Tire Load Ratings

Rated! They are 6/8 ply rated.

They are all three ply.

The vast majority of us should be on SL tires, not LT. The weight rating is for hauling weight and when you put your LT rated tire at a lower pressure, for the lower weight of the Tacoma, you are actually decreasing the weight rating to where the rating is now lower than an SL rated tire at the appropriate pressure. The SL 112T tires still have a higher weight rating than the Tacomas GVWR/Payload capacity.

Only a handful of Tacoma guys should be on an LT tire, and they know who they are. But far too many people on here "think" they need to be on an LT, when in reality, they don't. Putting an LT tire on when you don't need it just puts much more wear/tear on components and makes the truck feel slow and sluggish.

If if you like bashing bitey rocks at speed, or you have massive amounts of armor and upgrades on your truck, then yeah, the LT tire is for you. But most peoples idea of off-roading is basically limited to Forest Roads etc., where the SL rated tire is more than up to the task. I've done some burly rocky chunky offroady stuff with SL rated AT tires without any problems.

 

Tire ply and load rating used to be synonymous. 4 ply P-Metric or SL, 6 ply - LR C, 8 ply - LR D, 10 ply - LR E. That is no longer true and actually hasn't been for a really long time. As just posted above almost all the new tires are a 3 ply. The size of materials may differ but the plies pretty much remain the same. The load range changes but in reality it is minor changes in the layup of the structure of the tire. There are lots of 6/8/10 ply tires that are nearly identical weight.

for instance the Toyo A/t 3

LT285/70R17
116/113Q C
None 2,755 lbs 50 psi 16.5/32" 54 lbs 7.5-9.5" 8.5" 11.5" 9" 32.8" 634 US
LT285/70R17
121/118S E
None 3,195 lbs 80 psi 16.5/32" 54 lbs 7.5-9.5" 8.5" 11.5" 8.8" 33" 630 JP

 

No affiliation, but a better understanding of tire ply's and load ratings, etc, is part of why I chose the Maxxis RAZR AT 811's. A really chunky, 3Peak M/S, well rated off-road tire (in AUS/NZ) and only 38lbs for the SL rated 112T version.

 

What does a person do when they chalk an unladen truck, then puts max payload in and drives for 10 hours at 75mph?

 

Add enough pressure to the tires to support an extra 600 lbs/tire. Probably 4-5 psi per tire when the tires are COLD. Drop your speed by about 10 mph.

Cold meaning driven less than 1 mile. Tires begin heating up in short order, more so under increased load.

I suppose you could become all anal about it. Looking at the load vs tire pressure on the driver's door placard to compare to the mounted tire's max load, use math with ratios to estimate the pressure, then use a pencil gage with a wide tolerance to set the tire pressure. Finish with a head full of anxiety for 10 hours about a blow out.

 

Ok, again, there is nothing scientific to your chalk test. NOTHING. It doesn't work and provides zero data. This isn't 1963 where tires are made with a bias ply construction. It simply of no value other than making your kids say "where is my chalk".

 

There is nothing scientific about it. There is nothing scientific about using the head of a penny to measure tread depth either, but both are a pretty good indicator. I've never used chalk, but drive enough on dirt roads to get my tires muddy. After getting back on pavement for a few miles if there is mud still on the outside edges of my tires it is a pretty damn good indicator that there is too much air in them. Exactly how much air can only be determined by the old fashioned trial and error method. Not scientific, but that method has been working since people have been driving on paved roads.

 

Sure it is. Not rocket science but science. The chalk dissipates sooner per tire rotation in either the center or the outside. Fill or let out air until the chalk evenly dissipates on the test run. I don't see it being that hard to understand.

 

Your hyperbole leads me to believe you do not understand the first thing about the how and why of calculating it. It's one thing to know the methods and make an informed decision...
There's nothing wrong with being ignorant; we can't know what we don't know. Hell, I use to use the chalk before I knew better. But...revelling in one's own ignorance seems quite popular these days.

Buh-bye.

 

Crazy that they are only 38lbs. Would love to drop 15lbs per tire of rotational weight from current setup. I see you mentioned in AUS/NZ, but do you know of any site I can purchase these from and ship to the US?

Checked their website and in size LT285/70/17, it's actually 6 lbs heavier than my current K02's in the same size. That being said these Maxxis are 10 ply vs my 6ply K02's.

 

You assume too much.

 

https://simpletire.com/brands/maxxis-tires/razr-at-811

 

There's a thread on here about them. They are kind of a goldilocks tire for how the majority of us use our trucks.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/maxxis-razr-at-in-e-and-sl.687907/

 

Let me guess, you read it on the internet so it has to be true? Please take the time to read Split's and my previous posts in this thread. If you still think there is value in your chalk nonsense please support your position with facts. Not trying to bash you, but you are simply wrong.

 

Exactly true. The reality is that there is nothing stopping a company from labeling a tire a lesser load index. If they are making two tires in the same size, they could be identical except for the rating. Load capacity is dictated by the air pressure. In this example I would be willing to bet that the load capacity of the E tire at 50 psi is probably close to what the C is at 50. The difference being is that the E as stated can hold a max of 80. That isn't to say that the C couldn't do the same, but the label indicates a max of 50.

 

I have Maxxis tires on my '93 MR2 (not the off road ones) they replaced the rear Toyo tires that had worn out and Toyo no longer makes a wide 15" tire. The Maxxis tires, unlike the Toyos, have been very long wearing.

Maxxis also makes a lot of bicycle tires.

 

Maxxis is made by Chen Shin, in Taiwan, not China (important difference) and is the largest tire producer in the world.

 

I'm sorry to get you so upset.

 

Please, don't flatter yourself. Just take the time to learn and not try to defend a position on a subject that you clearly don't know.

 

I'm not going to waste more time getting a doctorate in tire pressure. I got other more important stuff to fill my head with. I have my grand-kids sidewalk chalk ready to go but most important I have tire gauge that shows me 35 lbs.

(Last post on this thread, Bye)