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

Anything relating to Wheels, Tires, and Brake options and upgrades...

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rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:38 pm

disallow wrote: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.
Ok that makes it more difficult to figure out. I'm on the East Coast, so the prospect of driving across the country on a really rough ride with the E-rated tires is not a pleasant one. I suppose C rated would be adequate, but I'm just paranoid about flat tires. I don't want to get a flat in the middle of nowhere, although I plan to buy 5 tires, so will have a full size spare. I guess that means more weight and poorer MPG, but hopefuly will be worth it.


rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Thu Mar 02, 2017 1:50 am

NVSteve wrote:Definitely go with a 16" wheel.
Btw, beautiful pics in your Flickr from the link in your sig.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Thu Mar 02, 2017 6:40 am

The factory spare is already full size, and it's best practice anyway to replace the spare when changing tires. Your good to go!

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NVSteve
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Postby NVSteve » Fri Mar 03, 2017 10:42 am

rangeoflight32 wrote:
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.
Another tidbit for you is that the speedo is calibrated to the 265/75/16 tire size. A smaller tire than that will give you inflated readings on the dash.

I run my C load Duratracs at about 40 psi. I've tried more and less, but 40 seems to be the best for me. When I first switched to the Duratrac, the installer pumped them up to about 49 psi and it was downright awful, bone-jarring, etc.

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NVSteve
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Postby NVSteve » Fri Mar 03, 2017 10:51 am

disallow wrote: 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.
The only rubbing I've experienced is when the suspension is fully stuffed at full lock in an off road situation. I had to trim off the bottom lip of all my mudflaps though-stupid ice would accumulate so much in the wheel wells that I could never turn my wheels, so I'd always be outside with a rock pick chipping out all the ice. Once I trimmed the lips off the mudflaps, no more massive ice build up.

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:11 pm

NVSteve wrote:
disallow wrote: 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.
The only rubbing I've experienced is when the suspension is fully stuffed at full lock in an off road situation. I had to trim off the bottom lip of all my mudflaps though-stupid ice would accumulate so much in the wheel wells that I could never turn my wheels, so I'd always be outside with a rock pick chipping out all the ice. Once I trimmed the lips off the mudflaps, no more massive ice build up.
I received the tires today although haven't had them mounted yet. But I put one by the wheel well and does seem like might be a reasonably tight fit. I was hoping to use tire chains with these eventually, but I wonder if going to have clearance to do that? It will be frustrating if not, although I probably would only need them a handful of times per year, considering I live in the Southeastern USA. But i want to drive in the Rockies and up into Montana, etc. and could easily encounter snow of course on this upcoming trip or futures ones.

So is it just a lost cause to try to use chains on these tires (Duratrac 265/75R16) or is there some kind of workaround or will there actually be room? If there is massive ice buildup without chains, then obviously chains would just make it worse, so trying to figure it out. Thanks.

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NVSteve
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Postby NVSteve » Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:44 pm

rangeoflight32 wrote: I received the tires today although haven't had them mounted yet. But I put one by the wheel well and does seem like might be a reasonably tight fit. I was hoping to use tire chains with these eventually, but I wonder if going to have clearance to do that? It will be frustrating if not, although I probably would only need them a handful of times per year, considering I live in the Southeastern USA. But i want to drive in the Rockies and up into Montana, etc. and could easily encounter snow of course on this upcoming trip or futures ones.

So is it just a lost cause to try to use chains on these tires (Duratrac 265/75R16) or is there some kind of workaround or will there actually be room? If there is massive ice buildup without chains, then obviously chains would just make it worse, so trying to figure it out. Thanks.
I haven't put chains on any of my vehicles since the 80s. If you feel you absolutely must have some other form of assist, have a look around at some of the current chain/cable offerings. A lot of them really aren't that thick, so you should have enough room driving with them, especially since you will most likely never be making super sharp turns with them on.

My (old) problem with ice build up was from driving on snow covered roads. The snow was wet enough that it just stuck to the inside of the wheel wells, then once it was there, it would freeze in place. Chains won't make that problem any worse as the snow will only stay where the tire isn't rubbing.

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:46 pm

Ok thanks and I'll just play it by ear and chains would probably work to some degree and if not, I'll just get another set of tires this coming Autumn. I will just throw money at the problem if I have to.

Right now I'm having trouble finding wheels that will fit the Pathfinder. I was told that I need:

16 inch wheels:

Bolt Pattern - 6x114.3- 6x4.5
Offset - +30mm
Backspace 5.5" (?)

Is this correct and how important is the Offset and Backspace? I know they can use adapters, but that is obviously not ideal and also will possibly add more width to the tire and I don't want that.

rangeoflight32
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Postby rangeoflight32 » Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:03 am

Ok it was slim pickings out there, but ordered the 16" wheels and should have the tires on my Pathy soon. Then I just need to find some terrain that makes it worth it all. A trip out West will do it.

Fryguy22
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Postby Fryguy22 » Tue Apr 11, 2017 7:25 am

I just put 265/75/16 E-Rated Duratracs on my rig and love them so far! I do get a slight rub with one of the mudflaps which I'll be trimming.


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