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Me no likee.

I had 3 out of 4 tires take a Pelosi on my Yukon XL, so I figured I'd just start fresh. The tire dude tells me about the screamin' deal they got on some 10 ply Pirellis, & said that I'd be ready to haul or tow anything, & I wouldn't have as many flats. I gave 'em a shot for the past 4 days, & they're bouncing the fillings out of my teeth.

I called this am to explain my position, & they're going to swap me out tomorrow afternoon for the Cooper Discoverers that I was leaning toward in the first place.

Lesson learned.

FC

I had them on my last 1/2 ton, Firestone something or other. Brand new take off's that I got for about a 1/4 of reg. price (friend of a friend).

Worked well enough, although it wasn't my daily driver and either had my four-wheeler in the back or was hauling a light horse trailer.

I've got 200,000 miles on my 1/2ton Z71. All but the first 40,000 miles have been with Cooper Discoverer ATR's, 10 ply. The factory tires I was having flat tires all the time. Since then, the only flats have been due to nails/screws/road hazards that you can't blame the tire for.

Just bought a new set for my wifes new Z71. The tire size didn't offer 10 ply, but I got them anyways. 2 flat tires in only a handful of months already. Not valid data, but makes me go hmmmmmmm.

What pressure are you running them at? You shouldn't use the OEM P-rated pressure nor should you run them at max PSI. I don't have it bookmarked on this computer but one of the tire manufacturers has a chart for their LT tires that gives you an idea of starting point for determining the correct pressure for 10 plys and your axle loads in your Yukon (which is what? yourself and a lunchbox or 500 lbs of lead ingots,...etc). Then do some chalk tests on the tread to see if the inflation is correct for good tread wear and traction. If that ride still too stiff for you get a new dentist:)

I like my 10 plys on a 1/2 ton pickup pulling two horses in a trailer out in the boondocks.

I'm sure the difference is in the load. Every other week, I've got 5 boys (an extra 550# and growing...) with me. A few times a year we're loaded to the gills for a trip. The rest of the time, it's just me. Were the thing loaded more, and more consistently, I'm sure I'd care less.

I brought it home from the tire place inflated to the 35 PSI on the door decal. They recommended 55 PSI (and I still dunno why they didn't inflate them thusly), so I pumped 'em up the next am, & drove 200 miles. The ride was bone-jarring, but I did get 18.3 mpg, vs. the 14.6 I had been getting.

I backed it off to 50 PSI, & drove a bit more, but the ride was still much rougher than I wanted. I called the Pirelli help line, & was told "we can't offer you a recommendation, since that vehicle wasn't designed for 10-plys. Play with it & see how low you can go on the PSI, without having the wear characteristics suck." The other part is the dumba$$ed TPMS - 2 GM dealers said it cannot be reprogrammed to accept higher tire pressures without constantly sending me warnings.

Given that I was simply thrilled with the last 2 sets of Discoverers I've had, I'll be more than happy to switch to those.

FWIW, this particular Yukon had Wrangler AT/S's on it when I bought it. From what I've seen, if that's the best Goodyear has to offer, I'll gladly stick to Coopers.

FC

Lower them back to 35, they'll ride better and they'll wear fine. I lower the pressure down to 35 PSI on my 99 dodge diesel when I'm not planning on towing anything. When the gooseneck gets put behind it I pump the rears to 80 PSI and the fronts to 60.

I personally wouldn't put E range tires on a 1/2 ton, load range C or D will cover anything the truck can handle and ride better, and they'll still resist flats better than the P tires.

I run exclusively 10 ply rated tires on both my 1/2 tons. My son runs 10 plies on his Avalanche. They will ride a bit rougher, but I generally run somewhere between 40f/35r to 45f/40r for pressure. I watch the tires, and if they are wearing in the centers, I lower the pressure, or vice versa. The reason I run 10 plies has nothing to do with carrying loads. It is because the kind of roads I have to drive on will eat up lesser tires. I HATE flat tires!!

I found the perfect compromise for me and my 98 1/2 ton chevy P/U with a new set of Firestone Destination LE's. Max pressure is 44 lbs which is more than enough for heavy loads and unloaded I run em at 35 lbs front and 34 in the rear. They ride and handle great and for $492.00 out the door M,B & I with free lifetime balance and rotations - I ain't complaining one bit.

The tire shop in our little hamlet has as its primary source of income the various ranches here in the Boot Heel, all of whom run multiple vehicles in really rough country. This is not to mention the highway miles that they accumulate in the course of a year traveling to ropings and ranch rodeos to accumulate some extra loot and the odd belt buckle for bragging rights. Since I left the ranch seven years ago, I have been through two pickups and am on my third. My wife and I put 30,000 miles a year on each of two vehicles. Those numbers don't include the miles (off road and highway) that I used to put on the ranch trucks

I rely on Ronnie for tire advice and he sells Firestone, Michelin and Bridgestone, along with a few lesser brands. For the last ten years, I have been running 10-ply rated Firestone Transforce HTs, mostly the LT 245/7516R. I did run a set of 285s on my GMC diesel, but they didn't last any longer than the 245s and cut fuel mileage by 1-2 mpg.

I drive fast off the pavement, a horrible habit that I developed while managing a 502 sq. mi. ranch, three divisions with three foremen and a varying number of cowhands. I have rarely had a flat. I still drive the rough roads and two-tracks and I have never had a flat on my current pickup (a "little" Toyota Tacoma 4WD) that is getting ready to turn 188,000 miles. These tires have lasted me a minimum of 50,000 miles on a GMC crew cab diesel, a GMC Classic 1500 (a half-ton with a floating rear axle) and the Tacoma.

If your driving is almost all off-road, Toyos are the toughest, but they are beasts on the highway and they won't give you more miles than the Firestone Transforce HTs.

I run Toyo 10 plys and love em. I have 55k on this set and they still have some life. At $400/tire they weren't cheap, but I haven't had one flat and a LOT of my driving is off road. They don't handle that well at 75 mph on the interstate and there's some road noise but you can't beat the longevity and aggressive tread.

I got the Coopers thrown on yesterday, & there's a world o' difference. There's but a fraction of the jarring over every tiny bump, and I'll gladly trade a slight increase in road noise to get it. Given that I'm 98.752% on-road with these tires, they're the best choice for what I do. If I were out west (where I actually think I belong... but that's a whole 'nother thread...), then I'm sure the 10 plys would be the better way to go.

I guess I like Coopers well enough, since this is the 3rd set I've bought for my SUV's. Now that I think about it, the first 2 sets gave me such a warm & fuzzy feeling, that I bought Coopers for 2 Corollas, as well, and those have held up extremely well.


Fish head, that's a screamin' deal on those Firestones - I was quoted $666 out the door for the same pair!

FC

I have run std D ratings on my 98 Dodge Cummins for 11 years without a hitch.No flats, no blow outs probably about 35 K on them when they get down to about 1/8" tread.Same with the gooseneck fully load.I usually run about 60 psi in all.

I'm trying to figure out why anyone would put 10 ply on a truck that isn't anywhere close to handling a load they were designed for. Of course I am still using plain old Rotella oil instead of synthetic and changig oil every 3000 miles too.