rossn2

Looking for input on anyone running the BFG 31570R17's on their truck. How long / tread life have you been able to get out of them?

Thanks

DieselGuy

I have about 16200 miles on my BFG's. Still have about 75% left i rotate them every other oil change

Rob_OBX

do you have them on the MT classic IIs?
I have mine on the stock steelies and I don't think they're gonna wear even(middle will wear out way earlier)
i need wider wheels but don't really want them sticking out 4" farther.

DieselGuy

Hi Rob
Yes they are mounted on MT classic II's. A friend of mine has BFG's mounted on American Racing 17x8's his are wearing that way to.

Mexstan

If the middle of the tires are wearing too fast perhaps this means that the tire pressure is too high. Try running maybe 5 pounds lower pressure for a while and see if that makes a differance.

Rob_OBX

yeah lower pressure will even it out, but I'm at 35 now and it feels sloppy compared to the stock bfgs running 75psi. I just want wider wheels so I can air up and get even wear.

DieselGuy

I run about 45psi in mine.

TexasZach

Remember, BFG recommends a minimum of 8.5 inches of wheel width for 315's, it's going to take some careful fine tuning of the tire pressure to keep them from ballooning slightly in the center.

03CumminZ4X4

Unloaded truck. 42 in front and 28 in the rear. Guys just lay on floor next to your tires and deflate them until all the tread touches the floor all the way across the tread pattern then take your pressures afterward and see where your at. I have seen some say they are running 45 and 50 all the way around. You cant do that with the stock rims or they will wear the middle out way fast. The tire is crowned in the middle when the pressure is that high and the rim is narrow. Forget the tire gauge and use your eyes. One more thing. When you put a trailer behind your rig use the same procedure. air them up until the rear tire tread at the edge just comes off the graund then let the pressure down until it touches again. Hope this helps.

rossn2

I have to tell all that I'm not really impressed with the tires. AAFEES Couldn't balance them and sent me to GoodYear. GY's machine couldn't do it either so they did them on the vehicle with strobe light thing. Spun frt wheels with guy sitting in truck under steering wheel stopped vibrating. Ok, great. Then on the rear's, and I still can't believe this, GY put a jack under the rear end and jacked up truck and then the guy started my truck, put in gear and spun the tires and then said, Oh the backs are good. Well, they aren't...I made a 700 mile round trip this weekend and I can tell you the steering wheel still has a shimmy in it and between 60-65 I can feel the rear end bouncing, through drivers seat and shifter too.

I'm calling AAFEES and have them take them off and give me my money back...It's too bad, because they make the truck look sweet...Lot's of complements over the weekend at ranch...

F11Engineer

Hey Chief,

I had no problem balancing my at the auto hobby shop at the base. We used the stick-on type inside the rim and just worked at it until they were good. I've run them for 16k now, rotated them 3 times, and have had no problems with shimmy or bounce.
Sometimes the only way to get something done right is to do it yourself!! You might want to try the shop yourself before returning the tires.

Cheers,

AK RAM

That really bites rossn2. One thing is for sure, a good balancing job is key to getting good life and comfort out of these big tires. I'm not sure if I could take them back off….they look to good. If it were me, I think I would just have to find a good tire shop with a balancing machine that could handle them, even if I had to drive a ways. Might be worth it to find the closest Hummer dealer and have their service department try it. 315s are the stock Hummer tires and they are likely to have the balancer to do it or at least could tell you over the phone who in town does. Just so happens my Dodge dealer is also a Hummer dealer. I had them mount and balance mine. Did a good job. Good luck.

rossn2

I called AAFEES and they're going to get back to me. I called Discount Tires and the rep told me the only way to balance the tires is to "ROAD MATCH" which is $100.00. Then we will know if the tire/tires are possibly out of round. The guy at Discount said he went through 6 tires until he had them ROAD MATCH, what ever that is... So, AAFEES would have to pay for it or refund my money.

How did you balance them at the shop?

The problem with the AAFEES and GOODYEAR machines are the same. You put the tire/wheel on machine, spin, get it to zero and you think it's balanced. Now , take the tire/wheel off machine set it aside, the couple of min later, pick it up and put it back on machine and it comes back all off again?

I even tried lowering to 40psi and still same problems....

regarding rim size: THe owners manual says it's an 8 inch rim, but if you measure it they actually are 8.5....

On the trip I was getting 20.5 mpg at 65-70. At 70mph tach says slightly over 1900 rpms, for those interested...

F11Engineer

Maybe I just got good tires -- set them aside like you did, returned them to the machine and they came in real close (not exactly) to zero. Did you use the weights that crimp onto the rim or the kind that stick onto the inside?
I did have the same problem you're having with a set of Falkens on my Jeep -- never could get the shimmy out of the front end.