pizza cutters...General Grabber ATx

[itsaguything]

Personal preferences…. But for me, LT tires feel like granite. Great for carrying heavy loads on a work truck. And the low working air pressures are limited.
XLs are much more “malleable”. And are able to adopt a comfortable form with varying air pressures. Much more suited to passenger vehicles and may be adopted to varying terrain, by varying the air pressures.
This debate will never end. Drive one with LTs. Drive one with XLs and you decide.
Due to where I live, I currently have 2 sets of tires for the LR4. They are both XL load rated.
Cheers

 

[ktm525]

265s are pizza cutters?

 

[Blueaz]

I've always assumed that XLs are passenger car tires with an extra belt or extra material somewhere to allow them to carry a heavier load, but I never considered them suitable for an off road tire for a heavy truck.

I've always assumed LTs and Load Range E are best for heavy trucks like the Land Rover Discovery/LR4. This is based on how I use my truck, which is for every day road use as well as pretty heavy off road use.

I'm running Nitto Ridge Grapplers size LT275/65/18. On my truck I have the load range E1, load index 123 tires. The load range E1 means 10-ply rating with max load carrying capacity at 80 psi (80 psi is also the max pressure). The load index 123 equates to 3417 lbs per tire. These tires weigh 57 lbs each, tread depth is 16/32" (or 1/2"), and they are speed rated up to 100 mph. Cost is $323 per tire.

My same size tires are also available in XL rating. Load range XL means 4-ply rating with max load carrying capacity at 42 psi (50 psi is the max pressure). The load index drops to 116 or 2756 lbs per tire. The tires weigh 46 lbs each, tread depth is 13/32", and they are speed rated up to 118 mph. Cost is $289 per tire.

My assumption that XL tires are passenger car tires is obviously wrong...who is going to put 275/65/18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers on their passenger car? But looking at the ratings, I would expect that they are not as tough of a tire as the LT version. My main concern is sidewall punctures on sharp rocks. I'd love to lose 11 lbs per tire, save some money, and have the comfort zone of a higher speed rating (although I rarely hit 100), but I think I'd see off road punctures a lot easier than with the LTs.

Oh, and laughing at the "265 are pizza cutters?" comment. 235s are pizza cutters!

 

[greiswig]

Boy, for a vehicle this heavy, I wouldn't consider not using an LT tire if I'm going to be doing anything trail-wise. I look at it this way: at some point on a difficult trail, a fair fraction of the vehicle weight is going to be on one or two of the tires, not spread across all four. And if those tires are sitting on sharp rocks, I want the extra sidewall support and protection the LT gets me. I'll let the suspension soak up the bumps for comfort, not the tire.

 

[mm3846]

Never had a problem aired down with my XL rated Toyo AT3s. I air down to 15psi on the beach every other weekend 9 months a year, and sometimes drive a few miles at 50mph at that pressure on the street.

Done some decent wheeling aired down as well, no issues. Sidewalls look great. I’ve punctured multiple load range E tires offroad. Sidewall strength does NOT directly correlate to load rating. An offroad focused tire with a tough sidewall, even in P rating, is going to be harder to puncture than some cheap E rated road tire. Tread? Sure, an E rated tire might have more tread plies than a lower rated tire. Might. That doesn’t mean it is any easier or harder to puncture, as there are different types of materials and rubbers used in the construction of the tire. Toyo, in my experience, make the toughest tires out there until you get into competition rated rubber.

Check with the manufacturer. Many will put thinner sidewalls on different tire sizes/load ratings, some will advertise it and others will not.

 

[Blueaz]

Like I mentioned, I was surprised to see my exact same tire, exact size, offered in XL rating. Obviously that's not intended as a "passenger car" tire. When I get some time on my hands I'll dig deeper into the actual construction of my tire in E vs. XL. I have to get mine rotated so I'll talk it over with my buddy at Discount Tires.

 

[f1racer328]

I’ve also wheeled a lot with my XL Toyo AT3’s. No issues, but I did wreck a sidewall with a nail on the highway… don’t blame the tire for that one.

Prior to this, I got 5 or 6 punctures on the stock tires, so the Toyos definitely hold up better. I usually air down to 20 psi but am going to try 15 psi on my next trip. Have gone over plenty of sharp rocks without issue.

 

[Nechaken]

They might not have the same sidewall thickness, which might let them flex more when aired down. Just need to make sure they are rated for the load.

Sure. You may have different terrain in Oregon. Here in CO, I went with LTs mainly to provide some additional protection from all the sharp rocks we have...

 

[ktm525]

I’ve also wheeled a lot with my XL Toyo AT3’s. No issues, but I did wreck a sidewall with a nail on the highway… don’t blame the tire for that one.

Prior to this, I got 5 or 6 punctures on the stock tires, so the Toyos definitely hold up better. I usually air down to 20 psi but am going to try 15 psi on my next trip. Have gone over plenty of sharp rocks without issue.

You have to air down much more than that to get benefit...

 

[ftillier]

You have to air down much more than that to get benefit...

Depends on the tire width. At 20 psi, my 255/60R19 deflect quite a bit, enough that I'm not super keen try to go lower.