before the winter i bought some SA4 all season tires(215/70-14) and i got them siped for better traction. i have put about 7k on them and the rear tires are just about to the wear bars. the front tires are just fine. i dont spin the tires very often. i know its about time to get them rotated. i know i bought the cheapo tires but there arent any real good choices in a 14. one of my buddies told me they wore out so fast because they are the wrong load rating. does that effect wear? next time i buy tires what should i get that is ecomical and good in the snow?

thanks, CH

 

The load rating will only affect your wear if you're hauling things. Do you haul anything in the bed? Next, cheaper tires = poorer quality. Plus, where you drive makes a difference too. Cold climate? Warm climate? Cold makes the rubber harder and the opposite for warmer, causing them to wear either slow or fast. Speed is a major role on them too. Drive fast? Then the rubber gets heated up and wears down quicker. There's a lot of factors that can cause quick wear to the tires.

 

Ever check your tire pressure? Some places think fill the tires to their max. That results in the center part of the tread wearing faster than the rest. You didn't tell us what part is wearing???

Cheapo tires tend to wear quicker than pricier tires. Car tires, such as 14's, wear faster on trucks than cars even with all proper pressures and weights taking into consideration.

Weight rating probably isn't an issue seeing as though 14's are typically light weight tires designed for a compact car.

Options are slim in 14's now a days. Might be worth it to bump to 15's if you intend to keep the truck around.

 

I have 285x75-16 KM2, load rating “E”,
I felt they rode too hard, thinking less air would make them ride better I lowered the pressure from 45 to 30 on the fronts and to 28 on the rear, NOT, didn’t change anything except I got a slapper out of the deal and some scolloping.

Raised the pressure up to 40 psi and got the worse bump steer I have even had in a Ranger.

Load Rating should be adhered to without reservation, stick to what is right for the truck weight.

Tire pressure may or may not cause increase tire wear but it will cause abnormal tire wear and destroy the tire for normal use.

I now run the 40 in the front and 32 in the rear, ride still $ucks, tire wear no comment, bump steer reduced some with 32 psi in the rear.

Next set of tires will be 15” and load rated to a max of “C”… or “108” as some places call out, I learned my lesson, should have listened to comments on Load Range. thought I knew better, lol on me.

 

i run 35 psi on all my tires, and its a pretty even wear pattern. yes a haul stuff occanally ive gotten 4 yards of mulch two yards of top soil and a few trips to scrap yard under my belt this sping.

 

Well, where is it wearing? Inside edge? Outside edge? Middle? Inform us a little more, please. If it's the inside or outside you'll need to get an alignment, possibly some other parts need some replacement. Inside edge, deflate your tires a little bit. I run 35 in my tires, and the middle tread does wear down. My inside edges also wear down because my front end alignment is horrible.

 

its wearing normal, i dont need an alinment because my front tires are great. the back tires are worn evenly thoughout the width of the tire.

 

How often do you rotate them/have them rotated?

 

I'd suggest getting a15" rim and getting truck tires w/a harder compound. There is more options available.

 

havent gotten them rotated yet, but ive only had them for 7k. i only have a 2.3 so i would like stay with a 26, can i get tires that small for a 15?

 

prolly should rotate them...tires should be rotated every 3-5K

 

Or every 2k for an all terrain and 1k for a mud terrain. Just from my experience.

 

No, 3k on the low end. More like 5,000.

 

Maybe you just bought stiff tires. You know KM2's are known for being stiff as a whole without factoring load range in. Its part of purchasing a tire designed to withstand rocks it means the sidewalls are thicker and stiffer. Want a soft car like sidewall buy a car tire. The load range c swampers I have ride no different than the load range e's I replaced stiff and truck like. They do however ride a million times harder in load range c than the radial load range d's I used to have. Mount up a set of bias ply load range c's and come back to post about how "terrible" those KM2's are.

3-5K is pretty standard regardless of tires. For the OP's cheap P rated tires they would have benifited from 3K rotations seeing how a siped snow tire will be soft as they come.

 

My tires wore like **** if I didn't rotate them every grand. Like I said, from personal experience. But I drove mostly highway for school.

 

Are your foot lead?

I know this from my boss who just replace BFG tires on F350. 10K miles later they bald so quick. It turn out he had lead foot.


On other is shock original on rear axle? Broke leaf springs? Is it dog track if you look at your truck down road?