Truck or passenger car tires on Dakota?

I need to replace the tires on my 2000 Dakota. The original owner threw away the OEM tires fairly early on and installed passenger car tires 20mm larger, I know I'm going back to the standard P215/75R15, but don't know whether to buy a passenger car tire or what is stated to be a "truck and SUV" tire.

Looking at Goodyears in both cases. I just wonder if there is really any advantage to the blockier tread on a Goodyear Tracker, or if its mostly appearance and they're charging more for the "idea" its a truck tire.

Reply to
edward ohare
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No need for RV tires. If you want best ride and MPG, stick with smooth car tires.

Reply to
TheSnoMan

Are you going to use it off-road ?

If not buy road tyres.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

There are two issues here, both related to whether you use it as a truck or as a car with a really big trunk.

The LT (light truck) series tires usually have a higher load range than do the Passenger series. One would expect the tradeoffs to be higher cost and lower carlike qualities such as handling and noise. If you drive around with a bed full of construction materials or a heavy camper and two weeks' worth of hunting and fishing stuff or whatever, it might be worth your while to consider gross weight.

Either series can be had with a variety of tread styles from highway-only to significantly off-roadey. When going on bad roads or none at all, you usually want a blockier, more open tread that looks like it'd dig into mud for traction and fling it out afterwards. Such tires also tend to have tougher, straighter sidewalls so you don't kill 'em on sharp rocks and so forth.

Winter performance, if that matters to you, can be harder to tell just by looking, though if going through deep snow matters to you, a blocky tread sure helps (this from driving both an S-Blazer with mildly SUV'ish passenger tires and a new Dakota that still had its OEM all-terrains in snow last winter -- it made the difference between a churny, squirmy excursion and just another day at the office). Check out the ratings in addition to eyeballing them. Of course, if you deal with serious winter a lot of the time, a set of steel rims and some snow tires might be in order.

The bottom line on the bottom of your truck: yes, there is a difference, but which way you want to go (to engineer is to compromise or specialize) depends on what you mean to do.

Probably most people with pickups and SUVs are fine with a tire in the passenger series and the highway style -- but there are also numerous exceptions, and if you're one of the exceptions you wouldn't want to get stuck (in more than one sense of the word) with a badly wrong tire.

Cheers,

--Joe

Reply to
Ad absurdum per aspera

Independent of tread design: "P" indicates passenger. "LT" indicates light truck.

Usually, P tires are 4-ply or 6-ply rated (B or C load range), ride smooth and balance well. LT tires have stiffer sidewalls, usually

8-ply or 10-ply rated (D or E load range), ride harsher and will carry more weight. Heavy loads and towing can take advantage of the stiffer sidewalls and more cord layers might be a little more puncture resistant. I put P245-75R16's on mine.
Reply to
Ol' Duffer

What ever you decide, make sure the tires load rating is enough for the weight of your truck and a full load.

------------------- Alex

Reply to
Alex Rodriguez

I run passenger tires on my 1989 full-size Dodge Ram D100 pickup, as specified on the tire placard. You would have to be doing a great deal of

*heavy* hauling with your Dakota before LT tires would begin to become necessary.

Poor choice IMO. That is a main reason why many Mopar owners change for new tires early in the vehicle's life, is because Goodyears generally tend to have a high suck factor.

Surely not!!!! (Yes)

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

The only advantage to Goodyear tires is you will have to buy another set in about 15-20k. Absolute shit. My last 3 new dodges all had Goodyear tires and all had to be replaced at around 15k. If you want a good tire go with a BFG. Just my personal thought on this. MJP.

Reply to
M.J.P.

I just went with Bridgestones on our 01 Dakota.. quieter, better handling and less expensive than the OEM Goodyears...

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

we must slow down for more corners or something.. lol got 42k on the good years... went to replace them and the tire guy said "come back in about 5,000 miles, after you inflate them" (the outside showed wear, the middle of the tread was great).. We changed them anyway, to get rid of the goodyear and go with Bridgestone..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

I'm just now replacing the original equipment tires on my 2001 Dakota at 49000. If winter weren't coming on I'd wait another 6 months.

Gary K. Conn.

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Reply to
Gary K.

I find that very interesting. My truck is an 01 ram quad 4x4. The factory goodyear tires were wrangler rts P rating. By the time I hit 15k I didn't even bother rotating them since there was so little tread left. Rotated before every

5k. Replaced with BFG Commercial T/A,LT rated, 20k and the tires look new?????????? What are Good year tires made with recycled Condoms/ rubber? I wont buy them. The same money I'll get BFG and a tire that lasts. Just my experience and opinion. MJP.
Reply to
M.J.P.

I don't go off road (occasionally drive into the back yard to haul firewood) and don't very often load the truck heavily (the back yard firewood situation being the major exception). However, this is the third worst snow vehicle I've ever had, although a lot better than the first and second worst (79 Monza Spyder 305 and 69 New Yorker), so I was considering perhaps making a selection for better snow performance.

Reply to
edward ohare

The Goodyear Tracker is marketed as a truck tire but the smaller sizes, including the one for my truck, has a P designation not an LT one.

Heh.

Reply to
edward ohare

I would go with the size and type of tire indicated in the owners manual. The Dakota 2000 is marketed as a family truck, which means it is designed for moving people and some of their stuff around, sort of like a station wagon or small SUV. Unless you want the rugged big truck look and are willing to put up with the harsher ride and noise of heavy duty big tread truck tires, just go with the passenger tires designed for the Dakota. Your passengers will love you for the decision.

Reply to
John S.

Agreed on all points.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Okay, it sounds as though you don't need an LT tire and aren't too concerned about either major ruggedness or serious sand/mud traction. The question is (since we don't know where you live or whether unplowed roads or icing are much involved), are you better served by a second set of dedicated winter tires or an all-season compromise?

You may wish to check out the ratings and the decision guide on tirerack.com -- they have some interestng prospects in both those areas.

Cheers,

--Joe PS. As time goes on, remember that the amount of tread *remaining* as well as the original qualities and capabilities of the tire will become a significant factor in dealing with snow and other compromised-traction conditions.

Reply to
Ad absurdum per aspera

I hope you're wrong as I just bought two new Goodyears. The other two I think will make it through the winter. Could there be different versions of Goodyears put on new Dodges? Mine is a Club Cab 4x4 Dakota used mostly on the highway. Gary K. Conn.

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Reply to
Gary K.

In most cases there's a trade-off between long lasting and grip. Tires that use soft compounds have the best wet/dry grip but usually wear out faster. Tires that use hard compounds usually have reduced wet/dry grip, but tend to last longer. Winter tires have great grip, but usually wear out fast. I usually check the treadwear and traction ratings on the sidewall, they vary significantly even within the same brand. This website has a lot of information about tires, and can help you decide which is best for your purposes;

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JPH

Reply to
JPH

I have 15,000 on my Wranglers (2004 Dakota Quad Cab 4x2), and they hardly look like they've been used. I expect at least 40,000 at this rate. I can't say how they handle in snow or ice, because I haven't seen any in this part of Oklahoma since I got the truck.

JPH

Gary K. wrote:

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JPH

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