Tire ratings......make sure yours are up to the task!

[hutchman]

My "adventure" vehicle is a 2007 GMC Sierra 1500 with the Z71 Off Road Package. This Off Road Package includes the so called "on/off" road P265/70R17 blackwall tire. The tires on my truck are a Goodyear with a tread pattern that is more aggressive than a straight highway tire, but much less aggressive than a typical mud tire like a BFG Mud Terrain. They seemed to be a decent compromise between off road performance and a quiet highway tire.

On our recent visit to the Midwest, I suffered a cut tire on a gravel road in southern Missouri. I replaced it with the spare and headed back to WA State, where I ordered a replacement tire and had it installed. All seemed well and good until two days ago when my son and I were looking at the new tire. He noticed the tire rating and stated that it was a standard load rated tire...........really only a PASSENGER CAR RATED TIRE! I had not paid that much attention.......Hmmmmmmm, this could cause some real problems when up in the mountains on Forrest Service Roads. There is a lot of sharp gravel in the mountains, which is very similar to the gravel on the road in MO. These sharp rocks can and will puncture a tire easily if the tire is not build for heavy duty service.

Back in the day, bias ply tires had a "ply" rating based on the number of "plies" or layers of rubber in the casing. A 2 ply tire had 2 layers and was less strong than a 4 or 6 ply tire. It was easy to tell how tough a tire was by the number of layers of rubber. You could feel every pebble on the street on true 10 ply tires!

Today it is not as easy to know how tough your tire might be. Due to modern manufacturing techniques, tires toughness is no longer indicated by counting plies as in the past but by an equivalent rating based on the old ply system. Here is a link to some good basic info on how tough the tire is you might be purchasing:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec...e.jsp?techid=55

The "on/off" tires on my truck are really no more than 2 ply passenger car snow tires in toughness. They are not good off road tires.......period. It kind of makes you wonder why they would be installed with a so called "off road" package..........

When I replace these tires, I will purchase a much heavier LT rated aggressive tire which should resist punctures much better and be a better back country tire. These are the type of tire that should be include in the Z71 Package, but probably aren't due to cost. But what do I know?!?! Maybe most people using this type of truck never leave the pavement and therefore do not need a true LT rated tire.

There are of course, disadvantages to this type of tire.........fuel economy. These tires are much heavier and have more rolling ressistance than the passenger car tires and because of this, will cause a reduction in fuel economy, drivability, and be noisier. There are trade offs to deal with in tires as in life!

Just remember that when driving in the back country that all of your equipment must be up to the task. It can be a long walk out!

[Decidion]

Good info, and typical of manufacturers in trying to make sure they can publish the best MPG numbers for their vehicles, especially in today's market.

Certainly you want to look around at a number of tire manufacturer's when you go to replace your current set. One tire I would suggest giving a long hard look at is the BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO's. A good solid off-road tire that has many years of proven performance, comes in a variety of sizes, is available at almost every tire merchant, has decent highway manners, and (in most sizes) is severe snow rated.

BFG All Terrain T/A KO

[Binford]

And they're good-looking mounted on an SUV to boot!

[Jerry]

Certainly you want to look around at a number of tire manufacturer's when you go to replace your current set. One tire I would suggest giving a long hard look at is the BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO's. A good solid off-road tire that has many years of proven performance, comes in a variety of sizes, is available at almost every tire merchant, has decent highway manners, and (in most sizes) is severe snow rated.

All I can say is, "Ditto", I agree 100%

[hutchman]

I originally thought about a more aggressive tire, but after the suggestion on the BFG ATs, they should be on the list. I ran a set of them on a pickup several years ago.......my impression of them was nothing but good. They balanced easily and were very quiet on the highway.

They are not the most aggressive tread pattern, but much better than what I have now and I really don't think I need much more than they are. My only question is how tough are they? My suspicion is they will take most anything on a Forrest Service Road.

Any thoughts or experience with puncture resistance..........?

[Jerry]

The new series BFG AT's have a 5 ply rating and a 3 ply sidewall. The extra ply sidewalls help protect against side punctures in logged out areas, i.e. old log landings, etc. They have, over the years, been the undisputed all terrain leader. They have competition, but the BFG tread is unique and is excellent for rock, dirt, sand and snow; everything but mud. None of the various manufacturer's AT tread designs are good in mud, therefore a separate mud terrain tread design.

Over the years we have run BFG AT's on our F150 truck, Ford Expedition, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevy Tahoe and Ford Escape. We drive many miles a year on northwest backroads, everything from unimproved dirt logging roads to snow covered county roads and state highways. I have never had a failure with a BFG AT. When we buy a new or new-to-us vehicle we switch tires immediately. New car rubber provides a soft, quiet ride and works great going to the super market, but it doesn't hold up like heavier ply tires off pavement.
Jerry

[hutchman]

The new series BFG AT's have a 5 ply rating and a 3 ply sidewall. The extra ply sidewalls help protect against side punctures in logged out areas, i.e. old log landings, etc. They have, over the years, been the undisputed all terrain leader. They have competition, but the BFG tread is unique and is excellent for rock, dirt, sand and snow; everything but mud. None of the various manufacturer's AT tread designs are good in mud, therefore a separate mud terrain tread design.

Over the years we have run BFG AT's on our F150 truck, Ford Expedition, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevy Tahoe and Ford Escape. We drive many miles a year on northwest backroads, everything from unimproved dirt logging roads to snow covered county roads and state highways. I have never had a failure with a BFG AT. When we buy a new or new-to-us vehicle we switch tires immediately. New car rubber provides a soft, quiet ride and works great going to the super market, but it doesn't hold up like heavier ply tires off pavement.
Jerry

In reality a good AT tire is better for my situation than a more aggressive design. Sometimes it is hard for me to escape the "testosterone" effect! LOL! I did go to the BFG site and do a little research on construction and see that they are designed for much heavier usage and I believe the size for my truck was a load range D........much better than the standard load rating on the current tires.

My impression of the BFG ATs is that there are none better and your feedback just reinforces that opinion. Thanks!

[Binford]

Besides their sharp looks, all I have read about them and their M/T brothers over the years is that they're about as good as you can get in a radial tire with good road manners and such. My colleague had trouble getting a new set balanced a couple years ago, but I think the tire shop had more to do with it than anything else. They would be my first choice for an SUV.

[Decidion]

I tossed the idea of a more aggressive set of tires around for quite awhile before buying the A/T KOs. I was on the verge of going with the newer KM2s which look awesome and have had some really good feedback too, but are more oriented towards off road than on.

Ultimately I told myself that, even if I go wheelin' every single weekend (which I don't), that means that 85% or more of my driving is on the road. With that much on road driving, it just didn't makes sense to go with a more aggressive tire.

[richardattek]

I used to average 2 flats and 1 destroyed load range "c" tire a year, I swithed to BFG-AT tires. after two rigs and 80k miles , not even a flat.

Richard