leo319
Member
Mainly to increase payload capacity and without making any modifications to the suspension. 4080 pounds per tire vs 3640 pounds with current size. Michelin Defender LTX is the tire I am after...
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Lets see what you are towing!
- Thread starter alankusek
- Start date
Mainly to increase payload capacity and without making any modifications to the suspension. 4080 pounds per tire vs 3640 pounds with current size. Michelin Defender LTX is the tire I am after...
MSundet
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The Michelin Defener LTX are quite and a great ride my father loves them and only does little over 1/2 wear and changes to the next set he swears by them and is always excited for the new set
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Kimo7
HDRams' Official Greeter
I’m a huge fan of Michelin’s. I’m amazed at how much they transformed the ride and handling characteristics of every vehicle I’ve put them on. I replaced the OEM tires on my previous truck, 2017 Limited 2500 with the Cummins, with stock size Michelin LTX M/S2’s, they hadn’t merged the defender line into them at that time. I was really disappointed that at 26k miles the Transforce’s were down to the wear bars. I drive normal, and carry out maintenance with attention to detail including rotating the tires frequently. The Michelins had about 14k on them when I traded and showed no wear. The only negative is my MPG dropped a little but totally worth the trade off made up in handling.
I’ve been looking into different size tires when the time comes to replace the Firestone’s on my new truck. My concern is getting too big and rubbing the inner fenders, getting too far off the engineering specs. I really like looking at the lifted trucks with big tires, it’s just not for me. I went through a lot to get the ball mount height and weight distribution adjusted just right on my current tow set up. I’m good with the factory tire specs for my tow needs but I also believe a stiffer sidewall is always better.
It sounds quirky but I like the look of an OWL tire but that limits the size range. I’m 99% there with Michelins (BSW) but open to Bridgestone Dueler LTH too. I don’t need a true mud/snow tire in Northern VA so a HT is more suited to my towing on asphalt. Good luck with your decision. Post some pics of what you end up going with. I’m interested in seeing how much that size tire will fill up the wheel wells.
I’ve been looking into different size tires when the time comes to replace the Firestone’s on my new truck. My concern is getting too big and rubbing the inner fenders, getting too far off the engineering specs. I really like looking at the lifted trucks with big tires, it’s just not for me. I went through a lot to get the ball mount height and weight distribution adjusted just right on my current tow set up. I’m good with the factory tire specs for my tow needs but I also believe a stiffer sidewall is always better.
It sounds quirky but I like the look of an OWL tire but that limits the size range. I’m 99% there with Michelins (BSW) but open to Bridgestone Dueler LTH too. I don’t need a true mud/snow tire in Northern VA so a HT is more suited to my towing on asphalt. Good luck with your decision. Post some pics of what you end up going with. I’m interested in seeing how much that size tire will fill up the wheel wells.
leo319
Member
Gotcha, yeah I am a huge fan of them as well. That's the only brand I purchase when I am in need for tires. I usually buy tires until I wear the original ones, but because of how much I am pushing the firestones I will be replacing soon.
I personally do not like lifted trucks or bigger tires with the aggressive look (nittos, BF KO2s, etc) on these trucks, and I am well aware of the rubbing the inner fenders if going too big. A buddy of mine got the same exact set up I want (Michelins LTXs 295/65/20 - all stock suspension) on a 2017 3500 and did not have any rubbing or issues. I believe the shape and thread of the tire makes a difference if you compare the same size with an "aggressive" mud/all-terrain type of tire. He got 46k miles out of them before he eventually lifted the truck and changed other things.
I'll ask him for pics of the set up and post it here...
leo319
Member
Yup, it's funny my father swears by them also. He owned several 18-wheelers a few years back and I remember seeing them with all Michelins except the trailers. Those things are pricey ($5-$600+ per tire, multiply that by 10? lol), but he would tell me it was well worth comparing to Chinese or other American brands. Different application than what we have in our trucks, but I know some do share the same technology and materials..
Burn'n Oil
It's a metaphor!
If your rear GAWR is being exceeded by 700ish lbs, I'd be more concerned with the axle. Your OE tires @ 80 PSI are load rated for weights that far exceed the truck's rear GAWR.
Burn'n Oil
It's a metaphor!
Is that a rag top 442?My Old 4th Gen HO before I retired it
1FastHemi
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It looks like an 1972 Hurst Olds Cutlas, Indy Pace Car to me. My neighbor has one in his collection. There were only about 130 convertibles made I believe.Is that a rag top 442?
geektoad
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That's actually backwards. The AAM 11.5" axle's GAWR is 10k pounds.
Burn'n Oil
It's a metaphor!
The truck in question is an oil burning 3500 and as such sports a 12-inch axle. The GAWR for the 12-inch is 7K lbs. That load limit applies to all 19/20 3500 SRW trucks. The OE tires on the truck in question are LT285/60R20E Transforce ATs, which I'd mistakenly understood to have a ~3800 lb load limit @ 80 PSI. They do not. They in fact have the same load limit (3640 lbs) as the 18-inch tires. The operator of the truck in question may derive some comfort by installing LT295/65R20 tires with a combined load limit of 4080 lbs. However, that poor axle...
geektoad
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I highly doubt AAM's new 12" axle has a lower GAWR than the older 11.5 that was used up until 2018 (however, it's also new enough that i can't currently find that data). There's a difference between what the axle itself is rated for and what the "rear axle" number of the truck is as the one for the truck takes into account suspension and everything else. The only reason I mentioned the part specific rating was due to the comparison of the tires to the axle above. the AAM axles GM and RAM are using the last couple generations are stout...they will rarely be the weak link in a consumer pickup truck.
joshuaerdman
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Burn'n Oil
It's a metaphor!
geektoad
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Yes, those are the ratings for the vehicle configuration as i mentioned, not the gross rating for the AAM 12" axle on it's own.
Kimo7
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That’s a great looking rig. Congrats on both!
Thanks! Picked it up in FL a couple weeks ago ( right before things went crazy), spent a couple nights there testing it out, then towed it back to our temporary home at my dad’s place in NC. Towing odometer shows 655 miles.
It felt great back there, and the Hemi definitely didn’t seem to mind. Felt about the same to me ( power wise) as towing my 900# ATV on a 1000# trailer behind my previous 2016 Wrangler Unlimited. Hell, I even forgot to put it in tow/haul mode at one point and the MDS kicked in. My wife towed about half the drive and even she commented that it was easy.
We usually kicked along at about 70-75 mph and were getting about 9.5mpg at that speed. Dropping down to 65 brought it up over 11mpg.