C vs D Tires - Ride Quality, Weight, Etc.

Sorry if this has been discussed to death. I tried search but most discussions seem to focus on E vs everything else.

I currently have some 37” E rated pro comps. It’s time to replace them. I want a lighter and more complaint tire so I was checking out D rated tires. After a bit of searching I found/remembered tires also come in C ratings.

My problem is I can only find 1 tire that’s C rated, available, and in my size - BFG AT (tires must be AT I’m getting old). With that problem comes cost. The C rated tires are about 300.00 - 400.00 more for a set of four tires.


My question is…is there enough difference between a C rated and a D rated tire to justify the price difference?

I’ve read enough on the different ratings to know a C rated tire is sufficient for the type of off roading I do. So we can just focus on ride quality and weight.

 

Is there much weight difference between the C and the D ?

 

On Monday I’m getting my E-rated Duratracs pulled for the C-rated tires I originally ordered. I’ll update with any performance differences once they are on. 9lb difference per tire.

 

Good question. I’ll look them up. The tires I was originally looking at I couldn’t find weights so I gave up.

Hopefully lighter than my current ones at 72 pounds.

Edit: looks like between the two it’s 5 pounds per tire. Or 7 less than mine if I went with the C rated.

 

Oh sweet. I’ll watch for the update. 9lbs is quite a bit. I’m hoping for better ride and lighter weight. My current tires are 72 pounds.

 

Curious how a taco can push 37” Es without being a total dog.

 

Mine has 4.88’s and an OVTune with gear lock. Seems to be close to what it was stock. Granted my gas mileage suuuuucks and my top speed is 80 without a headwind on a flat road. Haha

 

Makes sense. 37s without regear would be brutal

 

Big time. I got one of the first sets of gears that arrived in the US. Sometimes I wish I would have waited because now there are 5.13 options which I’d love to have.

 

Biggest problem with C's is availability as you've seen.

Back when I got duratracs you had to wait 4 weeks after ordering them in C.

My fear is a destroyed tire, I want a replacement ASAP, and 4 weeks wouldnt cut it.

E's are more available, are tougher, and look tougher (if that matters)

I can usually spot C's by the sidewall curve and lack of tread depth. Most common C's are BFG's and Duratracs here.

 

Four wheel parts has the C and D’s available next day. Thankfully. Bad news no discounts. There are a couple other D rated tires that are priced like 500 less than the BFG’s.

My issue I’ve never cared about load ratings or noise. I just buy whatever tire looks good and I’m done. So when it comes to it is there a difference between 7 pounds on a tire?

A D is going to ride between than what I have. But is it worth to spend an extra 200-500 bucks to save 5 more pounds a tire. I have no idea.

 

For 200-500 more. Imo it's not worth it. Having said that, I went from E to C and noticed a huge difference on washboard roads and uneven ground. The shocks also have a easier time dampening since I shaved 5lbs per corner.

 

I got the tires on today. I drove some of the same roads I drive daily and a few others. I’ve increased 2.5mpg for sure. I have very limited data and there may be more if an effect than that. That’s a conservative estimate from what the truck is showing. I honestly can’t believe the same tire, same size, different load rating made that big of a difference.
I can’t tell a difference in handling. The ride might be 1% softer with the C tires vs the E.

 

I think you will feel much more difference in ride when you air down.

 

Thanks for the update. The gas mileage would be nice (mine is somewhere around 11-12) but I was hoping the ride would be different too.

Still good news though. I’m definitely going with C. Now to find a tire.

 

Mine is totally fine and I have zero complaints. Just got a new tune and its even more fine. Dont get into 6th gear as with the speedo difference I would be going 90+mph, but otherwise it cruises.

Another thing about Bfgs OP, is that they run extremely small. 37'' Bfgs usually measure out to around a 35.5'', their 39s measure out to 36.5ish, so on.

I run my D rated tires at 32 psi on the street, and they are plush/as squishy as they can be. Truck has a lot of rock/side to side jerk with all the sidewall, so I wouldn't even worry about a C rated tire vs a D rated. More of the ride quality comes from tire pressure and suspension.

 

Yeah once I saw how small BFG’s ran I understood why they are so light. Way small. Moved on quickly after that.

You run 37’s too? What is your tune?