AboutBarry Smith Expertise I have over 30 years experience in the design, manufacturing, and
testing of tires. I have served as the technical advisor to the "800"
number. I have authored or co-authored many publications - usually
without credit. I can answer almost any technical question, but
please don`t ask me to compare brands. I probably have prejudices because of
my work experience.
Experience Member SAE (Society of Automotive
Engineers)
Member Tire Society (Tire Technical Organization)
SCCA Regional Competiton License holder
Authored many training manuals on tires, their care and use.
Question I recently purchased a 2002 K2500 Suburban and am planning to replace the existing tires. The current tires are 265-75R16's (C load class). The OEM's were 245-75R16's. I pull a 7,500lb travel trailer and would prefer load rated E tires. I like the look of the bigger tires, there's adequate wheel well clearance and I can live with the speedometer error but on some of the RV sites they indicate the larger diameter can negatively affect the ABS system. Is this a significant concern and are the stock rims okay with the larger tires for towing purposes?
Thanks for sharing your expertise Barry,
Greg Shell
Answer Greg,
You have a good reason to prefer Load Range E tires. The original tires on your vehicle (LT245/75R16) were supposed to be inflated to 80 psi, which means they'll have a load carrying capacity of 3042 #. The LT265/75R16 Load range C has a load capacity of 2470 # at 50 psi, so you've lost over 1000# of capacity on the rear end! This is bad for towing a trailer.
However, your vehicle has 6.5" wide wheels which are too small for an LT265/75R16, so you need to go back to the LT245/75R16's.
But to answer to your question. Well, it has to come from the vehicle manufacturer, they are the experts on what the limtations of the ABS unit is.
