mikmaze

wow, 28 years in th business and still pasionate..... thankx for all the info, no comments on the kumho's?

LonestarCTD

That looks like a pretty aggressive tread design. I don't have 1st hand experience with that particular Kumho tire, but it's been our experience that the Kumho wears a bit fast, and more so on mud terrain tires. Unless you're gonna get a great deal on some, I'd stick to something more common. I had a customer come in with some Truxxus mudders one day and he couldn't believe they were wearing so fast. They were EXTREMELY aggressive so it wasn't that surprising to me. The guy's vehicle had a bit of toe in and was wearing the tire on the inside shoulder. With any other tire, he probably would have had time to find the problem and fix it, with mud tires on pavement, you don't get too much time to see what might be wrong or misaligned on the front end. In the mud, those tires would probably have done wonderful, but commuting back and forth to work is not what they were made for. So, my best advice is to do plenty of checking and then make an informed decision. Looks aren't everything if you're wanting a good long lasting but functional tire. I've seen many a customer come ranting about how their BFG mud terrains weren't getting good wear. They weren't designed to wear like a road tire or even an all terrain so you can't expect them to last like them either. Hope this helps.

mikmaze

thanx yes it does, I will most likely stay away from them even tho they are 630 for a set of 4 + shipping which puts them over 800.

RowJ

Great info Lonestar!
Just to avoid confusion..... Toyo no longer lists an M55 AT tire. I was told this tire is now the Open Country MT. Correct?
That's the only 285/75/16 E they list anywhere, so I assume I'm correct?

Also, Can you answer why no mfg makes a 315 or a 35x12.5 in an E rating?

RJ

AggieJustin

RJ-

Toyo still shows the M55 on their website in a 285/75R16E. Here's the size/spec sheet they have up.

http://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_specsheet.cfm?id=11

Even more interesting, the BFG page now shows the A/T KO in 285/75R16E as well. Those weren't around when I bought my last set.

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/asset...rain_ta_kd.pdf

BobQ

Being a newbee, can some one explain the load rating, E-D and side wall, 2 or 3 ply, and the effects I will see? or why I would want one or the other.

Thanks Bob

RowJ

Justin, Interesting! I spent two hrs on the web deciding on my new tires. Never saw them.
How come not listed here... ??
http://www.teamtoyo.com/products/

BOBQ - See here... http://auto.howstuffworks.com/tire.htm

RJ

Brock

i saw them on the toyo website myself yesterday.....listed as M55

Toyo Tires

AggieJustin

No idea. Untill I would be able to buy them somewhere, or hear about someone else buying them. I'd probably chalk both of them up to incorrect website info. Although if I can get some BFGs in load range E, I'll go for them. I've had good experience with the BFGs so far, and I can pick them up pretty easy at Discount Tire (where I also like the warranty). I just keep an eye on the installer when it's being worked on.

RickCJ

I see a lot of the same comments!
You can't remeber how good the old tire was new, then when you buy new tires you comment on how much better they are than your old worn out tires!?!

I have to disagree with LonestarCTD, no way I'd put Cooper on any of my trucks! Toyo I don't know, no one sells them around here, I have heard of them on some ricers, not on a truck!

The best mileage would be the top of the line Michelins not much traction off/road. 60-70K
BFG A/T KO's best all around tire, I'm not including there cheap Long Trail or Rugged Trail tires, very good mileage close to Michelin. 50-60K
The rest of the tires are a distance 3rd. 20-50K and not as good of traction as BFG and not enough less in the price differance to be worth it.

The reason BFG isn't a E ply is you need the right tire for the job! 285/75 is not the right tire for heavy hauling! Too tall to have the sidewall strength!

I have 2 kinds of customers the ones who want the best or the ones who want the cheapest. Michelin or BFG the best or I sell a lot of Kuhmo's. I think they are better than Coopers and cheaper!

BobQ

I was not able to figure out the difference between a D and E rating?

Thanks Bob

RowJ

D rated tire is a 3 ply sidewall.
E rated tire is a 8 ply...maybe 10.
E rating is strong tire for heavy towing and/or off roading. Also holds much higher tire pressure ..... usually 80 psi vs 50-65 psi.... and rides very stiff!

Dodge specifies... and comes with E rated tires. Many here run D rated with good sucess if not towing heavy.

RJ

LonestarCTD

Ok, I see a LOT of confusion here relating to load range ratings, so I'll clear them up.
Load Range C = 6 ply rating, usually a 2 or 3 ply sidewall
Load Range D = 8 ply rating, can be 2 or 3 ply sidewall
Load Range E = 10 ply rating, can be 2 or 3 ply sidewall, BFG just came out with a 3 ply sidewall on their 285's in the All Terrain. If you're towing heavy loads on a regular basis, an E load rating is recommended.
To Rick, I see that you're in PA, which anyone who's been to southwest Texas will tell you is NOTHING like Texas, weather-wise. We see regular temps in the summer of 95-110 degrees and mostly in the 100's normally. I agree, the Michelin is the BEST tire on the road, but they DON'T make a 285 tire. If they did then I'd recommend it hands down. I know that Michelin owns/builds BFG, but the AT still doesn't have the TRACTION that the other two tires in my list had. The Toyo M55 and Cooper Discoverer S/T are very similar in style with an aggressiveness that's bordering on mud-terrain without sacrificing mileage. As for the Coopers, I also agree, there are several styles and series of Cooper tires that I wouldn't recommend. I wouldn't put a Cooper tire on any car. I would hands down recommend a Michelin. BUT, the Discoverer S/T is the exception. It's track record with our shop and other shops has been impressive. I know the BFG All Terrain is legendary, I sell a ton of them, but in a head-to-head comparison, and I'm not talking one set, but MANY sets, a shop north of San Antonio consistently had customers coming back with MORE miles on this tire than the BFG. I took mileage into consideration when I posted my list. Even if both the Cooper and BFG were deadlocked in mileage, when you pull off the road and get into some slick mud the BFG WILL clog up, and the Cooper will sling itself clean. All you have to do is look at the tread design. The BFG has a much more restrictive shoulder design whereas the Cooper has larger more openly spaced shoulder blocks which in turn will clean out better. It's a design issue more than anything. If it wasn't for the additional traction that the Cooper provides, I believe it would be a tie between the two. As for the Toyo M55, if you haven't seen one, then you haven't seen a tire that will run the others into the ground. They're hard to find and some areas of the country just don't carry them as much as others. The combination of toughness, traction, AND mileage are what make it hard to beat. I'm not saying that some people won't get better mileage with the BFG. What I'm saying is that when you make a comparison based on all three of those factors, then you will see the difference in the Toyo. You mentioned selling Kumho tires. I don't sell them because I don't want customers yelling at me later that their tires didn't last. I have a cousin that bought some Kumho Mud tires from Brand X. It took him all of THREE, yes you read that right, 3 months to wear them out on the BACK of his truck. We still sell predominantly Michelin, BFG, Toyo Open Country, Cooper, & Bridgestone tires. But, when I have a customer that cuts and chips their BFG's to the bone and want a better alternative, I point them to the Toyo M55 and never look back. But, that is in the 265 or 285 size ONLY. If you're running LT235/85R16 size tires, then the ULTIMATE tire to run is the Michelin XPS Traction, hands down. Other than the Hummer-like price, they are the BEST of the best. All steel construction with no filler. They're as bullet proof as they come and consistently excel in mileage. Hope this helps to get some of the confusion straightened out

displacedtexan

So how did they get it right with the S/T? i too have had bad experiences with Cooper, and was never gonna buy another set, untill I found out hoe many people were amazed with the S/Ts.

I am leaving in about 45 min to get the S/Ts mounted. $720 for the set.

RickCJ

They didn't!!!
Lonestar must be a Cooper dealer! In PA we see a lot bigger variety of weather and terrain here. The BFG A/T KO's are the only tires on our list with the severe weather rating, I guess that doesn't mean much in Texas unless you get one of those freak snow storms. BFG gets very good traction and very good milage, period. This is the best all around tire.
By the way you need to compare the Cooper S/T to the BFG Mud Terrain, the S/T is more of a mud tire than an all terrain! I have a customers truck in the shop rigt now and he has about 15K on them and they are about 1/2 tread.