Probably stupid question about used tire

[apollo]

is 32 psi under the recommended pressure for these tires in this load rating and size?

So I installed stock size C-rated KO2 replacing the original Duelers H/T. After two days of driving on paved roads: wet and dry, city, country road and interstate highway, at different speeds from 10 to 75mph here is my question to Toyota:
:wtf: Toyota??? What possessed you guys to install such crap as Bridgestone tires in such fantastic SUV as 4Runner at your factory??? What, you saved maybe 500 bucks on tires (I'm sure Bridgestone gave you good deal) so you can charge 39.5k instead of 40k? Toyota, you :crazy: :loco: :moon:!!!

BTW, Toyota is not the only one to install the crappy tires on new cars: I had Bridgestones from the factory on Nissan and Mazda too. What a POS.

In all my cars I replaced factory tires with Michelins. I trusted them to be the most comfortable and long lasting tires. After reading this forum I decided to go for KO2 for my 4Runner - billion flies can't be wrong, right? So I installed KO2 this weekend and ... what the difference. The ride is so quiet and so smooth. These KO2 are as comfortable as Michelin. I'm so glad I listened to you guys, you talked me to BFG and I don't regret it. :hatsoff:

In short: ride comfort went up at all speeds and different surfaces (smooth new pavement, concrete highway, old patchy asphalt, speed bumps, concrete parking garage) the road noise went down, bumps are absorbed much better, much less vibration on rough surface. Driving feels more like being on a boat than a car. It seems also, that car hold to the road a bit better (less jumping).

As for the fuel economy I don't see any noticeable difference - I'm still getting around 20-21mpg on my commute. BTW I inflated these tires to 32psi, exactly what it shows on the door label.

So the only thing I can't tell is how long they will last. Michelin tires last me usually 80-100k miles before I had to replace them. I would like to get at least half of that from BFG KO2. Time will tell.

 

[RysiuM]

is 32 psi under the recommended pressure for these tires in this load rating and size?

These are tires with load index C meaning max pressure to run is 50psi. The recommended pressure is based on car not sidewall. Door sticker says 32psi. For these tires the pressure must be increased by 2psi if driving at 112mph, but up to 100mph it should follow the car spec. But I don't drive that fast :baby:

So far (after 3 days of my normal driving) the computer shows the same mpg (I reset it 3 days ago) as I used to have with Duelers run at the same pressure - 20.7mpg. I will know for sure at the end of the week when I will fill it up.

 

[apollo]

I should have said in an LT tire, meaning that my thinking was that with an LT tire, one needs to use a chart to determine the psi needed for equivalent load capacity to the stock P-metric tires at the recommended door sticker psi...there's a chart here: https://toyotires2-1524598101.netdn...ication_of_Load_Inflation_Tables_20151020.pdf

You might be right, I just thought I'd ask in case you do need more inflation pressure to not overheat the tires. In any case, I like what I've read on those tires and I will likely go with the KO2 next when my KOs need to be replaced.

These are tires with load index C meaning max pressure to run is 50psi. The recommended pressure is based on car not sidewall. Door sticker says 32psi. For these tires the pressure must be increased by 2psi if driving at 112mph, but up to 100mph it should follow the car spec. But I don't drive that fast :baby:

So far (after 3 days of my normal driving) the computer shows the same mpg (I reset it 3 days ago) as I used to have with Duelers run at the same pressure - 20.7mpg. I will know for sure at the end of the week when I will fill it up.

 

[RysiuM]

I should have said in an LT tire, meaning that my thinking was that with an LT tire, one needs to use a chart to determine the psi needed for equivalent load capacity to the stock P-metric tires at the recommended door sticker psi...there's a chart here: https://toyotires2-1524598101.netdn...ication_of_Load_Inflation_Tables_20151020.pdf

Thanks for this info. I did not know that table and calculations.

I did the math described there: 4Runner shows on the sticker P265/70R17 at 32psi. According to the table they are P-load 2425 and converted to LT load it will be 2204. To carry the same load the table shows that LT265/70R17 should be inflated to 43psi. This is regardless of tire load rating. So based on that looks like I'm 11psi lower than I should. I will add some air to them tonight and see if it will change anything.


On the other hand not knowing anything about this table and calculation I always inflated all tires in my 95 Tacoma 4x4 at 29psi (Michelin LT 235/75R15) while the sticker shows 26psi front and 29psi rear for P225/75R15. According to this table I should have 33psi on front and 36psi on rear.

However I never had a problem with the wear on my Michelines (I change them after about 100k miles). I did change them 3 times already (truck has over 300k miles now) and the wear was always even. :noidea:

 

[RysiuM]

I will add some air to them tonight and see if it will change anything.

I pumped tires to 40psi. I did not see any visible improvement on the rolling resistance or fuel usage - I mean visible is more than +/- 0.2mpg as that much fluctuates depending on traffic I hit.

However the ride quality seems to be a bit more harsh. It is not as bad as with Duelers, but visibly worse than I had yestarday. I don't like it. I will deflate these tires to 35psi. This should be quite comfy.

 

[Knight-Errant]

Here's why: Everyone likes different tires. There were 100,000 4Runners sold last year and probably 90,000 of them were fine with the stock tires.
After the stock tires wear out these 90K people will replace them with similar or identical tires. Some, like me, will opt for a nice AT tire and a few will want the look (majority) or performance (minority) of a true MT. That's why.

Jeep Rubicon comes with a nice off road tire and around here most take them off an put AT tires on.

If Toyota thought tires sold vehicles they would put different tires on it. And yes, you will see a slight mileage drop of a half to one mpg when you calculate your mpg correctly.

I agree. For me the stock dunlops are great. I mostly drive on paved roads and occasionally encounter dirt roads on the weekends (fishing, camping, hiking). I might drive a rocky trail every few months (but nothing too extreme). In my mind I can't justify spending $1000 or so to put on new tires, when I have perfectly good ones on my 4runner. They're pretty quiet (i think) and I didn't get much snow this past winter. I'd be interested in putting on some AT tires once they wear out, but generally speaking I have no complaints with the stock tires; they hold little pieces of gravel and don't let go unless I pop them out but other than that they seem ok.

Some people out there really can justify the change, I think many change them mainly for the look, but there are plenty of threads and photos of stock 4runners driving on amazing trails so it is possible to get by with a 4runner as it comes from the factory.

 

[RysiuM]

I agree. For me the stock dunlops are great. I mostly drive on paved roads and occasionally encounter dirt roads on the weekends (fishing, camping, hiking).

Lucky you - got Dunlops :heh: Me, poor man in SR5 don't deserve better tires, at least by Toyota standards :ballchain: But seriously If you want to stay on road you will be surprised what the difference Michelin makes.

Frankly I think Bridgestone tires (at least all these models that came with vehicles I bought) are the least comfortable "paved road" tires I ever had. Regardless of the size and types they were much harder, noisier and more jumpy than Michelin I replaced them with.

Now I agree too, that many drivers/buyers don't give a hoot about tires - not looking far, my friend is buying the cheapest tires he can find, and he doesn't understand my excitement at all. I bet he would buy my Duelers if they would fit his Mazda 3:frisky:

Actually the main factor I picked BFG over Michelin was opinion in many reviews on-line and tire comparison chart on tirerack.com - I was seriously going for Defender LTX, (M/S category, same price), but I decided on KO2 based on the snow and ice traction. I cant confirm that yet, but I can confirm that the quality of ride is as good as in Michelin.

As for the look, it was never priority for me. Unlike many car buyers I never cared about the paint or interior color deciding on cars ("Q: What brand of car did you ended buying? A: A red one."). The first thing I do inspecting the potential buy is crawling between tires and diving under and hood. If I don't like what I see, I never bother opening the door.

 

[Knight-Errant]

I wish Continental made AT tires for the 4runner....mostly because I always use Continental tires on my mountain bike...I realize bicycle tires have nothing in common with car tires...but still I think it would be cool if they all matched :hiding:

 

[RESQLAB]

I have to share this since someone brought up craigslist and selling on there:

A few years ago, I purchased a new 2013 F150. I quickly pulled its (4) Michelin AT tires off and stacked them in my garage. A few months later, I finally got around to posting them on craigslist. My phone rang some, but mostly low-ball offers from Spanish speaking people or someone wanting only one tire.

I finally get this call from one guy who proceeds to asks me, "Are they used tires?"

I replied, "Of course.. as stated in my ad, they came off my F150 that I recently bought".

The guy then proceeds to tell me, "It's illegal to sell used tires".

I replied back, "What the heck do you think comes on used cars?"

Gotta love craigslist... sometimes its a home-run and sometimes its an exercise in patience.

 

[RysiuM]

I will deflate these tires to 35psi. This should be quite comfy.

Yesterday I lowered the pressure to 38 - actually I had to release a lot of air to get from 40 to 38psi. The comfort improved but it is still not perfect. As far as gas mileage, I reset the computer and it shows 20mpg now but at this point it doesn't mean anything - during my 30 miles commute it showed all numbers between 19 - 22 mpg. I need more time and miles to see the true average.