New tires, let's see what happens

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by IsaacCarlson

The really bent rim called for 3oz on the one side and 2oz on the other. I said "NO" and pulled it off and put the spare on that rim. Much better. Most of the weights called for were .75-1.25 oz, which is pretty normal.

5 ounces total isn't abnormal for a medium sized tire like you have. Upper end of normal, but still normal. Now if you were talking about balancing bare rims, well ignore me. I have no experience balancing bare rims.

Originally Posted by IsaacCarlson

I'm running them at 38 psi, and I think that's going to be pretty close to their sweet spot. 40-42 psi might firm up the feel a bit, but being xl tires, it's not needed on the rav.

Just making sure you know this: XL tires are rated for higher loads because they are rated to sustain higher pressures, and as such are rated at higher pressures.

SL tires are rated for max load at 35-36 PSI, while XL tires are rated max load at 41-42 PSI. If you have a 235/65/17 rated 101H, and a 235/65/17 rated 101H XL, the XL tire will carry LESS load at 35 PSI than the SL tire. Now this would never happen, as the XL tire will be rated for more load given the same size, like 106H vs 101H.

[IsaacCarlson]

The 5 oz was to correct the effects of the bent rim. I removed the tire from the rim and put the spare on that rim. None of my road tires were over 3 oz total.

These are not H rated tires. I fill them to where they ride firm but not harsh and have better rolling resistance. I may raise the pressure a bit and see if the rolling resistance improves. The mileage is definitely down on this tank, but we were making a lot of short trips, it's colder, and we brought home a load of feed.
The car doesn't roll as easily. We could tell that right away. I want to be clear, we were not shopping for lrr tires. We were looking for traction/safety. We have yet to spin a tire on the new ones.

[IsaacCarlson]

I have been thinking the tires looked low. Ijust checked them with 2 gauges and they both said 33 lbs. That 5,000 tire machine has a bad gauge!
I topped them off at 39 lbs and will see how they do on this tank.rolleyes:

[IsaacCarlson]

Update: The increased tire pressure seems to be helping with rolling resistance. The tires also seem to be breaking in as well, so it's a bit of an unknown right now as to what's doing what. I'm looking forward to the next few tanks so I can see how much "breaking in" they actually do.

We are at 23 mpg so far, so I'm not too bummed. We were averaging 26 mpg with the old ones, bit they were racing slicks and didn't weigh anything. I'm pretty happy considering these are meaty off road tires. I am very impressed by how they behave. Great traction, handling, and water displacement. I hope they do as well in the winter.

[MeteorGray]

When I put mud grips on my Jeep Wrangler it reduced my MPGs by a couple or three. I wasn't happy about that, of course, but the performance off-road more than made up for that bit of inconvenience.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by IsaacCarlson

Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S in 235/65/17. They are definitely bigger than oem....hopefully a tad bit better mpg..... engine rpms are lower

The old goodyear tires (fronts) were absolutely shot.....new Coopers are awesome......Traction. They seem to be quite "sticky" compared to the old tires....

Most of the common tires in the factory size weigh 27-30 lbs. These weigh 35 lbs according to Cooper.

They should do very well this winter. Even with mismatched tires.....

I've done much of what you did, but with bigger than OE, used tires.
Years ago, we bought 7 new tires (Goodyear, Les Schwab). They have been very good & long enduring, but really dented our budget badly. I started getting used tires (some Coopers, Goodyear, Kuhmo, BF Goodrich, even Pirelli run-flat) for two of our cars & been very very happy. Its incredible that some people have great tires in their garages & getting rid of them for cheap. An 18", two tire set mounted on great alloy wheels cost $60. Another 18", three tire set mounted on wonderful alloy wheels cost $50. Got spare tires, that were never mounted "new" tires for as little as $10. I've got free tires that worked very well on our cars. ALL USED TIRES have given good service & given no problems.

[IsaacCarlson]

Update: mpg is up to 24.6! They must be braking in. I had a lot of 70 mph and stop and go on this tank. Both of those take fuel. I don't know how this tank will do. I filled up and it started missing and running like crap. I suspect bad fuel and will talk with the station tomorrow to see if anyone else has complained.


I used to run used tires, but had a lot of problems with them recently, so I went back to new tires. You never know how a used tire was treated. I once picked up a set of new Marathon trailer tires and put them on my truck. Those tires were very light, had decent traction, and lasted a while. I wore them down to nothing and finally blew the tread on one of them with a football sized bump. They handled like they were on rails. I bought new after that. Cooper StMaxx. Great tires, but a bit heavy when new. The tread was almost an inch deep. They have lasted me over 7 years and are still going. That comes out to about $100/year.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by IsaacCarlson

You never know how a used tire was treated.

Good, You can stay away from all the great, cheap tires I'm getting. Like I said, some of the tires have never been mounted & they've been stored well in garages. Got one of them on a car now, which is very smooth & little noise...... like the other used tires on the car AND on the other car, too. But, stay away from used tires..... they're mine!

[MeteorGray]

One thing to watch for is the date code on tires. Past about seven or eight years, the condition of a tire becomes problematic no matter how good the tread looks.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by MeteorGray

Past about seven or eight years, the condition of a tire becomes problematic...

New tire companies sell tires, sometimes years old. One dealer got caught, selling tires 9 years out of date. Racers may need new tires. My used tires give better traction than new tires I've had in the past. However, I corner slow, to keep the possible extra suspension stress low, that might be high, due to fine tires. I don't drive 70-90MPH on the freeway, don't drive in really cold or hot weather, am careful about pot holes & limit gravel road travel. Thank all you people for advertising the "poorness" of used tires. All the more for me, at give-away prices.... even numerous free tires. Always my used tires have given me more pleasure than my standard new tires ever did.