P-rated tires or the heavy duty ones?

P

Pampa

New member
Hi,

I'm in the middle of learning and researching options to replace the stock wheels & tires in a (soon to be mine) 2012 limited and I need some direction to narrow down the scope by focusing on either passenger tires or commercial tires. I've read a few treads talking about the differences between both (in recommended pressure, capacity loads, etc.) but I'm still in doubt.

I'm leaning towards an All Terrain type of tire. I'm going to do 90% of my driving in pavement and the rest in "fire roads" and light trail to get to mountain biking and camping places. I live in Northern NJ and like to get to those places when there's snow too.

Also, I'm leaning to this tire size: 275/65 18 and 8/8.5 wheels (not sure about the wheels though, it looks like most of the 18" wheels are 9" wide). I plan to keep the suspension stock or maybe do the smallest lift possible with spacers (1.5"?). Last, but not least :) , I'm looking for a tire that has a decent off-road look (say, BFG All Terrain vs. Michelin LTX AT2).

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give as much info as I could since there seems to be different opinions on the P vs. C-rated tires topic.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Which BFG all terrains? They make several, I've ran the Michelin LTX's before and they are far from an all terrain IMO. Great tires though for street use...

As for P-metric vs LT my personal opinion is to always run LT's on a truck. Others on here have different schools of thought, though it's not without sound reasoning.
 
I replaced the oem 20's with the Nitto Crosstek's. I really liked them, they had an aggressive look to them and rode and handled very good. While not a true "offroad" tire they should fit your needs very well and they come in the 18 inch size that you're looking for. Good luck.
 
I ordered P rated AT3's (stock size), hopefully they'll be in today. I had P rated Nitto TG's on my 06, and they performed great. The offroading I do consists of fire roads and old mining roads, both are very rocky. I also pull a trailer every once in a while, and a small popup, never a problem. If I spent more time offroad, or pulled a heavier trailer, I'd step up to C or E. The gas mileage hit isn't worth it to me.
 
veloindy said:
I ordered P rated AT3's (stock size), hopefully they'll be in today. I had P rated Nitto TG's on my 06, and they performed great. The offroading I do consists of fire roads and old mining roads, both are very rocky. I also pull a trailer every once in a while, and a small popup, never a problem. If I spent more time offroad, or pulled a heavier trailer, I'd step up to C or E. The gas mileage hit isn't worth it to me.
Click to expand...

Look forward to seeing these, too! I am still torn.
 
Qjake said:
I replaced the oem 20's with the Nitto Crosstek's. I really liked them, they had an aggressive look to them and rode and handled very good. While not a true "offroad" tire they should fit your needs very well and they come in the 18 inch size that you're looking for. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thank you Qjake. These look like good tires but I prefer the the Terra Grapplers, just for the looks (at least I'm being honest :) ).

DannyLlama said:
I had the same exact question a while back.
Here is the thread where members chimed in - http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/120324-c-load-p-load.html

I went with P because the C load was $60 more per tire and for for the little offroading I do, wouldn't be worth it.

I do at times wish that my tires were a bit more stiff but I also enjoy the cushion over the bumps.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for pointing me to that tread. It was very helpful. Also going with P-rated.

1engineer said:
Here's a pic along with a review http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/114342-tires.html
Click to expand...

Hey. I read your intended usage description in the other tread (see above) and that's a perfect description for my intended usage as well.

I don't know anything about tires but, like 1Engineer I'm an engineer so I put a bunch of measurements, ratings, etc. in a spreadsheet and summed up everything with a weighted score (I wish I knew how to post/attach that, someone else might find it useful). In any case, 35% of the score weight is "Looks" and the rest split among 11 performance dimensions (mostly from TireRack and also from Tirebuyer, with some adaptations).

So, after a lot of research, I think I'll go with the General Grabber A/T2. It has the best look of the bunch (very similar to the BFG All Terrain), it's the lightest of the most "rugged" ones at 44 lb/tire according to TireRack (the General Tire's website has is at 42.5 lb) and at $995 for a set of 5 they are the cheapest, except for the Cooper Discoverer A/T3. The Cooper A/T3 is a close second for me but I could not find the weight for this size (275/65 18). I 3rd I have the Nitto Terra Grappler A/T, good tire but pretty heavy!

Below these are: Goodyear SilentArmor, Firestone Destination A/T, BFG Rugged Terrain, Continental CrossContact LX20 and Michelin LTX A/T 2.

Anyway, thank you all for your input. Now I have to look for wheels so you'll see me looking for more advice/opinions soon again.
 
You Engineers .... you guys slay me.

" ..... after a lot of research, I think I'll go with the General Grabber A/T2. It has the best look of the bunch ....."

:peace:
 
philsey said:
You Engineers .... you guys slay me.

" ..... after a lot of research, I think I'll go with the General Grabber A/T2. It has the best look of the bunch ....."

:peace:
Click to expand...

Don't drop us all into one pile there philsey.
You know me better than that lol. Function over form all day long. Now, if providing the best performance within budget will also give me a look that is pleasing to my eyes then that my friend is a bonus. Most of the stuff I design looks horrible and performs great. "Pretty" does not improve tractive effort!

C'mon, I put the white letters out so I can be like all the other cool kids in the 1970's right? right?
 
General Grabbers were on my list too. I didn't go with them b/c the siping on the AT3's were better off the shelf. The tire shops I went to along the front range, all recommended siping on the Generals. Winter traction was a key factor in my deecision. At the end of the day, I was measuring mole hairs between the two tires. I like the AT3's and Generals, they're both good tires.
 
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