02 Silverado 5.3L Need tires

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
Zero reason to mount car tires on a light truck.


So if the manufacturer specs P-Metric tires for the truck, which are sufficient for the load ratings for the vehicle, they don't know what they are doing?

On a 3/4 or 1-ton, which universally spec an LT tire, one would be a fool to fit a P-metric that doesn't meet the requirements put forth by the manufacturer. However, on a 1/2-ton, if the vehicle is spec'd with a P-Metric from the factory, which many are, there is absolutely nothing wrong with running that.

Our 2002 Expedition, with a 7,200lb GVWR, spec'd P-Metric tires FWIW. Somebody had put LT's on it when we bought it, and since they were slightly smaller diameter, they affected the speedometer. It also meant that I had to calculate the proper tire pressure, since spec was for P-Metric tires. I swapped them out for the proper size and type of tire as per the placard.

CapriRacer has talked about this subject a few times as well.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
CKN;
Are you telling us that 275/55/20 P-rated tires are a good choice for a 7600 lb. GVW truck pulling a 12,000 lb trailer?
How about P285/45/22s on an off-road Z-71, good idea or completely stupid?
Now let's add deep snow, and in your opinion "there is zero reason to mount LT tires on a half ton truck".

CKN,7,600 lbs. is almost 4 tons.

Please explain.


Reading comprehension is lacking here. I said unless you tow or haul often. My Silverado came with 275/55/20 Goodyear LS tires P rated adequate for towing a 30foot-5,500 pound travel trailer (coast to coast-btw) within my payload capacity.
They were replaced with the same size (Nitto Cross Teks) in an "XL" rating with a slightly stiffer sidewall-again adequate for towing within the trucks payload capacity.

BTW-you can't tow a 12,000 pound travel trailer with many half tons because you don't have the payload capacity to do so. And if the half-ton is rated for a 12,000 pound tow you have the "max-tow" with LT tires anyway.

Goodyear Eagle LS TIRES ARE RATED AT 2,409 load rating PER TIRE.

If you do not understand payload/towing capacity I'm not going to explain it to you here.

 

[userfriendly]

CKN;
You posted a few pages back that the stock tires which came on your 2011 2WD were the worst tires you ever owned, and lasted only 35K miles.
A few posts later you said that you don't drive your truck in the snow, because the Subie is better.

Look at the tread depth of true LT tires compared to P rated tires that are standard issue on most 1500s and 150s.
Which tires are going to last longer, work better in the snow, less likely to hydro-plane and have better puncture resistance?

Show up at the bottom of a mountain pass with P-rated tires, and the cops will turn you around and send you home.

There is more than the maximum load capacity when choosing a tire.

edit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks

 

[userfriendly]

Lol, CKN types in bold for the hard of hearing.
And Overkill, the roll-out of the slightly smaller od tires caused less than a 2% error on your speedometer.
To correct for that, go 102 kph in a 100 zone. If the other way around go 98 kph instead.
You don't run out and buy new tires to correct the speedo.

You forgot to explain the 285/45/22s with 13/32 tread depth on an off-road packaged light truck.

Maybe CapriRacer has the answer and BFG, Toyo, Nitto, Cooper, General etc. all have it wrong.

BTW, this would be considered off road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnnziA3LZfM

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
CKN;
You posted a few pages back that the stock tires which came on your 2011 2WD were the worst tires you ever owned, and lasted only 35K miles.
A few posts later you said that you don't drive your truck in the snow, because the Subie is better.

Look at the tread depth of true LT tires compared to P rated tires that are standard issue on most 1500s and 150s.
Which tires are going to last longer, work better in the snow, less likely to hydro-plane and have better puncture resistance?

Show up at the bottom of a mountain pass with P-rated tires, and the cops will turn you around and send you home.

There is more than the maximum load capacity when choosing a tire.

edit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks


They were the worst tires I ever owned-due to wet traction-nothing else. I don't drive my Silverado in the snow because it's two wheel drive-and wouldn't regardless of the tire on it. I have see plenty of trucks stranded in a snow storm here-I assume some would have LT tires, I also assume it's because there is no weight over the rear axle-don't know for sure cause I don't see the type of tires driving by them in my Subaru.

We can agree to disagree that LT tires are not the panacea for trucks some on here think they are.

 

[userfriendly]

I agree that D or E rated tires are not needed for GVW purposes, but as you found out, the stock factory offerings are quite useless on most light trucks, and don't last long.

After Donny cancels the CAFE tax credit fiasco, OEMs may expand tire options to include 3PMS and off-road traction.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly

And Overkill, the roll-out of the slightly smaller od tires caused less than a 2% error on your speedometer.
To correct for that, go 102 kph in a 100 zone. If the other way around go 98 kph instead.
You don't run out and buy new tires to correct the speedo.

You forgot to explain the 285/45/22s with 13/32 tread depth on an off-road packaged light truck.

Maybe CapriRacer has the answer and BFG, Toyo, Nitto, Cooper, General etc. all have it wrong.

BTW, this would be considered off road (youtube video).


Comically, my Expedition had the off-road package, including skid plates.

I wore out the Goodyear tires BTW, I didn't "run out and replace them". However, I did replace them with the spec P-metric tires when their time was up.

Explain your comment regarding BFG, Nitto, Cooper, General...etc "have it wrong". They manufacture P-metric tires for these applications, and they manufacture LT tires for LT applications. If an application is not HD enough to warrant an LT tire, it generally doesn't spec one.

Your off-road example is supposed to demonstrate what? I drove through an ice storm, followed by a solid foot+ of snow a few winters ago to the east coast on some LTX M/S2's. It was a 20+ hour drive including some Quebec side roads where the snow was so deep you had no idea where the road was. Additionally, ice performance with those tires was SIGNIFICANTLY better than the GoodYear LT offroad-style tires my buddy is rocking on his F-150. In fact, he's switching to the LTX for that reason.

If I was doing serious off-roading all summer long, I'd go with a less highway-oriented tire. However, I don't, and for the amount that I did do, the LTX's were more than adequate, including pulling my other friend's 1500 Silverado running BFG TKO's out of the mud pit. The OP has already stated that he will not be taking the vehicle off-road and will be using it primarily for highway driving, not towing. That being the case there is absolutely no reason to continue beating the LT drum here, as his usage profile in now way aligns with the one where you feel an LT tire has an advantage.

 

[mjk]

Who cares what happens on a mountain pass? Did the OP ever indicate that was part of his routine? Did he say anything about towing? This site gets worse by the day. One *[censored]* contest after another.

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
CKN;
You posted a few pages back that the stock tires which came on your 2011 2WD were the worst tires you ever owned, and lasted only 35K miles.
A few posts later you said that you don't drive your truck in the snow, because the Subie is better.

Look at the tread depth of true LT tires compared to P rated tires that are standard issue on most 1500s and 150s.
Which tires are going to last longer, work better in the snow, less likely to hydro-plane and have better puncture resistance?

Show up at the bottom of a mountain pass with P-rated tires, and the cops will turn you around and send you home.

There is more than the maximum load capacity when choosing a tire.

edit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks

 

[4WD]

And drive that LTX down to my camp a few times on that busted quartz and they chunk rubber. And I know they are excellent in most cases. People have a propensity to say I'm always making the best choices and you need to follow along.
Best advice is often the quiet/thoughtful guy next door with local experience- who will only tell you when asked ...

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: 4WD
And drive that LTX down to my camp a few times on that busted quartz and they chunk rubber. And I know they are excellent in most cases. People have a propensity to say I'm always making the best choices and you need to follow along.
Best advice is often the quiet/thoughtful guy next door with local experience- who will only tell you when asked ...


Exactly. I'd choose a more suitable tire if that was my routine. The OP has indicated his driving is basically all highway with no trailer towing. In that case, there is absolutely no reason to deviate from the factory-spec P-Metric tire.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: 4WD
And drive that LTX down to my camp a few times on that busted quartz and they chunk rubber. And I know they are excellent in most cases. People have a propensity to say I'm always making the best choices and you need to follow along.
Best advice is often the quiet/thoughtful guy next door with local experience- who will only tell you when asked ...


Exactly. I'd choose a more suitable tire if that was my routine. The OP has indicated his driving is basically all highway with no trailer towing. In that case, there is absolutely no reason to deviate from the factory-spec P-Metric tire.


Some guys get a truck, lift it, pull out the factory exhaust, get a tune, everything to make themselves the "big man" on the road. You got to have LT/off-road tires as part of "the package".

I am not ashamed to admit I don't need any of this. My first consideration when putting tire on the truck is; How is it going to ride when I'm not towing 75% of the time? I do not want to do anything to make it ride any rougher. So I pick a compromise which is a highway tire with a slightly stiffer sidewall. And yes, it stays in the garage in the winter and I could care less about the snow capability of the tire I pick.

And this BITOG thread is one of the worst (tire threads) I have seen yet.

It's getting crazier and crazier every day on here.

Oh-And I'm happy some body mentioned the mighty Michelin tires-it wouldn't be a crazy thread without them!

 

[userfriendly]

Lol. CKN, your a gem. I don't put E-rated tires on light trucks to be the big man on campus, or park in front of the mall on a Saturday night.
Without deep treads, that just happen to only come on D & E rated tires, I can't get to work, or home after work.

Tell me that people don't sleep on passenger trains with steel wheels, or 285/45/22s ride well on rough roads.

There is another world out there, and because some of you have never been out of the city......

edit; www.borla.com

edit again... the 2017 max tow 6.2L CC is for my daughter. www.trucknutz.com

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
Lol. CKN, your a gem. I don't put E-rated tires on light trucks to be the big man on campus, or park in front of the mall on a Saturday night.
Without deep treads, that just happen to only come on D & E rated tires, I can't get to work, or home after work.

Tell me that people don't sleep on passenger trains with steel wheels, or 285/45/22s ride well on rough roads.

There is another world out there, and because some of you have never been out of the city......

edit; www.borla.com

edit again... the 2017 max tow 6.2L CC is for my daughter. www.trucknutz.com



OK-you need them-that's fair. We both have seen what those guys do to their trucks that drive them to park their car in front of the mall/movie theater on the weekend. You and I have both seen those..... trucks.......

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

Every brand has it's followers. I needed a tire that was an all-terrain but not so aggressive that it was unable to drive on the highway without excessive road noise. I had to push her to hard while driving on or property after a rain with the [censored] goodyear all seasons. The roads we live on are secondary so they get little attention during the winter storms. Most around me use Cooper's and Mastercrafts.


I went with the Cooper A/T3's. Great tire so far, slightly noticeable noise on the highway, but seems to ride better.

 

[userfriendly]

I wish we could fit 285/60/20s (11.25x33.5) on Chev/GMC 1500s, but they still haven't figured out that the round tire/square fender concept is stupid.

The BITOG tire police will tell you that your 14,000 lb. tire load capacity on a 7,000 GVW truck is wrong.

Chrome bumpers, wheels & steps flow nicely on dark colors.
The tires fit under the truck instead of poking out, showering the paint job with stones, salt & slush.

 

[MNgopher]

The BITOG tire police won't tell you its wrong- but it sure isn't necessary or mandatory.

If your needs require you to buy a tire that greatly exceeds the requirements, then go for it. Just recognize the tradeoffs that come from doing so. Sometimes I think the idea of who the tire police are on this board is completely backwards from the way certain individuals interpret it.

There is a reason a variety of tire types are made in the same size - not everyones needs are the same.

 

[userfriendly]

Exactly MNgopher, but can you explain the downside to having tires that "greatly exceeds the requirements" compared to tires that just meet the minimum requirements?

In my case, I need tires that greatly exceed the minimum requirements, or I ain't getting out of my driveway.

People who lift their trucks and install monster tires are just enjoying their freedom to do so.

If you don't like it, don't partake and don't look.

CKN said; Well if you need them, then I guess it's ok. Or something like that. But he has trouble with those lifted trucks parked at the mall. Lol

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
Exactly MNgopher, but can you explain the downside to having tires that "greatly exceeds the requirements" compared to tires that just meet the minimum requirements?

In my case, I need tires that greatly exceed the minimum requirements, or I ain't getting out of my driveway.

People who lift their trucks and install monster tires are just enjoying their freedom to do so.

If you don't like it, don't partake and don't look.

CKN said; Well if you need them, then I guess it's ok. Or something like that. But he has trouble with those lifted trucks parked at the mall. Lol



LT tires ride rougher than "P" rated tires. They are heavier-thus more fuel is burned to move the vehicle. Those are two OBVIOUS down sides.

 

[fxrider]

Originally Posted By: Gito
Found some Bridgestone Dueler Al+ 255/70r16 for $582.06.
80,000 mile warranty.
Rotated, installed and balanced

Truck is mostly used for highway driving.
No towing or hauling
Great Choice.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: fxrider
Originally Posted By: Gito
Found some Bridgestone Dueler Al+ 255/70r16 for $582.06.
80,000 mile warranty.
Rotated, installed and balanced

Truck is mostly used for highway driving.
No towing or hauling
Great Choice.



Those are a great highway tire. Congrats!