Tire Rating Help

[FairfaxFWC]

At this risk of bring up a topic that may have been discussed at length, I could really use some tire advice. I have a new-to-me 2006 Toyota Tundra DC with a FWC Hawk. I am currently running BFG AT "C" rated tires on stock 17 inch rims. I wanted to go with "D" rated tires, but they don't make them for 17" rims, only 16". The "E"'s seemed like overkill and weigh 8 more pounds per tire...However, even with a sway bar, air bags and Bilstein 5100's, I still have alot of sway in the corners and it makes me a bit nervous when driving on winding roads. So, before I spend $1000 to upgrade to new "E" rated tires, do they make that much difference on this truck and will I notice a large decrease in the amount of sway in the turns?

Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[MarkBC]

Are your tires fully-inflated -- at the recommended pressure? Squishy tires can be "fixed" by fully-inflating...if they're not already -- not recommending over-inflating.
I'm only suggesting this 'cause I know some guys run at lower pressures for comfort or for traction off-pavement. Because I'm "thrify" I want maximum gas mileage -- via hard tires, so I inflate to the door-jam pressure.

But...I think "E"-rated tires are pretty common 'round these parts -- I bet most folks here run them.

 

[highz]

At this risk of bring up a topic that may have been discussed at length, I could really use some tire advice. I have a new-to-me 2006 Toyota Tundra DC with a FWC Hawk. I am currently running BFG AT "C" rated tires on stock 17 inch rims. I wanted to go with "D" rated tires, but they don't make them for 17" rims, only 16". The "E"'s seemed like overkill and weigh 8 more pounds per tire...However, even with a sway bar, air bags and Bilstein 5100's, I still have alot of sway in the corners and it makes me a bit nervous when driving on winding roads. So, before I spend $1000 to upgrade to new "E" rated tires, do they make that much difference on this truck and will I notice a large decrease in the amount of sway in the turns?

Thanks for any and all advice.


I couldn't get D-rated tires for my rims either, so went with E. They may be overkill, but at least I've had no problems with them so far, and they do help some with sway.

 

[brett13]

I went with "E" tires on my 07 Tundra. Overkill for sure, but the handling is SO much better. I keep the E's inflated to around 40 without camper, 48-50 with camper. Much better than the old "P" tires.

 

[SunMan]

I have them on my 06 Tundra DC and they do make a difference. It was very noticable when I changed from D to E rating.

 

[FairfaxFWC]

Thanks for all the great input. I think I'm quickly becoming convinced to upgrade from "C" to "E"...especially if even going from "D" to "E" makes a big difference.

 

[Cort]

E Rated Tires here as well and I love them

Cort

 

[Barko1]

Stronger tires are good insurance. You might want to weigh the whole thing and look at some of the other threads on the weight of a loaded up Hawk. Your may be over total capacity which explains sway.

 

[FairfaxFWC]

How stiff is the ride with "E" rated. My old "D" rated's were pretty stiff, but they were also on a T100 and not a newer Tundra.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

I just talked to another customer a few weeks ago that brought this topic up.

He has been running a Hawk Model on his Dodge Ram 1500 short bed truck since about 2002.

He didn't like the way the truck handled in the mountains, so he added a set of air bags to the rear suspension. This helped a little.

But a few more years went by and he kept wondering why his truck was still driving a bit mushy in the mountains.

It was time for a new set of tires this year, so he upgraded to a set of "E" rated tires.

All he could say was "WOW" !

He said the truck now drives SO much better.

Most all of the sway and mushy feeling is gone.

He is now a believer in having a good set of tires on the truck.





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[FairfaxFWC]

Thanks Stan and all others who weighed in...good to hear and you have pushed me over the edge...will be ordering the tires tomorrow.

 

[pods8]

Also don't discount the extra sidewall protection you get for driving around rocks...