Tire questions and seeking opinions, please. Rough ride after wheels and tires. (3 Viewers)

[ryanY79]

2024 Premium Plus.

Added Westcott 2.5 / .75 lift and ran stock wheels and tires for several thousand miles before ordering aftermarket wheels and tires. Adding the Westcott lift changed very little in terms of ride quality and drivability. I actually preferred the Westcott feel versus stock.

I added 20x9.5 Vossens and originally with 295/60/20 Yokohama At-4’s. Returned and replaced with 285/60/20 Michelin Defender LTX Platinums. The ride quality was absolutely awful with the Yokohamas (which I was very surprised with considering I put 50k on my Tundra with Yoko’s G015 and absolutely swore by those tires. Extremely quiet, smooth and great in the rain, ok Off road.) Switched to the Michelin’s and they are absolutely quieter and smoother at highway speed than the Yokos. However the “hard ride factor” is my issue.

The load rating of 121/125 for the Michelin’s is higher than the stock tires, but I assumed since the sidewall is decently tall that the higher load rating tire wouldn’t be that harsh on this vehicle. I was wrong. Even deflated to 30 psi these tires has completely ruined the ride quality of this vehicle. Every road crack / hole / slight imperfection is felt.

Yes this is my fault and yes I didn’t do enough research apparently. But comparing this vehicle to my Tundra, and having a similar load rating tire on that similar-weighted vehicle, I thought the ride would still be “soft and smooth”. It is anything but and I’m not sure what to do. Contemplating just selling the wheels and tires and going back to the stupid looking stock wheels and tires.

Is there a tire with a softer sidewall in this same or similar size of 285/60/20? I’ve not been able to find one.

Other option is to sell these wheels and tires and go to a taller sidewall, smaller diameter wheel.

Appreciate any experience / opinions.

 

[DJ’s Sled]

I’d hate to see you get rid of those really nice wheels…
If you are willing to try something in between your first two tries, and are okay with going back to the 295/60 size, have a look at these:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Vredestein&tireModel=Pinza+AT&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=96R0PAT&tab=Sizes#RatingsReviews

This is a longtime and well respected European brand.

Try to find an installer that lets you try them for several days, so you can move on to another try if necessary. (Example, I think Les Schwab advertises that..)

I used these tires - but in an XL, 51 psi max size - on my ‘22 Sequoia and they were excellent, very quiet, very reliable, handled towing, just fine on normal dirt, gravel county roads etc. Be sure to read many, many of the reviews.
I would likely be on this tire again, but they don’t have an E rated size I wanted on my 18” wheels (E rated for towing safety etc).

I’m assuming by your 2 previous choices that you are okay with a happy middle ground between hardcore off-road and super aggressive pavement handling.
Good luck, let us know what you end up with!

 

[bronco21]

Ride quality and 60/20s usually don’t go together. More sidewall, more cushion. Less sidewall, less cushion.

Low profile tires are for street performance and rarely comfort.

 

[newlyn]

Returned and replaced with 285/60/20 Michelin Defender LTX Platinums.

These have an E load range rating, right? If so, that is a very stiff, heavy duty tire, not great for a daily driver GX.

 

[lkehm]

Do you have hub rings on?

I have a similar set up, Nitto Terra Grapplers (275/60R20, +18 offset, stock lift) I had some vibration issues at first going over 60 mph. The original tire shop installed hub rings but when I took it to get road force balanced, they took the rings off and replaced them with hub centric plates because the rings do not align. This fixed the issue.

 

[Guest787]

Westcott and 20” wheels are 100 percent of the problem. A pre-load collar system will always stiffen the ride. 20” wheels require you to give up an additional inch of sidewall to 18” wheels, thus eliminating additional cushion built in to the tires.

 

[daleswig]

I have a similar setup on my OT+ and thought the ride was just terrible. So, I lowered down the tire pressure a bit (30) and switched the mode as well as the suspension to comfort and it did the trick for me, I don't know if you have both of those options on the Premium plus, hoping you do to give it a try.

 

[Sixgun95]

Why not go with 18" Vossens and keep the original tire. You get the look without compromising the ride quality.

 

[ryanY79]

Do you have hub rings on?

I have a similar set up, Nitto Terra Grapplers (275/60R20, +18 offset, stock lift) I had some vibration issues at first going over 60 mph. The original tire shop installed hub rings but when I took it to get road force balanced, they took the rings off and replaced them with hub centric plates because the rings do not align. This fixed the issue.

This is interesting, and something I have not heard about anywhere. Did they happen to say the make / brand? Thank you for the info.

 

[joodokick]

Ride quality and 60/20s usually don’t go together. More sidewall, more cushion. Less sidewall, less cushion.

Low profile tires are for street performance and rarely comfort.

almost everyone with a BMW, Mercedes, etc disagrees with you.

 

[bronco21]

almost everyone with a BMW, Mercedes, etc disagrees with you.

Plenty of folks are jaded by the emblem on what they are driving to honestly assess it. My BMW wasn't made for comfort, nor did I care about that.

If you think low profile tires ride softer than larger tires on the same vehicle, go for it. You only have to make you happy.

 

[BLK GX]

This video does a great job of explaining the jittery ride caused by adding unsprung mass .
What it comes down to is that the the bump impact on the heavier unsprung mass will not get absorbed by the suspension and gets translated directly to the body

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=unsprung%20mass%20vs%20sprung%20mass%20suspension%20demonstration%20lighter%20heavier%20wheels&sp=EgIQAQ%253D%253D

 

[bronco21]

This video does a great job of explaining the jittery ride caused by adding unsprung mass .
What it comes down to is that the the bump impact on the heavier unsprung mass will not get absorbed by the suspension and gets translated directly to the body

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=unsprung%20mass%20vs%20sprung%20mass%20suspension%20demonstration%20lighter%20heavier%20wheels&sp=EgIQAQ%253D%253D

It's still just one factor that may or may not be offset by other factors. I recently went from 35in Toyos to 37in Nittos on my Bronco, increasing total weight by 20lbs per tire. The ride is better and gas mileage is better with the 37s. That might not have been the case if I had stayed with the same Toyo tire.

A lot of factors play into things when wheels, tires, offset, etc. are all changed at the same time. It's then hard to diagnose what is causing most of the problems, as it's probably a combination of several. Many people increase tire size but don't adjust tire pressure accordingly, adding to the ride changes. Many factors that you either can live with or you can't.

As you said before, you really don't know how it's going to affect the ride until you do it, and it doesn't always go the way you think it will.

My offroad vehicles are set up for offroad first and highway second. I care more about application than looks. I'm more than willing to trade comfort for performance. I also grew up on 60s one-ton suspensions and buckshot mudders, so my idea of comfort is quite different than others.

 

[BLK GX]

.
This video shows the simulation of increase unsprung weight and wheels ability to track the ground .

 

[MEVANSNC]

I don’t drive off-road, so I like my SUVs highway smooth and comfortable on mountain roads. I hated my Overtrail ride, after a few changes it rides great. Peak spacer, Ikon control arms, Vossen 8.5 wheels, and Falken AT4 SL load tires. Best ride I think you can get from an off-road SUV.

 

[DJ’s Sled]

I don’t drive off-road, so I like my SUVs highway smooth and comfortable on mountain roads. I hated my Overtrail ride, after a few changes it rides great. Peak spacer, Ikon control arms, Vossen 8.5 wheels, and Falken AT4 SL load tires. Best ride I think you can get from an off-road SUV.

Well done!!

 

[MK550]

Excuse my ignorance, but isn't the lift just as much as a culprit to the bad ride as the lower sidewall, or E rated tires?

Especially the spacer lifts.

 

[MEVANSNC]

I’ve only done spacer or 2” lift max on my land cruisers, and the bad ride has been tires. My ‘21 LC has a 2” front, 1.5” back emu lift and took me 4 sets of tires to get the ride smooth. The KO2s looked best, switched to Michelin Defenders (both E-rated) and the last set of Falkens are SL and ride great.

 

[MEVANSNC]

Excuse my ignorance, but isn't the lift just as much as a culprit to the bad ride as the lower sidewall, or E rated tires?

Especially the spacer lifts.

 

[MEVANSNC]

Additionally, I’ll add that I think Sidewalls are important, 17 or 18” wheels will have a better ride than 20 or 22” wheels.