Need good off-road tires for Racetrack Road in Death Valley

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rangeoflight32
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Need good off-road tires for Racetrack Road in Death Valley

Postby rangeoflight32 » Sun Feb 26, 2017 7:57 pm

I recently bought a 2012 Pathfinder Silver Edition. I love it, but want some really good off-road tires to drive out West (I'm in the Southeast USA), especially on the road to the "Racetrack" in Death Valley National Park, which is supposed to be very rough.

The tires that are on it now are in great shape, so I don't want to replace them. Instead I want to buy some new rims/wheels and good aggressive off-road tires. And I'll switch them out in the driveway myself before I go on any trips. So my point there is that I don't want a good "all around" tire. I can deal with some extra road noise and poorer MPG, because I don't plan to use these all the time. I want something good for snow, for the one or two times per year that it snows in NC and also hopefully some time in the Rockies, etc

So the first question is what size tires? A friend of mine said that I don't want to go with oversize tires without doing a lift (which I'm not ready to do), but it seems like there is plenty of room between my current tire and the wheel well area.

I used https://tiresize.com/calculator/ and found the sizes for 16, 17, and 18 inch wheels, but not sure which one to go with.

Also what is the ideal "ply" I should look for with off-road? Apparently sidewall thickness is important in avoiding flats on rough 4wd roads.

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated, as this is all very confusing to me. Thanks.


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disallow
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Postby disallow » Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:19 pm

Duratracs seem to be the consensus for an aggressive tire with decent manners on road as well.

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Postby Kestral » Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:19 pm

Lots of variables options and opinions on this one.. If it were me I would stick with 16" inch size and possibly a larger load rating or stiffer side wall the 16 will give you more sidewall size prob 265/70/16. If you want good in the snow skip the mud tires most of them are not good in the snow. BFG A/T is a good option the trend just works and they have a stronger sidewall. There are some Cooper models that have stronger sidewalls as well.

The problem with load range E tires is two fold weight and ride they are heavy and ride hard. You will want to upgrade your rear suspension if going off road either airbags in the rear or upgraded springs will be a must.

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:02 am

disallow wrote:Duratracs seem to be the consensus for an aggressive tire with decent manners on road as well.
I am not looking for an all around tire with good road performance, although I don't want them to be nightmarish rough ride on the road considering i have to drive mostly highway to get out West. I was actually looking at the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrecs online the other day, and the tread pattern looks pretty aggressive. I need to figure how to determine the thickness of the sidewall on those.
Last edited by rangeoflight32 on Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:10 am, edited 3 times in total.

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:06 am

Kestral wrote:. If you want good in the snow skip the mud tires most of them are not good in the snow..
I want something that is good off road and on semi rough dirt road terrain (and I suppose mud), but also good in the snow. Maybe I am going to have to compromise on one side of this.

Yes my friend recommended 16" size as well. And a stiffer side wall is what I'm looking for, but how do I determine that from the tire specs?

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Postby Kestral » Mon Feb 27, 2017 6:14 am

rangeoflight32 wrote:
Kestral wrote:. If you want good in the snow skip the mud tires most of them are not good in the snow..
I want something that is good off road and on semi rough dirt road terrain (and I suppose mud), but also good in the snow. Maybe I am going to have to compromise on one side of this.

Yes my friend recommended 16" size as well. And a stiffer side wall is what I'm looking for, but how do I determine that from the tire specs?
Any rugged tire is going to have a stronger sidewall you should not have any problems in this area considering the R51 Pathy is not that heavy of a truck.

Look at the Kelly Springfield real aggressive AT tire (Can't recall the name off hand) they are like a cross between a mud tire and A/T tire. I put them on my sisters truck and they are impressive on any terrain snow, mud, dirt. And not to noisy on road.

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DiBo
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Postby DiBo » Mon Feb 27, 2017 10:56 am

Go with the new toyo rugged Terrain. They are between an m/t and an a/t. The r/t is better on road than an m/t and better off road than an a/t

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Mon Feb 27, 2017 3:14 pm

What size wheel should I go with? My friend said 16, and someone above said 16 ,but seems like that means more sidewall and less wheel and more chances for punctures.

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DiBo
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Postby DiBo » Mon Feb 27, 2017 8:44 pm

bigger sidewall lets you go with less air and you get more deformation over obstacles and more traction.

Less sidewall means less room to air down before your rim hits the ground.

check out these 3 vidz for better explaination

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p39cMch3OTE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoGxLN4VwXc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cfYq_ZE-HQ[/url]

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Postby Kestral » Tue Feb 28, 2017 5:36 am

Nice job DiBo that info you posted should be quite helpful !

Them Toyo's look mean! I have had several Toyo tires over the years and all have worked quite well. I just put some crossover SUV Toyo's on the wife's Toyota Venza and they are impressive.

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NVSteve
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Postby NVSteve » Wed Mar 01, 2017 2:50 pm

Definitely go with a 16" wheel. The road to the racetrack is not bad whatsoever-I come across 2 wheel drive cars there all the time. There are some potentially sharp rocks that can be flung around or wind up embedded in a tire, but that is about the only real obstacle. The worst part about that road is the washboarding. Sometimes it is tolerable, other times it can be downright annoying as hell. That's where the 16" wheel plays in your favor since you will have more sidewall & can air down a bit to make it less harsh.

As to tires, if you go with a LT instead of a P rated tire, you will be fine. I only have LTs in a C rating on mine, and have driven them on really nasty roads. A D will be heavier, an E heavier still. I'm on my second round of Duratracs and can attest to how well they handle everything I've thrown at them. Another tire I've been seeing rave reviews on is the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx. Like I mentioned, even fairly bald car tires make it out to the Racetrack, so just go with something that looks good to you & has great reviews (LT tire). 265/75/16 is the max oem size that was installed on the Pathfinder-I probably would not want anything smaller than that myself.

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Wed Mar 01, 2017 6:41 pm

NVSteve wrote:265/75/16 is the max oem size that was installed on the Pathfinder-I probably would not want anything smaller than that myself.
Thanks for all the info..very helpful. I was planning to go with 265/70R16, just because the calculator on https://tiresize.com/calculator/ said that was the equivalent overall size to the 265/65R17s that are on there now.

It says:

265/70R16 30.6x10.4R16 30.6" Equal

The 265/75R16 tires have 31.7" diameter, but I suppose it's still OK?
Last edited by rangeoflight32 on Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Mar 01, 2017 7:31 pm

You can run up to 265/75/R16s. This was a factory size for 05-07 on the SE OFFROAD version of the truck.

There are a few more options in that size as it is pretty common.

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:30 pm

disallow wrote:You can run up to 265/75/R16s. This was a factory size for 05-07 on the SE OFFROAD version of the truck.

There are a few more options in that size as it is pretty common.
Ok thanks and I had no idea that was a possibility. But you and the previous poster said that, so I will take your word for it, even though the tires have a larger diameter than what is on there right now.

Looking at the Duratracs, the specs are:

LT265/75R16
112Q C OWL
C - 6 ply
45 lbs

LT265/75R16
123Q E BSW
E - 10 ply
51 lbs

I'm all about overkill, so perhaps I would go with the 2nd ones to give me thicker ply even though I assume would be a rougher ride and poorer MPG, etc. But I like the idea of higher ply level, so less chance of a flat/puncture.

I'll have to look at some other tires, but at least this gets me closer to figuring it out.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:40 pm

The E-Rated tires will ride very rough compared to the C.

I had E-rated REV02s on my rig for a couple years. You have to keep them at 50psi or so to keep them happy (wear wise). Makes for a harsh ride.

That at 20-25 lbs of unsprung weight, I vote for the C rated ones.

Note that you may experience some mild rubbing on the mudflaps at full lock. Mine did this, mostly due to gravel and road debris caught in them which caused some interference, but like I said, only at full lock.

My next tires will probably be the duratracs.


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