285/70r17 E or SL??

So I have owned this truck for a couple months now. Got it from a buddy and I am new to the Tacoma world. Truck currently has 275/70r17 Falken At3w. Running 5100/5160 rear. And I just installed the U402 Deaver leafs in the rear to get rid of the 2” block. The new leaf pack actually added 2" over where the 2" blocks sat, guess there was that much sag in the factory springs?

Anyway today was the first trip in slippery stuff and truck was a little looser than what I would have expected. Wanted to slide when turning worse than anything. Idk if because of the long bed and maybe the lack of weight.

Not a fair comparison but came home and grabbed my ole 2002 z71 beater that used to be my DD. Not a fair comparison since it has Pro Comp Mt But it was much more composed.

I was looking to go to a more aggressive tire anyway because I like slighter edgier but didn’t want to got to something like the Pro Comp or the MZT like before since this truck will see more diverse things as my DD, road trips etc...

leaning towards E rates. But kinda throwing it out there to people who are a lot more experienced with these trucks than me.

Thanks for the help in advance

 

Although the Falkens come with the 3 peak snow designation, wider tires and long box are your enemy in this instance.

E rated tires will just give you a stiffer ride.

 

Thank you..

Kinda what I was afraid of. I threw some tractor weights in the bed to see if that will plant it a little better and make the truck more predictable.

 

Did that work? In 4hi??

 

My tacoma did great on 245 75 16 oem street tires on 4h, but I was a turtle though

 

Haven't been back out tonight. All the snow dumped while I was at work. I live up a pretty good hill barely made it up the 1st time with the tacoma. Didn't chance it anymore for the heck of it. See how things go tomorrow I will prob get it out and test things a little more then.

 

Best thing you could do. Enjoy and learn the truck in the snow.

 

If your going to off-road a lot E rated protection

 

E rated tires are a load range, not how strong the sidewalls are to puncture; that's a myth. Unless you're carrying heavy load, all you're going to get is a worse ride with E range. Look at the specs on a ridge grappler. There are zero differences in weight and other specs other than load rating from C to E.

 

E rated, aka 10ply tires are quite heavy.

 

Thank you

 

little off topic but not really.

if you look at falken wildpeak at3 285-70-R17 in a c load, they have 2 "sipping" holes thru the blocks. but the e load has 3. maybe they will be better thru wetter condtions.

 

E rated for durability. SL for snow traction. Some manufacturers use a stiffer compound in their heavier load range tires. Also, I sometimes notice more siping in the SL versions, which is important for winter traction.

But, before anything else, I would throw a few bags of sand in the bed, over the axles, and see if that makes an improvement.

 

E rated tires will ride like crap, mpg will take a hit and loss of power. They are heavier than the SL rated so the rotating mass is what hurts, plus the added wear on the brakes.

 

Thanks everyone. Called MT this morning and according to the rep I spoke with the STD/SL is still 3 ply side wall. Yes the E rated would be a touch stronger in extreme situations since it is built for harder work use, but I prob won't be taking this truck through any crazy trails unless things hits the fan lol. They like most of y'all recommended the SL for what I am doing so I have a set of the 285/70r17 on order. Should be in 3wks or so according to them.

 

Go SL and air down a bit. Easyday

 

Depends how often you’re off road

 

Honestly I wanna do some trails but don’t plan on anything extreme like rock bouncing etc. lol.

 

I go off road on SL rated tires out here in the high elevations of the Rocky Mountains in ColoRADo and have only had one sidewall damaged tire. It was a winter tire on a FS road where I didn’t see the rock.

 

Thank y’all again for the help.