245 70r17 tire questions

Got a question, searched, but since this is a bastard tire size no luck.

I have 255 75 17s on my 2.7 now, and its alittle slow. Not bad, but hitting the mountains sucks.
I am going to go to a 245 70r17, which is really the same size as stock, just bigger rim. The tires Im scoping out are on CL, newer Rugged trails (the different tread, and yeah i know they are not great...), but they are 150 bucks for all. so for that I'll do it.

Problem is- load range E. How much will I notice that? Ive found that with larger tire diameter seems to be more of the issue than weight (current tires weigh 36lbs). The ones im looking at look like they are 46ish.

Could someone fill me in on this? get me straight?
Thanks.
oh, I am going to used wheelspacers to make it not look so dumb too. (got 2" lift)

 

I have had load range E tires on my truck since I bought it. My gas mileage is still significantly better than most folks here report--25 mpg typical. The latest set is 265/75R16, a bit larger than stock. Maybe the ride is rougher--I have no basis to compare. The tires work great for me, especially off road.

 

My mileage on mine, with my tires was 25.5 on my last trip, i was pretty happy about that haha.

So I should ok then with the load E?

 

I think that the concerns expressed here about the effect of tire weight on gas mileage are overblown, at least for the kind of driving I do. It's your call, but I would think the price of the tires would at least compensate for any loss in mileage you might suffer.

 

agreed.
Does anyone have any photos of a smiliar set up? Kinda curious.