Community Forums

busterbrown1 · 02-17-2016, 03:15 AM

I'm in the market for new tires for my 2008 Yukon XL Denali. Would like to get a few opinions on a good set of rubbers that have limit sidewall flex but aren't abusive to passengers when the truck is unhitched. I've been reading about Michelin LTX M/S2 (load and speed is 113H). They are more expensive than I'd like but seem to have great ratings.

On the lower end, I've seen good reviews of Cooper Discoverer H/T plus. The load rating is higher on these at 117; speed is only T. Other tires I've been looking at at BFG Long Trail T/A Tours, Michelin Defender LTX M/S (113T), and an A/T tire, Cooper Discoverer A/TW.

Just wondering if it's worth going with an aggressive tread pattern tire A/TW. The primary use of the Yukon will be towing a pull behind. Our minivan is our grocery getter.

drdarrin · 02-17-2016, 07:32 AM

I, just last weekend, put new tires on the rear end of my 3500 DRW. I went with the Cooper HT primarily because of cost ($617 out of the door inc. road hazard and rotation ) and mileage (60k). Time will tell if this was a good choice or not.

IMHO, unless I was going to spend significant time off road, I wouldn't want tires with an aggressive tread design.

SmokeyWren · 02-17-2016, 08:52 AM

Speed rating H is 130 MPH max. You don't need that much speed rating on an SUV tire.

Speed rating T is 118 MPH. You don't need that much either.

Q = 99 MPH
R = 106
S = 112

Q speed rating is all I need on a half-ton tow vehicle, but most of the better tires have S or higher speed rating.

Load index 113 is almost 2,500 pounds, or almost 5,000 pounds max on the rear axle. That's probably all you need on a Yukon XL (= Chevy Suburban)

114 = 2600 pounds
115 = 2680
116 = 2755
117 = 2835
118 = 2910
119 = 2270
120 = 3085
121 = 3195

Load index 121 is common on three-quarter ton pickups, but most half-ton SUVs and pickups max out at 113. Check your rear GAWR. I'll bet it's a lot less than 5,000 pounds.

RPr · 03-12-2016, 10:35 PM

No load the "P" tires on the F150 are inflated to 32 lbs per factory recommendation. DW complains about rough ride.

Towing the TT the "P" tires are inflated to 40 psi because I like the feel of the TV. The DW does not mind the towing ride.

I do not need the grief of and LT ride, others find the LT ride just fine.

Only you can decide what you want from your tires. How much over the axle rating do you need your tires to be?

1bigmess · 03-13-2016, 10:16 AM

I have never towed anything heavy with Michelin LTX tires, but those will be what I use next.

Speed rating is not an indication of tire quality until you start to approach that rating limit. Almost worthless info for an SUV or towing until, again, you start getting close to those limits. And I believe that at 100MPH on public roads, all bets are off anyways. Mr Murphy likes to play tricks on you at those speeds by shoving someone right in your path or popping a tire.

I thought I'd do a good turn and buy tires at my local Les Schwab. I won't do that again. When the time comes, I'll wait for a coupon from Costco for four Michelin tires and get the right LTXs for my needs. I'd had them before on two different SUVs, and they were extremely good tires I only towed a light utility trailer with those tires, but they lasted more than 60K miles and had great traction on the road, even on ice (with appropriate driving skills and care, of course).

Make mine Michelin!

ricndot · 03-13-2016, 12:33 PM

speed ratings are based on tests, not recommended speeds.generally, higher speed rated tires will handle better at all speeds because of stiffer sidewalls and resistance to heat build up, especially under load. never replace a tire with one of lower speed rating than what the oem put on your vehicle. do not mix different speed rated tires on you vehicle.i went with the cooper discoverer h/t plus to replace my goodyear wrangler sr-a. same size, with a higher speed AND load rating than oem. have about 10,000 miles on them so far and they seem to be doing just fine, thank you.
google is your friend

1bigmess · 03-13-2016, 03:31 PM

Tires rated for towing higher weights will have stiffer sidewalls and be more resistant to heat build up also.

Tires deform more importantly in the tread than the sidewall at high rotational speeds. Resisting this type of deformation doesn't seem unpretentious in my mind to towing where the tire is inflated to a high(er) pressure to carry a high(er) weight.

And, as always, I could be totally wrong in many ways, but being wrong is how I learn.

I guess tire consumers can simply pick their poison, or the best balance of both worlds. High speed or high weight capacity.

Cummins12V98 · 03-14-2016, 11:05 AM

MS2's you won't regret it! Price Discount Tire and Costco.

1bigmess · 03-14-2016, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

Tires deform more importantly in the tread than the sidewall at high rotational speeds. Resisting this type of deformation doesn't seem unpretentious (damned auto-correct! important in my mind to towing where the tire is inflated to a high(er) pressure to carry a high(er) weight and is being done at lower speeds than what someone would be able to do when not towing.

As we all know, the system here on the forum won't allow editing after a certain amount of time, so I have to do it this way to make a couple of corrections to my previous post (all in bold).

smurfsofwar · 03-16-2016, 10:37 PM

I am a rabid follower of the BFG ATs and will likely never stray. I know you are on the fence about an AT but if you are considering- I'd give them a good hard look. I ran the LT E range on my 1500 and kept them at 55 at all times. Eliminated that squirrely feeling and rode quite nice with very little road noise and surprisingly did not really impact mileage. They have a tank-tough sidewall and don't flex much at all. Awesome wear life too.

Where I live a decent work 'n play tire pretty much HAS to be an AT.

cwsqbm · 03-17-2016, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smurfsofwar

I am a rabid follower of the BFG ATs and will likely never stray. I know you are on the fence about an AT but if you are considering- I'd give them a good hard look. I ran the LT E range on my 1500 and kept them at 55 at all times. Eliminated that squirrely feeling and rode quite nice with very little road noise and surprisingly did not really impact mileage. They have a tank-tough sidewall and don't flex much at all. Awesome wear life too.

Where I live a decent work 'n play tire pretty much HAS to be an AT.

I like the BFG AT too (on my truck currently), but for a pure street tire I've preferred the Michelen LTX M/S. Unless a truck is used off-road, AT tires are overkill.

SmokeyWren · 03-19-2016, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smurfsofwar

I am a rabid follower of the BFG ATs and will likely never stray.

The first set of replacement tires I put on my '99.5 F-250 diesel were BFG All-Terrain T/A. The tires lasted 25,000 miles, the same as the OEM General tires. So then I mounted Michelin XPS Traction and that set lasted over 40,000 miles. The Michelins cost a bit more than the BFG, but because they lasted longer they were cost effective. So I wore out three sets of XPS before I sold that tow vehicle.

But the XPS is available in only a few 16" sizes. So for my F-150 that came with 18" Michelin LTX A/S, I'll probably replace them with Michelin LTX M/S2.

Atlee · 03-27-2016, 09:21 PM

My 2014 F150 4x4 HD pkg pickup came with BF Goodrich LT245/75R17 LRE Rugged Trail T/A. I have 22K on the truck already, and the tires do not look any worse for wear than when they were new. I keep them inflated 55 psi in front, and 60 psi in rear. That's what's on the placard on the truck.

SDCOToyhaul · 03-31-2016, 06:55 AM

My Son had almost the identical vehicle and pulled a 30' TT behind. Had many of white knuckle rides when windy. He had the equalizer hitch but tires were the problem. Think he went with Mechelin E load tires and the difference was quite significant. He was glad he did. That said, having a higher load rated tire doesn't mean having a higher load capacity. Just a more stable tire.