P Metric SL tires vs C/D/E Rated tires

[Utah_Bound]

With the new Falken Wildpeak AT3W's being a SL P tire, and other popular tires like the Kendas also being P SL, is the consensus still to go to a LT tire? I have heard nothing but great things about the AT3W's and Kenda's. But everyone still points to a Heavy LT Tire, which for extreme rock climbing makes sense. Just curious if the tires have changed in the last 20 years, or do we still need heavy LT tires?

And I know everyone;s use case is different, for me I am in Oklahoma, with very little access to any BLM or National park trails. I have to travel hours in any direction before I can even access trails. So for me, I am running SL tires with a spare (Kenda AT2), but have considered getting another set of wheels/tires for my trips to Moab. Thanks!

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[halligan1201]

SL tires are about as light use as they come.

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/load-range-load-index

 

[Utah_Bound]

SL tires are about as light use as they come.

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/load-range-load-index

With that said, does new tire technology make the newer SL tires more reliable off-road (AT3W/Kenda AT2) vs older SL tires?

 

[halligan1201]

With that said, does new tire technology make the newer SL tires more reliable off-road (AT3W/Kenda AT2) vs older SL tires?

One could expect that to be the case, especially with some of the improvements in reinforcing the side walls. That said, I have no experience with rocky trails being from Illinois but I think I would want something heavier than a 4 ply if I were heading to Utah. I'm sure some of the folks who live out there will chime in shortly with better advice.

 

[Frenchy]

It is no question that an LT Tire will be sturdier then a standard P Rated Tire. With that said some P rated tires are pretty sturdy compared to the factory tires. One set of tires I ran that were. Was the Bridgestone Dueler Revo 3. In general it was fairly sturdy but did wear out fairly quickly to. After that I went to the Firestone Destination XT which is a LT Tire in load range e. Yes in general it is stiffer than most tires that may be a lower load range but thanks to the weight of the tire it's not so bad. The current Tigers Eye run are so sturdy that I have beat the ever-living s*** out of them and they keep going. Hell even a cow didn't stop them! LOL

My suggestion for you is find a tire that will suit you and your needs

 

[VegasRanger]

I have the Wildpeaks AT3W in SL and have done some pretty serious off road here in Vegas and Utah. Never had an issue. They’re pretty damn tough tires. If you’re concerned, get C rated. I think they’re a good balance off MPG, ride quality, and weight.

 

[9zero1790]

With the new Falken Wildpeak AT3W's being a SL P tire, and other popular tires like the Kendas also being P SL, is the consensus still to go to a LT tire? I have heard nothing but great things about the AT3W's and Kenda's. But everyone still points to a Heavy LT Tire, which for extreme rock climbing makes sense. Just curious if the tires have changed in the last 20 years, or do we still need heavy LT tires?

And I know everyone;s use case is different, for me I am in Oklahoma, with very little access to any BLM or National park trails. I have to travel hours in any direction before I can even access trails. So for me, I am running SL tires with a spare (Kenda AT2), but have considered getting another set of wheels/tires for my trips to Moab. Thanks!

i run e rated tires and my mpg is 21 and change and if i do all highway and behave gets near 24. do you NEED e rated tires? likely not. but, if you can live with the cons the pros are worth it. changing a tire any where stinks. changing one off road or side of the highway sucks. e rated tires are simply tougher. think of it like seat belts. back in the day a lap belt was pretty standard. then the over the shoulder lap combo etc. e rated tires are kinda like 4 or 5 point harness lol. they do everything a lap belt did bit better and more. but are less comfy. i have 2 e rated spares also in the truck full time.

 

[Dgc333]

My Tremor came with load range C LT265/70-17 tires. While I have no complaints with these Grabber ATx tires I will definitely be changing to a P-metric tires with a more street oriented tread like the Grabber APT tire. My off roading is limited to the beach so I have no need for an LT tire and if I can get a lighter tire that rides better and possibly gets better mileage I am doing it.p

 

[Megawatt]

IMO

You don’t need to be doing “extreme rock crawling” to justify a stiffer tire with a higher load rating. I have seen P series tires get the side wall sliced opened by a rock while off roading on a flat trail. The guy was only driving 3 mph but rubbed a rock and spent the next 30 min changing a tire. Could have easily been a branch to cause the same level of damage.

If off-roading, I would suggest a C load rated tire for the safety and benefits. For comparision a rubicon that is designed to be off road comes standard with LT285/70R17C C series 6 ply KO2 tires.

A FX4 ranger comes with LT 265/65R17 tires for off road use. That truck has the same load carrying and towing capacity as the other Ranger models but they add stiffer tires because it’s designed for off road and subjected to hazards on the trail.

In short, get a C series and not SL tires if off-roading.

 

[Utah_Bound]

IMO

You don’t need to be doing “extreme rock crawling” to justify a stiffer tire with a higher load rating. I have seen P series tires get the side wall sliced opened by a rock while off roading on a flat trail. The guy was only driving 3 mph but rubbed a rock and spent the next 30 min changing a tire. Could have easily been a branch to cause the same level of damage.

If off-roading, I would suggest a C load rated tire for the safety and benefits. For comparision a rubicon that is designed to be off road comes standard with LT285/70R17C C series 6 ply KO2 tires.

A FX4 ranger comes with LT 265/65R17 tires for off road use. That truck has the same load carrying and towing capacity as the other Ranger models but they add stiffer tires because it’s designed for off road and subjected to hazards on the trail.

In short, get a C series and not SL tires if off-roading.

Newer 4 ply tires? The only two true AT ply tires developed in the last 4 years are the Falken and Kenda. I am not arguing that a C or higher would be better offroad, because they definitely would, they have a stiffer sidewall. I am just curious.

 

[Megawatt]

Newer 4 ply tires? The only two true AT ply tires developed in the last 4 years are the Falken and Kenda. ….

I don’t understand the “newer 4 ply tires” comment? I didn’t reference any newer 4 ply tires. Just trying to understand. Me cornfused (easy to do).

 

[Dgc333]

FWIW, most all all terrain tires are offered in P-metric and LT ratings including the Falken and Kenda tires mentioned by the OP.

 

[9zero1790]

not to be a putz but in a ko2 265 70 17 a popular ranger tire and size, the load E tire weighs 54 pounds and the load C is 46 according to discount tire . So about 8 pounds per tire. lets say your smart and have at least one spare. so 5x8 . total approx. 40 pounds. thats one small feed bag, or one good size bag of dog food or about 5 gallons of milk...if yall think 40 pounds is going to kill gas mileage or make the truck sluggish etc. id have to call shenanigans lol. as far as ride it would be real tough to actually feel a difference between tires in a truck like the ranger. esp. at the correct air pressure. i went from the stock tire to a load e and the truck rides and feels the same. buy whatever makes ya happy. if you use your ranger like a truck go with a light truck tire. if you dont then get the sl p metric etc. no worries.

 

[Frenchy]

not to be a putz but in a ko2 265 70 17 a popular ranger tire and size, the load E tire weighs 54 pounds and the load C is 46 according to discount tire . So about 8 pounds per tire. lets say your smart and have at least one spare. so 5x8 . total approx. 40 pounds. thats one small feed bag, or one good size bag of dog food or about 5 gallons of milk...if yall think 40 pounds is going to kill gas mileage or make the truck sluggish etc. id have to call shenanigans lol. as far as ride it would be real tough to actually feel a difference between tires in a truck like the ranger. esp. at the correct air pressure. i went from the stock tire to a load e and the truck rides and feels the same. buy whatever makes ya happy. if you use your ranger like a truck go with a light truck tire. if you dont then get the sl p metric etc. no worries.

I will agree and disagree on this a little. Here is my reasoning for such

Will a heavier tire kill gas mileage? Generally speaking yes. How much? It really depends on how much heavier the tire is compared to the last along with the size and tread pattern/compound(sticky tires dont help MPG LOL).

The ride quality? Well of you already have horrible shock(stock Ranger for example) and you keep the same size tire then most likely you wont feel much of a difference. If changing size it is possible to feel a difference since a bigger tire can(key word here) be more forgiving if you get a bigger sidewall.

Also when going from a P to an LT it can vary for reasons above and the tire weight. For example I wend from a P rated 265/70-17 Bridgestone to 285/70-17 LT Firestone and did notice a little extra stiffness but not too much. How? Well for one the Firestone is a load E but the tire is lighter than other tires in the same size and load range. Also I did get more sidewall so that helps a bit too.

As for the MPG I did go down but that is due to size and weight but thankfully the Ranger still handled it well.

 

[9zero1790]

40 pounds of weight added to your truck bed is way different than 40 pounds of weight added to your tires. The first is considered “sprung” weight, meaning that the weight is supprted by the suspension. The tires, wheels, brakes, etc, are considered “unsprung” weight and make the suspension and engine have to work harder to get, and keep, the vehicle moving. This is why any increase in wheel weight reduces MPG.

Impact of wheel weight.

yes im aware. i understand sprung and unsprung. again ill stick to what i said before. 40 pounds is not going to make the kind of difference some think it is. some folks think a few extra pounds of tire is going to cost them a big mpg per gallon loss or reduce felt power by 10 or 20 horses. its not. if we were talking about a purpose built race car or dragster, sports car etc. sure, lighter is always better. but in a pickup truck thats mass produced it would be a small difference. you could take ten off the line fresh rangers and id bet most of the ten wouldnt weigh exactly the same despite the same options etc.. more weight sprung or not makes, everything in the equation work more. more weight more work less mpg less performance and so on. however, in real world use that difference would be hard to ever notice enough to get upset about for many drivers. as i said before folks should buy what makes them happy. if a person is going to use the ranger like a pickup truck, which is what it is - then a tougher tire may serve them better.

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