Tires C load to E load ride quality

[Swegian]

The Falken AT4W in 33, 34, or 35" can be had in C rating.

Just put a set on our Glad, Put a set on our JLU 6 months ago.

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[mtudb24]

I went from E rated 35x112.50R17's in General Grabber ATx's to D rated KO2 BFG OWL in 37x12.50R17 and noticed no difference whatsoever.
Just a FYI

 

[Sandman 4x4]

Another consideration is the weight of the tires, the C rated tire will weigh about 20-40 lbs more, that will effect the mileage and also ride quality also in the way that unsprung weight makes the shocks work harder to control the extra weight and keep them in the ground. Like advised above, look at the BFG C KO2’s. If ride and mileage in every day commuting means anything, find the lightest tire at 32”.

 

[CKayaks]

C will be fine since you're mostly a daily driver. If you were towing or hard offroading, the stiffer sidewalks of the Es would be a benefit.

I swapped my oem Firestone MTs for KO3s. I've been using the KOs on various vehicles for years. Great tire. Make sure to get them road balanced the KO2s had some out of round issues. KO3s reports seem better.

Also, do the chalk test to sort out what psi to run. (Google it) with the E rated KO3s on the Gladiator, I run at 33psi.

 

[KevinC]

Another consideration is the weight of the tires, the C rated tire will weigh about 20-40 lbs more, that will effect the mileage and also ride quality also in the way that unsprung weight makes the shocks work harder to control the extra weight and keep them in the ground. Like advised above, look at the BFG C KO2’s. If ride and mileage in every day commuting means anything, find the lightest tire at 32”.

Not sure you meant a C rated tire is 20-40 lbs more, but that is incorrect information.

Using BFG KO2's as an example, the weight difference between a C and D Rated tire is around 8 lbs.

LT 37X12.50R17 124R D RWL	36.5"	12.5"	8.5-11"	10"	15/32"	D	3525 lbs	50 psi	71.3 lbs	569
LT 37X12.50R17 116S C BSW	36.5"	12.5"	8.5-11"	10"	15/32"	C	2755 lbs	45 psi	63 lbs	569

 

[Deleted member 52902]

The BF's which are on my 2022 Gladiator when I bought it, are loud. Probably very good off-road but II am older and no longer play in the dirt. I use my Gladiator like gee, a real truck that is just smaller than my former full-size. for my driving, I hate these AT tires every day I drive them for the noise. Not so great on pavement with snow, especially ice . My happy place until I finally wear out these BF's, is that I have BRIDGESTONE Duelers mounted on my alternate wheels. In the coming weeks when the pavement is consistently under about 40 degrees, I will happily swap this onto the JEEP. Quiet as can be. Stopping distance dry, wet, ice or snow is outstanding. The soft compound tread ead rolls off the carcass quickly when pavement is dry and warm but for Winter, these are the cats meow. Really quiet on the dry as noted above. Handling and steering on dry pavement is nice too.

Not saying the BF's are bad tires. Tough hombres they are. Multi-purpose is good but if this is your daily driver shoes, you're going to hear them just a bit. If its looks your after, decent in that category too. Looks are not what I care about. Stopping distance wet or dry, narrower carcass and don't care that my JEEP loses the wider Rubicon wheels and BF's the first owner (bought it from my neighbor) put on this Sport S. Wish he had kept the original narrower wheels instead but at least looks-wise on the street is cool. Just not what I personally would want if the truck for optimal daily pavement driver. In my ideal world, I'd either have a second, JEEP Wrangler for off-road primary task and the Gladiator equipped with E-range street dry and rain optimized tread . With my snow tire wheels in the barn for roughly 9 months out of the year.

The Swiss Army master of none approach has its pros and cons. Your tire use , personal preferences + pocket book matter more than any one of us can suggest.

 

[Harvieux]

I have Firestone AT2 255/75/17 which are a C load. Looking at 285/70/17 Firestine XT or BFG K03 which are E load.
Should I expect a drastic change going to an E load.
I do 95% on road daily driver.

I went with the Nitto Ridge Grappler 35 X 11.5 X 17 E and the AEV 3" lift with Bilstein 8100s due to being quite heavily rigged for extreme overlanding. I followed 'Trail Recon's' set up and had Shift Auto out of Escondido, CA do the work. I also went with polished 4:88 gearing. Took a hit on fuel mileage but can actually get to 8th gear quite a bit more than the stock 4:11s. I think the Nitto's, suspension, and shocks provide a very nice ride on the road without a huge difference in ride quality over the stock 33" Wild Peak "C" and stock Mohave Fox's. Expensive as heck for this set-up, however, it would have been much more cost effective doing this on a Rubi or other than a Mohave.

 

[Stan H]

Not sure you meant a C rated tire is 20-40 lbs more, but that is incorrect information.

Using BFG KO2's as an example, the weight difference between a C and D Rated tire is around 8 lbs.

LT 37X12.50R17 124R D RWL	36.5"	12.5"	8.5-11"	10"	15/32"	D	3525 lbs	50 psi	71.3 lbs	569
LT 37X12.50R17 116S C BSW	36.5"	12.5"	8.5-11"	10"	15/32"	C	2755 lbs	45 psi	63 lbs	569

But the protection difference against rocks and sidewall puncture and load capacity is greatly reduced.
Also C rated tires ride in a straight line very well but handle in curves like crap unless aired way up. As the tires roll over is much greater.

 

[Darth Rubicon]

I have Firestone AT2 255/75/17 which are a C load. Looking at 285/70/17 Firestine XT or BFG K03 which are E load.
Should I expect a drastic change going to an E load.
I do 95% on road daily driver.

I don’t know if I would say drastic but you will notice. I went from a C to an E and could definitely tell.

 

[Rufus]

I've gone from C to D and C to E and both times it was immediately noticeable how much rougher they rode off-road. There are many good C rated choices in a 285/70. Unfortunately, not so much in 315/70 or 35x12.50. So, so, so many rigs on 35s should be on C rated tires yet tire manufacturers won't make them in most tires for some reason.

 

[Stan H]

I've gone from C to D and C to E and both times it was immediately noticeable how much rougher they rode off-road. There are many good C rated choices in a 285/70. Unfortunately, not so much in 315/70 or 35x12.50. So, so, so many rigs on 35s should be on C rated tires yet tire manufacturers won't make them in most tires for some reason.

Cause they will bust

 

[MT1]

Interesting opinions on this thread... which is cool, and helps understand the "why" behind the choices. "Why" in this case is the smart decision for each person's usage.

Getting back to the OP's Q:

Yes, you will notice going from C to E, on and off road, even when dropping the PSI to match the load range.

If you like the ride you have now with C, and it fits your needs, you should probably stay with load C.

If you want a firmer ride, or need a stronger or more cut resistant sidewall, you should probably go to D or E.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

Not sure you meant a C rated tire is 20-40 lbs more, but that is incorrect information.

Using BFG KO2's as an example, the weight difference between a C and D Rated tire is around 8 lbs.

LT 37X12.50R17 124R D RWL	36.5"	12.5"	8.5-11"	10"	15/32"	D	3525 lbs	50 psi	71.3 lbs	569
LT 37X12.50R17 116S C BSW	36.5"	12.5"	8.5-11"	10"	15/32"	C	2755 lbs	45 psi	63 lbs	569

Ok I should have posted LT tires will weigh more than passenger rated tires. It’s difficult to get the weights of comparable tires. But on Tire Rack a Micheline Defender LTX is 40 lbs. a Mickey Thompson Baja Boss is 57 lbs. both the same size. I will add at extreme ends a Laufenn HT is 38 lbs, the same size as the 57 lb Mickey.

 

[Pismo61]

C will be fine since you're mostly a daily driver. If you were towing or hard offroading, the stiffer sidewalks of the Es would be a benefit.

I swapped my oem Firestone MTs for KO3s. I've been using the KOs on various vehicles for years. Great tire. Make sure to get them road balanced the KO2s had some out of round issues. KO3s reports seem better.

Also, do the chalk test to sort out what psi to run. (Google it) with the E rated KO3s on the Gladiator, I run at 33psi.

Yep my 285/70/17 ko2s seem to be finicky this time around.I get a very very tiny vibratration in the steering wheel between 60 and 65 mph.70 mph plus or under 60 smooth as butter.They also were road forced by Discount tire.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I have Firestone AT2 255/75/17 which are a C load. Looking at 285/70/17 Firestine XT or BFG K03 which are E load.
Should I expect a drastic change going to an E load.
I do 95% on road daily driver.

For me, D rated has been my perfect happy medium. I can still load them up and tow reasonable things, but they’re not harsh like E. And they still wrinkle up and conform to the rocks when aired down off road.

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