Tire Shortage

[richard5933]

Tires are made in batches. There have been ongoing issues over the years where a particular size/style/model would be unavailable for a few months. Not every tire will be available at all times. Thankfully there are usually substitutes.

[Fiesta48]

I bought 2 front Cross Wind tires at $300 each. Michelins and Good Years are 800 and 600. My off brand tires are far better than the Good Year craps I took off.

[George Schweikle]

I suspect someone tried to sell you load range D-rated tires when you wanted E or F. Tire manufacturers stopped listing No. of plies years ago, and now rate tires by Load Range. Any mention of of plies only means "Rated" for an equivalent, not the actual number of plies.

Here's what Trailer Life magazine said (bold by me):

"The load range molded on a light-truck tire’s sidewall (such as D, E or F) is marked with the maximum weight it is designed to carry, along with the minimum pressure required to carry that weight. Load ranges increase in alphabetical order, so, for example, an E-rated tire will have a higher weight rating than a D-rated tire of the same size and can handle higher inflation pressures.

Current load ranges do not count the actual number of ply layers in a tire’s carcass. Rather, they indicate an equivalent strength relative to older bias-ply tires. Typical radial passenger-car tires have one or two body plies. LT tires (even 10-, 12- or 14-ply rated), have only two or three fabric plies or one steel-body ply. When changing tires, confirm that the load range marked on the new tire is equal to (or higher) than the load range on the original tire, and/or that the new tire’s rated load-carrying capacity meets (or exceeds) its share of the vehicle’s gross axle weight rating (gawr)."

Originally Posted by KatieVL

The problem was finding 16 ply tires. There are plenty of 14 ply in the warehouses.