LT (light truck) tires on Forester ?

Has anyone any experience with LT tires on a Subaru, are they too harsh ? More resistant to punctures ? Have stronger sidewalls ?

They're supposed to have stronger sidewalls

jf1sf5 said:

Has anyone any experience with LT tires on a Subaru, are they too harsh ? More resistant to punctures ? Have stronger sidewalls ?

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I had LT Bridgestone Dueler 697 AT tyres on my foz. They were good, rode a little harsher than passenger road tyres but that may have been their all terrain construction. The LT are definitely built tougher than the passenger for a D697, as my father runs 265/65r17 Duelers on his Pathfinder and he's had a couple of punctures (sidewall and through tread) vs none for LT Duelers on either my foz or Vitara.

LT 225 65 17 BFG TA KO2 are my trip tires.

They inspire a ton of confidence in harsh terrain and especially if aired down. Much less likely to get a sidewall puncture in either situation.

On road, they are very, very good as far as handling and braking go. I find them much better than Geolander ATS, for example.

Where the LT factors in a little bit, is noise (not bad, but it is there) and ride (not harsh, but not plush).

There are two other areas where the LT matters more than a little bit.

First is weight. The tires are 39.5 lb vs. 28-32 for P-metric AT and 24 for the stock. They would turn an n/a H4 in a really slow car on road.

Second is tire pressure. Whereas my normal pressure is 32/30 and my ATS are best at 35/35, the LT KO2 must be run at 45/45 to maintain proper pressure and prevent premature wear. But what this means is that I now must engage in the 4x4 air down ritual. On P-metric ATs, I would not bother except for sand. Otherwise, I might go down just a few psi. With the LT KO2s, I go down to 25-27 for normal conditions and then have to air up to 45, which takes time (I need a more powerful compressor now).

All in all, I am extremely happy with the KO2 as a trip tire. I would not run it daily.

My plan is to replace the old ATS with the new Continental AT tire that just came out and use the latter as DD/light to moderate off-road duty/long highway duty. Basically, I intend to keep the KO2 only for dedicated offroad trips and harder trails.

I am fairly certain the Grabber ATs on my Foz are LT construction. When I got them fitted, the dealer inflated them to 45 PSI and they felt really uncomfortable. Once the car was laden with 300kg of gear they became a bit better but it wasn't until I dropped them to 40 psi that on-road comfort really improved. Grip is great, I can still drive the GT sportily on twisty roads and noise is still low.

Off-road these things really come into their own. I can't believe how much more stable and sure footed they feel. In the Simpson, I was able to drive through long, slippery wet clay-pans and bogs with confidence.

Sidewalls are very strong, I had to drop to 20 psi to get a nice bulge which comfortably got me through gibber roads, up Big Red and heaps of other large dunes with soft hot sand and through some pretty extreme water and mud.

That trip was 7000km, they still look brand new. No chips, scratches or visible wear.

The only real downside is they are a tad heavier, the larger diameter dulls response and the car feels a little bit more 4wd-ey and less car-ey. Solution is to own two sets of tyres like above (but I don't have the space).