Big Booty Judy - 2014 DC Tundra Build w OVRLND Camper

rruff

Explorer
I'm running the 275/70/18 Cooper ST Maxxs and am getting 10-11MPG after a good 2,100 miles this week....I need a bigger tank, better MPG or both...
Very stiff tires. Rolling resistance varies a lot by brand and model. My Hankook ATMs are excellent in this respect. 17-18 mpg on long trips, 35x13 and a 2" lift.
 

Fergie

Expedition Leader
Took me 8 months to get Nitro gears installed through SDHQ here. Major shipping delays at the time — from S. Korea I believe. Guess it hasn’t changed at all. Worth the wait though.

What did you go with 4.88 or 5.29?
I went w the 4.88s after doing a bunch of different reading. I may go to a slightly smaller tire in the future and still wanted the gearing for towing ability. With the spot I want to get in to for fly fishing, a full size rig isnt always best, so looking at quads for that.

ECGS had everything in stock and shipped out yesterday(same day as the order), whereas Nitro couldnt figure out their ************** from their elbow.
 

Fergie

Expedition Leader
Very stiff tires. Rolling resistance varies a lot by brand and model. My Hankook ATMs are excellent in this respect. 17-18 mpg on long trips, 35x13 and a 2" lift.
Very good point. One of the reasons I went w the Coopers was durability and toughness of the carcass in general, but the trade is the weight and as evidenced by the MPG differences, the economy of them. I may switch it up when they wear out for a smaller tire or take a look at other brands. I'd always been a BGF AT person before this, with only one time of buying Yoko Geolanders that failed my badly in Death Valley.
 

rruff

Explorer
...but the trade is the weight and as evidenced by the MPG differences, the economy of them.
It isn't weight... it would be easy if it was, we'd just need to put them on a scale! My tires weigh 75 lbs/ea. The stock BFGs with street tread weighed less than half that, but MPGs were worse at low speed. It's hysteresis when the tire flexes; how much energy gets turned into heat.

Unfortunately no one seems to test AT/MT truck tires for MPG so there is little incentive for manufacturers to care... and it's impossible to tell. Generally you would expect a tradeoff with weight (for the same size) since that indicates more/thicker material, and durability since that indicates a lack of suppleness... but design and rubber compounds can make a huge difference.

One thing we can look at to get an indication is speed rating for tires that have the same weight rating, since that is primarily a temperature test. Higher temperature (lower speed rating) means more heat generation from hysteresis.

I haven't managed to destroy mine yet, but I do have some pretty deep sidewall cuts. And my spare is an ST Maxx... 😜
 

Fergie

Expedition Leader
It isn't weight... it would be easy if it was, we'd just need to put them on a scale! My tires weigh 75 lbs/ea. The stock BFGs with street tread weighed less than half that, but MPGs were worse at low speed. It's hysteresis when the tire flexes; how much energy gets turned into heat.

Unfortunately no one seems to test AT/MT truck tires for MPG so there is little incentive for manufacturers to care... and it's impossible to tell. Generally you would expect a tradeoff with weight (for the same size) since that indicates more/thicker material, and durability since that indicates a lack of suppleness... but design and rubber compounds can make a huge difference.

One thing we can look at to get an indication is speed rating for tires that have the same weight rating, since that is primarily a temperature test. Higher temperature (lower speed rating) means more heat generation from hysteresis.

I haven't managed to destroy mine yet, but I do have some pretty deep sidewall cuts. And my spare is an ST Maxx... 😜
Wow...never heard of that term and went down a brief rabbit hole on it. So I understand, a higher speed rating means less temp, which translates to better MPG?
 

dstefan

Well-known member
I went w the 4.88s after doing a bunch of different reading. I may go to a slightly smaller tire in the future and still wanted the gearing for towing ability. With the spot I want to get in to for fly fishing, a full size rig isnt always best, so looking at quads for that.

ECGS had everything in stock and shipped out yesterday(same day as the order), whereas Nitro couldnt figure out their ************** from their elbow.
I’m guessing you’ll like them. The difference isn’t dramatic for me, but very noticeable and it drives way better, especially on hills and in headwinds.
 

rruff

Explorer
Wow...never heard of that term and went down a brief rabbit hole on it. So I understand, a higher speed rating means less temp, which translates to better MPG?
That's a guess in lieu of better data. Here are some links for 18" AT/MT tires that are ~35". They range from a P speed rating to T, load range from D to F.

 

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