum psi to turn off the low tire light is 43 psi.
It Ive yet to tow anything heavy with my Defenders but like I said several posts ago, I didn’t experience any side to side sway with the original SRA’s that came on my old truck when I pulled that heavy Uhaul over 700 miles. Didn’t even had the rear tires aired to 44, either. They were still at 36 which was the recommended tire pressure for that truck.
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