Ok, so I did the unthinkable..T rated tires

[KB084RUNNER]

Yep, saw some nice Michelins on sale on Tire Rack and they were T speed rated (118mph max) versus the H rating (130 mph) and had the 109 load rating so I got them. Took them to the installer and they refused to install them. Called my dealer and their tire guy said my V6 Runner won't do 118 so I am fine and put them on. Finally went to a different installer and got them installed.

So? Am I crazy? Will I be dead in 2 weeks when my tires explode all over I-77?

Go ahead....:flamethrwoer2:

 

[andyman32392]

Absolutely not, I have E rated off road tires. There rated for like 80 mph. Ive gone over that many times with no problems what so ever. I'm sure it wears them down a lot faster but I'm not worried about them exploding or anything like that

 

[scottm]

Lol, try to keep it under 118 i guess. I had H-rated tires on my Audi, on the tire pressure sticker it had a higher tire pressure for sustained speeds over 130. It was not a problem.

 

[thmastr]

Just don't run them at 3 psi on the highway and you will be fine!

keep the psi higher than you would other tires specially if you live in an area were it gets over 90 F as road temperatures can reach over 130 degrees F.

On the other hand if you don't plan to travel at over 90 mph for an extended amount of time (read a few minutes) I would not really care that their max speed is 11mph less than stock....

 

[JB.]

Yep, saw some nice Michelins on sale on Tire Rack and they were T speed rated (118mph max) versus the H rating (130 mph) and had the 109 load rating so I got them. Took them to the installer and they refused to install them. Called my dealer and their tire guy said my V6 Runner won't do 118 so I am fine and put them on. Finally went to a different installer and got them installed.

So? Am I crazy? Will I be dead in 2 weeks when my tires explode all over I-77?

Versus what H rating? As far as I know, all 4th gens came stock with T speed rated tires. The 5th gen 4runner does too, except for the limited which has H speed rated tires presumably to offset the reduced load capacity of the P245/60R20s that it comes with.

I think you'll be with us a while.

 

[KB084RUNNER]

Versus what H rating? As far as I know, all 4th gens came stock with T speed rated tires. The 5th gen 4runner does too, except for the limited which has H speed rated tires presumably to offset the reduced load capacity of the P245/60R20s that it comes with.

I think you'll be with us a while.

My Limited has P265/60/18 with a 109 load capacity H speed rated....the tires I got are 109 T rated so they have the same load rating as the H rated ones.

The 17" SR5 tires are a 110 S rated tire and the 16" is a 111 S rated tire.

 

[Gecko123]

Manufactures i'm sure add some buffer room because there will always be people that try to push the limits of the tires. If it's rated at 118 mph, it's probably can withstand higher speeds but manufactures won't want people to know that and that is good thing, because there will always be idiots that will push it to the limit. Besides, speedometer is not 100% accurate. Let say for argument sake the tires are really rated at only 118 mph. Someone takes the car up to 118mph but there speedometer is a bit off and they are actually going faster, KABOOM. Besides there is a lot of other factors to take into consideration, the temperature, tire pressure, condition of the tire, load, etc. What I am trying to say it manufactures will put in a buffer (safety net). If they rate it at 118, it's probably higher, just to protect them from any potential law suits and to account for other uncontrollable factors. Having said all this I am not recommending anyone go beyond that speed limit of course. I would not recommend even going close to that speed, especially on a 4runner, which is not designed for high speeds.

 

[PhotoRunner]

I'm just trying to wrap my head around driving 118 in a 4Runner....wow, scary. I did do ~130 once in UT in a Maxima which was good enough for me.

 

[JB.]

My Limited has P265/60/18 with a 109 load capacity H speed rated....the tires I got are 109 T rated so they have the same load rating as the H rated ones.

The 17" SR5 tires are a 110 S rated tire and the 16" is a 111 S rated tire.

Interesting. Didn't know that.

Yeah, technically the H is a safer tire but it's nothing to give a second thought to. Like Gecko said, there's a lot of reserve there. Enjoy the new tires.

 

[RickC]

Mine came from the factory with Dunlop Grandtrek AT20s. That is a 110S rated tire. I put on Michelin LTX MS2 which is a 110T rated. I don't understand why they refused to put on a T rated tire on a 4runner. Its higher speed rated. The S is 112 and the T is 118. What gives with that decision on the tire installers part?

 

[Jeff T]

What gives with that decision on the tire installers part?

I had this coversation with the guys at Tire Rack. I wanted to use my new spare and only buy 3 tires. They looked at the date code on the tire and would not touch it due to the tire age.

Same goes for repairs, if the tire is old they won't repair it due to the age regardless of tread.

 

[RickC]

I had this coversation with the guys at Tire Rack. I wanted to use my new spare and only buy 3 tires. They looked at the date code on the tire and would not touch it due to the tire age.

Same goes for repairs, if the tire is old they won't repair it due to the age regardless of tread.

But isn't the same issue as what the original post is about. The original post was about the speed ratings of tires. I understand about dry rot and not wanting to mount a tire that may possibly have dry rot. Its interesting though, because if someone had a flat and used that tire with an out of date code, they would drive it. I think that is just insurance liability talking on their part.

 

[Jeff T]

But isn't the same issue as what the original post is about. The original post was about the speed ratings of tires. I understand about dry rot and not wanting to mount a tire that may possibly have dry rot. Its interesting though, because if someone had a flat and used that tire with an out of date code, they would drive it. I think that is just insurance liability talking on their part.

Part of newer tire regulations, date codes, speed ratings... It's not the old days where you can just slap anything on and go.

 

[DocMT]

Part of newer tire regulations, date codes, speed ratings... It's not the old days where you can just slap anything on and go.

This was on the local news not that long ago. They were talking about how tires can sit a long time on the shelf before someone buys them. They said tires have an average life span of just 6 years before the rubber can get compromised by age. So if you buy new tires that have been sitting around for 2 years, then you might only have 4 years of service life before they can begin to dry rot.

 

[KB084RUNNER]

Mine came from the factory with Dunlop Grandtrek AT20s. That is a 110S rated tire. I put on Michelin LTX MS2 which is a 110T rated. I don't understand why they refused to put on a T rated tire on a 4runner. Its higher speed rated. The S is 112 and the T is 118. What gives with that decision on the tire installers part?

The OEM tires on my T4R Limited are H rated (130mph) and the T rating is only 118 mph so the installer is afraid of litigation if I go drive 120mph in my 4Runner and kill myself. (yeah sure...my truck has been up to 90mph once) I have noticed that the S rated smaller tires have a higher 110 or 111 load rating. So, it must be Toyotas combination of the load/speed rating. Who knows because the SR5 uses a S rated tire which I believe is 112mph.

 

[JG1911]

I'm just trying to wrap my head around driving 118 in a 4Runner....wow, scary. I did do ~130 once in UT in a Maxima which was good enough for me.

I'd do it, if I had the right tires. I think the limited speed for the 4R is 111mph (?), I did 110mph (on the speedo) when my 4R v8 was fairly new, with the Mich Cross Terrains... It rode fine, wasn't scary, handled nicely.

I have Revos now and don't think I've gone much over 80 and that would be just to pass. The truck is getting older 140k+ and doesn't seem comfortable to ride in over about 85, sucks the heck out of gas too.

 

[KB084RUNNER]

I'd do it, if I had the right tires. I think the limited speed for the 4R is 111mph (?), I did 110mph (on the speedo) when my 4R v8 was fairly new, with the Mich Cross Terrains... It rode fine, wasn't scary, handled nicely.

My dealer tire guy said the speed rating is for the V8 as the V6 wont ever do the 118 mph anyway. My speedometer only goes to 110 anyway. But the V8 is much faster apparently.

 

[JB.]

Who knows because the SR5 uses a S rated tire which I believe is 112mph.

Generally, the higher the speed rating, the snappier the handling, so there would be a logic to increasing the speed rating based on trim.