Tire choice, need help Load ratings/ price?

jmichaelsjeep · **Posted:** Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:08 pm

So I am in the process of getting my lift together, and after that will come tires. I'm trying to basically do it all at once (or close).

So here is where I'm starting. I have stock rims (and likely will have to have stock rims for a little while). I will have the Frankie II Premium lift essentially when I'm done with the lift. SO I'm assuming based on what I've read on here that I can do a 245/75/16 tire based on everyone on here's tire sizes that seem to work. Will I have problems with this size on a stock rim?

Now I've looked at Tire rack and sears primarily, and I haven't looked "locally" yet, But I'm looking at the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor OR Goodyear Wrangler Dura trac. I've looked at a lot of different tires, and based on experiences (my own and written on here) I think this will be the best move.

So on Sear's website, they have LOAD C or LOAD E tires for both models. However, in both cases the LOAD E is cheaper. Now as I understood it (and please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm trying to get this figured out) the E loaded tires are harder sidewalls and a heavier tire. Which I assume I'll want to stay away from. Is this right? If so, why should I be pay $50 per tire more, for the 'C' tire? What are the differences in LOAD rating. Is it purely the amount of load each tire can take? or are there other advantages/ disadvantages to each. I assume a softer tire will wear faster as well but will have better traction on pavement (off-road too in some applications).

I also understand that I believe I'm looking for a 'P' rated speed rating? I know there is a "guide" on here, but that only gets me so far.

Please help, I'd like to know so I can price the same exact tire at different places before I purchase. I know exactly what I like for car tires, but not on my JEEP yet.

Thanks.

DirtyKK · **Posted:** Fri Sep 10, 2010 2:13 pm

i got my load c duratracs on ebay from discounttire.com for $744 shipped. alot of people run load e but in my opinion, and youll get alot of opinions on load range, :roll:

the load e should only be used on larger, heavier vehicles or if you tow alot maybe. load c are lighter, in turn wont rob as much hp and mgp and softer so will conform to whatever terrain easier while aired down. :2cents:

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Sep 10, 2010 9:16 pm

Shop locally as well, I got prices on line and took it to a local dealer and they beat the online price from Tire rack,
6 plys are a heavier, if you look on line it will give you the weight of the tires, Duratracs in 245-75-16 C rating are 40 lbs, E rating 45 lbs.
I like the Duratracs I have

DirtyKK · **Posted:** Fri Sep 10, 2010 10:03 pm

tommudd wrote:

Shop locally as well, I got prices on line and took it to a local dealer and they beat the online price from Tire rack,
6 plys are a heavier, if you look on line it will give you the weight of the tires, Duratracs in 245-75-16 C rating are 40 lbs, E rating 45 lbs.
I like the Duratracs I have

Ya my local goodyear wanted 1250 for 5 mount/balanced :dizzy:

ekj · **Joined:** Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:55 pm **Posts:** 100

A 'P' speed rating indicates 94 mph. Stock tires come with an 'S' speed rating, indicating 112 mph. Just FYI...

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:58 am

I think you got the "P" mixed up. The P is for Passenger Vehicle and that relates to the load rating basically. P is ideal for a Jeep. Lots of guys who spend tons of time offroad prefer the "E" rated tires because they are built heavier with thicker sidewalls in some cases, so theoretically they'd hold up to rocks and stumps better.

Personally, I don't like the "E" tires because they are heavy which makes maintenance and rotations harder, they kill fuel economy, they can be louder, they zap performance and braking, they are harder on ball joints and suspension, etc. Basically, it's overkill for a 4,000 lb. truck to have 10,500 lbs. worth of load capacity tires on it. But, to each their own.

It's ODD that you are finding "C" rated tires to cost more. Usually, the "E" tires are the most expensive by far. A "C" rated tire would, in my opinion, be the best all-around tire for a Jeep....although many "P" tires will have a higher load rating than a "C" will.

jmichaelsjeep · **Posted:** Mon Sep 13, 2010 1:56 pm

Thanks for the correction on the rating, I'm not very experienced with tire knowledge, just enough to get by! :oops:

I was surprised by the prices too, although it was 2 of the 3 tires brands/ models that I was looking at where the C was more expensive than the E... I'm going to be checking out the Discount Tire store here locally (woo hoo, I have one local!) sometime in the next week and then hopefully I will be able to get the exact ones I want for a more reasonable price.

As much as I'd like to have the majority of my driving off-road, the reality is the majority is highway with a little off-road, so I suspect the C will do just fine.

For those that have the silent armor or Dura trac, are you getting the expected mileage out of them? Are the wearing well?

I've been dissappointed with the BFG Radial Long trail, there is only about 30k on some of them (long story) 55k on others and the seem to be down to only 20% max tire life left (best case)? Can I get through another winter on only 20% of the original tread? They were squirrley already last winter.

jmichaelsjeep · **Posted:** Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:46 pm

Okay, so I have a related follow-up question:

Since probably 80-90% of my driving is on-road, I'm second-guessing my decision to want to purchase the Duratracs, only because I want to make sure I have a LONG tread life tire... The Silent Armors state that it has a 50k mile warranty, nothing stated for the duratracs, how many miles do folks have on their duratracs? and is the wear good?

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:24 pm

I have a little over 16,000 miles on the Duratracs so far and they still look like new, wearing real well I think. Last rotation I measured them and they had an average of 16/32 of tread left.

Even if they do wear out at 45,000-50,000 I'll be more than satisfied since they are so good on the road in wet, snow, etc.

These will come off more than likely by the time they have 8 to 9/32's of tread left as I like new tires just like a woman likes new shoes! :BANANA:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Sep 19, 2010 1:26 am

LibertyCRD wrote:

The P is for Passenger Vehicle and that relates to the load rating basically. P is ideal for a Jeep. Lots of guys who spend tons of time offroad prefer the "E" rated tires because they are built heavier with thicker sidewalls in some cases, so theoretically they'd hold up to rocks and stumps better.

Personally, I don't like the "E" tires because they are heavy which makes maintenance and rotations harder, they kill fuel economy, they can be louder, they zap performance and braking, they are harder on ball joints and suspension, etc. Basically, it's overkill for a 4,000 lb. truck to have 10,500 lbs. worth of load capacity tires on it. But, to each their own.

A "C" rated tire would, in my opinion, be the best all-around tire for a Jeep....although many "P" tires will have a higher load rating than a "C" will.

I prefer the "P" rated tires for daily driving and off-roading. They have better sidewall flex too.

Tire choice, need help Load ratings/ price?

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