Tires for a heavy Hilux
11-15-2017, 11:16 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Tires for a heavy Hilux
I am always hesitant to start a new thread, thinking that maybe the issue has already been covered. After a cursory scan of the threads, here goes.
My 88 2wd PU 1-ton, 4.10 gear, single wheel rear end, weighs 4160 pounds on 14-inch rims/tires. 1720 lbs front, 2440 lbs rear. That's its standard load, not an occasional load. (Its a work truck for my home repair business; It's packed to the hilt with tools and supplies. Its a couple inches higher than stock ride height, with built up leaf springs, new torsion bars, and all new shocks. Even with the weight, it accelerates acceptably in most circumstances, corners well, rides well, and stops well.)
With ordinary passenger tires, I used to shred rear tires and have blow-outs. So in 2014 I upgraded the rear to Lanvigator LT195R14 Load D, 8-ply tires, 950 Kg max load, pumped to the max 60 psi pressure. These tires are a full 6.25 inches wide across the tread. They keep the load under sway control, and they hold pressure for a long time, so I don't have to constantly air up.
Now, my rear tires are down to the wear indicators, and I am having trouble finding replacements. These Lanvigator tires are discontinued, as are comparable Nexen tires. I ordered Yokahama tires, but when they arrived, they turned out to be for dualies only--they were ridiculously tall and narrow--only 5 inches across the tread. Other tires with comparable load ratings are ST, instead of LT. STs are only for trailers and are not made for sharp turns.
The tire shops around my home, in San Jose, CA, report of some comparable LT tires found in various distributors' inventories, in Florida, or someplace far away. I would have to pay over a hundred dollars shipping just to see the tires, not knowing whether they are as tall and narrow as those ridiculous Yokahamas, or sporting ancient date codes.
If going to 15 or 16-inch rims will solve all my problems, I would bite the bullet and buy new rims, but I haven't found a tire shop that knows how to fit bigger rims with LT tires to my truck. When it comes to high-weight-capacity tires, the salesmen know less than I do.
Any recommendations?
My 88 2wd PU 1-ton, 4.10 gear, single wheel rear end, weighs 4160 pounds on 14-inch rims/tires. 1720 lbs front, 2440 lbs rear. That's its standard load, not an occasional load. (Its a work truck for my home repair business; It's packed to the hilt with tools and supplies. Its a couple inches higher than stock ride height, with built up leaf springs, new torsion bars, and all new shocks. Even with the weight, it accelerates acceptably in most circumstances, corners well, rides well, and stops well.)
With ordinary passenger tires, I used to shred rear tires and have blow-outs. So in 2014 I upgraded the rear to Lanvigator LT195R14 Load D, 8-ply tires, 950 Kg max load, pumped to the max 60 psi pressure. These tires are a full 6.25 inches wide across the tread. They keep the load under sway control, and they hold pressure for a long time, so I don't have to constantly air up.
Now, my rear tires are down to the wear indicators, and I am having trouble finding replacements. These Lanvigator tires are discontinued, as are comparable Nexen tires. I ordered Yokahama tires, but when they arrived, they turned out to be for dualies only--they were ridiculously tall and narrow--only 5 inches across the tread. Other tires with comparable load ratings are ST, instead of LT. STs are only for trailers and are not made for sharp turns.
The tire shops around my home, in San Jose, CA, report of some comparable LT tires found in various distributors' inventories, in Florida, or someplace far away. I would have to pay over a hundred dollars shipping just to see the tires, not knowing whether they are as tall and narrow as those ridiculous Yokahamas, or sporting ancient date codes.
If going to 15 or 16-inch rims will solve all my problems, I would bite the bullet and buy new rims, but I haven't found a tire shop that knows how to fit bigger rims with LT tires to my truck. When it comes to high-weight-capacity tires, the salesmen know less than I do.
Any recommendations?
11-15-2017, 11:44 PM
#2
See if you can find 16" rims in the same bolt pattern as what you have.
Going to a taller rim you might end up wanting to change gears from lack of performance
I can see finding 14" tires is almost impossible even 15" is getting hard
Maybe time to think of upgrading to a full size truck
Going to a taller rim you might end up wanting to change gears from lack of performance
I can see finding 14" tires is almost impossible even 15" is getting hard
Maybe time to think of upgrading to a full size truck
11-18-2017, 07:45 PM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
I have inquired about 16 inch rims and the problem is that the LT tires for taller rims are themselves taller, like 235-265. I would end up with tires over 30 inches.
11-19-2017, 07:16 AM
#4
You might be misreading those numbers, xxx/yy R16. Width/sidewall Rim. You should be able to find +2 +1 tire sizes with equivalent radius, try the online tire places they list these and have calculators.
That said you might not find what you are looking for exactly, I haven't tried myself..
That said you might not find what you are looking for exactly, I haven't tried myself..
12-17-2017, 06:24 PM
#5
Registered User
Thread Starter
I am returning to the thread I started to report my findings.
Summarizing from above, the problem I am trying to solve is that ordinary passenger tires of the OEM tire size, under heavy loads, allow sway and leak air, hence the need for tires with greater load capacity.
LT tires for Hilux pickups, which have smaller rim sizes and smaller wheelwells, are basically not available any more. You might still be able to find LT185/75r14 to be used as dualies for a camper or a flatbed, but such tires might have poor turning characteristics when used in single rear wheel application, and they also look dorky because they are more like 80 to 85 in profile.
I went to 6 tire shops in all. I searched online ceaselessly for 2 weeks.
Finally, a small independent shop found me Goodyear Wrangler LT215/75r15s which would fit fine on 15 inch rims on the rear. 600 dollars later I had the tires I have always dreamed of on shiny new rims. Nirvana. I thought life couldn't get any better, with super thick walls and 1,000 lbs load rating. I was grinning from ear-to-ear right onto the highway, when I made a nasty discovery. These Wrangler LTs don't handle at all. At 50 mph the truck felt like it would spin out under the slightest oversteer. I drove for a while on a number of different surfaces and the driving-on-eggs handling didn't abate. I drove that day to a Goodyear store, where the sales people admitted that there had been problems with Goodyear Wranglers on heavy trucks. I was stuck with worthless tires because I knew that Goodyear would not take a return from an independent store under any circumstances. I had been through this with Goodyear before. You MUST buy Goodyear tires from a Goodyear store because otherwise you have no warranty whatsoever. Fooled me twice, shame on me, because I was so desperate for a solution. I gave the tires away to a friend, and continued searching for a solution.
I discovered is that every increase in tire size affords a commensurate increase in load bearing capacity. Therefore, the solution is to simply go big. The migration path is as follows: on the rear, replace 195/75r14 with 215/70r15 on new 15 matching inch rims; on the front, replace 195/75r14 with 215/75r14. This combo yields a couple hundred pounds extra load bearing capacity (still nowhere near what I had with my Lanvigator LTs, but adequate). Also, the 70 series profile affords a slightly bigger footprint, which means that the tires' contact surfaces bear fewer load PSI.
15 inch rims won't fit on the front. Too much rubbing unless you get a lift kit. I have my torsion bars torqued to the maximum setting. So I haven't gotten the front tires yet. Still noodling on the best option.
16 inch rims probably would not have fit on the rear, but I don't know.
On the 15-inch rears, I went with Falken because I accidentally discovered that they make an excellent tire for this application if you appreciate, as I do, quiet highway tread for around-town driving. However, Falken doesn't make the size I need for the front wheels, so my fronts and rears wont match. Bit of a bummer.
I would have gone with Uniroyal on the rear, my favorite brand, but their load ratings are not as high Falken so I shied away. (Probably just as good a tire as the Falken, but more truthful in their advertising?) Uniroyal Tiger Paw front tires might be in my future.
So far so good. Sure-footed handling, don't know yet whether the rear tires are holding pressure but they look good.
Thanks for reading
Summarizing from above, the problem I am trying to solve is that ordinary passenger tires of the OEM tire size, under heavy loads, allow sway and leak air, hence the need for tires with greater load capacity.
LT tires for Hilux pickups, which have smaller rim sizes and smaller wheelwells, are basically not available any more. You might still be able to find LT185/75r14 to be used as dualies for a camper or a flatbed, but such tires might have poor turning characteristics when used in single rear wheel application, and they also look dorky because they are more like 80 to 85 in profile.
I went to 6 tire shops in all. I searched online ceaselessly for 2 weeks.
Finally, a small independent shop found me Goodyear Wrangler LT215/75r15s which would fit fine on 15 inch rims on the rear. 600 dollars later I had the tires I have always dreamed of on shiny new rims. Nirvana. I thought life couldn't get any better, with super thick walls and 1,000 lbs load rating. I was grinning from ear-to-ear right onto the highway, when I made a nasty discovery. These Wrangler LTs don't handle at all. At 50 mph the truck felt like it would spin out under the slightest oversteer. I drove for a while on a number of different surfaces and the driving-on-eggs handling didn't abate. I drove that day to a Goodyear store, where the sales people admitted that there had been problems with Goodyear Wranglers on heavy trucks. I was stuck with worthless tires because I knew that Goodyear would not take a return from an independent store under any circumstances. I had been through this with Goodyear before. You MUST buy Goodyear tires from a Goodyear store because otherwise you have no warranty whatsoever. Fooled me twice, shame on me, because I was so desperate for a solution. I gave the tires away to a friend, and continued searching for a solution.
I discovered is that every increase in tire size affords a commensurate increase in load bearing capacity. Therefore, the solution is to simply go big. The migration path is as follows: on the rear, replace 195/75r14 with 215/70r15 on new 15 matching inch rims; on the front, replace 195/75r14 with 215/75r14. This combo yields a couple hundred pounds extra load bearing capacity (still nowhere near what I had with my Lanvigator LTs, but adequate). Also, the 70 series profile affords a slightly bigger footprint, which means that the tires' contact surfaces bear fewer load PSI.
15 inch rims won't fit on the front. Too much rubbing unless you get a lift kit. I have my torsion bars torqued to the maximum setting. So I haven't gotten the front tires yet. Still noodling on the best option.
16 inch rims probably would not have fit on the rear, but I don't know.
On the 15-inch rears, I went with Falken because I accidentally discovered that they make an excellent tire for this application if you appreciate, as I do, quiet highway tread for around-town driving. However, Falken doesn't make the size I need for the front wheels, so my fronts and rears wont match. Bit of a bummer.
I would have gone with Uniroyal on the rear, my favorite brand, but their load ratings are not as high Falken so I shied away. (Probably just as good a tire as the Falken, but more truthful in their advertising?) Uniroyal Tiger Paw front tires might be in my future.
So far so good. Sure-footed handling, don't know yet whether the rear tires are holding pressure but they look good.
Thanks for reading
