LT load range E tires ride rough?

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A friend has a 1999 short bed regular cab 4WD Chevy Silverado with 235K on it. Original engine, uses no oil, runs perfect, never had a valve cover off.

He gets a tire deal from a friend of his and is very sold on Kelly Safari tires that he has run two sets. He likes everything about these tires and gets amazing milage out of them. The current set has 90K on them and has enough tread to go at least 20K more. He has had only three sets of tires on this truck, the original Firestones, and two sets of Kelly Safari to get him to 235K.

His truck is a Z71 and he unknowingly replaced the original Bilstein shocks at 70K, not because he thought it rode bad, but because he didn't know shocks could last that long. He had the shop where he gets his tires put on, install the best Monroe shocks, and he immediately hated the way it rode and drove. Back to the shop for new Bilsteins's because they had thrown his away. That was an expensive lesson. The replacement Bilstein have 135K on them and ride great. His truck handles like a sporty car.

So I'm riding with him the other day and he's telling me how great the tires work for him and indeed they ride great. He tells me they have 90K on them and that they are 10 ply. I'm thinking he must be confused because load range E tires aren't supposed to ride like this. I checked and he was right. The tires indeed seem to be amazing as he touts them.

He's running tires with over 3300 pound capacity per tire on a vehicle that is mostly used like a passenger car, but with no penalty.
 
Someone should check the specs on those tires but I think they start with around 16/32" of tread instead of the usual 11/32". Do you know what PSI he runs?
 
Inflation pressure has a lot to do with the ride quality. If your buddy is using the same inflation pressure for his LT's that is listed on the vehicle tire placard for P metric tires - well, he is running them too low. If he were to use the right inflation pressure for the LT tires, then he may have a different opinon of the ride quality.
 
I've had ONE set of Kelly Safaris mounted on a company van-they were so soft that it was impossible, even with 80 PSI in them, to keep the loaded van in 1 lane on the interstate (had them taken off & replaced with Michelin after 10 miles). That's probably why he's not bouncing around in them, and a 1/2 ton Chevy doesn't exactly have stiff rear springs as well.
 
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Ride and handling are both very subjective. He might say it rides like a "sporty car", others might not think so. I suppose an E rated tire would handle better because the relatively large sidewalls are flexing less.

Ride comfort is just one penalty of an over-rated tire. Weight and it's associated reduction in MPG is another.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Inflation pressure has a lot to do with the ride quality. If your buddy is using the same inflation pressure for his LT's that is listed on the vehicle tire placard for P metric tires - well, he is running them too low. If he were to use the right inflation pressure for the LT tires, then he may have a different opinon of the ride quality.


There's no "right" inflation pressure for LT tires. The right inflation pressure is what works for you and your application. Somewhere between 40-80psi generally. Depends on the load, the vehicle, if the tire is over/undersized.

We run LT tires on our trailers and run them at 80psi for better wear. The trucks run 65 in the drives and 50 in the steers. If were going to be hauling heavy for awhile well run them up to 80.

Its about finding the best balance of ride quality, traction and wear. 80psi is going to wear good and handle the weight well, but its going to ride like [censored] and traction will suck.

The kelly safaris we ran were not impressive.
 
Mine ride nice. I have LT Load Range E GY Silent Armor Pro Grades as OE on my Ram. They are run at 43 PSI per door card. I'm very pleased with them thus far. They are very spendy if I wanted to replace with the same. I'm glad mine came with these vs. the HPs or SRAs on other Rams.
 
E load rated tires will hurt the ride quality on a 1/2 ton. I run them on mine and only lost a bit because I keep them at 40 since my truck never really hauls anything over any distance that could heat them up. At 80 which is where they are supposed to be loaded they are like iron.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Ken2
Goodyear makes two Kelly Safari models in LR-E.

Yes, there is a "right" tire pressure. It is explained here:
http://www.goodyeartrucktires.com/pdf/resources/publications/2010_loadinflation.pdf


And the point I was trying to make was that LT tires require more inflation pressure than P type tires in order to carry the same load. Lots of folks don't know that.


That's interesting. So if a P tire carries 2100 lbs at max 44 PSI, an LT of the same size might need more than 44 PSI to carry the same weight?
 
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