CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

35" Tires, recommendations for hiway driving

I bought H2's for my Burb several years ago, obviously came with the BFG A/T's so far I really like them, they do pretty decently off road, when I was doing that with the truck in Arizona. There were a few times I had the older style of BFG M/T's on it, they were pretty awesome gripping off road, surprised me actually, but they were a bit too noisy for my taste and they vibrated going down the road.

BFG A/T's went back on and have been on ever since.

driven the truck a bit in Indiana snow a few years back, it didn't seem to do too bad, never slid or anything, I can't say anything good or bad about them on the snow as I really haven't driven it enough to give a good opinion.

They are a bit pricey though in that 315/70/17 size... usually right close to $300 out the door. :doah:
 
I really like my 315/75r16 Goodyear Duratracs. They are awesome on the highway and they are killer in snow, mud and ICE.
 
I went with BFG AT's and they are great, thanks for the advice!

Brian
 
i run TOYO open country mt's and have a Detroit in the back and have no problems at 75 MPH rain or shine
 
And since this is your thread, just want to put this out there for you. For additional traction, ride comfort, and lower speeds: air them down. At most 20PSI.

I use these things annually for about a week, hunting in the mountains with terrible potholed logging roads, snow, and light mud, the difference between 40-35PSI and 15-20PSI in ride quality alone is near miraculous, and the difference in traction in snow (in particular) is noticeable as well. I can't emphasize this enough. I've said a 50% increase in ride comfort before, and I mean it. It is not boast. The truck goes from actual rattling sounds everywhere when you hit a pothole, to maybe a couple of squeaks when you hit something. Not to mention the feeling of being thrown into the roof when the truck bounces through a particularly nasty section of road.

Yes, airing down means you don't want to be flying along the freeway at 70MPH, but since BFG themselves talks about airing them down, it's not like you are breaking some rule. My impression is that the sidewalls are incredibly stiff, which is why less air helps so much. Obviously you need to get air back in them if you are going to be generating heat on high traction surfaces, but for prolonged periods of poorer traction conditions and slower speeds, it makes life better.

I've got the x10.5's on my truck, so getting those wider helps, but with enough air out of them, even in shallow snow, the lugs on the side of the tire are able to do more work. Not only are you increasing the contact surface with the ground, you are also increasing bite into the potentially softer snow to the sides, which helps traction immensely vs. already packed down stuff.

If you haven't tried it, do. I've ridden in newer IFS rigs, and I've had people who drive IFS rigs ride in my truck with the tires aired down. The ride is equivalent, if not better, when I'm aired down than in the IFS trucks. I always assumed IFS rode better all the time, until I aired down. I just figured airing down was for those who were really serious going way offroad. Nope.
 
Mine call for 50psi in them, I run them at that pressure on highway trips to try to aide in fuel mileage, but yeah, they do ride a bit harsher. When it was running and I was driving around in Ft.Wayne area of Indiana, the roads there SUCK, so they got aired down to about 30 and was a MUCH better ride. Anything lower than that and the tires start to squish out a bit too much for my liking.
 
just gotta watch wear with long term pressures high and low... I've pretty much always run anything on the street in the 30 to 35 range... long highway ride, sure, bump it up.. week of fireroads, sure, go to 20.. but for overall every day running, 32..
 
What you should run pressure-wise is based on what your vehicle calls for, of course during "normal" driving. The K5's are what, all 35PSI, but I know for instance the 16" wheels (3/5; 1 tons) are a lot higher.

If you were running around at 20 all year, of course wear is going to be major issue, as would running them at 50. I'm just talking about the periods you get a snow storm or something, where you aren't generating heat, which I believe is the only issue (well, and peeling tires off the bead but be smart about it, and even pushing the truck hard I've never had a problem) in running lower pressures.

Put it like this...if I'm going to use 4WD, I air down, assuming I can air back up and it's not just for five minutes. I took a nail and made a tool so I can safely depress the stem, let as much air out as the valve will flow, and still wear gloves to air down. Air shooting out of the stem on your hand gets cold pretty quick when it's below freezing. :) I'm sure someone makes something fancy, but it cost more than a nail and a couple minutes with the air cutoff tool.
 
I work as a tire technician and we sell more Nitto Trail Grapplers than any other mud tire. They are quiet on road if you take care of them and will last quite a while. Especially if you go with a 10 ply instead of P metric. Just my .02
 
Top Bottom