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ShadowsPapa

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I was watching a video the other day that wasy saying how E rated tires were over rated when it comes to towing. They believed that the added weight and 10ply sidewalls were un necessary. But they didnt really site any info. Gave me a moment's pause where I considered an 8 ply next round of tires.

What makes you say the stock tires are flimsy? They seemed pretty good to me, just small.
I've towed fine with C and less. I've never lost a tire on a tow vehicle and I've towed some crazy loads with my antique tractor and engines.

I see the tire store charts online aren't exactly accurate - they list some low pressures for the tires like mine - mine say right on them max load 2750 max pressure 44 psi but those charts say 36 psi - what the heck is up with that? Mine have that in them now (because they were filled at about 45 or 50 degrees outside temp).
2750 per tire is more than my truck could ever dream of hauling.
I think when people start talking towing they are using maximum loads or something - not every trailer tops out at 6,000+ pounds.
A lot of how a tire will do depends on your SPEED, your care (inflations, sitting in the sun, age and so on) and more. Highways, 65 mph, moderate trailer loads.

The ply number is the "rating" - not that it has that many plies but a D or E will be a stiff tire, heavy.
The load rating letter is based on the old ply numbers, which is not a ply rating, not an actual number of plies. (Load range C is 6 ply rating - but these days they won't HAVE 6 plies, just the sidewall strength equivalent to 6 plies)

The letter ratings are rather antiquated anyway......... load INDEX is the ultimate guide these days. That's the real world "what will this tire carry" number.
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Edge Pulsar in tow mode and 315's. works perfect. Edge gives you 30 more horses they claim. It for sure makes a difference
 

concretewolf

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If it will increase your mpg and therefore range I say yes it is worth it. I am currently pulling about 5,000# and get about 9.2 mpg at 60-65 mph on Pennsylvania highways. I have 1 1/2” leveling kit and 285/75 17 tires on a Sport with max tow option. That’s a range of only 180 miles and makes for frequent stops for gas. I am considering going down in size and to BFG KO2s. My 2 cents.
 

brianinca

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33's are stock on the Rubicon, I don't see the advantage of going smaller. The payload difference comes out of the extra weight of parts and pieces vs the Max Tow.

As long as you correct the speedo and let the computer know, it should be fine.

I cant get the idea of going back to stock tires out of my head...Am i just dumb to think this would be worth it?

I keep reading on here, and other places, that the stock tire sizes are best for towing since they maintain the power for the max town and dont add any extra weight or anything. And, after looking at pictures, they dont look awful with the 2in lift and stock tires...

Am i way off here or would there be a benefit to going back to stock tire size?
 

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ShadowsPapa

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He's talking towing, not payload.
32.8 is the actual size of the Rubicon Falken A/T tires. (I know people here round up - must be bragging rights or something)

They are danged heavy tires and wheels. I had a set. That extra size and weight makes a difference in stopping, the extra diameter makes a difference in taking off from a stop mostly.
Made a difference on my truck - I lost MPG.
If his original Sport/max tow tires were 31.5" diameter (true diameter, not what people like to call them - that extra tenth only counts on your 1/4 mile track times) (guessing that's the true size?) then it's 1.3" difference in diameter. Might make the difference in an automatic hunting 8th gear or the damn thing doing a lot of shifting like mine does.
I purposely went back to the same diameter as I hate the low RPMs under load and didn't want to have the RPM drop even more on the highway than it already does.
I don't climb over big rocks or logs bigger than what's in my woods so I don't need tall tires. I didn't need tires to prove anything. I want to use it like a truck most of the time - even stock the thing will blow away a lot of other vehicles, good enough for me.
Payload and towing are both a lot more complex than the weight differences as we've seen as people here have tried to do the math and it never comes out when they try to figure it on weight differences alone.

Only YOU can decide if anything is "worth it" - asking about stock tires on a Jeep site is like asking about the bunny hill on an olympic ski site. Bigger is ALWAYS better, even when it's not.
 

brianinca

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Tire sizes are nominal. My 33x10.5 BFG KM2's were 32.5 when new and 32.2 when I swapped in the Falkens, at 32.5 measured on the JTR. The 35's I put on measured 34.5 on the big Jeep, the corrected speedometer shows 82 MPH at a GPS indicated 84 MPH, so it's damned close to perfect.

The gearing change effect from going to 31.5" to 32.5" is ~3%, you'll get more difference from a hot day affecting engine output.

He's talking towing, not payload.
32.8 is the actual size of the Rubicon Falken A/T tires. (I know people here round up - must be bragging rights or something)

They are danged heavy tires and wheels. I had a set. That extra size and weight makes a difference in stopping, the extra diameter makes a difference in taking off from a stop mostly.
Made a difference on my truck - I lost MPG.
If his original Sport/max tow tires were 31.5" diameter (true diameter, not what people like to call them - that extra tenth only counts on your 1/4 mile track times) (guessing that's the true size?) then it's 1.3" difference in diameter. Might make the difference in an automatic hunting 8th gear or the damn thing doing a lot of shifting like mine does.
I purposely went back to the same diameter as I hate the low RPMs under load and didn't want to have the RPM drop even more on the highway than it already does.
I don't climb over big rocks or logs bigger than what's in my woods so I don't need tall tires. I didn't need tires to prove anything. I want to use it like a truck most of the time - even stock the thing will blow away a lot of other vehicles, good enough for me.
Payload and towing are both a lot more complex than the weight differences as we've seen as people here have tried to do the math and it never comes out when they try to figure it on weight differences alone.

Only YOU can decide if anything is "worth it" - asking about stock tires on a Jeep site is like asking about the bunny hill on an olympic ski site. Bigger is ALWAYS better, even when it's not.
 
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So a google search of "how does tire size effect towing" gave me this response

" Bigger tires do affect a vehicle's towing capacity. Larger tires transmit less torque, which gives the truck less power, allowing less weight to be towed. The towing capacity is reduced by the same percentage of the increased tire diameter. "

Which is interesting to say the least...

According to the tire size calc its a %7 difference. With the max tow I have 7,650lbs stock.

7650*0.07 = 536lbs (rounded up) of difference with the tire size alone.

Im having a hard time finding the tire weight, and other specs, on the duelers

but the geolanders I have are (from the yokohama website)
load range E
61lbs each
3195lbs load @ 80 PSI
 

bleda2002

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So a google search of "how does tire size effect towing" gave me this response

" Bigger tires do affect a vehicle's towing capacity. Larger tires transmit less torque, which gives the truck less power, allowing less weight to be towed. The towing capacity is reduced by the same percentage of the increased tire diameter. "

Which is interesting to say the least...

According to the tire size calc its a %7 difference. With the max tow I have 7,650lbs stock.

7650*0.07 = 536lbs (rounded up) of difference with the tire size alone.

Im having a hard time finding the tire weight, and other specs, on the duelers

but the geolanders I have are (from the yokohama website)
load range E
61lbs each
3195lbs load @ 80 PSI
That would be true if torque/power was the limiting factor in the tow rating. The sae standard has so many parameters that have to be met to set a tow rating that it's impossible to know which one was the limit.

While the new sae standard is great in making apples to apples and being grueling enough to really stress vehicles the issue with it being where tow ratings come from is that 90% of the time people aren't towing up a steep grade above 90 degrees for long periods of time. It would be nice to see the break down or the rating such as what weight the brakes can handle, how much weight pushes the truck around too much etc.
 
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Gren71

Gren71

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That would be true if torque/power was the limiting factor in the tow rating. The sae standard has so many parameters that have to be met to set a tow rating that it's impossible to know which one was the limit.

While the new sae standard is great in making apples to apples and being grueling enough to really stress vehicles the issue with it being where tow ratings come from is that 90% of the time people aren't towing up a steep grade above 90 degrees for long periods of time. It would be nice to see the break down or the rating such as what weight the brakes can handle, how much weight pushes the truck around too much etc.
It sure would.

Im working a deal to probably get a set of take offs with tpms sensors for super cheap.

so this is turning into a costly experiment:facepalm: but hopefully with a positive result
 

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Gren71

Gren71

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Well fellas, the deed is done.

Jeep Gladiator worth it to go back? 19E09455-7518-4263-82F9-36C1FF1AAE62


tested it and tpms are all working. First thing i noticed…my turning radius is back to what it used to be!

found a phenomenal deal. 4 tires w/3k miles on them and tpms sensors still in. $250

i also snagged some 17in black steel jeep oem rims for $200. Incase I decide not to use the rubi take off rims i had on before.
 

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Im having a hard time finding the tire weight, and other specs, on the duelers

but the geolanders I have are (from the yokohama website)
load range E
61lbs each
3195lbs load @ 80 PSI
I just swapped my wheels for a set of Rubicon upgrade take-offs with the MT tires. The Rubicon 33s are significantly heavier, not dedicated enough to take one off to weigh it for you :) but the stock Bridgestone AT wheel/tire combo weighs 55lbs according to the bathroom scale I brought out to the garage. A quick search turned up another post confirming this weight and showing the Rubicon standard wheel at 23 lbs, tire 64lbs. So you're looking at a difference of ~30lb per wheel
 
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Gren71

Gren71

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I just swapped my wheels for a set of Rubicon upgrade take-offs with the MT tires. The Rubicon 33s are significantly heavier, not dedicated enough to take one off to weigh it for you :) but the stock Bridgestone AT wheel/tire combo weighs 55lbs according to the bathroom scale I brought out to the garage. A quick search turned up another post confirming this weight and showing the Rubicon standard wheel at 23 lbs, tire 64lbs. So you're looking at a difference of ~30lb per wheel
Thanks!! That’s actually the weight i ball parked by feel while swapping then today.
 

Kevin_D

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Most tires have a 2-ply sidewall, regardless of load range.
BF Goodrich used to have a LT tire, load range E, with a three ply sidewall. I ran a set on my F250 that I put a heavy 10-ft. camper in, and the tires would barely compress. They were wonderful with the camper, but handling sucked otherwise: no sidewall flex.

I agree that load range E is overkill on the Gladiator.

And I’ve not run anything but stock size tires, and I enjoy the ride, the handling, the fuel economy, and the load capacity.

Kevin
 
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Gren71

Gren71

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Most tires have a 2-ply sidewall, regardless of load range.
BF Goodrich used to have a LT tire, load range E, with a three ply sidewall. I ran a set on my F250 that I put a heavy 10-ft. camper in, and the tires would barely compress. They were wonderful with the camper, but handling sucked otherwise: no sidewall flex.

I agree that load range E is overkill on the Gladiator.

And I’ve not run anything but stock size tires, and I enjoy the ride, the handling, the fuel economy, and the load capacity.

Kevin
That’s very good to hear. And I really appreciate all the people that are actually supportive of stepping backwards to the stock size tires. On other jeep forms in the past if you ever talk about going smaller you basically just get ridiculed off the website.

i’m already researching what’s tire to get next in the same size since the ones I have on are two years old but with low mileage. I’m no tire expert but I’d like to think a two-year old tire is more likely to dry out even at low mileage than a brand new tire. So I may end up with even more new rubber here at some point.

but to get four tires and four rims and 40th PMS sensors for $250, it was a steal
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