C, D or E rated tires?

Jms81661

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Are E Rated tires gonna be too heavy and cumbersome?
Especially when rock crawling and slow switchbacks. A lot of stress is gonna be put on the steering components. It's a "light truck" NOT an F250.
I haven't seen issues "yet." But E Rated tires are awful big and clumsy for this little truck.
C won't cut it. The only D's I can find are the Duratracs.
Prefer the BFG KO'2s. But they don't come in D's.
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HenryMac

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Are E Rated tires gonna be too heavy and cumbersome?
Especially when rock crawling and slow switchbacks. A lot of stress is gonna be put on the steering components. It's a "light truck" NOT an F250.
I haven't seen issues "yet." But E Rated tires are awful big and clumsy for this little truck.
C won't cut it. The only D's I can find are the Duratracs.
Prefer the BFG KO'2s. But they don't come in D's.
Yes. Here is a link to another thread on the same topic: Regretting my new tires
 
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Jms81661

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Yes. Here is a link to another thread on the same topic: Regretting my new tires
Yep, I think E's are too big and heavy. I really want the BFG KO2's but they only come C and E. I off road every weekend with big ol' sharp stabby rocks. Really need the toughest sidewalls I can find. The Mud Trackers are too extreme if I decide to take a road trip. Guess "D" rated Duratracs will be put to the test.
 

NvrFinished

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Yep, I think E's are too big and heavy. I really want the BFG KO2's but they only come C and E. I off road every weekend with big ol' sharp stabby rocks. Really need the toughest sidewalls I can find. The Mud Trackers are too extreme if I decide to take a road trip. Guess "D" rated Duratracs will be put to the test.
Keep mind that C,D, and E load ranges are only ratings. It does not denote how many plies are in the tire or sidewall like the old days.

For what it's worth, the BFG K02 load range C is a 3 ply sidewall and the general consensus is that DuraTrac load range D tires are a 2 ply sidewall.
 

bentroia

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The Tremor has Cs. In one of the initial video reviews it could be read when they zoomed in on the tire..

For the high majority, a C is plenty for this truck barring induatrial use. And a C handles rocks just fine.
 


peterson1604

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Are E Rated tires gonna be too heavy and cumbersome?
Especially when rock crawling and slow switchbacks. A lot of stress is gonna be put on the steering components. It's a "light truck" NOT an F250.
I haven't seen issues "yet." But E Rated tires are awful big and clumsy for this little truck.
C won't cut it. The only D's I can find are the Duratracs.
Prefer the BFG KO'2s. But they don't come in D's.
Been looking into this and the Firestone Destination XT are E rated but in a 255/75R17 only weigh 40 lbs. Tires in this size are lighter.
 
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Jms81661

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The Tremor has Cs. In one of the initial video reviews it could be read when they zoomed in on the tire..

For the high majority, a C is plenty for this truck barring induatrial use. And a C handles rocks just fine. I agree I'm going with C's even for off roading they should be fine. E's are to heavy for these trucks. Imho
,
 

BigOlBish

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Kenda klever R/T 35x10.5r17 are load D. As others have said the general consensus is that C's are plenty for all but the most serious offroaders.
 

THLONE

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If you want to be a serious off roader you need two sets of tires.
 

GTGallop

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I think the lesson here is the E Rating, and not the BFGATKO design. An E has a heavier carcass and stiffer plys. A Perelli Scorpion, Hankook, Bridgesstone Desert Dueller, or General Grabbers, if built to the same E Load rating would have similar drive characteristics when compared t lesser load rated tires.

I'm still going ATKO when I upgrade because I've had excellent results with them. But I'd never get an E Rated version

A C1 rated ATKO weighs in at 46LBS and runs on pavement at 40 PSI and carries a max load of 2469 per wheel for a combined axle load of about 5,000 LBS.

An E rated version weighs in 54LBS and runs on 80PSI on pavement and can carry up to 3197 per wheel for a combined axle load of 6,400 LBS

The Ford Published Max Rear Payload Capacity is 1,800 LBS. If you figure the back half of the truck doesn't weigh more than 1,000 LBS (just my guess) then the max load on your rear tires should never exceed 2,800 LBS. That's only 56% of what the C rated tires can handle and is a minuscule 43% of what the E rated tires can handle.

Since you are never likely to load up to a point that would make a critical difference betwen C and E rated tires, there is no beneficial trade off. You are sacrificing unsprung weight, rotational mass, stopping distance, fuel economy, ride comfort, and quite possibly a slightly noisier tire for no realizable benefit.

To the OP - See if you can go back to the dealer and make the case that a trained tire professional should have never let you put an E Rated tire on a Mid Sized Light Truck and that they steered you in the wrong direction at their own benefit for higher profit on a more expensive tire.
My message from the other thread that @HenryMac referenced in the first response...

As a follow on, I just ordered tires for the Truck - 265/70/17 C Rated BFG ATKO. Ordered it all online and the website shows it in stock at my location, so I set an appointment for this Friday (that was on Tuesday). Guy calls me up from the store and tries to talk me into a set of E Rated tires. LORD NO! Why would I do that? I mention (almost quoting the information above) the detractors for E and that C is more load than the truck can handle any way.

The guy says, "Oh Yeah. Never thought of it like that. Well the only reason I mentioned it is that your C rated tires are in Lenexa Kansas and have to be Fed Ex'd in (to Phoenix Arizona). They won't be here by Friday but I have plenty of E rated tires in the shop if you want one.

No thanks. I'll wait.
But now I know how @Deathrider got hooked into those E Rated tires in his other post.

It is astounding to think that the BFGATKO is one f if not the top selling off road tires in a state that that is probably 60% off road and where that off road is enjoyed by a lot of Jeeps and Light Trucks (mid size). And that they do't usually sell a lot of C rated tires. I can guarantee that if some guy is out bouncing around the desert in a Frontier or Jeep and running a set of E-Rated ATKOs, he's probably miserable. That C-Rated tire should at least be as popular in this state as the D and E rated versions. Maybe more.

Makes me wonder how many "suspension issues" people have that are really tire issues created by a tire dealership pushing E rated tires.
 
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bentroia

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My message from the other thread that @HenryMac referenced in the first response...

As a follow on, I just ordered tires for the Truck - 265/70/17 C Rated BFG ATKO. Ordered it all online and the website shows it in stock at my location, so I set an appointment for this Friday (that was on Tuesday). Guy calls me up from the store and tries to talk me into a set of E Rated tires. LORD NO! Why would I do that? I mention (almost quoting the information above) the detractors for E and that C is more load than the truck can handle any way.

The guy says, "Oh Yeah. Never thought of it like that. Well the only reason I mentioned it is that your C rated tires are in Lenexa Kansas and have to be Fed Ex'd in (to Phoenix Arizona). They won't be here by Friday but I have plenty of E rated tires in the shop if you want one.

No thanks. I'll wait.
But now I know how @Deathrider got hooked into those E Rated tires in his other post.

It is astounding to think that the BFGATKO is one f if not the top selling off road tires in a state that that is probably 60% off road and where that off road is enjoyed by a lot of Jeeps and Light Trucks (mid size). And that they do't usually sell a lot of C rated tires. I can guarantee that if some guy is out bouncing around the desert in a Frontier or Jeep and running a set of E-Rated ATKOs, he's probably miserable. That C-Rated tire should at least be as popular in this state as the D and E rated versions. Maybe more.

Makes me wonder how many "suspension issues" people have that are really tire issues created by a tire dealership pushing E rated tires.
Aaaaaamen. Your truck is a well engineeted machine. Well thought out changes will keep it performing in the range you expect. Great choice.

Yeh, I bet most people dont consider load range or the impact it has. Image seems to be the first and sometimes only priority.
 

doug910

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C is fine. It's a common misconception that a higher load rating = more protection from rocks when rock crawling. Sure, you might have more protection from rocks as a result of having a "beefier" tire, but not all E-rated tires will be better than all C-rated tires.

If you get a good quality A/T tire with actual off-roading in mind (BFG, Nitto, Falken, Toyo), they beef up the sidewall to mitigate punctures even if they are C-rated. E-rated tires are intended for 3/4+ ton plus trucks that want off road traction while still maintaining their payload capacities. Tire companies do not have "more rock protection" in mind when they design the E vs C tire for the same model.
 
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Jms81661

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Do the Goodyear Kevlar ones, they are supposed to be extremely puncture resistant.
Seen pics of branches that went right thru the sidewalls. I think they just added "Kevlar" as a good sounding sales pitch.
 

peterson1604

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I've been looking for weeks on bigger tires to go with my Fox 2.0 lift. Finally settled on Firestone Destination XT's in 255/75R15. 32.1 inches tall and are a 6 ply C rated tire that weighs 50 pounds. Getting them installed tomorrow afternoon. ?

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