I'm going to be replacing the stock P tires on my 2011 FX4 Max Tow. Assuming I get LT tires should I get C or E rated tires? My complaint now is squishiness when towing 8k# trailer. I want to help that without making the ride too uncomfortable?

Has anyone had the chance to run both C and E and can compare?

 

You could try Cooper Zeon's with a 117 (2800 lb) load rating. Awfully darn close to LT rated tires and maybe not so stiff in the ride department. Plenty of reviews on them and my #1 choice for my next set of tires.

 

The best option will depend on different factors.

How often do you haul/tow?

How big of a deal is gas mileage too you?

Is acceleration a big consideration?

What gear ratio do you already have?

Are you okay with a bumpy and stuff ride?

 

I would go with the E or even a D if I had that problem. Remember you can air up to max PSI for Towing or haualing heavy with a E that is 80 PSI She want
Be Squishy than. You may even want to try more air with the P rated tires
Not to exceed max inflation of course . I ran E rated on my last truck a 2500
Everyday driving was 40 PSI and 65 when Towing . Good Luck

 

I have E's and only run them at 50-60psi (not the max 80psi they are rated for). 48psi gives them about the same weight rating as the original P's according to the tire inflation charts.

Like the security of all those extra belts that you get in an E.

I also dropped down from a 20" rim to a 17" saving some weight in the rim to make up for the heavier tires. More/heavier belts do make the tire weigh more.

The 17" take-off rims were cheap and 17" LTE tires were a lot cheaper than 20" LTE tires. Sold the 20" rims and saved a few hundred dollars overall.

 

I'm running C Rated tires and they're great. E's would be overkill I think. And there IS a ride/harshness penalty.

 

Ah, it' really not bad, at 50-60psi anyway.
And I like a "crisp" ride anyway.

 

Yeah, everyone has their own threshold of tolerance. I ran 50 PSI unloaded for a couple of weeks between "tows" and got pretty sick of the pounding. Much nicer at 40 PSI; to my butt at least.

 

I haven't tried C's, but I've gone from P's to LT-E's recently. Took off the stock Goodyears and went w/ Michelin M/S2s. Ride is definitely harsher (I'm at about 55 psi, haven't dared go lower), mpgs went down a bit. Towing is probably more stable, but I didn't really have complaints about the P's, to tell you the truth. My travel trailer is about 6500#. So overall I'm not thrilled with the switch.

Those of you running LTs, do you get decent tire wear running at 40 psi? Tire shop told me not to go under 55. I guess it makes sense that it would be fine at 40, since P's run at 40, but I haven't wanted to go under 55 psi on my LT's for fear of prematurely wearing them out and getting worse mpgs to boot.

 

I had E's on a HD 3/4 ton. For heavy loads I blew them to 80 psi, and it worked well, but you sure won't drive like that empty. It bounced all over the road.