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Traumer
Dodge Dakota
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12/06/2002
17:05:01
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 Subject: P vs. LT Rating
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I have an 01 4x2 Quad Cab that came with the GoodYear LS 255/65/16 tire package. On what I would consider fairly tame driving (mostly street with a couple of camping trips... I use the Bronco for the serious stuff) Anyway I've already had 3 flat tires. 2 of which were non-repairable (P.O.S.) Needless to say, I'm switching to some A/T's a little sooner than anticipated. I have Dunlop M/T's on the Bronco but wanted more of a compromise for the Dakota. After reviewing Tirerack.com and checking them out in person I decided to go with the Bridgestone A/T Revo's. My question is:
P275/70R16 or
LT265/75R16
I've done the calculations and understand the first one is a little wider and a little shorter, but how big a difference is the P vs. the LT rating. I've done some searches on this board and on google and the answers are always kind of neutral. A little better ride on street vs. better load bearing capacity. I don't tow very often but I don't want to worry about a more agressive off-roading either.
Thoughts? Sorry for getting wordy...
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mrhotwheels
Dodge Dakota
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12/06/2002
20:30:23
|  RE: P vs. LT Rating
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I used to work for Goodyear and I can tell you that the Eagle LS is a good tire but not a good truck tire. Also, the number of flats you get has nothing to do with the brand or style. It is just bad friggen luck. Your only saving grace may be if the tires have large enough tread blocks that a nail may not reach all the way throught the tread and into the tire liner. As far as the differences go between a LT tire and a P tire go there are quite a few. LT stands for light truck. LT have a load range of C,D, or E. That is 6,8 or 10 ply. They also usually have a higher load capacity and they use a greater psi. P stands for passenger. They are usually 4 ply. Some P metric tires have a xtra load rating and can handle more load than regular p metric tires. Lt tires tend to ride much stiffer than p metric tires unless you run a low air pressure. If you do that you increase tire wear,fuel consumption and decrease pay load capacity. I would personally use a p metric tire on your truck. I would use the Pirelli Scorpion Zero is a 275/60/16. The sizes you thought of are too tall and will decrease acceleration by quite a bit and throw your speedometer off.
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Traumer
Dodge Dakota
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12/07/2002
13:23:30
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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Thanks for the response. I know you're right about the bad luck part but needed to vent since I've never had that "bad friggen luck" with any of my other tires/vehicles and they wouldn't compensate me at all under their warranty policy. Only 17K miles and so much tread left it makes me sick to be taking them off. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I haven't had many flats over the last 15 years. (See I can be glass is half full too)
Anyway to your last points, after your summary, I was expecting you to recommend the LT's... I would keep the tires inflated for best wear and fuel economy over comfort, is it really going to make the ride that bad?
Also, I was intentionally trying to get bigger tires for a couple of reasons (looks, ground clearance (I know, small amount), off roading, etc..) I have the 3.55, do you really think the performance will suffer that much? I'll get the speedo re-calibrated.
Thanks for humoring me and answering the questions..
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mrhotwheels
Dodge Dakota
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12/07/2002
14:21:58
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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It all really boils down to what you are looking for. When choosing tires you always make compromises. Unfortunatly there are no tires that will fullfill every need. Only you know what is most important for your own needs. I personaly do not care about treadlife all that much. I want a nice quiet tire that rides well. I would prefer that over a tire that road horrible and made a lot of noise but lasted a little while longer. You stated you want a bigger tire. Do you want a taller tire or a wider tire? Do you want both? Do you need a tire that is LT rated? Does the tread pattern looks matter to you? Have the eagle ls's meet your requirements when you went camping? Does it snow where you live or rain a lot? What engine do you have? Changing from a 255/65/16 to a 265/75/16 will give you a final drive ratio of 3.26. It may cause your truck to shift in and out of overdrive on hills if you only have the 3.9L. There are a lot of things to consider huh? Let me know if I can help you any more.
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Traumer
Dodge Dakota
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12/09/2002
17:29:53
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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I guess that is why I posted the question in the first place. I'm having a hard time determining whether I want/need the LT version of this tire or not. I find it hard to believe the ride will go from quiet and nice to horrible and a lot of noise when trying to choose between the two versions I've listed, and the extra protection for $2.00 more per tire seems worthwhile. (I understand it will be much different than the current GY Eagle LS' and I'm fine with more noise and stiffer hanlding.) It's still going to be better than the 33" M/T's on the Bronco and those tires don't bother me. The LT's are C rated so we are talking a choice of the 4 ply P rated 275/70 or the 6ply LT rated 265/75.
Yes, I wanted taller and wider, although predominately taller without major modifications (IE Lifts, Trimming, etc... at least for now)
I really don't know if I need a tire that is LT rated, that's what I'm trying to figure out. I will do some towing and some hauling... Boats, horse trailer, Quads, yard work but I'm a desk jocky for most of the day/week.
Tread pattern appearance does matter however not at the sacrifice of functionality.
The GY Eagle LS did not come close to meeting my requirements when I went camping. Like you said, they may be a good tire but not a good truck tire and were absolutely worthless in the dirt and sand.
I live in SoCal, so minimal rain and snow only when I go boarding.
I have the 4.7l V8.
At the end of the day, I thought the extra protection for minimal cost at the expense of a slighly reduced ride quality would be worth it.
Where I'm buying the tire they have a 30 day trial period so I can switch if it's really bad, I was just wanting to try and avoid that by doing due diligence up front.
I do appreciate your feedback.
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mrhotwheels
Dodge Dakota
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12/09/2002
21:54:14
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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For what it is worth I will give you my opinion. I do not think that using a taller tire is worth the slight increase in ride height. I think the negatives outweight the positives. Both the 265/75/16 and the 275/70/16 are much taller than stock tires. They are both about 2-3" taller than what you have on there. It may not sound like much but they will look much larger once they are installed. As far as how much stiffer a p metric will be over a lt, as the old saying goes, opinions are like a-holes, everyone has one. Only you can be the judge on how much different they ride. It is too hard to explain. But tires are all I know. I have been selling them since 1985. Since the width is not that important than you can disregard my first suggestion of the P275/60/16's. I would stay with the stock height and use the P255/65/16 Michelin Cross Terrain SUV's. They have a load index of 109 which is about 200lbs more per tire than your Eagle LS'S have. They have an H speed rating and have a 520 tread wear. If you still have your heart set on a taller tire than I would use a P265/70/16. That is not as tall as you wanted but still taller than stock. Bridgestone makes the Revo that you want in a P265/70/16. It has a 111 load index and is s speed rated. 500 tread wear and an AB rating. If I was going to get a P265/70/16. I would again choose the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV. It has the same load index and speed rating as the Revo but it has a 700 treadwear rating. You can probably notice that I like Michelins. I have never sold a set of them and had a customer unhappy with them.
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Brian PC
Dodge Dakota
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1/24/2005
21:48:52
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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I just happened to find this rather "dated" exchange online, as I returned home from Costco, where I was completely freaked out by the bad news I received about my tires.
I bought a Ford Excursion (2001) in July and have been driving it (including a 2500 trip cross-country in July, when we moved from LA to Florida) for about 8,500 miles so far. Seemed to be doing okay, and the new tires that were on it when I purchased it have not given us any obvious problems. HOWEVER, the tire rep at Costco informed me (when I took the vehicle in to have the tires rotated) that my "P" rating (P265/75/16) was not appropriate for this SUV; I should be using an LT.
I don't go off-road, I don't haul anything (the heaviest the thing has ever been - or will be - was the drive in July, which included the entirety of CA/AZ/NM/TX desert & mountains), and I have plenty of tread left on these tires. Do I really need to change them to LTs?
Please help. I am both confused and very anxious for your input. I thank you!
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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1/25/2005
00:23:29
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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I would change to a good LT tire. Weight rating is important. Think about how much that Ford weighs, over 3 1/2 tons empty! Start adding fuel (6# per gal), a family, all your gear, tools, toys, etc. Now you add about 140-160* of road surface temp in the desert.......
If the tire is overloaded, it will eventually overheat and fail in a spectacular manner.
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Brian PC
Dodge Dakota
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1/25/2005
14:02:56
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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Thanks so much for your input, Bob. Fortunately, the desert (and that 2500 mile drive) is now behind us - as is "hauling" anything, so I guess we just got lucky that a problem didn't arise. I'm just surprised that any tire dealer would mount the vehicle with tires (Futura Adventurer HT) that are effectively unsafe...
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Jage Larch
Dodge Dakota
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9/27/2011
13:17:16
| RE: P vs. LT Rating
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I would just like to say thank you for the posted information. I'm 50 years old and have owned more than 20 Ford trucks from my first truck which was a '59 1/2 ton to 1 Ton Diesels to my '89 Ranger which I drive every day, with 331,000 miles on it to my wifes Excursion which she drives every day.
I never worried about which tires to put on what, I had hard earned money in my pocket and bought what I considered the best. Now, kids in college, high school and Jr. high along with crap Real Estate business for my wife, it's used 14's for the Ranger and my wifes TOYO's are worn out. Your helpful comments have allowed me to feel comfortable in replacing them with a set of barely used (tits still just visible) BFG LT 285/75/16's. Saved me over $700.00. Thanks again.
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