LT or not to LT

[GeekOKent]

Hi,

I have been looking at tyres and came across the LT varients that the toyota gib guys seem to use often. Incestigating a bit and it looks to be a 'light truck' tyre series. The only difference between say the 235/85r16 and the LT235/85r16 is that the LT is rated at 80psi max with the normal tyre being much less.

So I am guessing there is a difference in ride, sidewall, wet performance and noise etc, but I cant find much info on this. Anyone have experiemce experience running their cruiser on a LT tyre ?

Regards

 

[Julian T]

I have always run LT as far as I know, stronger sidewalls I believe and better load carrying performance, very useful when running at low air pressures in off road conditions, soft sand.

 

[Crispin]

80psi?! Those would be like concrete.

What does LT stand for?

 

[GeekOKent]

80psi?! Those would be like concrete.

What does LT stand for?

Light Truck, apparently...

eg: http://generaltire.com/tires/light-truck-crossover-suv/grabber-at2 look at the sizes and specs, the LT ones are all rated pretty high. Its the same with most manufacturers .

I'm trying to workout and map the euro gradings for these V/s regular non LT marked sizes, and as far as I can tell, they are identical.. how is that possible, or is it that the ratings dont really map well to real world tyre performance ( having said that, an A rated wet performance tyre is meant to stop 18 to 20m before a F rated one ).

regards,

 

[Julian T]

LT is for light truck I was told, could be wrong but I am certain someone will be able to correct me if I am mistaken

 

[GeekOKent]

I have always run LT as far as I know, stronger sidewalls I believe and better load carrying performance, very useful when running at low air pressures in off road conditions, soft sand.

is there a specific make/model you prefer ?

in terms of context - I am thinking of this for a fairly loaded ( 2 adults, 2 kids and a 300 to 350kg payload ) vehicle. 80% onroad, and 15% tracks, with the once or twice offroad.

regards,

 

[Julian T]

In Europe I have only run BF Goodrich Ko's and now Ko2's, they have a very good reputation for longevity and being able to take all kinds of abuse.
In South Africa we used to run General RV180's, very good on the beach, they became Continentals I think, and Firestone ? cant remember, but they were very good on gravel and rough tracks, they are now called a Bridgestone Dueler A/T 604V, the Firestones were on my Isuzu KB series pickup and the RV180's on the 40 series which did beach work and the other tyre we ran for on road work and limited off road was a commercial tyre, 600R16 steer tyres, not drive tyres, on the workshop 40 series.

Personally I really like the BFG's low noise, good grip in the dry,wet and snow. I have not tried the Ko2's in mud yet but they were very good last February on our last trip to Hungary and back, they were very good in the icy,snowy conditions we encountered, I did find the K0's lacking when it came to mud traction due to the treads filling up with mud but the Ko2's have been redesigned to be better at clearing the mud from the treads according to the advertising blurb.

We all have our favorites based on personal experience and I hear cooper make some very nice tyres.
I would suggest have a look at what the guys who do long distance over landing fit to their vehicles and talk to the drivers about their tyre experiances and recommendations, it can be enlightening and confusing both at once.

Just remembered Andrew did a review on the BFG so linky to the video here, they were also fitted to the 6x6 Lc he tested in Oman.

 

[chadr]

AFAIK you can get the same tyre in LT (Light Truck) and Passenger (P) specs - the LT spec basically gives you more plys in the tyres making it stronger and able to carry a heavier load. This does make the sidewalls stronger but less pliable.

For example I have Hankook Dynapro RF10 ATs in 265/75R16 "LT" spec, I think these are also available in "P" spec, they certainly are in the OEM size of 265/70R16. Same applies for some of the offerings from Cooper and Toyo etc. However (again AFAIK) the BFG AT whether KO or KO2 are only available in LT spec - which makes sense given their intended usage/market.

Going from "P" to "LT", in most cases is a trade-off between ride-comfort and a stronger and more durable tyre IME. Therefore I would really think about your usage and what is important to you before committing to a new set of tyres. (Also once there on, they take a heck of a long time to wear out - so you're stuck with your choice for a while).

Add: Most people going from P to LT will say the handling is "firmer" and less "wallowy", this is usually due to the stiffer sidewalls of the LT tyre flexing less than the P ones. The downside, though marginal, is that you may find the truck less refined over speed humps/potholes etc. At least that was my experience.

 

[Shayne]

I don't know why exactly but LT is registering in my noggin as for commercial vehicles , delivery vans and the like ?

I remember talking to a guy that drove from India to Mongolia telling me van tyres should always be used for overlanding because you will find a spare even in the remotest of parts .

 

[chadr]

Most, if not all, large vans will have LT rated tyres - I doubt they would be able to carry their (max) payloads otherwise.

 

[GeekOKent]

also looks like all pickup's are sold with LT tyres in the US.

I guess the question then boils down to : how bad is the ride quality when the vehicle isnt loaded upto its gills.

regards,

 

[chadr]

I guess the question then boils down to : how bad is the ride quality when the vehicle isnt loaded upto its gills.

regards,

Not bad, not bad at all - just depends on what you value most; the ride will be firmer but you may find that the handling firms up - so there are certainly plus sides too. If you're thinking of overlanding in the near future, then LT tyres all the way IMHO.

Trouble is, unlike "normal" cars that go through a set of tyres in 25k miles or so, most AT tyres will last 50k plus quite easily. So whatever you choose, you're stuck with them for a few years unless you throw more money at it and change before they're worn out.

Given my current and foreseeable usage (99% on-road) and used as an occasional family car, I may have been better going for a "P" rated tyre. I'll probably never know as at the current rate, the RF10s still have at least another 50k+ miles in them and I probably won't live that long to find out! ;-)

 

[GeekOKent]

Given my current and foreseeable usage (99% on-road) and used as an occasional family car, I may have been better going for a "P" rated tyre. I'll probably never know as at the current rate, the RF10s still have at least another 50k+ miles in them and I probably won't live that long to find out! ;-)

thanks, thats helpful

I guess you dont buy into the argument that rubber ages and one should not run on rubbers older than 6 years ?


regards

 

[Shayne]

thanks, thats helpful

I guess you dont buy into the argument that rubber ages and one should not run on rubbers older than 6 years

regards

Personally not when its used and so flexes heats up and cools but on a trailer or infrequently used vehicle rubber will harden and become brittle .

 

[GeekOKent]

Personally not when its used and so flexes heats up and cools but on a trailer or infrequently used vehicle rubber will harden and become brittle .

so, keep them moving and rolling along.

 

[Shayne]

Its just an opinion and others may feel different but i'm damned if i would scrap tyres that looked good just because of age . I would be suspect of unused tyres though , i've lost count of how many caravans i've seen at the side of a motorway following a blown out tyre .

 

[GeekOKent]

my current status :

 

[chadr]

I guess you dont buy into the argument that rubber ages and one should not run on rubbers older than 6 years ?
regards

The truck is used for around 100 miles a week (minimum), so I don't worry too much about the tyres getting brittle or cracked from lack of use.

They've been on the car 6 years already and TBH, I grew bored of looking at them 5 years ago - I'm fickle like that. However they perform well and haven't let me down so far and as I said previously, are only about 25-30% worn at most after 40k miles. So looks like they could easily stay on the car for another 6 years.

However by that time, I will be sick to the back teeth of looking at them (did I mention I was fickle?) and probably will have forked out for a set of oversize KO2s, as I think they look much, much cooler than a set of "normal" road tyres. And we all know that image is far more important than functionality or practicality.