Tsl...total Miles?

[shaun89]

im looking into some 38x15x16 TSL's and i no their bias, and they wear out faster, but how many miles really, can u put on them before they are completely done? my friend has boggers and he has 12k on them and they are pretty much done, will TSL's last longer?

 

[Greg72]

Depends on whether you drive with a locker around town (chews them up in the rear). Driving style (of course) and proper inflation.....

Most guys I have talked too run WAY too much pressure in their TSLs on the street. I run about 17psi on the street and that's about perfect for the load rating of the tire and the amount of ACTUAL weight that each tire sees...

I've run to Moab and back on the highway...Pismo and back a few times....Hollister many times....and done other driving around town. I've still got plenty of tread left.

Another thing that most people ignore is balance/truing of TSLs....yes, it costs money...but if you want them to run nicely on the road and not hop and chatter, it's a necessity.

You could probably get 15K-20K out of a set of TSLs if you take it easy... they'll never be a long-wearing tire though.

 

[shaun89]

awesome, i know for balancing i would use air soft pellets, ive heard 10oz for each tire or so, but truing? ive never heard of that? i guess im still a stupid teenager.

 

[Greg72]

awesome, i know for balancing i would use air soft pellets, ive heard 10oz for each tire or so, but truing? ive never heard of that? i guess im still a stupid teenager.

This is truing:

Unless you get REALLY lucky...you won't get 4 round TSLs from the factory. They are more egg-shaped. Truing is the process of cutting off the high spots so that they run round and perfect. It makes a huge difference.

SIMPLE TEST:

Get your tires nice and warm (no bias ply flat spots). Jack up the truck and throw jackstands under both axles.

Spin each tire by hand and "sight" across the top of the tread as it spins slowly.....if the tire tread has bumps or dips as you watch it, then you know it's never going to run smoothly down the road. Balancing does not equal roundness.... you can balance an egg-shaped tire perfectly, and it will still bounce you all around on the highway.

You can also do a SEARCH on the term "tire truing" in this forum and find my original post about that day when I had my tires done. The difference on the highway was dramatic.

 

[shaun89]

wow....thanks for all the help man, i didnt even know that existed.

 

[shaun89]

i almost forgot, do you know anywhere that is done?

 

[Greg72]

Here's the link to the original post:

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86909&highlight=tire+truing


Amermac makes the truing equipment, but I don't know of any shops on the East Coast (yet) that own one. I had that procedure done somewhere north of Fremont, CA. IIRC.

 

[shaun89]

oo ok,i guess ill start the search for one on the east coast and ill let u no. but again thanks for all the help, this is reeeeallly cool.

 

[tRustyK5]

I have 15,000 miles on my 39.5" TSL's currently. I have about 25-40% left on em, never had em balanced or trued. They won't make you think you're riding in a caddy, but they run reasonably smooth down the highway. I'll probably get 20,000 or so out of them.

I do plan on some 35-37" AT's for much better longevity, fuel mileage and highway comfort, just need to the get the NV4500 installed first.

20,000 miles is not good life for tires as spendy as TSL's can be IMO.

Rene

 

[k5blazerus]

I have had 4 pairs of swampers. a set of ssr's and 3 sets of tsl's bias. I never got more then a year on a set of 38 bias tsl. I had almost 2 years on ssr's