I'm in need of new tires. I think I'm going with Michelin LTX A/S. For that tire, there are 2 choices: Passenger or LT. I'm trying to decide which would be better. Ideally, I'd like to go with the LT's because I tow a 5000 lb travel trailer about 4-5 times per year (the LT's would definately handle the load better). But how would the LT's handle when not towing a load?? Will I notice a significant difference during every-day driving?? How much harsher will it be (if any)?? Thanks.

 

bamorris2,

I was in the same situation a few months ago. I ended up putting LT's on my truck after the suggestions of a few fellow members here. I did notice a difference in the ride and it maybe a little harder than with the P tires, but I am running the LT's at 45 psi at the recommendation of my tire guy vs. the 35-38 psi I ran with the P's. The truck does handle a lot better now because it seems that it does not want to "roll" as much when going into turns.

I hope that this helps.

 

Notice any difference in snow with the higher pressure?

(and hello to a fellow 315'er)

 

Go with the LT's if you tow. I do not tow but haul small loads at times. The ride is more firm but I run 40 psi in the tires,running less psi was wearing the outside edges. I did notice that I feel the road seams a little more than with the P tires but my piece of mind is better knowing that the tires will hold this heavy truck and my family.

Reloader55

 

Depends on the brand but in my opinion you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. The difference between BFG AT/KOs and Bridgestone Revos LT. are neglegable. BFGs a little noiser, slightly better traction

 

Hello also to a fellow 315'er.

It has been a little hard to tell with the lack of the white stuff this year. I got the tires around Thanksgiving last year and while driving in the few storms that we have had, the truck drove through it like the roads were bare. It sounds like we will be getting some more winter like weather in the next few weeks so I should get a better idea on how it handles in the snow with the higher pressure.

 

As far as ride goes, the p tire will have more give it may not be noticeable at all, the Lt tire will give you a firmer more stable feel with the road. You will notice less rearend hop with the Lt's. Not as much sidewall roll with the Lt's as well. If you tow or haul much or frequently I would get the Lt's.

Denman
just my .02

 

I have tires with load rating of 3195ea and I think the ride sucks. I'll be replacing them with a lower load rating tire (and smaller) when these wear out. The standard load rating for most 265/70R17 tires is ~2500 pounds each which is well beyond the rear axle's rating.

 

With the Michelin's you might notice a slightly firmer ride, but not by much. Before you spend your money on LTX A/S's go read feedback uses have posted on tirerack.com The A/S is a decent tire, but doesn't provide great winter traction. Not sure if you live where the snow flies, but I'd look at LTX M/S's over the A/S's. I had the A/S's on my 3/4 ton Dodge and the offer a very nice quiet ride, great dry traction and decent in the rain, just weak in the snows.

I've been running LTX A/T's on my last 3 F150's and have been very happy with their performance. I've got 75K on the set on my truck right now, with 1/3 tread left. Should easily reach 100K.

Note, some LT tires have the tendency to flat spot over night in the cold. This goes away within a couple miles, tops.

Good Luck

 

Thanks everyone for your input... I went ahead and went with the LTX A/S "P" rated tires. I figured that with the great majority of my driving being city/hwy, and only towing a few times a year, the "P" rated tires would be good. I did all the calculations, and the "P" tires easily exceed the capacity of the truck, even considering the 91% rule for using "P" tires on a light truck/suv.

So far, I'm VERY happy with my choice. I posted on another thread that I noticed a difference as soon as I drove out of the tire store's parking lot. Once you get a good set of tires, it's easy to see how crappy the OEM Continentals truly are...