Taking Care of Your Tires Properly!

[TYREBOYZ_DEMAXIN]

i decided since there are alot of questions on this topic to do a writeup from my experiences with tires(not that i have that much)but in the last 6-7 years i have learned a few lil things..
i did a write earlier on tire sizes for your truck so now lets talk about proper inflation and keeping them guys rotated for longer life.as we all know buying tires isnt cheap so here are a few lil things you can do to take care of your investment and remember Tires are the only thing keeping you incontact with the road so going cheap isnt always the best answer.
LT245-75R16 LR E(Stock size for most trucks)Tire PSI..while the truck is EMPTY is 60-65PSI in the fronts and 50PSI-55PSI in the rear tires.
when loaded i would run 70-75PSI in the fronts and 75-80PSI in the rears depending on the amount of weight you are carrying or towing.
LT265-75R16,LT265-70R17 LR E Tire PSI...when driving empty i run 55PSI in the fronts and 45PSI in the rears(gets alot better wear that way)and then when towing or loaded i run 70-75PSI in the rears and 65-70PSI in the fronts.
LT285-75R16,LT285-70R17 LR D Tire PSI..when empty i always run 50PSI in the fronts and 40PSI in the rears even on our CC SB which weighs 7500LBS and then when towing or loaded i run 65PSI all the way around.
LT285-75R16,LT285-70R17 LR E Tire PSI..run the same as the LR D when not towing or loaded but i would air them up a lil more then the LR D when towing,i would run 65PSI up front and 70PSI in the rears.
anything bigger then the LT285-75R16 or LT285-70R17 will use roughy the same PSI as the 285's untill you get into the 36" tires and up.
LT215-85R16,LT225-75R17(most DRW Trucks have these)Tire PSI..when empty you realy dontn need more then 45-50PSI in the rears and 65PSI up front but when towing i wouldnt run anything less the 75PSI all the way around.
LT235-85R16,LT235-80R17(bigger tire option for DRW trucks)Tire PSI..again when empty you realy only 45-50PSI in the rears and 65-70PSI up front but when towing or loaded run 70-80PSI all the way around.
i'm sure there are sizes that i didnt cover but those are the more popular ones.
also here are a good rules to follow.
If your tires are wearing more in the center drop 5-10PSI untill they wear even.
If your tires are wearing more on BOTH shoulders add 5-10PSI untill they wear even.
If your tires are wearing more on ONE shoulder you are due for an alignment..
If your tires are wearing uneven(look like cut tires)rotate them.
If your truck has an annoying vibration at 50-70MPH chances are your tires need rebalanced.
If your truck has an annoying vibration at 30-50MPH chances are you have a tire with a slipped belts,replace them.
Proper Rotations.
for a A/T Tire i have found that every 5,000 Miles is about perfect for a ration.
for a M/T tire i wouldnt run past 3,000-4,000miles before rotating.
if the tires are wearing nice and even i would only move them straight back and forth but if the tires are showing uneven wear X the fronts to the rears and move the rears straight forward unless they to are wearing uneven then X all of them.
I think that covers all the basics but if you have any questions feel free to ask or post in this thread..thanks James

DISCLAIMER:this is all based off of our past experience with tires so take if for what its worth to you.

[gr8shot]

Good info!! Definently worth the tons of typing!!!

[TYREBOYZ_DEMAXIN]

it took awhile thats forsure..

[Dmax15]

Thats some good info, thanks. Do you have any recommendations on PSI for front and rears for 305/55R20 tires?

[TYREBOYZ_DEMAXIN]

i ran a set of the 305-55R20 and i ran 40PSI in the rears and only 50PSI in the fronts only when empty,if not they didnt wear even..

[DirtySouth85]

I'm not trying to be critical in any way, however I've heard that you shouldn't X radial tires because it can make them separate faster due to the change in direction. Do you know if there is any truth to this? Thanks!

[ob_1jr]

I never heard of that. I would say that is coming from someone that just ran bias ply tires. If that were true, there would be rotation arrows on the tires. But the ones that have that are for the tread only not the make-up of the tire.

[Rex]

I just got my 2009 CC 2500 std. bed truck friday. To try to make it ride a little better, I lowered the rear tires to 50psi. The DIC now tells me that they are low. Is there any way to reset the pressure that turns that message on?
I'm running the stock 265-70R17 load range E

Thanks,
Rex

[TYREBOYZ_DEMAXIN]

Originally Posted by DirtySouth85

I'm not trying to be critical in any way, however I've heard that you shouldn't X radial tires because it can make them separate faster due to the change in direction. Do you know if there is any truth to this? Thanks!

Originally Posted by ob_1jr

I never heard of that. I would say that is coming from someone that just ran bias ply tires. If that were true, there would be rotation arrows on the tires. But the ones that have that are for the tread only not the make-up of the tire.

i'm kind of late to reply but here goes..with the older Radial and bias tires it was a bad idea to x them since it caused belt seperation but with the newer technology we havent had that problem and they are designed to run both directions so x'ing is no longer a problem!

Originally Posted by Rex

I just got my 2009 CC 2500 std. bed truck friday. To try to make it ride a little better, I lowered the rear tires to 50psi. The DIC now tells me that they are low. Is there any way to reset the pressure that turns that message on?
I'm running the stock 265-70R17 load range E

Thanks,
Rex

yes you will have to take it to the dealer to have it reset and adjusted to the amount of air you are running in them..some dealers will be picky and say you cant but most can be persuaded!

[TheDuke]

How about this ?

I have a Suburban with 24's and the tires on the Driver side are both wearing on the inside ? Front and Rear ? Looks like they are chopping a little but just inside ?