275/65/18 to 275/70/18 upgrade inside

[TXBJJ]

Interesting. I'm looking at some load range E Michelins in the same size that are 52 lbs. Wondering how much that would affect the drive/mpg...

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[scuba]

I spent hours researching this yesterday. Best I can tell (from on here and Tacoma forums ad naseum) the weight isn't impacting mileage as much as the added rolling resistance of aggressive tires might (just unscientifically weighting people's anecdotes and opinions). As much time as people spend on this, there really should be an exhaustive set of tests out there.

FWIW on this topic, I looked at all of the non-E rated tires in 275/70r18, and the lightest were the SL General Grabber ATx (45 lbs) and General Grabber APT and Wrangler Duratrac (D).

I'm making my decision between the SL General Grabber and the Toyo Open Country E-rated 275/70r18. It sounds like the extra weight doesn't do much, so it'll come down to cost and ride quality when I decide.

 

[scuba]

Here's the summary I did for myself. I confined choices to 275 to try to maintain mpg's, and I wanted an extra inch of height b/c my truck is not lifted or leveled and I feel like needs a little more clearance when crawling (over curbs at the mall). I should prob grab the SL Grabber ATx's like the OP, but based on the negligible mileage impact of the extra weight reported by a large number of old/experienced guys online (despite the theoretical math) may go with the E-rated Toyo's. I just wish there was a head-to-head comparison between those two on wet stopping distance and ride quality. Hope this helps somebody.

(edited- I mistyped 275/70r18)

 

[PaulO]

Here's the summary I did for myself. I confined choices to 275 to try to maintain mpg's, and I wanted an extra inch of height b/c my truck is not lifted or leveled and I feel like needs a little more clearance when crawling (over curbs at the mall). I should prob grab the SL Grabber ATx's like the OP, but based on the negligible mileage impact of the extra weight reported by a large number of old/experienced guys online (despite the theoretical math) may go with the E-rated Toyo's. I just wish there was a head-to-head comparison between those two on wet stopping distance and ride quality. Hope this helps somebody.

(edited- I mistyped 275/70r18)

Thanks for that info. Which tires did you end up going with?

 

[Chili]

Here's the summary I did for myself. I confined choices to 275 to try to maintain mpg's, and I wanted an extra inch of height b/c my truck is not lifted or leveled and I feel like needs a little more clearance when crawling (over curbs at the mall). I should prob grab the SL Grabber ATx's like the OP, but based on the negligible mileage impact of the extra weight reported by a large number of old/experienced guys online (despite the theoretical math) may go with the E-rated Toyo's. I just wish there was a head-to-head comparison between those two on wet stopping distance and ride quality. Hope this helps somebody.

(edited- I mistyped 275/70r18)

Weight will have an effect on city mileage but not so much highway. Rolling resistance will have more of an effect on the highway.

You will get worse acceleration with the weight too.

They make 275/70r18 General APT as well that isn't so aggressive.

Additionally, Michelin is now making a 285/65r18 in a less aggressive 32.6" / 11.5 wide option that's XL load. If you're going after the best 4 season tire that handles dry and snows well, that's the winner. But they don't look as "cool" if that's a priority.

 

[scuba]

Thanks for that info. Which tires did you end up going with?

Ended up going with the Falken Wildpeak AT4 (despite what the website said in January, the AT4's *are* available in 275/70r18. I spoke with the manufacturer and the AT4's are the successor and 'better in every respect' than the AT3's ).

Here's what I put in notes column in the attachment above, and that's how I made the decision to buy:

"Falken: Less Noise, Better ride than the Toyo's, AND the Grabber Atx. The only advantage of the Toyo's is the weight... etc."

TLDR: after all the hype about the Toyo's, I found a head-to-head comparison of the Toyo & Falkens showing the Falkens rode better than the Toyo's and the Grabbers. The only remaining unanswered question was whether the Grabber's tested were SL or LT, which wasn't apparent.

The update after 1.5 months and 5,000 miles on the Falken AT4's, is that I'm 50-50 on going back to the stock Goodyear Territory after these wear out. My one complaint about the Good Year's was they spun in 2WD when accelerating uphill coming out of the school parking lot. Well, the Falken's do the same in 2WD and I've spun them a few times elsewhere. Also, at first the Falkens dropped me to 14-15 mpg from 17-18 on the GY's (Lariat PB, Fx4). I got no better than 15 on the way to and from on a trip to Colorado from Dallas; that's when the GY's started to look good again. However, I had a hard time keeping them at 40 psi the first month (the truck read them as 38, but it took several rounds of getting them to 40 to stay there), and now that I've topped them off a few times for a true 40 PSI (cold), they look like they may be giving me around 17 (I just got 17.05 hand-calculated from Pensacola to Dallas). That's without correcting for the ~3% (?) increase in diameter.

As expected, bumps are more jarring than the good year, especially in the back seat, and there is a perceptible increase in road noise (but just barely-- wife hasn't noticed and says these are just as good). Also, there is slight rubbing at full lock, but that only happens getting into my garage and I haven't worried about trimming anything.

Let me know other questions-- definitely the most research I've done on a product in a while.

 

[PaulO]

Ended up going with the Falken Wildpeak AT4 (despite what the website said in January, the AT4's *are* available in 275/70r18. I spoke with the manufacturer and the AT4's are the successor and 'better in every respect' than the AT3's ).

Here's what I put in notes column in the attachment above, and that's how I made the decision to buy:

"Falken: Less Noise, Better ride than the Toyo's, AND the Grabber Atx. The only advantage of the Toyo's is the weight... etc."

TLDR: after all the hype about the Toyo's, I found a head-to-head comparison of the Toyo & Falkens showing the Falkens rode better than the Toyo's and the Grabbers. The only remaining unanswered question was whether the Grabber's tested were SL or LT, which wasn't apparent.

The update after 1.5 months and 5,000 miles on the Falken AT4's, is that I'm 50-50 on going back to the stock Goodyear Territory after these wear out. My one complaint about the Good Year's was they spun in 2WD when accelerating uphill coming out of the school parking lot. Well, the Falken's do the same in 2WD and I've spun them a few times elsewhere. Also, at first the Falkens dropped me to 14-15 mpg from 17-18 on the GY's (Lariat PB, Fx4). I got no better than 15 on the way to and from on a trip to Colorado from Dallas; that's when the GY's started to look good again. However, I had a hard time keeping them at 40 psi the first month (the truck read them as 38, but it took several rounds of getting them to 40 to stay there), and now that I've topped them off a few times for a true 40 PSI (cold), they look like they may be giving me around 17 (I just got 17.05 hand-calculated from Pensacola to Dallas). That's without correcting for the ~3% (?) increase in diameter.

As expected, bumps are more jarring than the good year, especially in the back seat, and there is a perceptible increase in road noise (but just barely-- wife hasn't noticed and says these are just as good). Also, there is slight rubbing at full lock, but that only happens getting into my garage and I haven't worried about trimming anything.

Let me know other questions-- definitely the most research I've done on a product in a while.

Thanks for the detailed update very helpful. I actually live in Colorado and spend about 10% off road on fire roads and BLM. I also would like a tire that preforms better in the snow then the GY Territory's do (I have the exact same truck as you). I liked the BFG KO2's before and I might go back to those. Super sticky but not the best in the snow IMO. I don't want the tire to stick out from the wheel well so I think 275 will be the best size for me.

I'm also going to level the truck with the Bilstein 6112/5160 soon too. Decisions decisions.

 

[scuba]

Thanks for the detailed update very helpful. I actually live in Colorado and spend about 10% off road on fire roads and BLM. I also would like a tire that preforms better in the snow then the GY Territory's do (I have the exact same truck as you). I liked the BFG KO2's before and I might go back to those. Super sticky but not the best in the snow IMO. I don't want the tire to stick out from the wheel well so I think 275 will be the best size for me.

I'm also going to level the truck with the Bilstein 6112/5160 soon too. Decisions decisions.

Good luck. Let us know when you decide what you do. A friend just put BFG KO2's on his F150 (apparently there's a good deal at costco).

 

[TXBJJ]

Ended up going with the Falken Wildpeak AT4 (despite what the website said in January, the AT4's *are* available in 275/70r18. I spoke with the manufacturer and the AT4's are the successor and 'better in every respect' than the AT3's ).

Here's what I put in notes column in the attachment above, and that's how I made the decision to buy:

"Falken: Less Noise, Better ride than the Toyo's, AND the Grabber Atx. The only advantage of the Toyo's is the weight... etc."

TLDR: after all the hype about the Toyo's, I found a head-to-head comparison of the Toyo & Falkens showing the Falkens rode better than the Toyo's and the Grabbers. The only remaining unanswered question was whether the Grabber's tested were SL or LT, which wasn't apparent.

The update after 1.5 months and 5,000 miles on the Falken AT4's, is that I'm 50-50 on going back to the stock Goodyear Territory after these wear out. My one complaint about the Good Year's was they spun in 2WD when accelerating uphill coming out of the school parking lot. Well, the Falken's do the same in 2WD and I've spun them a few times elsewhere. Also, at first the Falkens dropped me to 14-15 mpg from 17-18 on the GY's (Lariat PB, Fx4). I got no better than 15 on the way to and from on a trip to Colorado from Dallas; that's when the GY's started to look good again. However, I had a hard time keeping them at 40 psi the first month (the truck read them as 38, but it took several rounds of getting them to 40 to stay there), and now that I've topped them off a few times for a true 40 PSI (cold), they look like they may be giving me around 17 (I just got 17.05 hand-calculated from Pensacola to Dallas). That's without correcting for the ~3% (?) increase in diameter.

As expected, bumps are more jarring than the good year, especially in the back seat, and there is a perceptible increase in road noise (but just barely-- wife hasn't noticed and says these are just as good). Also, there is slight rubbing at full lock, but that only happens getting into my garage and I haven't worried about trimming anything.

Let me know other questions-- definitely the most research I've done on a product in a while.

Thanks for the detailed review. Yeah this makes me hesitant to go with the Falkens. They have almost universal positive reviews but with a 60lb weight I'm not sure that I want to take the MPG hit you took. I wonder if the Toyos would have been much different as they are about 52 lbs. The other issue with the Toyos is they are pricey...

 

[scuba]

Thanks for the detailed review. Yeah this makes me hesitant to go with the Falkens. They have almost universal positive reviews but with a 60lb weight I'm not sure that I want to take the MPG hit you took. I wonder if the Toyos would have been much different as they are about 52 lbs. The other issue with the Toyos is they are pricey...

On other forums, the consensus was that it's the aggressive tread and not the rotational inertia (from the greater mass) that impacts mileage-- at least from several old guys who'd been around a while. So that's what convinced me to go w/ the Falkens over Toyos. I was really close. We really need a "fuelly" specific to tire impact.

 

[PCfordguy]

Bumping this thread back up- good info. I am currently running OEM Hankook AT2 but I am needing snow capable ATs in either a 275/70 R 18 or a 275/65R 18 - but can't ultimately decided on size and load range. Going the 65 route provides more options in SL load range but it's a smaller diameter tire. Going the 70 route provides diameter I prefer but basically two options in SL load range (Grabber ATX and Nitto G3 that are 3peak rated). Everything else in 275/70R18 is load range E. I prefer to stay away from load range E due to so much feedback on all the tire related threads of how this makes the ride harsher and added weight, but wondering if its worth it to unlock more tire options like BFG KO3, Falken WP, Cooper AT, etc. ?? Thoughts?

 

[TXBJJ]

Add a new tire, Nitto Terra Grappler G3, 275/70/18 in SL. I'm in the same boat. Not really needing a LRE tire

 

[wsucoug]

I will add that if you are looking for snow performance you usually want to try and stick with SL tires. Often the E rated tires use a harder rubber compound vs the SL tires. The softer compound will help in compact snow/ice conditions.

Ill also add that I have been running the SL Toyo AT3 in 275/65/R18 for 25k miles. I think they weigh in at 42 lbs. I lost about 2 mpg going with a more aggressive tread, but I had little choice as the stock goodyears sucked in the snow and had to be replaced. I didn't notice any additional road noise, but I imagine there has to be some with the more aggressive tread. Ill also be replacing them before next winter at around 40k miles, because snow can be no joke around here. When I go to replace them I will be looking at trying to find a 33 inch tire is SL, but if 32" is all i can find then so be it.

I have the general grabber atx on my '07 chevy in load range E. I know its a different truck than my 22 F150, but I couldn't imagine going load range E again as the ride is much rougher. No one likes the ride in that truck.

 

[wsucoug]

Bumping this thread back up- good info. I am currently running OEM Hankook AT2 but I am needing snow capable ATs in either a 275/70 R 18 or a 275/65R 18 - but can't ultimately decided on size and load range. Going the 65 route provides more options in SL load range but it's a smaller diameter tire. Going the 70 route provides diameter I prefer but basically two options in SL load range (Grabber ATX and Nitto G3 that are 3peak rated). Everything else in 275/70R18 is load range E. I prefer to stay away from load range E due to so much feedback on all the tire related threads of how this makes the ride harsher and added weight, but wondering if its worth it to unlock more tire options like BFG KO3, Falken WP, Cooper AT, etc. ?? Thoughts?

In my book, no its not worth it to go E. I have run the ATX, but I think I would take a chance on the new G3. The ATX worked well in deep snow, but it is kind of noisy on road, especially after it wears a bit.

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