white03

i have mt atz's 285/70/17 on mine and i really like them so far, have about 15k miles on them and wearing good so far

T398

Yes,
Stock BFG LD E = 3195 lbs
Toyo O/C, A/T LD E = 3750 lbs
Not sure on the LD D's because I was not in the market for them.

T398

Fruitman

I agree with Mr. Gadget, skinny tires are, under most circumstances best for snow. But what I've recently learned is, depending on how much pressure you run makes a world of difference in every situation, be it snow, mud, or dry asphalt. That, and the simple fact that taller tires are the only way to get the punkin's off the ground and out of the snow. If anyone is in my shoes and wants to go taller but not extreme then 35's (315's) seem to be the breaking point. No suspension mods required and still able to retain most of the stock performance from our 3rd Generation Rams. Minimal rubbing.

Let me answer some of Mr. Gadgets other questions.

I did my research wherever I could find answers. Seems a lot of guys with 8k lb long bed Rams aren't doing much trail wheelin' so the vehicle types varied but for the most part, were of the smaller, lighter variety. So, yes, much different, but I'd like to think that our torque will make up for weight increase. And therefore the forward momentum ability will not be an issue.

The specs from the manufacturers qualify all these tires as capable towing tires. I do occasional towing so for me this is good enough. I did read one instance where the PJ Dirt Grips actually weren't as good as BFG's on a boat ramp. But I don't own a boat so.........

Flotation, is something directly related to anything that is deep and moist, like mud pits. Count this cat out of that scene. Flotation on snow is different. I think you only float on top of snow in an 8k lb vehicle as long as three of the four tires are on solid ground and I'm guessin' pretty much that I'm compressin' just about any depth of snow that fourth tire is on. I had BFG's AT's before on another truck, and after plowing my driveway, I had to drive out on the main road to clean them or the next morning I'd come out to a truck sittin on what look liked 4 sugar frosted donuts. They loaded up so bad it was stupid. That's why I want an "open" lug design this time. Only, I want as many sypes as possible for wet roads and icy conditions or I'd be considering some BFG M/T's.

35 inch tires are hard to come by in anything less than 12.5+ inches wide. That's just the way it is. Although, the contact sections of the tires I selected are an amazingly narrow dimension of less that 10 inches in some cases. This is not much more than the stock tire dimensions. Again, I'm hoping the weight will make up for that.

It's tough. Too wide and they have too much rolling resistance, which causes lower mpg's. Too narrow and they aren't load worthy. Too tall and you need to do more to accommodate them. Weight alone is considerable, as some of these weigh twice as much as stock tires. Which might just give us that Contact PSI Mr. Gadget keeps mentioning.

So, I've got about 20k-30k left on the stock rubber and just figured that when the time came, I'd be so sure of what to put on next that all I'll have to do is order them. In the meantime, maybe we can all educate each other.

The Fruitman

MR. GADGET

Fruitman I'm with you.....
I had a guy talk about how good his truck was and let him pull my boat, one trip only, he could not get it out of the water. Good old Hard big lug mud tires.
People need to get what works for them. If you drive in 2-3 ft of snow ther is no way around it you need a tall tire.
As for what I was talking about on the contact patch not much you can do without changing the tire or changing the air in them.
Lets say the rig is 8000 lbs and we are in the perfect world each tire would have 2000 lb going down to the ground. Say that area between the tire is 1 sq foot, so you have 2000 lbs over the 1 sq ft but now you air down to 14 psi (What I run for my off road rig on the trail) now that area is 2 sq ft so instead of 2000lb / 1 sq ft its now 2000lb over 2 sq ft that 50% of the pressure. Same way with stock 30.5" tire aired up say 1 sq ft and 36" 12.50 being 2 sq ft.
The lug and tire contact to the ground plays a big part to so using the same tire/brand different size the pressure can be 50 % of stock.
If you drive through 3"-4" of water at a speed of 30mph being the max you can do before the tire will lift or float on the water 2000 lb/1 sq/ft = 13.89 psi vs 2000 lb / 2 sq/ft = 6.94 psi to get the tire to float it will be like you are on skis in the rain.

Before people start getting on me about numbers I just pick round numbers for it and not real numbers for the truck.

Point is the less psi put to the ground the less traction you will have.
hope this helps
If you want to try something I have it is fun: Take a roller and ink or paint lift the tire off the ground roll the tire and let the jack down with the tire on plot paper then jack it up to take the paper off. Do this to all four tires with same weight and measure the size of the "foot print" then have your truck weighed and you can crunch the psi and size of contact patch.
Sometimes you will find at the air you run the tire is not maknig full contact or that you have some of the sidewall/side tread touching.
You want just enough air in the tire to give the best footprint for what you need.
That is how I found my 14-16 psi for off road any less would not add to the footprint and more would take away.
For the truck if you don't have a load and run full air the part of the tire that should touch does not, most of the center but maybe 1" outside and inside does not.
Sorry for being so long.
Jon

Rambunctious1

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, I'm getting ready to move this week. Anywho, I think I have about 5-7k on them so far. I honestly forgot to note my odometer when I installed them. Either way, they're wearing great. No unusual wear patterns or anything of the sort. I'm gettin' ready to rotate 'em hear shortly. I've read that the nittos have wear problems and that they should be rotated every 5k or so. So far, I see no wear problems but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Here's my reasoning for getting them even though I knew some people didn't like the wear characteristics: 1. They're almost an E rating. 2. I really like the way they look. 3. Price-- 700 stones shipped; that's tuff to beat. 4. They have a fairly aggressive tread pattern for an A/T (which is very quiet by the way). There are, of course, people that would argue against my reasoning. Fine. They're my opinions. You can research tires, tests, etc. forever. There's endless info on the subject. So far I like 'em and as long as they don't take a dump on me before 40k I'll recommend 'em to anyone.

gsbrockman

First set :

LT33x12.50R17 Mastercraft Courser C/T's :



LT285/70R17 Cooper Discoverer STT's :



Greg

Dodgezilla

Another vote for the 285 BFG ATs. Unfortunately since I started making more power the rear tires are wearing faster than the fronts!!!

MikeyB

Anyone running the new Pirelli ATRs? Ranked #1 on Tirerack's website.

MikeyB

gsbrockman

My ol' Dodge has been on Mike & Dave's Rollers (DPM) 4 times !
Great guys !

Greg

Fruitman

Go get a cup.........

Wow Mr. Gadget, and I thought I got deep into the research thing (pardon the pun).
But I do understand what you are saying. That’s why for me, and my truck, I broke it down like this:

Mud Pits, Rock Crawlin’, Baja Racing, Sand Dunes, Boat Ramps – never gonna happen.

But what if I need to do one or more of these things in an emergency and can’t (well, except for sand dunes and boat ramps)? That would suck! Or worse, try to and fail, only resulting in more tragedy. I know, you guys are asking, "where the heck does this guy drive, Kuwait". No, where I live is somewhat remote, meaning emergency facilities are not just right around the corner. And you have to be more independent all the time. Break down on, or drive off of a back road without a cell phone or no signal and you better be ready for a long walk or an even longer wait. Hey, I don't make the rules, but stuff happens, ya know. Like the time I slid sideways off my driveway in 6” of fresh snow almost taking out the transformer coming home from work, or the time I got it wedged up against the mailbox plowing my driveway were embarrassing to say the least. Of course we are talking about a 99’ Ram ½ ton, but with 4wd and BFG AT’s. Those tires are full of sypes, but they load up way too much because of the closed lug design. There were other times they left me wanting more traction but those two times were the worst.

As far as this new Heavy Duty Cummins goes, I think the choices I made will work in any depth of snow I want to safely drive in (remember too, the knucklehead coming at us at 40 mph might have slicks so…), real highway speeds in the rain, occasional sleet/slush, and even my worst nightmare (because of my severely inclined driveways) a dusting of snow over a barely there thin layer of ice. If there is any amount of ice, no matter how thin, with as little as a half an inch of snow on my driveways, I have to lay salt or sand. And this is from experience. The same 4WD drive Ram gasser with the 360 would make it up, but barely, and not without spinning the whole way, melting the ice as it went. And I even kept a ¼” x 4’ x 8’ piece of diamond plate steel in the bed during the winter months. I’m guessing that added a couple hundred lbs to the rear wheels. I hope the new one doesn't need it. It's a pain to get in.

I do have a couple added advantages now, in the form of the Anti Slip Rear, and added front end weight. And, with all this "New Tire Business" in mind, the other day, just for kicks I wanted to test the trucks ability in a super mild situation. With the stock 265’s Rugged Trails (a true all season/all terrain tire imho) on a 30 deg plus hill, approx. 50’ long, covered with grass, and dry as toast, there was no slippage what so ever. Which leads me to believe that I could get away with a more “On-Road” friendly tire with this truck. But I want more. And with vanity rearing its ugly head, I’m willing to sacrifice some mileage loss to achieve that “Monster Truck Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” look. (good description huh )

Bottom line Bro's, and the following order is not based on importance, I want a certain look, I want “Chunky”. I want a worthy off road tire just in case. I want a tire with on road like characteristics too, so I can commute/tow/haul safely. I want a tire that can hold it’s own in the winter. Mileage, well, maybe I can control my right foot more often and offset the loss there. Perhaps tape the $$$ receipt for the tires on the sun visor as a reminder.

So, based on my personal desires (and maybe for some other forum members too), all the tires I’ve selected will perform satifactorily under all these circumstances. But, I feel because of the amount of sypes, and openness of the lugs, and the types of lugs/sidewalls and their narrower size, that the PJ Dirt Grips will be the best of the five choices for me and my driving habits with Interco's trXus MT a very close second.

But you’ll never find a guy more open to learn about a better choice if there’s one out there. As a matter of fact, I could be so way off base here and find out that what's best for me is something I never even gave a thought to. Like I said, I have yet to find any real user reviews on my choices from people that drive like me.


The Fruitman

Toto

04 305 555 2wd

My truck calls for 265 70 17 E

I see many of you useing a 285 70 17...about an inch bigger OD.
Did you have to have your computer recalibrater for speedo and ABS?

Fruitman

That would be the right thing to do huh, although I bet most people just figure the percentage and use that to factor the speed.

Larger tire than stock= Speedometer reads slower than actual

Smaller Tire than stock= Speedometer reads faster than actual


I think though, there is a much more simple formula like the new tire diameter divided by the old tire diameter or some thing along those lines.

I'm not gonna worry about it since most of the time I'm stuck in traffic it seems. And when I'm not, as long as I keep it under 33 grand I'm good to go. Speed is all realative with me.


The Fruitman

Oh, by the way, I made up my mind, Parnelli Jones Dirt Grips 35x12.5/R17 on American Eagle Alloys Mod # 1372. I want to get them on before the snows come in Feburary so.......

Toto

Man those Pirrelli's are nice looking tires...but I bet they will sure sing a song!
maybe not though with these new computer desighned tread patterns.

Fruitman

Hey Toto,
I think that picture is a little bit deceiving. I've seen real life pic's of them on the web and they aren't that extreem. And I'll admit, on a 5 hour trip I'll bet a lot of noise would get old but I like the noise generated by some tires and I don't travel long distance that often. And there's the radio, it should help.

But it's the sypes on them that made my decision for me. Unless they are total junk (very few reviews on them from guys with 8k lb vehicles) and only last 6 months, they spec out really well. And the price is comparible to the rest. Pro Comp, MT, DC, Nitto, heck, they are less money than some tires for that matter. You just need to shop around. I'm looking at 4, mounted, balanced on those rims and shipped to my door for under 1800. I don't think that's bad. But what do I know.

ptgarcia

I went with Toyo Open Country AT's 325/70-17