E rated tires vs non E rated

My suspension setup is a 3 inch lift deploying Bilstein 5100 w/ OME 887 up front and 3 leaf progressive AAL in the back with the stop leaf installed. Most of the tires that I am looking at in the 285 70 17 range are E rated. A few guys I talked with indicated that the E rated tire is too harsh a ride for the Tacoma and suggested that I go with a tire that is not E rated. I want to go with the KO2s but it only comes E rated. I can get the Toyo Open Country IIs in285 70 17s not E rated. Anybody have experience on E rated tires? Any suggested tire brands that manufacture 285 70 17s? Thank you

 

I love my E rated tires, but I abuse them and rely on them. If you wheel hard or travel to remote areas often, they're well worth it.

 

Most comments you'll get are broad strokes answers that lump ALL load range C tire together and ALL load range E tires together. There are no absolutes.

I HAD load range C Goodyear Duratracs on my truck. To get decent gas mileage and to get even tread wear, they required 36PSI (+)

I now have Load range E Cooper STT Pro's. I run 28PSI and get even wear, decent mileage, AND a BETTER quality of ride.

I pounded on the Duratracs with NO issues. Quite a bit of off roading in rocks, slate, shale, etc....Not a mark on them. C's aren't "across the board" weak like some will indicate.

Circumstances AND choice of which tire you're talking about will have a huge effect on the final answer to your question.

 

I ran Cs for years. Never had a problem. A nail will go through almost any tire.

Bill has a habit of giving good advice.

I run my 33.5" load Es at 45 in summer and 35 in winter - it gives me the performance characteristics I desire, and evens out the wear (more or less).

 

I run these. http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/tires/falken/product/submitProductSize.do?pc=26808&tmn=Wild+Peak+A/T3W&typ=Truck/SUV

@0uTkAsT has been wheeling these as well.

 

love my E rated tires. running game them at 35psi and the ride is great. I went through 4 sets C rated tires in 4 years. I've been on my E's for 5 years 55k miles and still have tons or tread left. granted I don't drive as far for work anymore. I would much rather replace tires due to age then premature wear. I for one will only buy E rated tires from now on

 

I have the KO2's "E" rating, 285/70/17...love the tires, I don't feel as though they provide a harsh ride, The tires are not loud, they are very smooth, I run 32psi in the summer and 28psi in the winter, very happy with the tires.

 

This ^^

 

Gonna add a little more; The load range C Duratracs had 51,000 miles on them when I took 'em off. They had (EASILY) another 25,000 good miles left on them. They were wearing excellent. I've talked to others who wore out the same tire in 30,000. Much of tire life depends on driving style, condition of the truck, your routine maintenance program (ie tire rotation/alignment/etc), even the roads you drive on. And some people are just harder on things than others.... Also, keep in mind rim width can effect tire performance. Just an inch wider can change the footprint considerably in some cases.

E's or C's are not inherently better or worse for wear than the other.

And EVERYTHING changes with brand/model of tire, rubber compounds, etc.

Again, there are NO absolutes.

 

I get the same mileage with C-Rated 35's (315's) as I did with E-Rated 33's (295's), and they are the same weight wheel and tire combo.

The 35's I'm running 25psi in the rear and 28psi in the front, with a decent ride.

The E-rated tires were pretty rough riding on my AC, but I think most of it is because of the stiff valving in the 5100's.