Tires P vs LT - My Experiences

flumpydog · 06-06-2011, 10:21 AM

I just thought I would post our findings for people thinking of changing from P rated tires to LT rated tires. ;-)

Our Expedition EL came with P rated tires and we towed our trailer with them for the latter part of the summer and fall last year and for one trip this year. The truck handled OK with these tires and after doing a lot of research, I was not sure if I really would like to go with LT tires. Some people stated they rode too rough, or some were too loud, etc. I was forced to make a decision, even though my tires were not worn, they all had a servere case of dry rot (that is a whole different story, Pirelli are you listening? grrrr...) .

Anyhoo, I contacted the good people at Toyo, gave them all the specs on the vehicle and trailer and they recommended that we go with their Open Country A/T series LT tires with a load rating E - 10 ply. I put a set on Friday and could immediately notice the difference in the ride, for the better. We hooked up to the trailer and went away this weekend and to say the difference was like night and day would be an understatement. There is a really good dip on the one highway we travelled on and with the old P tires, the vehicle would bounce up and down a few times after such a dip and just not feel the best. With the new tires, the vehicle bounced once just a wee bit and felt super stable. The truck also felt way better driving through curves and such. If you do a sudden lane change, or yank the wheel from left to right in a swerve, it no longer feels like the tires are rolling over, body roll is pretty much eliminiated and again it is extremely stable. As for the ride, our Expedition used to feel like it was floating down the highway in everyday driving, very smooth. With the new tires, it is a bit rougher, but only a bit, my wife said she could hardly tell the difference when driving, road noise is also very very minimal. It is still early days for everyday driving, however I will never be going back to a P tire or anything less than a 10 ply.

So for anyone thinking of making the switch or looking at improving the drive and safety, I would say go for it, you will not regret it! Just my two cents

Best Wishes,
Chuck

Triguy · 06-06-2011, 11:36 AM

Agreed. I will never have a P-rated tire on my SUV again either. LT is the way to go. E's would shake out my fillings so I have LT-C tires and they work well for me.

flumpydog · 06-06-2011, 12:35 PM

I was not so sure about the E's but Toyo stated you can try them out for 30 days and if you do not like them, you can return them here in Canada, so I figured I could not go wrong. Surprisingly I am not finding these to be too bad thus far in everyday driving. Agreed on the never using P tires again

SaskCampers · 06-06-2011, 03:35 PM

Toyo /Nitto are probably the best LT tires out there. Especially on a Dodge as they have very stiff sidewall's.

flyrotor · 06-06-2011, 08:18 PM

The noise is not related to the LT or E rating, rather the type of the tread, street tread is quiet, AT create a bit more noise, Mud and Snow even louder. P tires are for just what they are - Passenger tires, whenever putting any load whether towing or directly on the axle they are too soft

08flagvlite · 06-06-2011, 09:43 PM

I agree 100 percent. I put LT 265 70 17"s on my Ram 1500, and it also made one heck of a difference towing! Side to side sway was virtually eliminated, due to the 10 ply's stiffer sidewalls, and my tires are quiet- no noticable noise whatsoever. Highly recommended for anybody towing a camper 26 feet or more, and my ride quality seems as good as it was with P tires, when they were properly inflated. I'm running 50 psi in mine. They can hold 80 max cold. The ONLY drawback is they are more costly, due to more material used in their construction. I'll pay the difference again, no problem! Randy

leencharlotte · 06-06-2011, 10:38 PM

Question based on this topic. I have a Tundra crewmax with p-rated tires. Though the tires are 2800# rated I can feel some "slop" at certain points when towing. It is not really sway, more of a jiggle, actually feels more like the trailer is rocking side to side. Of coarse the TRD offroad pkg Blistien shocks are probably not helping either. The truck is 9 months old, 8k miles

So my question is what is I just replaced the rear tires now and wait til my fronts wear a little more? I am really having a tough time dropping $1k on 4 new tires when the tires I have are pretty much new. Anyone done this method?

flyrotor · 06-07-2011, 12:04 AM

I can't say for sure, but often times mixing tires is not recommended, for sure true with bias vs radials, but ask your tire store, or you can google tirerack with the question, they have a pretty good FAQ list that probably already addresses the issue

rockwood06 · 06-07-2011, 05:12 AM

"P" tires came from the factory on my Heavy Duty 1/2 ton and they tow well, but when they wear out i will go to LT's just for GP.

Triguy · 06-07-2011, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leencharlotte

Question based on this topic. I have a Tundra crewmax with p-rated tires. Though the tires are 2800# rated I can feel some "slop" at certain points when towing. It is not really sway, more of a jiggle, actually feels more like the trailer is rocking side to side. Of coarse the TRD offroad pkg Blistien shocks are probably not helping either. The truck is 9 months old, 8k miles

So my question is what is I just replaced the rear tires now and wait til my fronts wear a little more? I am really having a tough time dropping $1k on 4 new tires when the tires I have are pretty much new. Anyone done this method?

I wouldn't do it except in an emergency. You can opt to buy two new tires similar to what you have and from from the same class of tire but its not recommended that you mix tires from an alternative class (P and LT, etc). That will make the handling worse; not better.

The common rule is to replace all 4 tires when possible. Sometimes this is not possible because two wore out faster for some reason. Than you can buy two new tires and put them on the rear but these tires should be the same tire or at least similar as you currently have.

I would continue to ride with my old tires until they wear down and save for the tires you want.

SaskCampers · 06-07-2011, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leencharlotte

Question based on this topic. I have a Tundra crewmax with p-rated tires. Though the tires are 2800# rated I can feel some "slop" at certain points when towing. It is not really sway, more of a jiggle, actually feels more like the trailer is rocking side to side. Of coarse the TRD offroad pkg Blistien shocks are probably not helping either. The truck is 9 months old, 8k miles

So my question is what is I just replaced the rear tires now and wait til my fronts wear a little more? I am really having a tough time dropping $1k on 4 new tires when the tires I have are pretty much new. Anyone done this method?

If your Tundra is a real 4x4 and not awd don't do it as the front and rear diffs are running at the same speed all the time when in 4wd. Having tires that are off in size even a bit will put all kinds of strain on the front diff and transfer case to the point one or both could break and cause you far more in repairs than the tires would have cost. I tried that when I had my 04 Ram 1500 4x4 and every time I took it out of 4wd it would bang and the truck would shudder. When I went to the dealer he looked at the tires and then informed me of the above and also said if it breaks when you have different tire brands do not expect any warranty coverage and then showed me the front diff out of a Dakota that broke because of this. SO I went and got the same tires for the other axle and the banging and jumping was gone. And yes the tires were exactly the same size and rating just different manufacturers sizes vary somewhat.

MtnGuy · 06-07-2011, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockwood06

"P" tires came from the factory on my 1/2 ton and they tow well, but when they wear out i will go to LT's just for GP.

My plans, also.

MtnGuy · 06-07-2011, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSasks

If your Tundra is a real 4x4 and not awd don't do it as the front and rear diffs are running at the same speed all the time when in 4wd. Having tires that are off in size even a bit will put all kinds of strain on the front diff and transfer case to the point one or both could break and cause you far more in repairs than the tires would have cost. I tried that when.

Even with an all wheel drive, the different ratios between front and back may cause the awd to "kick in".

08flagvlite · 06-07-2011, 11:01 AM

Those Bilstein shocks should not be any problem. I put them on my Ram, and it really helped the ride tremendously. Your rear springs however are a different story. That is what carries all of the tongue weight from the camper. I added Hellwig spring helpers to my springs for some added "beef" under there. Also, I ran 265 70 17 P's on the front, and AS A TEST put the same size used LT's on the back, and ran them for over a year,with no ill effects. My truck is 2wd. I found a great towing improvement, so now I have new Mastercraft LTR 265 70 17's all around. But I agree if it is a 4x4, replace them all at the same time, or you'll probably cause damage to the drivetrain. Randy

flumpydog · 06-07-2011, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyrotor

The noise is not related to the LT or E rating, rather the type of the tread, street tread is quiet, AT create a bit more noise, Mud and Snow even louder. P tires are for just what they are - Passenger tires, whenever putting any load whether towing or directly on the axle they are too soft

Yes you are quite right and maybe I should have been more specific as I was speaking about this particular brand/model of tire. When I was researching them, some people stated they were very loud and extremely rough riding. I was simply stating my own thoughts on these particular tires, they do have a fairly agressive tread and I was surprised at how little noise they generated. With them stiff sidewalls, they are not too bad for the ride they give, but some of that could also be attributed to the suspension of our vehicle. Just hoping that others who are facing this same question will benefit from this.

The_Stuff · 06-07-2011, 04:28 PM

P goes on my cars and mini vans and LT goes on the trucks and suv's (unless there is no hitch then you can get away with P)

just about as bad as people putting P rated tires on their TT's... but that is a whole other can of worms..

leencharlotte · 06-07-2011, 05:12 PM

My truck is 2wd, just has the softer off road suspension so it bounces easily. Guess I will wait, darn tires have a 5 yr unlimited mileage warranty, my luck thy will last the span.

Smokyroo · 06-08-2011, 05:44 PM

I find it odd that the Tundra came with P tires. Mine came with some BF Goodrich TAs from the factory. I replaced them with Michelin LTX2s and have been very happy. Yes it is expensive, but good tires cost. I would suggest changing all 4 at once, especially since it is 4 WD like others mentioned.

fivecodys · 06-08-2011, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leencharlotte

Question based on this topic. I have a Tundra crewmax with p-rated tires. Though the tires are 2800# rated I can feel some "slop" at certain points when towing. It is not really sway, more of a jiggle, actually feels more like the trailer is rocking side to side. Of coarse the TRD offroad pkg Blistien shocks are probably not helping either. The truck is 9 months old, 8k miles

So my question is what is I just replaced the rear tires now and wait til my fronts wear a little more? I am really having a tough time dropping $1k on 4 new tires when the tires I have are pretty much new. Anyone done this method?

I changed all 4 tires to Michelin 275/65R18'a 10 ply.
It was expensive. $1,100.
Made a huge difference in how the truck handles.
When unloaded it is bumpy but ......It's a truck. Bumpy is ok.

I have always heard that you don't mix tires.
Not saying that it is bad but just something I have heard mentioned before.

Bill

Smokyroo · 06-08-2011, 08:03 PM

fivecody, are those the same as the LTX2s? I just replaced my tires to the LTX2....I had their ATX2s, got nearly 60K out of them and I switched to the LTX2s because they are supposed to last longer than their ATX versions. My tires are the exact same size as yours...funny I paid the exact same price!!!

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