E Load Tires - Are they necessary ?

All,

wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts on E load tires and whether they are a must or if C load is acceptable for places like Colorado, Moab .

I have E load and no major complaints , just don’t know if it’s worth going to C for less weight and road noise but weaker tire.

 

I would say avoid E load if at all possible. I have E load on my 3/4 ton truck, not on the Tacoma.

C and D load tires will flex more when aired down, that's what you want. I recommend 12 psi if you are not a high throttle wheeler.

 

Agreed, E load tires are overkill on a Tacoma.
They were great on my Duramax 3/4 ton truck pulling my 33 foot camper.

 

What’s your pucker threshold? I “need” E load tires 2-3 days in a year. I also have a road car, but when I want a truck it’s there, when
I want a play toy it’s there.

 

That’s sort of where I am, I really only need E load 2-3 weeks out of the year when I off-road . But when you’re off-roading off the grid, that risk is not worth it in my opinion but don’t have enough experience off-roading with C rated tires to know they’re just as reliable

 

I have 33's which are typically E load for full size trucks. Skinnys are hard to find and expensive

In 30-31in tires, you have more c load tire options for SUV's

32" tires have some c load options

I currently use off brand 285's which were $160 each instead of $250-300 each.

Any gas they eat because of weight is offset by my slow driving and the cost i saved in buying an offbrand.

Are E load necessary on a tacoma? Hell no!
The max load The tires are for would crush the tacos suspension.

However, i have the heaviest made springs and typically overload my truck.

Also, if you are prone to getting flats, E load tires are less likely to get punctured and hold a plug better, if you do get a puncture.

If you have a mall crawler or a daily hwy driver, just use c load tires in 265

 

Depends where you drive I only use e load but I camp out remote back country alone street wise they’re pretty quiet and smooth (fallen wildpeaks)

 

I had E rated tires on my Tacoma for a day and it felt like I was driving on concrete blocks. The sidewalls don’t give very much so it makes the ride feel stiff and they weigh a lot more.

My tire shop put the wrong tires on by mistake, so I got a free trial of E rated tires. It was a huge improvement when the correct ones went on.

 

This is from Toyo's website
Open County AT3

P 285/70R17 SL 46 lbs

LT 285/70R17 C Load 55 lbs

LT 285/70R17 E Load 55 lbs (BSW)

LT 285/70R17 E Load 53 lbs (WSW)

LT 255/80R17 E Load 50 lbs

Thats from Toyo. If you look at other sources the weight may be different.

I'm running the SL version and going to Moab end of March. Debating if I should change out to 255.
Read from plenty of people on here running the 255s and they were happy with how smooth they are for an E load.

 

235/85/16 was only E rated so I went with it. I'm driving a truck, not an S Class so its no big deal.

I will be moving to 255s sometime in the near future and those are also E rated

 

For durability they cant be beat. Fuel economy, performance and handling are noticeably worse running my BFG KO2s E rated. Its a trade off only the operator can decide on.

 

me too , I have E load wildpeaks.

I’m not worried about overloading the tires, more for the tire protection from off-roading, so not sure if C rated is still reliable enough for those remote camping trips

 

I wheel on lots of lava rocks and roads with my C load tires and they're just fine. The lava rocks will tear open any load rated tires, so it's about wheel placement for me.
I went with C load for better ride and reduction of rotational mass.

I ran E load for years and appreciate my C loads now.

 

Does anyone make a decent tire in 255/80/17 or 255/85/16 that are C Load? I haven't seen any, but I've only just started looking as my current tires are nearing replacement.

 

I ended up with "E" as the KO2 in a 285/75/17 only come in "E".

 

Before I got my camper, I was still running SL Duratracs under my Tacoma with AT Habitat. Done a good hunk of the WABDR, lots of forest service roads, some trails like at Tahuya, and some of that wonderful rocky stuff where it sounds like your driving on piles of broken glass. Never had an issue (maybe I was super lucky). I've since upgraded to E, but simply due to the weight of my camper and everything else on my truck. It's pushing the limits in that regard. But my main point here is that I'm sure a C tire, or a D, would treat you well, and save you from the weight/stiff ride of the E.

 

I'm running 265/75 -16 load range E Toyo open country mud terrain tires on my 02 tacoma 4cyl Pre Runner . No issues with these tires I've had in the 6 years /30k miles they have been on my truck

Only thing I've done was set the air press at 30psi which is 50lbs less than max pressure rated for this tire and there is no harsh ride quality moticed

 

I had E rated Duratracs, then P rated Grabber APT's & Toyo AT3's, and now back to E rated Motomaster Eliminator Eliminator X-trail A/T. The P rated tires stopped doing well in snow/winter within 2-3 years due to their lower tread depth.

Yes, E rated are more harsh, but I likely won't go back to P rated because I don't want to have to switch tires out every 2-3 years (40k KM's)...

However, if I didn't have to worry about winter, I'd for sure stick with P rated!

 

I feel like these are the extreme's of the spectrum. Passenger to E rated. Have you thought of trying anything in between?