Too much tire on my LC100?

[bunduguy]

I couldn't find a thread that addressed my issue, so I'm starting this hoping for some genius input.

I have a 1998 LC100 with 119k on it. I recently replaced suspension and got HD OME coils, shocks and bars. I love the lift, but the ride felt hard as hell. Christo Slee (thanks Christo) looked at my vehicle and said the lift was too high, and that's probably because I put on the HD kit in anticipation of front and rear bumper and winch install later this year, as well as pulling off-road travel trailers.
Here's my issue.
I don't think it is all the suspensions fault for my sh##ty ride. I checked my tires, which were recommended and installed by Discount tire here in Santa Fe. They installed Nitto Terra Grapplers 265x75x16. They are 'E' rated. Isn't that too heavy for my vehicle, even when it is loaded. I just realized they were 'E's" recently while doing an of-road trail. Even after airing them down, they still have no bulge at all. The things are rated to 80psi! I currently have them at about 60psi for loaded highway travel, and feel absolutely everything on the road surface.
So are my tires too heavy-duty for a comfortable ride?

 

[spressomon]

E rated tire casings are probably a little stiff...certainly more so than a D rated tire all things being equal of course.

But back the psi down to 40-45psi and you'll notice a huge improvement. I NEVER run over 52psi on my E rated GY MT/R Kevlar's and that's with TONS of added weight and a trailer.

The HD springs are not helping if you don't have additional weight on the rig: I.e. bumpers, skid plates, cargo, drawers, etc.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

I run the same tires on my 4000lb first gen 4runner at 35-40 psi. The ride is much better than the 31's I had on the truck. They were way too squishy didnt turn or track well at higher speeds.

 

[CA-RJ]

I run load range E on my 4Runner which is much lighter than your LC and it rides fine. I also run them at 35 psi. Try running a lower PSI. Is is possible that your new suspension needs to break in?

 

[bunduguy]

Okay, so back down the pressure a bunch. We'll see how that does.

 

[bunduguy]

I run load range E on my 4Runner which is much lighter than your LC and it rides fine. I also run them at 35 psi. Try running a lower PSI. Is is possible that your new suspension needs to break in?

She's done quite a few road miles and a little off roading. Maybe I need to load the shizzle out of her and go bounce a little bit?!

 

[bunduguy]

E rated tire casings are probably a little stiff...certainly more so than a D rated tire all things being equal of course.

But back the psi down to 40-45psi and you'll notice a huge improvement. I NEVER run over 52psi on my E rated GY MT/R Kevlar's and that's with TONS of added weight and a trailer.

The HD springs are not helping if you don't have additional weight on the rig: I.e. bumpers, skid plates, cargo, drawers, etc.

I have a RTT with full length rack, but that's not much. Hopefully by summers end the fr a rr bumpers and maybe sliders. That should give me a little more sag.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Ughhh... the guys that installed your tires are retards.
Sorry to be non-PC, but that term is accurate to describe them.

Take a look at the sticker inside your door jam/sill. It will tell you what tire pressure to run. Chances are it is somewhere between 35-40 PSi based on the size and weight of your vehicle. Depending on how much gear you load it up with on a trip, you can adjust the PSi a bit to hold the weight better.

Going by the sticker on your door jam is the proper method of determining what pressure to run your tires at. If they did indeed set them at 60, I would tell the manager and not ever go back to that shop. This is a VERY BASIC piece of tire installation knowledge. If the tire "techs" at that shop don't know that, they haven't been trained properly therefore you = stay the hell away from that place!

 

[Nay]

Ughhh... the guys that installed your tires are retards.
Sorry to be non-PC, but that term is accurate to describe them.

Take a look at the sticker inside your door jam/sill. It will tell you what tire pressure to run. Chances are it is somewhere between 35-40 PSi based on the size and weight of your vehicle. Depending on how much gear you load it up with on a trip, you can adjust the PSi a bit to hold the weight better.

Going by the sticker on your door jam is the proper method of determining what pressure to run your tires at. If they did indeed set them at 60, I would tell the manager and not ever go back to that shop. This is a VERY BASIC piece of tire installation knowledge. If the tire "techs" at that shop don't know that, they haven't been trained properly therefore you = stay the hell away from that place!

Every time I read a post about somebody who is running around on 60 PSI I am just amazed. Load Range E has nothing to do with it. Run normal pressure, for that tire I'd start around 38 PSI and adjust up on down 2-3 PSI from there.

You feel every tiny piece of the road because you are riding on over-inflated iron.

OME shocks also suck at high valving for heavy rigs, but until you actually run proper PSI there is no reason to look at anything else.

BTW, I run 37" Load Range E tires on a lighter rig than yours, and they are nice and soft at 35 PSI. At 60 PSI it would be unlikely I could keep it on the road at any material speed. You have good tires, enjoy them.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Every time I read a post about somebody who is running around on 60 PSI I am just amazed. Load Range E has nothing to do with it.

Typically a 3/4 or 1-ton truck is run with 60 front and 80 rear due to the carrying and towing capacities that it is designed with from the factory. Of course, these trucks weigh like 7-8000 pounds unloaded.
But even those trucks will usually have a very stiff ride unless you lower the PSi a bit. I've often seen guys that don't utilize anywhere near the full capacities of their trucks run 50/60 front rear. These would be guys that tow a very light trailer, or just use their truck as a daily driver.
Before pulling a heavy trailer it's easy enough to bump it back up to the proper 60/80 and you're good to go.

 

[Cackalak Han]

I ran BFG KO 265/75/16 load range E on my old Tacoma with no issues. Kept my psi at 32-38 and seriously couldn't tell much difference from the old Ragged Fails.

 

[bunduguy]

Thanks guys. Awesome input! The psi is going wayyyyyy down, and then we'll see. Thanks so much again for all the knowledge base.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Thanks so much again for all the knowledge base.

It's one of the few things I can contribute. lololol

 

[7wt]

I had load E's on my Tacoma and did just fine although it was a little rough. I kept around 31-32 psi in the tires. I was told by many a tire salesman that wasn't the thing to do as it leads to the tire becoming out of round. The last year I had them on my truck, I couldn't keep them balanced to save my life and the front end shimmy was becoming dangerous. I switched to load C's and it's like riding on a magic carpet. I would have bought D's if the Duratracs were available in that load range but I am happy overall.

 

[locrwln]

Typically a 3/4 or 1-ton truck is run with 60 front and 80 rear due to the carrying and towing capacities that it is designed with from the factory. Of course, these trucks weigh like 7-8000 pounds unloaded.
But even those trucks will usually have a very stiff ride unless you lower the PSi a bit. I've often seen guys that don't utilize anywhere near the full capacities of their trucks run 50/60 front rear. These would be guys that tow a very light trailer, or just use their truck as a daily driver.
Before pulling a heavy trailer it's easy enough to bump it back up to the proper 60/80 and you're good to go.

The truck in my sig line (PSD, CC, LWB, 4x4) has the stock size 265, load range E's. Unloaded, I run 55psi in the front and rear and yes it weighs 7800lbs empty. So like most, lower pressures = mo' better.

Jack