C Rated or E Rated Tires....What Do You Run?

Really torn between C&E. Rocked an E the last 6 years, but I think I'm going to give C a shot this go around

 

Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT in 33X12.50R17LT (305/65-17) comes in D range. i'm mounting up another set of 285 E's this Friday, but those Mickey's will probably be my next tires. they have 35's & 37's in D also.

 

E

 

I just ordered a set of Baja Boss also. 265/75/R16 E. I like the siping as I drive in snow during the winter. My off roading is usually spring through fall and ranges from gravel roads to rocky high mountain passes or high Rocky Mountain passes. (See what I did there?)

I am pretty excited about the extra security that the sides will get. I look at my current Coopers and they are ok but lots of chunks missing on the tread and decent abrasions on the sides.

I carry a bit of weight with winch, topper, 3/4” plywood storage bed platform as well as fully loaded coolers and camping gear.

I’ll see how this goes and report back.

 

In the same tire brand and model, an E rated tire will be stiffer and possibly have more plies than a C rated tire, but between brands, one manufacturers E will be much stronger (puncture proof) and/or stiffer than another's (but probably with a similar weight classification, ie 112, etc). I think my E rated BFG KO's had 5 tread plies, and 3 sidewall plies, while my current E rated Firestone Destination XT's are 3 and 2, respectively, and are not nearly as stiff . The KO's also weighed WAY more. Overall, I tend to think of E vs C in terms of weight rating, and nothing more, E's being usually a higher weight rating for a given size tire. Stiffness and durability varies greatly between tire makes and models.

 

Looks like your only choice now! I dont know why goodyear dicountinued the load range c in the 16'' duratracs but they did! Had I known back when I was trying to decide to go with 16'' or 17'' I would have went with 17'' wheels because you can get load range c in a 17''!! Makes no since!

 

I have Toyos AT3 35/12.5/17 C rated 59lbs. The lightest 35/12.5/17 available.

Same tire E rated 71lbs.

6K miles, very happy with my choice.

 

I got E rated Falkens M/T in 255/85/16s. Tough tires.

 

I have the C-rated General Grabber A/TX for the past 11k miles

Treats me well so far

 

E rated KO2'S here. Heavy damn tires that take about a 10% chunk out of your gas mileage. Good thing I don't care about gas mileage!

 

I am trying to decide whether to get 16" rims with Falken Wildpeaks C-rated 255/85/16 or 17" rims with E-rated Falken Wildpeaks 255/80/17. The 16' Falkens still have the Duraspec sidewall even with a lesser ply rating. With the rims that I want (Ray 10's) the weight diff between the C and E combo w/rims is 80.7 vs 82.2. The advantages of the 16" are softer ride (I assume) with C's. The advantages of the 17" is that there are a lot more tire options and they are better for off-roading but all E rated tires for the most part so probably a rougher ride also.

With a spare I honestly think the C rated tires would be fine even when off roading esp with the Duraspec sidewall but the lack of options in 16" tires sucks.

I am also wondering if the disparity between some thinking the E-rated are harsh vs those that do not may be due to suspension mods. Wish we had a chart of opinions harsh/soft of E rated tires vs what suspension mods people had.

I don't know which way to go but I guess I am leaning toward 17" at this point just due to the options available but for some reason I just can't press that "Purchase" button and I keep hesitating, reading and flip flopping back and forth.

 

All E rated tires are harsh. There's no way around this. They are intended to hold very high pressures in order to hold up a lot of weight.

 

I may have posted on this thread before, not sure…

E load only for one reason. I do hundreds of solo remote off road trips throughout BC, and on very rocky roads where tires are prone to sidewall tears and such. I have had those with lower rated tires. Forty years of these kinds of trips.

My last 3 sets of E rated tires (2 sets on this 2016 Tacoma TRD OR) have never punctured, so I stick with E load. 10 ply tires in the old days on my full size 4x4s.

At 66 years old and a seriously ruined back and neck (3 years work disability and getting worse), I hate to change flats in bad spots. I blew 2 of the stock Goodyear Wranglers on my first off road outing with this Tacoma, both on the same day. That was a bad first trip for my first ever Tacoma.

So for me it is nothing to with ride comfort, just durability on the typical off road trails I drive. Both E sets have been BFG KO2.

I bought D rated Nokian snow tires for that reason too, so I can still explore in the mountains in the winter months.

 

E rated KO2s…….love these tires

 

SL… FTW!

 

Maybe your back and neck are trashed from the rough ride of the E rated tires (J/K - I have no experience with them so I know nothing)

 

I’m only in my 50s also with a bad back. Been around trucks and off roading my whole life. In the Tacoma I only run AT SL rated tires. There’s very few reasons why someone should run E rated tires on a super light pickup like the Tacoma.

That reason why anyone should bother with E rated tires is if they frequently drive into extremely remote areas where recovery would be difficult or impossible.

The other reason is if you like to drive fast and carelessly through sharp rocks. I’ve gone some pretty rugged places with modern SL tires and, knock on wood, haven’t shredded one yet. But my shit back also keeps me from driving like a goon.

 

I REALLY want to pull the trigger on the 16" SCS Ray 10's along with the C rated Falkens instead of the 17" SCS & E rated Falkens but I am afraid I am going to regret going 16" down the road should I want more choice. I guess I could just get 17's if that day comes or maybe more companies will follow Falken's lead and produce C rated tires in 255/85/R16??? IDK

Damn, now I am gravitating back toward the 16's.

 

I’ve been rocking the E rated Grabber ATXs for 50k miles and they are a fantastic tire. It’s good to hear they’re good in C load as well.

I never thought I would go for anything other than an E rated tire after my experience with the Grabbers, but the new 255/85/16 C rated AT4W is really tempting.

 

I've decided to go with a 17" wheel to run load C tires. I had the BFG Ko2 in 285/70r17 in load C and it was perfect for me. Recently went with the same tire but in a 315/70/r17 load C. I can say the tire rides exactly the same as my 285s which suits my riding style perfectly. I do not do crazy rock crawling trails plus my truck is relatively light. I too believe load E on a midsize is kind of overkill. The only reason why 315/70/r17 KO2 in load C exists is because of the Raptor and that is a full size truck. Before that the 315s were only available in Load E. Overall very happy with Load C.