Tires??? - Montana Owners Club

dsprik · 06-14-2006, 07:22 PM

OK, I posted a similar question, but it got buried under my "wife's" truck...

I bought our 2500 HD 4x4 today. It had Cooper Discover tires on it. They are 265/75-16's. They have a very aggressive tread, which adds noticeably to road noise in the cab. I would like to change them out for 245/75-16's, which I believe is stock. A good all-season tire. How much are these 265's throwing off my speedometer?

I "occassionally" do the legal "9 over" here in Mich. There is such a thing as the "ILLEGAL" 11 over... Don't want to get in that club.

These tires are almost brand new, as you can see. How much are they worth (before I take them to a biased tire shop)?

stiles watson · 06-14-2006, 08:53 PM

I can see why you might want to change, especially for daily driving. I am not sure this is a new truck or a new to you truck. The trucks computer can be adjusted to accommodate whatever size tire you use. It is not a really big deal to get it done. I wouldn't know if that were the case with your vehicle. By-the-way, you might want to check on how the larger or smaller tires effect you loading weight.

If I remember right, the larger tires increase your capacity somewhat. When I did my research on my F250 to compare its components with those of the F350 for that year (data came from Ford); the engine was the same, the transmission was the same, the wheel size, axles, and brakes were the same. The difference was an extra leaf in the springs (which I added) and the tire size which I upgraded to the larger tires.

Fordzilla · 06-14-2006, 10:35 PM

Dave, I responded what i did in the other page (Wife's Truck). From my reading on switching from the 265's that came stock on my F250 a few years back to 285's I was told it was like changing the rear end gears from the factory 3.73's to something closer to 3.55's. That's why you see a lot of the guys with big lifts and tires changing the rear end gears because they lost all the power they used to have. If it was me and you are planning to stay in Michigan during the winters a bit I would keep these and get a set of all season tires like you are already thinking and have two sets of wheels and tires. If your planning to head south at first snow flake then you can see what the tire dealer will trade you for. But I would definitely get a smaller tire for pulling.

dsprik · 06-15-2006, 03:05 AM

Thanks, guys! I was thinking of getting a good set of all-season road tires. Less noise. I have a moderate amount right now with these. Also seems to have a very slight amount of play in the steering with these that I might not have with the standard size 245 on.

Driftwoodgal · 06-15-2006, 03:13 AM

Dave,

Congrats on the new truck, you are half way there. Now you just need to have a Monty behind it. Do you already have a hitch installed in the truck?

dsprik · 06-15-2006, 03:24 AM

No hitch yet, Colleen It came with a gooseneck hitch. Since I now don't need a slider, I am going to contact my Montana dealer and see if he might just have one "laying around" (w/ rails). Not that I'm into "freebies", but it can't hurt to ask...

jsmitfl · 06-15-2006, 04:22 AM

Dave, I have the same truck and I did go to 265/75/16. I myself would not go back to 245's. It did throw the speedo off about 4-5 mph. Also the tranny is lubed by how many revs the wheels take, it's all up to you. The tires I've been using are michelin LTX M&S. They are very quiet and we get pretty good wear from them. BF Goodrich finally came out with the All Terrains in 265E. I think I'm going to give them a try this fall. I always liked this tire.

8.1al · 06-15-2006, 04:34 AM

Dave,
I felt the 265's made the speedo read a mile or 2 slow so it's probably somewhere between there and 4 or 5. Unless those tires are really noisy I would keep them as you'll never get what they are worth and as Stiles pointed out the bigger tires also have more load capacity.

Gonfishin · 06-15-2006, 04:47 AM

Dave, Try this web site it might be of some use to you. It will actually tell you what percent the speedometer will be off.
Rick.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Fordzilla · 06-15-2006, 08:13 AM

Dave, the more aggressive tires I have owned over the years tend to be a little squirmy when new until you get about a thousand miles on them. Then they start to settle down. Something about the rubber being soft on the outside and allowing the tires to float on the road. And after a few miles they wear down to a point that more of the tire actually touches the pavement. That's what my tire guy told me when I complained about the tires not feeling like light truck tires because they seemed to be dancing around like the front end was loose. When I had A/S tires they didn't seem to do it as bad. But the more aggressive like the ones on your new truck would do that. He was right and after a week or so of driving on them they settled down and handled great. But those first couple hundred miles I thought something was wrong with the truck, as it handled like someone was moving the steering wheel back and forth. If you are going to get new A/S tires I would have the alignment checked anyway, but, I bet the loose feeling is in the more aggressive tires just breaking in.

dsprik · 06-15-2006, 09:32 AM

Thanks, guys! I really don't need to spend anymore money than I already have this month on vehicles/parts/repairs - whole year's budget in 14 days - good trick... but I'm sure it's been done before.

Ron's comment about the loss of my gear ratios/torque would be a negative, but not as much as spending a couple hundred more $$ than I already have today - only to find another problem on my Park Ave, after I had a wheel bearing changed out. I'll stay right where I am for now on these tires. Sounds like it might not be something I need to rush out and change.

Rick, I'll check that website out. Thanks.

richfaa · 06-15-2006, 10:19 AM

Dave I had Cooper discover tires on our Chevy TV (I like Cooper tires) Give them a chance on the noise issue. Could be that the difference in sound level is just something you are not used to hearing compaired to what you drove before...besides ..What's a little tire noise with the all diesel noise you already have..

Glenn and Lorraine · 06-15-2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

quote:What's a little tire noise with the all diesel noise you already have..

Diesel Noise??? What Diesel Noise???? He has a Duramax.

The Oldguard · 06-15-2006, 02:15 PM

Dave, how come you’re not in the picture with the truck? Did Cheryl want to show whose truck it really is?

Just kidding

richfaa · 06-15-2006, 02:50 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Glenn and Lorraine

Quote:

quote:What's a little tire noise with the all diesel noise you already have..

Diesel Noise??? What Diesel Noise???? He has a Duramax.

Maybe so..the busses I drive are Real International diesels and thats all you can hear.

dsprik · 06-15-2006, 03:30 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by The Oldguard

Dave, how come you’re not in the picture with the truck? Did Cheryl want to show whose truck it really is?

Just kidding

We're still working on that...

gkbutler · 06-15-2006, 04:02 PM

I have to agree with Glenn, that Duramax is the quietest diesel engine I have ever heard. It is a beautiful truck Dave, congrats and I agree with Rich, give the tires a chance on the noise.

About the speed, if you have any friends on the local Police department, ask them to give you a radar test on a low traffic street. When I was in law enforcement many, many years ago, we would do that for people who wanted to know the difference from their speedometer to the actual speed. You would want to check the speed at 30, 40 and 50 mph. That will give you a true enough reading for driving down the highway.

Looking at your tires, they don't look oversize and from my experience, if you have larger tires on the rear axle, they could throw off the speed of your vehicle by at least five MPH. I have seen as much as 7-9 MPH. Your tires look like they are stock tires.

dsprik · 06-15-2006, 05:09 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Glenn and Lorraine

Quote:

quote:What's a little tire noise with the all diesel noise you already have..

Diesel Noise??? What Diesel Noise???? He has a Duramax.

Glenn, that Duramax really is quiet. I am actually surprised, as I thought that I had heard that the newest Duras were very good on noise - assuming the older (2002's for example) would be a little noisy. This is incorrect...

Seriously, the tire noise - while not excessive - does cover the Duramax engine while on "cruise"...

dsprik · 06-15-2006, 05:30 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by gkbutler

I have to agree with Glenn, that Duramax is the quietest diesel engine I have ever heard. It is a beautiful truck Dave, congrats and I agree with Rich, give the tires a chance on the noise.

About the speed, if you have any friends on the local Police department, ask them to give you a radar test on a low traffic street. When I was in law enforcement many, many years ago, we would do that for people who wanted to know the difference from their speedometer to the actual speed. You would want to check the speed at 30, 40 and 50 mph. That will give you a true enough reading for driving down the highway.

Looking at your tires, they don't look oversize and from my experience, if you have larger tires on the rear axle, they could throw off the speed of your vehicle by at least five MPH. I have seen as much as 7-9 MPH. Your tires look like they are stock tires.

Thanks, Gary for the info. I guess asking for a speed check at 80, then 90 is out of the question???

I will give the tires a chance. They are not stock, though. Door post sticker lists 245/75-16s as stock w/ 60# max. These are 265/75-16s w/ 80# max. They are brand new tires, BTW - less than 500 miles on them...

I did that check that Rick (Gonfishin) gave me @ http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html. My tires run 3.9% faster than shows on the speedo - at 62 on my speedo, my actual speed is 65. Also 53/55, 77/80, 96/100, 125/130... (just seein if you're paying attention...)

I can also double check this against police radar. The 125/130 check will probably not be brought up...

dsprik · 06-15-2006, 05:31 PM

Rich, thanks for the info on the Cooper tires. You guys have convinced me to keep these.

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