Help me choose a tire!

My tires aren't worn out, exactly, but they are old...I got the truck in October of 2010, and I drove it straight from my parents' house to the nearest tire shop because the tires on it were that bad (as Ralphie might have said, they were only actually tires in the academic sense. They were round and had once been made of rubber). My requirements for tires at that time were pretty simple:

• Round
• Black
• Cheap
• Close by

I ended up with Mastercraft Courser HTR tires, in P235/75R15. They've served me well (and I'm not interested in larger tires), but I think I can do better now. My biggest complaint with the tires I have isn't functionality, it's appearance - they look like they belong on a Honda Civic. My truck is only 2WD and hasn't been lifted, but I'd still like something that looks just a little more 'trucky'. Here's what it looks like today: Focusing in on the front driver's tire: My biggest complaint is how much bulge there is in the sidewall down by the ground - it's hard to see in these photos, but I constantly think my tires are underinflated. I'm assuming the problem here is that these are 'P' tires, not 'LT'. Am I correct in assuming that a light truck tire will give me less of a squashed-down, overloaded appearance? The tire in the photo is inflated to 35 PSI, so pressure isn't the issue here. I was poking around on TireRack, and found these: Grabber A/TX I like them, but they may be a little too aggressive for what I need. I don't offroad in any real sense of the word, although I occasionally drive dirt roads and plain ground either supporting Boy Scout campouts or hauling firewood for my parents. A little more traction in those situations would be welcome, although not at the cost of a horribly loud tire on the road where I do 98% of my driving. So...all this leads up to the question: what do you have that you like, that's a little more rugged than what I have now without going overboard?

Mathew, I am not the one to be able to answer your question as mine sports P215/75 X 15... But, what I can point out is that most likely, what you desire will not enhance gas mileage and I know you do try to get the best MPG [remember the mileage test in 2019?].

I don't know, David.  If the tire has less bulge maybe it will have less resistance to rolling.  I've read that the bulge, aka deflection, causes tires to be running "uphill" the whole time.

Hey! I just so happen to work at a tire shop and have gathered knowledge through experience to this subject!

So generally, the cheaper the tire, the less material was used making it, or at least the less good material. You already know that you get what you pay for, and sometimes, once in a while, you do get a little more. It's always a trade-off, though.

For the quiet and durability and price, I personally like the Firestone Destination LE. It is a truck tire (or van), long-wearing (some report more than 80,000 mi), and they handle the weight of the trucks well without looking weak at the bottom. This is what we put on most of the trucks coming into our shop because they are really not that much more expensive than the cheap tires, and they are made better.



In my experience the LT tires on a non-heavy-duty truck are overkill and ride really rough. Plus, they are usually just a little more expensive.

I have had good luck with my cheap tires called Fuzions. I cannot recommend them for your truck because I don't like how they look, and I know you are going for a good-looking tire, but they are surprisingly good for a cheap tire.

Perhaps surprisingly, gas mileage isn't of major importance to me, although like everyone else I do prefer better to worse.  I remember the gas mileage test from last year, but don't forget that I participated (a) out of curiosity and (b) to provide a baseline for the rest of you to compare against.  

Excepting years in which I drive to Skiatook, I only put about 2500 miles/year on the truck, so fuel isn't a huge expense for me.

FoxFord33 wrote

Hey! I just so happen to work at a tire shop and have gathered knowledge through experience to this subject!

Are you new?  This is the internet, we can't have informed expertise around here!

Oh...wait, this is Gary's garage.  Ignore me, I got carried away.

Anyway, thanks for the intel.  So a question to you: I was looking at the specs for the Destination tire, and noticed the rim width range for the size in question is listed as 6"-8".  My rims are 5.5" - is that perhaps part of my problem, I have too-wide tires on a too-narrow rim?  Should I consider stepping back to the factory spec 215/75R15 tires?

Matthew - You do remember Steve from the get-together.  Right?

Gary Lewis wrote

Matthew - You do remember Steve from the get-together.  Right?

Of course.  I should have included the /sarc tag for clarity.

Interesting dilemma. I appreciate the original tires on the F-100/150's were P-metrics. $10 per tire from a corporate position is significant. My first suggestion is to upgrade to an LT tire. From the string so far you are usually driving this truck with a load on it. It is not used as a secondary cruiser. If it is going to be working, let's give it better tools to work with. As for brand and model of tire, I gotten attached to the BF Goodrich All Terrain TA. Yes they are a bit on the spendy side, But as has already been said, you get what you pay for. For over thirty years they've down right by me. I don't get the nails or other junk like I used to get. A lot of folks will go with bigger and wider tires. I have found things just work and last longer with the original "pizza cutters". AT tires on a 2WD just gives it a little bit of a pop. Plus you get the choice of black wall or raised white letters. Some fresh argent paint on those rims and it should pop quite nice. Should firm the ride up some too. Good luck.

Rodeoclown wrote

Interesting dilemma. I appreciate the original tires on the F-100/150's were P-metrics. $10 per tire from a corporate position is significant. My first suggestion is to upgrade to an LT tire. From the string so far you are usually driving this truck with a load on it. It is not used as a secondary cruiser. If it is going to be working, let's give it better tools to work with. As for brand and model of tire, I gotten attached to the BF Goodrich All Terrain TA. Yes they are a bit on the spendy side, But as has already been said, you get what you pay for. For over thirty years they've down right by me. I don't get the nails or other junk like I used to get. A lot of folks will go with bigger and wider tires. I have found things just work and last longer with the original "pizza cutters". AT tires on a 2WD just gives it a little bit of a pop. Plus you get the choice of black wall or raised white letters. Some fresh argent paint on those rims and it should pop quite nice. Should firm the ride up some too. Good luck.

I may have been unclear in my original post - while I do haul the occasional load of firewood for my parents or pile of mulch for the yard, the vast majority of time I'm just tooling around town in it.  

Also, I clearly need to wash my truck more - those are (supposedly) white rims.

Glad to see Steve here.    Gary had us concerned.

Matthew,
Radial tires bulge. That's how they increase contact patch over bias ply.
Believe me you don't want a 10 ply E-rated tire running at 75psi like my truck.

So yes, a LT or C-rated tire would appear less squat, and running then at 45-48psig would reduce rolling resistance.
But none of that would help your trucks handling or ride.

Yes, the thinner wheel will make it look a bit different. The other thing about it is that they don't make all sizes anymore. It may be a bit more expense, but you might look into a wheel of more modern size, and then you can get currently-available tire sizes that will look how you want them to. The 7x15 is very readily available because many people are going to 17's and even 20's. And it looks really normal on the truck.

In case anyone reading this wants to know, the modern tire size convention can be decoded thusly:

1st number. Mid number. Last number
       215.                75.                  15.
Width in mm.   Sidewall %     Wheel dia

So this tire is 215mm wide, and the sidewall is 75% of 215mm. The tire fits on a 15" rim. It's really funky if you think about three different types of measuring crammed together. Once anybody understands and speaks the language, it's normalized, but still weird to think about it.

All that to say: convert the mm to inches in order to pick a tire that looks the way you want on your wheel. 215mm is almost 8.5 inches.

So if you are looking for a tire that fits better on a 5.5" the choices are going to be more like passenger car tires, which will do that bulging thing you're talking about.

White rims would look nice too. I'll still stand by the C rated LT tires. It's all a matter of opinion and preferences. Good luck.

So after a little more looking around online and general cogitation, I've got it down to two candidates. Contestant #1 is the Firestone Destination LE2 as recommended above by Steve. If I go with an all-season tire this is what I'll get, although I notice that the LE2 is on closeout and seems to be replaced by the LE3 - Steve, do you have any familiarity with the LE3? Checking the specs on Tire Rack, the LE3 is two pounds lighter and has 2/32" less tread depth than its predecessor.

Contestant #2 is the Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015. It seems to be pretty mild as far as all-terrain tires go, but it's still a bit more aggressive looking than an all-season tire. It's an LT tire with load range C, so it's obviously going to be heavier and harsher than the Destination, but I do like the 16/32" tread depth that it comes with.

One additional twist...I'm now seriously considering dropping down to the 215/75R15 size recommended by Ford, instead of the 235/75R15s I'm running now. Besides making the tires look a little less puffy on the rims (which I am not inclined to replace at this time), it will probably help with one of my driveability issues. My truck is a 300 with a C6 transmission and 2.75 axle, and as it stands today I have a hard time maintaining interstate speeds on anything less than the most gentle grade...a slightly smaller-diameter tire should help with this.

Anyone have additional thoughts before I make a decision? Lots of great commentary up above, keep it coming...

Had you considered a compromise at 225/75-R15?

The LE2 & 3 are both available.
Also the Destination A/T which is an LT tire

These might hit the middle ground between bulbous and OE skinny.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Had you considered a compromise at 225/75-R15?

I haven't.  I'm not necessarily opposed to a 225, but I'm not sure what it would get me.  I actually have no idea why I have 235s on there today; I don't know whether I misread the label, told the shop the wrong thing, or they didn't do what I asked...but I don't think I'm getting any particular benefit from 235s.  

Also, skinny doesn't bother me.  When I stopped at the National Corvette Museum on the way back from Skiatook last year, I was taken by how nice the mid-60s racing Corvettes looked with the tall tires of the day.  Corvettes and F-150s are very different creatures of course, but it helped me realize that a shorter profile isn't always better.

The LE2 & 3 are both available.
Also the Destination A/T which is an LT tire

These might hit the middle ground between bulbous and OE skinny.

That Destination A/T actually looks pretty good - better than the Yokohama in my opinion.  It isn't available in anything less than a 235 width, though...but it's on the list if I stay with that size.

I'm on the Firestone website. Specifically looking at the item #026546





They also have a 215/75 right above that.

I think it *was* available, but is no longer.  All of my local tire shops say it can't be ordered, and now that Firestone has the Destination A/T2 for sale, I suspect the original A/T has been discontinued.

Of course the A/T2, besides costing more, isn't available in anything narrower than 235 for a 15" wheel.

Sorry for the bad info Matthew!  

I always thought going direct to the source was better than relying on someone who's trying to sell you their dead inventory.
This time it's backfired on me.