Light truck/ SUV tires

[scrobo]

Got one tire with a bad belt on the front.
Got one tire with a chuck out of the sidewall.
Got two bald tires on the back.

Time for new tires. But I am confused as this is my first time buying tires for an SUV. I've looked at a few stores online that I go to in the neighbourhood for auto stuff. Saw tires I liked etc. I know I am looking for Light Truck/SUV tires. I have P235/70/R15s right now. Was thinking of getting the 75s this time. They're bigger But....

Basic questions some may be able to answer for me.

1.Looking at Roughrider M+S. Apparently loud on the highway but great for mud and snow. I'm offroad a few times a month... but one size said 31X10.50R15LT and that confused the heck out of me.

2. Some had letters after the sizes like LT235/75R15 C R . Some had single letters like LT225/75R15 D. What do these mean? I assume P and LT stand for Passenger and Light Truck?

3. Some had weird #/letter combos like P235/75R15 105Q or P205/75R15 97S.

So... should I really be that confused here? Anyone understand tires really really well? I need something inexpensive. I tow a 14' glass runabout up north a few times a year with the truck loaded up with gear. I hit the mud occasionally when we find a trail or we are geocaching. I do alot of driving in general on the roads. It gets snowy here. I like the look of the 235's but would go smaller to save good $$$$. (The truck left the factory with 215s on it.) One of our geocaches is at the top of a large grassy steep hill and I need to maintain it every few weeks so I do need something with a small amount of bite on it but not necessarily big mudders. Any advice or help with these werd numbers and letters would be GREATLY appreciated. And if there's a place to buy inexpensive tires in the Niagara Region of Ontario that anyone knows of that would be awesome. I'd even drive to Toronto if it meant saving decent cash.

I'm not cheap... I just own a boat and need all the extra $$$ I can get so I can throw my idle cash into it.

 

[csendker]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

Look here for the Euro-metric/P-Metric discussion:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=24"


And this will tell you all about the sizing codes:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=46"


And to get the idea about changing size:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=25&currentpage=46"


Generally, if you go with a 'taller' tire, you'll want to compensate by getting it 'wider' so the overall height dimension remains about the same. I have a Trailblazer and changed from P245/70-R16 to P245/75-R16. I gained about 1/2-1" if I recall. You have to be careful when changing tire size so that it doesn't rub when you're locked at full turn or at max bump. It also messes with your speedo & odo. The bigger tires have a little higher carrying capacity, which I really wanted because I haul a travel trailer that's way too close to my rated capacity. I did my research and was confident it would be OK, and thay are.

I looked all around and eventually bought a used set of Coopers off the 'net. $50 for the tires (about 3/4 tread left) $85 shipping & $50 for the mounting. I was nervous, but they're great and mounted & balanced for less than the cost of two new tires alone. Ca-ching. Now that I think about it, the money I saved is more than what I paid for my boat!

If the tread is closed to the outside edge of the tire, they're typically quieter but less aggressive in the mud & snow. An 'open' tread will grab better but you'll hear them. Not sure about the milage differences. Lots more info on the on-line tire stores.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

I would stick with the stock tire size. Take a look at Michelin-LTX M/S tires. I have had these tires on my last two trucks. They are smooth as glass on the road and great in the snow and off road. They are a little more $$ but they last a long time. IMO you'll get what you pay for when it comes to tires.

 

[MikDee]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

The tirerack.com has alot of good info there. Another place to check is Cooper tires http://www.coopertires.com/Flash/index.aspx" They are really decent tires, and usually reasonably priced. They just came out with a brand new tire design on their main product (an A/W touring tire) that looks awesome, I'll probably be getting these soon for my SUV. I think it's called the CS4 a much more all weather looking design then their previous one.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

Here's an easy way to figger out what you can use just punch in your stock tire size{what vehicle came with label on door} and it will load all the changes you can make within the 2% .click on the size you like and it will tell you how your speed will be affected....strange numbers are metric or number of ply's This tire checker can do it in standard or metric Click belowit's a good one
http://www.tiresizecalculator.info/"

 

[MikDee]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

Here's an easy way to figger out what you can use just punch in your stock tire size{what vehicle came with label on door} and it will load all the changes you can make within the 2% .click on the size you like and it will tell you how your speed will be affected....strange numbers are metric or number of ply's This tire checker can do it in standard or metric Click belowit's a good one
http://www.tiresizecalculator.info/"

As often as I look for tires for the many vehicles that pass thru here,,, lol,,, I have that shortcut on my desktop!

 

[salty87]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

another vote for michelin ltx ms. quiet, good grip, great when it's wet or on the ramp. got mine at ntb, they had a deal for buying 4.

tirerack.com has lots of reviews on bunch of different tires.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

265/75/15 is normally the same as a 31/10.50/15

Before you spend over $100 a tire..... how long are you going to keep the vehicle?

I used to always go bigger but with gas prices I tend to stay with the original size. Bigger tire means more weight..... wears out brakes faster too not to mention the MPG loss.

Consider a good snow tire.... cheap and good off road. Snow tires were the original off road tires.

I just installed 4 snows on my 4runner and they were 300 including mounting and balance..... nothing fancy just good.

 

[scrobo]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

I plan on keeping the truck for at least 10 years now unless a really big boat comes along. But the wife insists we're saving for a house and I only have 9 months of payments left on the car. So let's say 10 years for practicality. Shes not rusty, runs amazing and is practical for my family and our driving habits.

I do want to go with a tire that will last a long time. 80,000km rated maybe. I do alot of driving though. Snow and wet conditions are common here.

Tire size calculator is now a bookmark for me. Very handy!

Y just installed 4 snows on my 4runner and they were 300 including mounting and balance..... nothing fancy just good? Where did you go? I'd LOVE to buy in the US. Our dollar has almost 10 cents on the US. I'd save a bundle.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

I go to a local chain store called tire warehouse. I believe they are Wintermark made by kelly tire.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

Here's an easy way to figger out what you can use just punch in your stock tire size{what vehicle came with label on door} and it will load all the changes you can make within the 2% .click on the size you like and it will tell you how your speed will be affected....strange numbers are metric or number of ply's This tire checker can do it in standard or metric Click belowit's a good one
http://www.tiresizecalculator.info/"

Good site with one caveat. Although they might be listed as the same size actual diameter varies from one manufacturer to another, or type of tire from the same maker. One reason I disliked the change in tire sizing where the letter denoted the actual diameter of the tire, something that was "standardized". These days you have to deal with the "height to width aspect ratio" nonsense.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

I just put a new set of Mich LTX's a couple of months ago.. Very very pleased. They ride extremely well. Compared to the dueller HTs that were on it, they are much much better.

The dueller HLs re nice long lasting tires as well. I go 65K on my expedition with them and the only complaint I had was that it was not good in standing water (hydroplaning was scary on that vehicle).

 

[scrobo]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

I've checked Pep Boys in NYS and they have a special buy 3 get one free and prices seem reasonable. I was looking at BF Goodrich AT Tracker2. Seem like a decent tire from the reviews I read.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

The Firestone Destination AT is a terrific tire for the money.
Great in snow, rain or mud. Very quiet running down the road. Would not hesitate to pull the trigger on another set.

FWIW, the Goodyear tires that came on the truck I just bought say "Made in Japan"

 

[MikDee]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

My 2003 Santa Fe LX 4WD V6, came with BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A's, When I traded it in, it had 87k miles on the original tires, and they were still good! but not good enough for the coming winter, this was average milage on the stock Santa Fe tires according to the forum, some owners were getting 100K miles on them! Plus, I never bothered to rotate them, or check the pressure regularly like I do now. I couldn't believe it! I normally get maybe 40 -60K out of decent tires, the way I drive. If you don't believe this, go check the reviews at the tire rack for this tire.

 

[JB]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

The Michelin Cross Terrains on my ML (275/55/R17) have about 60K on them and look good for another 40K. Ride silence, grip and handling are far superior to the Dunlops and Bridgestones I had on the previous ML, though the Dunlops did last 90K and were still usable when I switched to the Bridgestones.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

The Michelin Cross Terrains on my ML (275/55/R17) have about 60K on them and look good for another 40K. Ride silence, grip and handling are far superior to the Dunlops and Bridgestones I had on the previous ML, though the Dunlops did last 90K and were still usable when I switched to the Bridgestones.

Ain't you supposed to be driving a Suburban?

 

[zoe'sdad]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

What make / model truck do you drive? Members who own that specific vehicle would be able to give you more specific advice. As for tire size, automakers put out specifications for how they would like their vehicle to perform and then the tire manufactures produce several tires. The car maker then selects tire that best matches the performance they were looking for. That means the original factory tire size would be the best match.

I owned a 92 Toyota 4x4 with the 22RE engine and 5-speed transmission. Original tires were P225R15's. I later installed 31x10.50 mud tires on it. The size of the tire affected the gearing where I ended up with an overall higher gearing. This lowered the engine speed and power. 5th gear was useless and when I moved out west I had to keep the truck in 2nd gear to go up grades. Ended up overheating the transmission and burning up the cluster gears. Going form a 215 to a 235 tire or 70 to a 75 width may not affect your truck that much but before going to a much larger tire like the 31x10.50 investigate further to see how that tire size will affect your specific vehicle.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

The Michelin Cross Terrains on my ML (275/55/R17) have about 60K on them and look good for another 40K. Ride silence, grip and handling are far superior to the Dunlops and Bridgestones I had on the previous ML, though the Dunlops did last 90K and were still usable when I switched to the Bridgestones.

Wow what a great off season tire..... just do not do the job needed in 4x4 in the deep snow. I use Michelin LTX during the non snow season. My wife had the Dunlop Graspic 2 studless snows mounted on her car yesterday and they work great. It is the nature of living in the snow belt.

 

[JB]

Re: Light truck/ SUV tires

What in the world would I want with a Suburban??

I have the greatest mix of luxury, agility, handling, strength and utility on 4 wheels!

With AWD, Traction Control and Stability Control the Michelins do just fine in snow and on glare ice. . . well, maybe just as good as anything on glare ice. Only been in deep snow once, but it was wet snow. Passed a few stranded Jeeps and 'burbans.