I currently have LT285/75R16 M/Ts on stock 16" Moabs. I really want to switch to an A/T but finding them in a 16" with load range 'C' is almost impossible. I do like the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W. I have a couple of concerns with them. Should I be?
Looking at new tires — Any concerns with these?
- Thread starter CodaMan
- Start date
2006TJ1
TJ Enthusiast
Not sure about load ranges or tread depths in the metric flavor, but I have the Wildpeak At3/w in 33x12.50r15s and love them. I would highly recommend. Great street manners and traction offroad. Seem to be wearing very evenly with rotations every 5K miles.
16" wheels are the work of the devil and significantly reduce the selection of desirable tires. Have you thought about biting the bullet and going to a 15" wheel where there's a huge variety of Load Range C tires?
OP
I was looking at these because I've heard good things about them and Walmart has them on sale right now for $135 each. I'm just not sure if the 4 ply will be a problem.
OP
Oh yes @Jerry Bransford, a thousand times hahaha
I just wish I knew if 16" Moab wheels with 95% tread M/Ts would sell on Craigslist and not sit in my garage forever.
The Cooper Discoverer AT3 is in fact available in the LT265/75R16 size with a C load rating. I just finished a 4,200 miles overlanding trip on a set of these, which included the length of Baja California, and had no tire issues whatsoever. It is a very good tire and the second set of Cooper tires I've had on that vehicle.
To @CodaMan: The tires you highlighted are SL (standard load) tires. You want LT tires (light truck) - with a C load rating if possible although an E load rating won't be the end of the world as some seem to suggest.
The wrong load range tire is never the end of the world but it's still the wrong load range tire.
OP
I currently have 3 issues with my current tires: 1) they are M/Ts and I'd rather have an A/T, 2) they are 16" and 3) they are load range 'E'. Now, I could live with all 3, but why if I don't need to.
OP
With our light Jeeps, is a SL load a problem? They actually have a Max Load higher than the 33X12.50R15 and all the 15" LT tires. The big difference is 4 ply vs 6 ply.
Two of your three issues are solved with Cooper Discoverer AT3 LT265/75R16-C tires and the third, 16" rims, is rendered a non issue.
Load ratings no longer equate to the number of tire plys. In the old bias ply days the load rating did equate actual number of plys, but when radial tires became popular the system was supplanted by 4 ply, 6 ply, 8 ply rated radial tires which did not directly correspond to the number of plys, and now by the alpha load ratings which have absolutely nothing to do with the number of plys.
LT tires are typically a stronger tire than a SL passenger car tire. Not only will the sidewalls hold up to more abuse, so will the tire treads. I tried to get away with SL tires in my younger days when I had no money and would resort to any number of rationalizations as to why they were "just as good" as LT tires. But they weren't.
If your jeep never sees dirt then a SL tire might be just fine. Only you can decide.
OP
Well it does see a lot of dirt, so I'll take your load rating advice to heart. I also think I can get the Duratracs in a C range.
Believe it or not I actually bought new 16" rims for my TJ. Got a deal too good to pass up. Had been unsure whether to get new rims or stick with my Rubi rims. So I had already been looking for a C rated 16" tire. There are quite a few out there, just need to look hard. The rims were exactly what I had been wanting (but in a 15") when the sale came. My Coopers have a 60,000 mi warranty so I shouldn't be worried about tire size for quite a while.