47-55.1 Tire Pattern

[Zippi]

I'm taking my 49 pickup in for a front end alignment and new tires. I'm currently running Fuzion 235/45R18 94V Touring tires. I like the tread pattern but I'm open to other nice looking tread patterens. Show me what your tread pattern looks like on your AD truck and what brand.

[dsraven]

what will you use the truck for, cruising, long road trips, canyon carving, looking at from the coffee shop window after a couple blocks of driving?
tires should be purchased as per the use, ride type you want, wheel size etc. if you run a tall wheel with a short sidewall your ride will likely be bumpy and the reason you would do that is for less sidewall flex in the tire when canyon carving. if thats the purpose then you also likely want to look at the speed rating and compound in the tire, how it runs on wet roads etc etc. if you have that same wheel tire combo and do mostly cruising around town then you will feel every bump in the road because the tires don't absorb much road shock.
personally I like a wheel tire combo that will give a decent ride but not too much sidewall flex in case I need to do a little cornering sometimes. you gotta decide and then find the happy medium. most tires will come with a suggested tire life rating, which can point to the compound softness. I ran michelin pilot tires on the wife's acura and they gave a decent ride with decent grip. not a long lasting tire though. another thing to check on is the compound changes that can be built in so as the tire wears the compound changes a bit. this can lead to a noisy tire. I had hakkapelita tires on my daily driver truck and they got noisier by the day. I had some bridgestones that did the same. maybe stop at a tire shop and ask a few questions. they will likely point out a few decent ones. then research some reviews from actual users, bearing in mind that most people don't do a review unless they had a problem.
if you're going simply for the loo of the tire and tread then just pick one that pushes the right button for you, do a couple of reviews so you have a bit of a baseline on some possible issues that may come up, then decide if you want that tire.

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by dsraven

what will you use the truck for, cruising, long road trips, canyon carving, looking at from the coffee shop window after a couple blocks of driving?
tires should be purchased as per the use, ride type you want, wheel size etc. if you run a tall wheel with a short sidewall your ride will likely be bumpy and the reason you would do that is for less sidewall flex in the tire when canyon carving. if thats the purpose then you also likely want to look at the speed rating and compound in the tire, how it runs on wet roads etc etc. if you have that same wheel tire combo and do mostly cruising around town then you will feel every bump in the road because the tires don't absorb much road shock.
personally I like a wheel tire combo that will give a decent ride but not too much sidewall flex in case I need to do a little cornering sometimes. you gotta decide and then find the happy medium. most tires will come with a suggested tire life rating, which can point to the compound softness. I ran michelin pilot tires on the wife's acura and they gave a decent ride with decent grip. not a long lasting tire though. another thing to check on is the compound changes that can be built in so as the tire wears the compound changes a bit. this can lead to a noisy tire. I had hakkapelita tires on my daily driver truck and they got noisier by the day. I had some bridgestones that did the same. maybe stop at a tire shop and ask a few questions. they will likely point out a few decent ones. then research some reviews from actual users, bearing in mind that most people don't do a review unless they had a problem.
if you're going simply for the loo of the tire and tread then just pick one that pushes the right button for you, do a couple of reviews so you have a bit of a baseline on some possible issues that may come up, then decide if you want that tire.

Thanks for the info. I just basically wanted to see what others are running on their classic pickup.

[mr48chev]

Truthfully nothing that big or wide.

As far as the tire and tread go, it's an all season tire that should be good for most conditions that you probably would be driving in or caught in. Meaning that you can run down the freeway at freeways speeds on the way to or from and event or do the back roads "lets go for a ride out past---" thing that I wish we all did more of in our old trucks and feel safe. You should also be able to feel safe in a mid summer gulley washer thunderstorm where you get a quick layer of water on the road. No worries about hydroplaining on a puddle if you hit one. Except for brand those are pretty close to what I have on my BMW and the tread may be a tad better than mine in the wet.

I know that most of us never plan to leave the garage with our trucks if it is raining or for some if it might rain. On the other hand most of us who have been in the game for years have been caught in a rain storm on the way to or from and event or on a road trip. Over the years I hydroplaned and spun out three times on tires (Firestone N50) that just flat did not have the right tread for wet weather. They were cool looking and put a lot of rubber on the road for hard acceleration but were dangerous in the wet.

As far as tread pattern. I think that applies more to those of us who run more traditonal tires such as a 215-75-15 whitewall and want a tread pattern that looks more like an old bias tire than a sports radial tire. At a number of traditonal events we hit we end up runnin into the guys who think we shouldn't even be there because we have radial tires on our rides.

[Zippi]

Thanks man. I ended up buying the Michelin 235/45 r18 Pilot Sport 4s tires.