Load Range E Tire - Looking for Feedback

I'm at the point of where my truck needs new tires. I currently have 285/70/17 BFG Mud Terrain KM2 in load range D.

The new KM3 is only available in load range E in that size as of now and I tried sourcing another set of KM2, but ended up empty handed so far.

My question is for those with load range E, how does your truck ride? I have a double cab short bed truck, no extra weight from bumpers or anything yet. Just seeing what people have to say about them. This is my 4th set of KM2's and id like to stick with BFG but if not i may have to go with GY MTR.

Thanks

 

285/75/16 Ridge Grapplers (E) here. No complaints. I’m carrying a lot of weight though.

 

BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2

 

just my opinion but have ran load range E for the last 10 years and never bothered me. About 6 months ago i went with load range C and it was like a different truck as far as ride and handling, but just waiting to see if i ever puncture off road.

 

I definitely noticed the stiffness of E’s going from C rated toyos to E rated falkens. I also noticed the weight difference shifting gears. I would def go back to a C rated tire if there were more options but I’m used to E now.

 

From what I understand, load rating doesn't affect puncture resistance, just like it doesn't relate to the number of plys anymore. It's more tire build and materials.

 

Like a damn dump truck. Cooper ST MAXX are stiff as hell. I can pretty much run with 5psi and the tires barely buldge at all.

 

Load range E tires are designed to ride at high pressure up to 80 psi. Our tacomas only take 30-40 psi. They're also a lot heavier.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I may go with the goodyears to keep LRD

 

E rides harder than C gas mileage will go down also

 

It's about air pressure. I have E rated tires on both my F150 and Tacoma. With the right air pressure ride is fine and fuel mileage is the same. The tires are rated for 80 PSI when carrying the tires load capacity on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. Most of those guys run 50-60 PSI unloaded. No reason to run that much air in a Tacoma or 1/2 ton. The wheels on lighter duty trucks aren't designed for that much pressure. I keep about 35 PSI in the Tacoma and 40 PSI in the Ford. The ride is just fine and I have more than enough air in them to carry more weight than the trucks are rated for.

How well the tires ride and fuel mileage has more to do with the tread on the tire and tire width . The ones in the pic above are going to ride rough and get poor fuel mileage in any load rating.

 

also think

highway road debry

not just off road rocks etc

 

I run my 285/75/16 load E at around 25 psi, super comfy....wouldnt drive 75mph + like that but I don't road trip here in Hawaii

 

I've been running E's on my otherwise stock truck for the past few years, and I won't be running them again. It was like strapping boat anchors to the wheels. The ride isn't bad, but you can tell the shocks have a hard time controlling them over large bumps, and I definitely noticed a decrease in mileage, braking performance, and acceleration.

 

Lots of back and forth on this issue. My Pro came with D rated tires. My 1st Gen Tundra needed tires so I put the BFG AT's on the Tundra work truck and bought P rated tires for the Pro. Huge difference! As to the worries of the P rated tires holding up...no issues yet at 20k miles. The truck does not see Rubicon type stuff, but has lots of miles in the Desert at speed with 0 issues. I also gained a small + in mileage going to the lighter tires. I have 35 x 12.50 x 15 C Muds on my 85 Mini that sees a lot of the Rubicon Trail. Rides stiffer than the Taco, but not as bad as the 8 plys did. 10 ply tires on a Taco is so beyond over kill. If it was mine I would get the lowest rating I could find. If you have 17" wheels there are quite a few C rated tires still out there. Really hard to find anything but P or 10 plys for the 16's on my Pro.

 

I just got some E rated KO2s (265/75/16) installed & the shop said that 10 ply should be run at 45 psi. They are only a few days old & I'm very pleased so far but I'll probably drop down to 40 psi. It's definitely "truckier" than the stock GY tire but that's exactly what I wanted.

 

I strongly disagree with this statement.......... to prove this try plugging a load range C tire then try plugging a load range E tire....

 

I've got E rated 265/70R17s on a moderately loaded Access Cab. Winter it has nothing extra in it, the rest of the year a roof top tent, some gear, a spare tire & wheel. The truck has fresh suspension with less than 2,000 miles on it and I run the tires around 29 psi all the time on highway, down to 20 psi on gravel roads. The tires are rated for 80 psi. Rides like a dream, great offroad down to 12 on legit crawling trails, less chance of a sidewall tear and the tires seem to be wearing fine.

I disagree with the idea that the weight difference is so large as to be that noticeable versus a C or D rated tire of the same size. Comparing a C range versus E range BFG KO2 in a 285/70R17, the weight difference is 6.5 pounds or 26 pounds for the entire vehicle. Is it more unsprung weight, yes. Should you notice, no. For the most part, ability to support weight via air pressure is a linear thing so run the pressure lower, make it more comfortable and air up if you need to haul weight.

 

C rated ride so much smoother and get better gas mileage than E rated. I tried a set of E’s and hated them. My tire guy let me exchange them for Michelins...I will never drive on anything other than Michelins again, fantastic tires.

 

Puncture resistance really more depends on the tire category than the load range. AT's typically better then HT's and MT's are better than AT's.
The load range affects the max pressure which affects the max load carrying capacity of the tire. Some cases manufactures may build C load range tires at D load range specs to streamline manufacturing. Cause they know the D range will easily pass the C range load testing of the tire. Also puncture resistance also depend on the manufacturers and material choices/steel belt counts/ cord counts/ etc. as mentioned by poweredbysoy