Load ratings on tires D vs E ?
 

Hey guys is there a big difference between a D rated tire and a E rated tire I think the E is a ten ply and the D an 8. My truck came with E rated 2006 GMC 2500 I'm thinking on swithing to D rated is this a bad idea?

Thanks Kirk

You're correct on the plies. I'm surprised you have Es on your truck, I thought they were for duallys. If you tow heavy you should keep the Es. If not, the Ds will probly give a softer ride. You should be ok with Ds up to 8000lbs.

Wait and see what Sydwayz says, he's the man on this stuff.

The only way you will be legal for towing at the max is with the E-load rated tires.

Why are you thinking about going D? Rough ride currently? Factory tires on those trucks are pretty much barely good enough. Invest in a good tire and you will have a nice ride and still have E-rating.

The factory E-rated whatevers that came on 2500 Avalanche were terrible, along with those pissant 16x6 wheels.

Sidewayz, any thoughts on E rated tires for 20x9 wheels? Vehicle is an 06 2500 Duramax towing an 02 353 Fastech, (12,000 lbs) Currently running the 16 inchers with Bridgestone E rated tires.

"Pissant 16 wheels" lol well the "doughnut" look is coming back sad to say. :(

There is a auto parts store having a sale on Pirrelli tires buy 3 get the fourth one free but the size i'm looking for they only come in D. Thank you guys for the help I will pass and get the right load rating.

Stick with the "E"'s.

Actually, a dually would have less psi on the road than a srw F350. All my SRW F350's have always had e-rated and I would not think a D would cut it towing or carrying 4.5k in the box; which is a very common scenario for me. I had a 'Just Tires' store try to mount d rated; needless to say their incompetence has cost them a few customers.
Stick with the E-rated tires.

I don't have any experience with E-rated 20" tires.

But, I'd look into BFGoodrich and Nitto.

Also, swing by your Ford dealer and take a look at what tires they are putting on the Factory 20" wheels that come on the new F350 SRW trucks. Continental comes to mind, which I am not overly fond of, but see if you can confirm.

Stick a post up on thedieselstop.com too. It's a primarily Ford PSD board and they will have a lot of input.

Just replaced my factory tires on my 08 F350; 275/65-20. Went back with Goodyear Wranglers. The first set went 72k miles so I stayed with the Goodyears...Load range E of course.
They look pretty good too....there were not very many choices, continental was 1 option, but most were more money and why change a good thing. just my .02

The duramax came with the 245-75-16 E rated tires. Way to small for the truck. I have 285-75-16 Michelin LTX m/s D rated tires on mine. Michelin makes a E rated tire also that is somewhere around $10 more a tire, but no one around here stocks them. All tires have the weight load pound ratings right on the sidewall. Check it out and do the math with what you haul and tow tongue weight. I found that i will never exceed the D weight rating. Michelins ride nice, are quiet, and never need to be rebalanced. Jeff Wurl

on my 2500 hd i put 285-70-17's on it and they are ratied higher then the 245-75-16's that came on it my 285's are d's the 245's are e's i went with the michelins at's and so far i really like them

My last two sets of tires were 285/75/R16 Bridgestone Dueler tires and they were D rated. Both sets wore out within 8 months and I do all highway driving and tow a 10,000 lb. boat. 3 months ago I bought 285/75/R16 Firestone Desination E rated and I can already tell that the harder rubber is making a huge difference. When it comes to heavier towing I think the D rated tire is too soft of a rubber and just wears out too quickly. JMO.