avalonandl
Full Access Member
I have Defenders and I think the ride is fine. Not cushy, but not bad.
Ride quality of 22" vs 20"
- Thread starter dkad260
- Start date
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petethepug
Michael
H rated tires on a 50lb rim for a 3 ton truck would describe what your saying. Our Esky had the OEM Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza H rated tires when purchased last year.
I yanked them thinking noise from a worn hub was tire noise. Installed the same size UHP V rated Sentury tires our other vehicles run with a W rating. The road noise left only because the hub was replaced but the tire roll and mushy ride was gone with the extra sidewall reinforcement of the UHP tires.
The speed rating goes up of course, but the ride is key. The UTQG goes down from 600 to 500 but the tire is 4lb lighter at ea corner. It’s an odd tire company that specializes in aircraft tires for the 737, 700 / 800 / 900 aircraft but sells exclusively thru Discount Tire Stores.
I’ll likely go to a W rated tire next round just because of the mass of the tire.
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I yanked them thinking noise from a worn hub was tire noise. Installed the same size UHP V rated Sentury tires our other vehicles run with a W rating. The road noise left only because the hub was replaced but the tire roll and mushy ride was gone with the extra sidewall reinforcement of the UHP tires.
The speed rating goes up of course, but the ride is key. The UTQG goes down from 600 to 500 but the tire is 4lb lighter at ea corner. It’s an odd tire company that specializes in aircraft tires for the 737, 700 / 800 / 900 aircraft but sells exclusively thru Discount Tire Stores.
I’ll likely go to a W rated tire next round just because of the mass of the tire.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
adventurenali92
Full Access Member
While I don’t roll on 22s(and my 2006 probably never will...lol) I can say with certainty that the Bridgestone duelers were hands down the worst tire I’ve ever rolled on. I bought my truck in early 2015 and I am only the second owner of it. Apparently it’s first owner traded it back in to the original dealership to buy a brand new one. Or so the story goes that the salesman told me. Lol. Anyways the dealer told me they had to put brand new tires on it as all four were close to no tread and they couldn’t sell it without. Being that it was a GM dealer, and a GMC vehicle, they put Bridgestone dueler alenzas on it. On a stock Denali 17 inch wheel, but same tire. I hated them. I live in a mountain ski town with lots of winding mountain roads, and cornering on those tires absolutely sucked. Lol. They were so squishy and I felt everything in the road. I will never go back to those tires. I ran the 275/55 size when I first stepped up to 20s and threw a used set of Michelin LTX M/S2 tires on them, which is the previous version of the current defender LTX tire and absolutely loved them. They rode well, cornered well and even with low tread at the end they still performed well in rain and a mild snowstorm we got. The defenders are a really good tire to run on these rigs.
Even in the 22" size the Alenzas don't handle well. I put a different set of 22" wheels on my truck for 24 hours just to see how they looked and they had Alenzas already mounted and when I took the ramp to the highway I thought I had taken my swaybars off compared to the Michelins.
Jeffrey Howell
Member
I would go with the 20" and get rid of the 22" tires. My 20's have been great. I hear with the 22's you have smaller sidewall tires to fit and they bend a lot easier on potholes and such. I have a friend that has 22's and he has replaced all 4 rims at one time or another due to them getting bent.
21 generation is designed for a 22 wheel with bigger sidewall than the older generations I believe. I have a 21 high country tahoe with magnetic ride, the 22s are ok and ( I know which bumps you are talking about) there is no doubt the 20 is a better tire specially if you don't have the upgraded suspension systems and honestly i think 20s look
pretty good too.
I don't think the tire brand in your case would resolve your concern. If mine wouldn't come with 22s from factory I would get 20 winter and 18 summer propably
20s for me all day. I run the Cooper AT3 285/50/20 on OE Silverado wheels and even though this rig is 4x4, the ride is smoother and quieter than my '03 Tahoe with Ohtsu/20s that was 2WD. Use to run GoodYears on the old 'HOE but once they wore a bit, the were slick and it felt like the ass-end was going to come around at any minute.
avalonandl
Full Access Member
I changed from 22" Alenzas to Michelin Defenders and couldnt be happier.
The suspension is the real key.
The suspension is the real key.
My apologies for a late reply, haven't been on the car forums for a few months, been poking my head in a couple but just been crazy busy with a bunch of things.
I did get a set of Defender LTX's in the 22" size and yes, I'm very happy with the ride. Sure over rough surfaces you can somewhat feel the difference the 45 series tire makes but it's so minimal there's no bother, very close to my 65 series Defender LTX's on my Envoy. I do need to change the front shocks, could be another issue, but as a test, I disconnected the Autoride connector and added the 3.9 ohm resistor and that slight washboard effect has gone away.
avalonandl
Full Access Member
Interesting on the Ohm resistor. I need to change the struts on mine- they are OE and 165k miles. On big bumps I really notice them but this SUV is my main ride for a while....
