How much does tire weight matter???

Hey guys, been doing a lot of reviewing on this topic.

Lots of good threads, but still had a question from all of this research.

I'm looking to up the size to 265/75/16 like many members on this forum. It seems for an "aggressive" looking tire, more options in E load, but that comes with weight implications and I don't want to hit my MPG too bad...

Where I sit today, I have Ray10s in 16inch coming in shortly, what i've read the stock OR wheels weigh 24lbs + the 44lbs from the stock GY tires = 68lbs each wheel.

So in the future, i'll have Ray10s which weigh 21.5lbs (from research on TW). So my question is, if I go with something standard like the BFG K02 which weigh 53lbs I believe, my each wheel weight goes to 74.5lbs. Will the extra 6.5lbs be a killer? i'd think not, but i'm not expert!

Another option is the SL load Falken AT3, those come in at the same weight as the GY at 44lbs, but right now 4wheelparts has pretty decent deal, i can get 5 BFG K02s shipped with state tax at ~850, so not much more than the Falkens which aren't on sale or anything.

Last thing i'll add, with my light wheeling, i don't really need E rated tires, which is why i'm deciding if its worth it!

Open to suggestions!

 

I have the Ray10s as well, but in 17 inch. I at first had the E load KO2 and when it was time to replace tires I went with the C load KO2. My MPG barely changed. Hardly at all.
53lbs to 44lbs
E sounds like overkill for you, C would be better for what your doing.

 

This is helpful, I already have the 16inch, and like the look of the beefier sidewall (coming from JK world, so a lot of that there). Right now i get around 19-20mpg, ideally i don't even see a difference like yourself. I would just get the C load K02 if they offered it in 16inch, but I think really it's the Duratracs or the Falkens that are most popoular C/SL rated tired for 16 inch in the 265/75 setup. I've also heard things about the General X3 in C, but they seem to be quite pricey.

 

I thought for sure I'd see a big change but didn't happen, its tough choosing tires, there are a lot of tires to choose from! Good luck !

 

Quoted from my build thread:


Generally speaking, rotating mass requires 4x the power input that non-rotating mass does. For example: Adding 16 lbs of mass per tire (64 lbs total) feels like you are adding 256 POUNDS to the truck. So a small difference in tires makes it feel like you have a heavy passenger with you all the time. This is all irrelevant of tire size or gearing and only taking mass into account. This 4x factor also works against you when you hit the brake pedal...



Through my research in tires, I found HUGE differences in tire weights. Given the same tire size, the difference between the Duratrac and Grabber X3 is 16 lbs for EACH TIRE.

Take note of the Tire weight row… Of course there are other tires on the market, but these are commonly purchased tires for an example. Sizes are all 315s.



Most aftermarket 17” alloy wheels come in around 26-28 lbs per wheel with some as low as 22. Stock wheels are 30 lbs per wheel.


Final Example:

General Grabber X3’s on stock wheels would be 107 lbs per corner. Goodyear Duratracs on lightweight aftermarket wheels are 83 lbs per corner. That is a difference of 24 lbs per corner and 96 lbs overall. Again since this is all rotating mass, we use our 4x multiplier on the 96 lbs difference. That is like having an extra 384 lbs on the truck when trying to accelerate and brake. That is a HUGE difference!


Make your tire decisions wisely my friends.

 

@Ripcord awesome write up.

So in my example, the 6.5lbs per wheel = 26lbs = 104lbs feel to the weight of the car, not great, but certainly not bad...

Side question, I see on discounttire they have 2 K02s, both are same size and E load but have different part number, one weights 50lbs the other 53lbs???

 

I agree @Traegermaster E rated is probably overkill for me, just doesn't seem like a ton of options. Best one would probably be the SL AT3/Ws. This may sound crazy, but i'm a bit worried because the price is so low! I know the stock GY Kevlars are probably very good, and pricey as well. I know price doesn't determine quality, but wondering if i'm crazy for taking off really good tires and putting on 136/tire. Seems like good reviews, but hard to tell if people like the E or the SL rated.

Also, probably dumb question, but is the tread the same on SL and E, just different weights for how thick sidewall is?

 

Sometimes the tread depth is less on the SL tires compared to the C or E LT tires.
I've used this website to check tire weights and specs If I was buying tires today that would be good on the road and can handle Forest service roads I'd look at the new 2018 Cooper AT3 LT
Its great having really meaty tires when your buddies are looking at your truck and with the Ray10s, your truck looks mean, but MPG and road noise might get to you after awhile.

 

just why ?

can't tire mfgr's build a C rated LT tire in 265-75x16

Like the Falkin WP3 or BFG KO2

I may step up to 17's the next tire/wheel set up

 

I run 285s, but I just went up from 16s to 17s just to be able to lighten my tire/wheel combo. I was able to shave 13lbs off each corner. I'm expecting a significant difference in feel in the little 4cyl truck. Also went from E-rated tires to SL, so it should ride a lot better too. I'm excited.

 

I agree, I just recently purchased some ray10s 16inch, wondering if i should have bumped up to 17s... problem is coming from the JK world, where i had 15s! So 17s felt like too much wheel for me lol.

I think i'm leaning towards the AT3/W SL load, same as factory weight at the bumped up size, plus the Ray10s weigh 2.5lbs less, so i'm actually saving weight.

Went to the strore today to check a few treads out, SL is def a bit less tread but barely noticable, the K02s look good but everything i read for the money they are a waste... I can get the AT3 for 127 a tire local as they match online pricing, can't really beat that.

 

After having E rated tires I will go with nothing but E from now on. If you are worried about the weight and gas consumption then E is not for you.

 

I'm not the least bit worried about gas mileage. I'm just trying get the nimble feeling back in my regular cab 4x4. The 4.88 gears turn the heavy 285s pretty easily, but I can definitely feel the weight.

 

From everything I've personally experienced and read on this and other tire forums, SL tires will not last anywhere near as long as C or E load. I had Cooper AT3s in SL on my personal Tacoma that were looking pretty worn at 15,000 miles. The exact same tire in C load on a work Tacoma went over 40,000 of serious off road abuse. Look at the Wildpeak AT3W thread on here. People with the SL are having wear problems while those with E load are doing great.

 

My experience as well. As an archaeologist in the field frequently, I cannot always choose the trail I have to go on. E rated BFG KOs and KO2s have saved my bacon more than once. It is a mpg sacrifice for peace of mind.

 

Wheel/Tire weight wouldn't matter too much on mpgs. I went from 285's to 265's same brand/model tires and barely gained anything. Maybe 1 mpg better combined. I can tell though that acceleration does get affected by weight but again, very minimal.

 

To go along with RipCord's writeup:

It takes roughly 1 hp to quickly accelerate 10lbs of weight. So if you stomp on the gas at a stoplight, the 104lbs will effectively sap 10 hp from your ability to accelerate. By itself, this is not much. But all of the added weight eventually to adds up to where you will notice the truck not being as responsive.

 

I bought some second hand wheels from a guy that had the rugged trails (crap tires) on them, they’re load b’s. I decided to run them until that were toast... 2 days later I hate a nail in a sidewall. I threw them all right in the trash, 10 ply ftw. It takes quite a bit to get a puncture with them on a small truck. At 103#’s per corner they sap my power but so does 140 weight gear oil in my diffs and 30 weight in my motor. I’d rather have peace of mind than mpgs.

 

This is incorrect information. Tire weight and wheel weight does effect MPG. Another thing that will effect MPG is the type of tire used such as AT, MT or a hybrid tire.

 

Um, that's exactly what I said that it does affect it but not too much from my experience. 265 vs 285 and hardly a change in mpg's and yes, tire size was accounted for when calculating. Same truck, same tire brand/type, same driving habits. I pretty much get the same mileage now with 265's than I did with 285's.