Tires and tire pressures

Surfman · Dec 24, 2009

Ok fellas (and gals too),

Just had my Treg's required yearly state inspection. Have 13,500 miles or so on the Treg and was told the tires (Goodyear LS2's) were wearing down for so little miles. But I knew based on this site that if I get 25,000 miles that would be good. Looking forward I started doing some research in replacement tires. Currently have 255/60/17 and want to move up to 265/65/17 for a little extra ground clearance. Questions: 1.) is it required that I get "H" rated tires because of the Treg's weight, 2.) looking at tire sites some manufacturer's don't list max tire pressures. I know my Treg says 39psi front and 46psi rear. When the tires heat up they can hit 51psi in the rears when the weather is warm. How can I tell if the tires I'm looking/considering will be able to handle this pressure? 3.) Since 85% of my "off road" driving is on the beach I don't need an "off road" tire. Need something that will all season, zip down the interstates quietly and handle very well (these are Touaregs afterall) but will be able to run the beach and minor off roading and be long wearing. Read up on the Nokians: WR SUV, WRG2 SUV, and HT SUV. Any thoughts on these? What about other tires (e.g. Nitto Dura Grabbers but "T" rated)? Any one know of a good compromise between street and off-road? Any opinions/help would be appreciated. Damn, sounds like I want it all doesn't it? LOL

Dave

JKUCSMA · Dec 24, 2009

Nokians and most others in that size are rated 51lbs.cold.I'am still fighting with the idiots that put the tire pressures at 39f,and 46r,thats 2lbs.,over max cold pressure.I guess I'll file a complaint with NTSA,since VW could care less.I forget the load rating offhand,but look at your stock tires,they should be equal or above that,the letters are more for speed rating than load rating.The WRG2 in 265/65 are xl rated and have stiffer sidewalls for higher load stablity.Do a search for tires and you will find a wealth of info here.

AndrieK · Dec 24, 2009

I have no experience whatsoever with Nokians, since they don't sell them here but I DO run 265/65R17 Bridgestone Dueller A/T D694's and here's what I found:

1. My Duellers are T-rated (190km/h), my R5TDi's top speed is supposed to be around 184km/h and the legal highway speed limit over here is 120km/h, so I'm safe.
2. Max pressure for the Duellers is 350kPa (50.7psi) cold. I run them at 250kPa (36.2psi) front and rear under normal (unladen) conditions. Tyre manufacturers always specify cold tyre pressures. The tyre is always designed to withstand the increase in pressure due to the increase in temperature. I got the info from Bridgestone SA after sending them an email. They sent me a spec sheet with all the info on.
3. Like I said, I have no experience with the Nokians and none with the Nitto's either, as they aren't sold here. For me the choice was between the Duellers, Pirelli Scorpions and Yokohama Geolandars. All three have an A/T tyre which is a good compromise between on/off-road performance. Not sure about snow though, but it never snows here so it's not an issue for me.

From what we've seen on here, seems like a 265/65R17 is a very good size if your off-road use is primarily sand, while a 245/70R17 is the one you want for more snow use. Their circumference is virtually identical. The other advantage of the 265 is that it makes the stance a little "fatter" because of the additional width, but that's purely a cosmetic thing.

JKUCSMA · Dec 24, 2009

Tire Tech Information - How to Read Speed Rating, Load Index & Service Descriptions This shows you alot about load ratings.

Surfman · Dec 24, 2009

Thanks guys for your help. So, from reading your posts the main item is the load index. I was always under the impression that a higher speed rating was indicative of stiffer sidewalls thus meaning a "stronger" tire. My LS2's (106H) sidewall markings say max load 2054lbs and max inflation 51psi. Is the 51psi a cold rating or the max rating for "hot"?

JKUCSMA, in your opinion what should the psi settings be for my Treg?

AndrieK, I had Geolanders H/T S on my '02 Chevy TrailBlazer and loved those tires. Quiet, handled very well, were great on the sand, and couldn't wear them out. But then again, the TB was approximately 500lbs lighter than a Treg.

I quess my next big decision is if I want/need to get an "all terrain" tire. How much noisier are they than all season highway tires?

Have a Merry Christmas fellas and I'm sure I'll be talking to ya soon.

Dave

JKUCSMA · Dec 24, 2009

51 is max pressure you can fill the tires cold,don't worry about the added pressure from driving,thats figured in.I like 38psi front,40psi rear,thats with two people and no cargo.The speed rating is the max speed you can drive without the tire building up too much heat or just failing.

AndrieK · Dec 29, 2009

Surfman said:
How much noisier are they than all season highway tires?

This is a bit of a subjective question. My Duellers are quite a bit more noisy than the original Kumho's that was on the car when I bought it, but IMO the additional off-road capability is worth it.

Saying that, I'm currently sitting at my parents' place near George and drove just over 1,200km highway to get here a week ago. I'll be heading down to Cape town tomorrow (380km) and back to Pretoria (1,450km) on Sunday and the last thing I'm concerned about is road (tyre) noise. Some people would argue that a car of this stature shouldn't have this much tyre noise, but it's still more than acceptable to me.

JKUCSMA · Dec 29, 2009

Surfman,you will have the same problem as me,if you get bigger tires they carry will carry more weight at a lower pressure for the Treg,so we have to find a way to change the TPMS,no way would you want 39f and 46r with tires that carry the weight at 36 or so,the ride would be like a truck.

Surfman · Dec 29, 2009

JKUCSMA,

I believe you can change the settings for the TPMS in the MFD. Your thoughts echo AndrieK's settings for his 265/65/17's. Good stuff guys, thanks.

Dave

DCC · Mar 8, 2010

My '10 TDI with the 20" wheel option says to run 39f and 49r cold full load pressure.
But nowhere does it give part load pressures?
Anybody knows what to run these at?
They are 275/40/20...
Thanks

Tires and tire pressures

Surfman

JKUCSMA

AndrieK

JKUCSMA

Surfman

JKUCSMA

AndrieK

JKUCSMA

Surfman

DCC

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