Best Tire and Wheel Sizes on your HD Tow Vehicles?

[Geronimo John]

On 9/9/2023 at 3:04 PM, SeaDawg said:

I highly recommend tirerack reviews and testing.

For sure!  I spent a huge amount of time there changing parameters to see how their computer adjusted recommendations.  Many tire reviews also were helpful.

GJ

[Geronimo John]

On 10/21/2023 at 4:48 PM, jd1923 said:

Purchased my new tires this week. I went with SIMPLETIRE, after dealing with a young 'know-it-all' at Discount Tire, having upset me with his spiel, obviously on commission, wanting to sell me a house brand nobody has EVER heard of,

I have a cousin that works the counter at a Discount Tire store. I was curious so asked him how much he makes on commissions.  Answer zero. So I googled the question:

 

My experience with them has always been top notch.  Sorry they did not meet your expectations.

GJ

[jd1923]

13 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

We accumulate 94% of our miles getting from Texas to the far west to be in the mountains...   

Point is, saying from your perspective using an AT for places we find ourselves every summer...

We lived in Austin and Georgetown Texas for 9 years, while we had our Home in Prescott AZ, driving that round-trip 2-3 times each year. That's at least 20 times the 2200-mile roundtrip. We have many great routes to make this drive without using the Interstate system, unless there was winter weather and then we'd take I-10. Still all paved roads, there and back.

Sure, there's dirt/gravel roads where we all camp and more of it out west. But a HT tire is highway tread is an AT tire is designed for off-road use. LT HT tires and all-season P tires have a rib design with multiple rain sipes and 4 main rain grooves, they all do, and AT tires just do not. Just compare the perfect example above, the picture of the Nitto Terra Grappler vs. the Michelin Defender tread. 

Not saying everybody buys AT tires for looks, but many do. You can read it all over the truck forums, from Dodge to Ford, to Toyota and the others. They buy AT and even MT tires and some never leave the city or burbs. They buy larger tires to fill the wheel well and wider tires with greater positive offset. 

There was a comment above about 35" AT tires. Unless that size came with your truck, or they installed taller rear gears, it can cause real trouble when towing. AT over HT tires, less fuel mileage. Taller tires, heavier tires, less fuel mileage. Wider tires, less fuel mileage. And if your tires are oversized from OEM, you can have trouble climbing elevation and possible trans failure.

[Geronimo John]

On 10/6/2023 at 2:42 AM, dewdev said:

My TV manufacturer recommends A/T tires but since I travel mostly on pavement, I am going to go with new Michelin LTX M/S2 All Season tires instead of a A/T tire

I feel the same way.  My Ollie OEM Michelin's still have life and are E-rated.  Down the road for OLLIE, I'll likely go with the Defender's light truck E-rated of course.  For Ollie, my concern is having long life and low potential for rock chucking.

But for our F-150 TV, for us the jury is out for at least 3 years as we run the Nitto Recon Grabbers.  When their time comes I'll for sure be revisiting the topic.  Who knows, it is possible that our lifestyle changes and we need to go back to the Defenders for the TV.  just saying..

       ..  🤣

GJ

[SeaDawg]

3 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

For sure!  I spent a huge amount of time there changing parameters to see how their computer adjusted recommendations.  Many tire reviews also were helpful.

GJ

That's a smart thing to do. For dewdev, and for us, the michelin defenders make sense, after plugging in (and editing) , for Paul's 4x4 Ram. We spend much more time on pavement, than on gravel. The gravel we do drive most on our mountain property is tricky sometimes, as some of our roads are pretty steep, but the michelins have done better than our previous Bridgestones. And, the highway ride is quite nice, a bit more quiet, and we feel a bit better mileage. 

I put Pirelli  AT tires on my 2wd Silverado stepside for several reasons. They DO look good. 🤣 I like the stiffer sidewalls. Since the majority of my driving is under 45 mph, it hardly affects gas mileage. They have great stopping power on our wet  streets in the monsoon season. And, they grip a bit better  on gravel in the rare times necessary. My truck is last choice for the mountains, for us. It's mostly the Lowe's/Depot/landscape material/grocery getter truck. I grew up driving trucks, and as long as I'm able to climb into one, it's my vehicle of choice.

I'm thinking the answer to the question of best tire is the one that works for you, with your particular driving habits. 

[Geronimo John]

On 9/30/2023 at 8:02 PM, jd1923 said:

 

Parts include a pair of wider caliper brackets and upgraded EBC rotors and pads. It's amazing, but the calipers are the same, as they are HD already. Purchased all parts at Summit: EBC Brakes S1KF1502 EBC Stage 1 Premium Street Disc Brake Kits | Summit Racing

 

JD: 

I have never had a problem with my TV (F-150) brakes on long steep down hill grades.  But I constantly "worry" and do baby them consistently.  As such, I would like to increase my safety margin.  Hence an upgrade for my system rotors and  pads are likely on my horizon.

I cut and pasted info from your post and the Summit web site.  Is the EBC Stage 1 pads box color consistent with their performance ratings from their web site chart?  I.E. you are using their "Blue Stuff" as shown on their "Know Your Stuff" table?  Generally speaking for mods, the higher the stage number the more aggressive the mod is.  This is especially true for tunes.  If not, what "Know Your Stuff Color" were the pads that came with your kit?

Thanks

GJ

 

[jd1923]

5 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

JD: I have never had a problem with my TV (F-150) brakes on long steep downhill grades...

Is the EBC Stage 1 pads box color consistent with their performance ratings from their web site chart?  ... Thanks GJ

GJ, there was only one option for my truck and likely the same for an F150. I believe mine are the RED, since they were colored red on the surface of the pads (the break-in surface). Red makes sense as the best option for most trucks, unless you're racing a HP truck! It states low dust, excellent hot friction (brakes certainly get hot with downhill braking) and good life, which are the best choices for any truck and TV.

Mine was a major upgrade, because I replaced both the stock 16" wheels and rotors with 17" (Dodge Ram OEM 2nd to 3rd Gen). The upgrade added a 1/2" radius of contact surface around the perimeter of the rotor, and the pads (see pic above) appear to have about 60% more contact area. Every year in the auto industry, stuff gets bigger and heavier. The curb weight of my 2001 Ram is 750 LB less than the weight of the a like 3rd Gen truck. So, I have brakes made for a considerably (12%) heavier truck.

The EBC product is A+ premium, all manufactured in the UK or USA! I have done 20-30 brake jobs in my life, and I was grinning ear-to-ear as I unwrapped the parts. 😀 So, just putting new rotor and pads will be better. Can you upgrade your F150 with what is installed OEM on the F250 Super Duty? That would be added stopping power. I do not know what is involved in such a Ford upgrade, but there are forums for that. All I had to do is buy this kit and purchase left and right caliper mounts (Cardone reman for $20 ea). Just the mounts, as the calipers are the same. How cool is that?! The new mounts merely hold the calipers 1/2" further out.

There is a similar upgrade for my '08 Lexus GX470. Many off-road enthusiasts prefer the older GX, as it had the dependable Toyo 4.7L engine, was lighter (600 LB less), slimmer and better looking! You can mount the new model brakes on the older GX. Same kind of thing and when mine needs front service, or I run out of things to do 🤣, l will make this upgrade too.

Hope this helps and thanks for asking!