There are no cons to going with an LT tire.

You get a better handling tire, a tougher tire, and far more options in many different sizes.

The P rated tires always feel way too soft in corners and are not that great when it comes to puncture resistance.

I will never put another set of P rated tires on any truck I own. I much prefer the ride/handling they provide as well. In no way did I experience the ride get worse with an LT tire either. You just run a smart air pressure, which usually ends up being around 40psi in most cases, and they wear good, and ride good.

 

The only con I can think of with an LT tire is they weigh more which could bring mpg and performance down. By how much I'm not certain.

As for tire pressure, you should look at the stock tire and see what weight it is rated for at the stock psi then check the new tires and air them up to the same weight rating. For my E rated 10 ply KO2s that means they should be around 46psi to support the same weight as the stock tires did at the stock 35psi setting.

 

I guess I cannot make an educated decision since I've only driven on LT tires a handful of times, all in 1 ton trucks. My last Silverado was driven 185,000 miles all on P rated tires with very little problems. I guess my biggest hang up is the added weight. Logic tells me that fuel mileage will drop, hub bearings might fail even faster than they do normally on these trucks and it might feel sluggish off the line. I could be wrong on all 3.

 

My tires are the 265/70/17 E and tire rack lists them as53lbs each. The same tire but C rated are 44 lbs each so about 9 pounds lighter for each one. I love these tires but next time I'm gonna try and get the C rated ones.

It also says the stock General Grabber tires were about 32lbs each.

 

You will lose more mpg by going up in size than you will from the weight. And hubs really aren't an issue. How many people run larger tires on these trucks and have issues with the hubs going out prematurely? Very few. And I'd venture a bet that those hubs would have failed either way, regardless of tire weight.

Dont forget the older trucks came from GM with LT tires. Granted not load range E like you'll find for most tires now. The switch to P rated was for cost savings and to try and seek out that last tenth of a mpg to try and satisfy big brother.

And after all, your driving a neary 6,000 truck. You cant expect much for fuel milage. If you want to increase it then drop it down and go smaller tires. But once you start talking level, lift, bigger tires, etc, you can pretty much figure on your mpg dropping.

 

I know the mileage won't, or shouldn't drop drastically. I'm averaging between 19 and 20 now with mixed driving, leaning more toward highway. I don't know if GM changed the design of the hub or not on these trucks, but the older generation trucks had a pretty high failure rate. My 2004 had one go out around 75,000 miles and the other one lasted until a few months before I sold it at 185,000 miles.

 

The basic rule of thumb is, a P-metric tire should only be considered if the vehicle will only be operated on paved roadways. Don't know if I completely agree with that rule. When I got my truck used, 10 years ago, it had been changed over to load range E, LT tires. When I replaced them, I went back to the original P-metric in an all-terrain tire.

What was the biggest thing I noticed? the P-metrics were quieter...that's about it.

Why did I go back to P-metric? Price was cheaper and I knew I was one day going to tow a travel trailer and did not want the extra weight (every pound counts). I do about 50/50 of highway/off road and as my "off-roading" consists of gravel roads, dirt roads, and 2-rut trails, it wasn't like I needed the extra strength of the extra plies...an all-terrain (AT) P-metric would do just fine as they are a bit beefier (but not much) than the touring or performance type tires. Mind you, if I was doing rugged trails in my truck like Engineer Pass, Ophir Pass, Imogene Pass in Colorado for example, I would most defiantly go with LT tires (instead, I rent a Jeep with LT tires to do those trails and look like a dumb wannabe).

So ask yourself if you really need LT tires if your truck originally came with P-Metrics. If you feel they meet your needs, go for it.

 

The basic rule of thumb is, a P-metric tire should only be considered if the vehicle will only be operated on paved roadways. Don't know if I completely agree with that rule. When I got my truck used, 10 years ago, it had been changed over to load range E, LT tires. When I replaced them, I went back to the original P-metric in an all-terrain tire.

What was the biggest thing I noticed? the P-metrics were quieter...that's about it.

Why did I go back to P-metric? Price was cheaper and I knew I was one day going to tow a travel trailer and did not want the extra weight (every pound counts). I do about 50/50 of highway/off road and as my "off-roading" consists of gravel roads, dirt roads, and 2-rut trails, it wasn't like I needed the extra strength of the extra plies...an all-terrain (AT) P-metric would do just fine as they are a bit beefier (but not much) than the touring or performance type tires. Mind you, if I was doing rugged trails in my truck like Engineer Pass, Ophir Pass, Imogene Pass in Colorado for example, I would most defiantly go with LT tires (instead, I rent a Jeep with LT tires to do those trails and look like a dumb wannabe).

So ask yourself if you really need LT tires if your truck originally came with P-Metrics. If you feel they meet your needs, go for it.

Good post. LT tires ride rougher and are heavier. Those who say they don't are somehow defying the laws of physics. I have towed a 5,500 pound 30 foot travel trailer from Utah to the East Coast and back without issue. I do air my "P" rated tires near maximum inflation when towing. But "P" rated tires are great unless you consistently run heavy loads.

 

to answer your tread life question, there is a guy on here that had a set and i asked about tread life. he had 20k on them and they were on track to hit 70k based on the tread depth new vs what he had at the 20k mark. Whether he got that out of them though i don't know. His profile on here is Eurovic (i think that's the spelling)

 

Thank you all for the replies. I personally don't see a need for me to make the switch from P to LT as all my P metric tires have served me well in the past, don't haul heavy loads or tow trailers. Back to the original topic, I would expect the tread life of the Ridge Grapplers to be on par with what I was used to with the Terra Grapplers. I'll need to make a decision before winter as the current rolling stock isn't going to cut it once the snow flakes fly.