14/16 ply tires are the "exact same tire"?

It’s not hard to find wheels with 130 psi rating. All mine are rated and inflated to 130. And that’s cold inflation. It’s not uncommon to see 150 or more on a hot tire.

 

Most aren't ever going to need load range J tires. We run them on the steer of carhaulers. We need them to get the weight rating to run 14,600 up front, currently new trucks come with a 295/60 on a 9" wheel, that keeps us below 600#/in @14,400#

The other major fitments of LRJ are on heavy haul and RVs, they use the 275/70 we used to run up front. But even that size can be tough to find, and at times the 295 is very difficult to get.

 

The 275 has been a basturd to find lately. You can find 255’s but at a 10” width they don’t last when you mix speed, weight and hot temps

 

That's what we run on the drive and trailer. They're only rated for about 20,000/axle, too.

The new XMD Michelin wears significantly better than the old XD's on the drives. This new trailer came with Conti's that seem to be doing well so far. (~60,000 miles) Was never happy with the XZE's, too much tread for a trailer tire for my taste.

But the small diameter is never going to wear as long as the taller tires.

 

We heard through Michelin rep that Shulumberger was pushing them for a 11R24.5 “J” but Mich will not do them because of the standard wheel ratings. Wide base and some specialty RV should be no problem because those wheel ratings are much higher already.

 

I had to go peek... 8.25" in either size are rated @ 7400#/120psi , so you'd likely be over the limit with any normal profile J. The 9" we use is a 10,000#/130psi wheel. Schlumberger is probably on steel wheels, but those are still only 8000#/120psi.

 

When Accuride started building alloy wheels to compete with Alcoa after Alcoas patent expired they came out with an “extended service” wheel. It was rated at 7250 lbs. at 120 psi while Alcoas were 7200 at 120. Thinking that extra allowable 50 lbs was gonna put them over the top. Lol!

 

Sure way to blow a tire, is to run it low in summer. I like 100lbs. Maybe 105 in steers. All depends, on how rough the front end feels. 110 will beat the Front end up, Checked cold. I’ll put 110 in trailer tires if I can. Just in case one gets a slow leak. Especially before it turns cold. But realistically 95-100lbs works fine. Tire speed ratings increase with higher inflations. So, for example 85 lbs May be good for 65mph. Running 70-75 tire needs 100 lbs. Exact numbers may vary. That’s all I know.

 

Seems like it's getting harder to find salesmen who are experts in their business. Too many change fields too often and only know enough to be dangerous.