New Falken Rubitreks 265/70/17 SL

Decided to replace my factory Goodyear Duratracs with some new tires. The Duratracs had 33,000 miles on them and were at 5/32nds. They were 5 years old, and becoming super loud.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to me, purchased new Falken Rubitreks in factory size 265/70/17 SL.

I drive mostly on the street, so these were the choice for me.

I purchased them from Discount Tires. No issues mounting and balancing. No shimmy shake at any speed, especially 55-70 mph.

Very quiet and they ride very nice.

 

Weight is decent at 46.5lbs, full depth sipes, and snow rated.

Nice setup

 

looks nice

 

I'm quite pleased with mine, same size and load as yours. They are good in/ on pretty much everything, look good, are quiet, and are priced right.

 

Looks like those trees will perform well for you!

 

Good looking tire. I picked Pirelli Scorpion 265/70-17 XL rated. Weight 42 lbs smooth with noise about like stock Dueller or Grandtrek. I see similar water escape channels in tread designs of both.Walmart had a special at $160.
I chose my local tire shop, who met Sams price of $187, and I have liked the service for decades.

 

Nice looking rig! You just answered the same questions I have as well, in my search for new tires. I have three questions for you:

1. What does the SL mean at the end of the tire size?

2. What brand/model are the running boards/sliders? I really like those...

3. Did the new tires affect your mileage, and if so, by how much?

Thanks!

 

SL is the load range. (Which is different than the load index.) For passenger car tires the load ratings are
LL - light load
SL - standard load
XL - extra load

The stock tires that came on my 4Runner have an SL rating.

Light truck tires are rated with a single letter, which carries not just a load rating but also a sidewall ply rating.



In modern light truck tires the ply rating may not correspond to an actual number of plies but does relate to relative sidewall strength. Off roaders will sometimes choose tires suitable for much heavier vehicles than the 4Runner, accepting the downsides of a stiffer heavier tire in exchange for a sidewall that resists cuts and punctures.

 

Thank you, that's some good info that I didn't have. I appreciate it!

 

There’s more to the story. As I mentioned above the ply rating no longer denotes an actual number of plies, but rather the toughness of a certain number of plies in the tires of days gone by. And the ply rating always only referred to maximum inflation pressure and load capacity. It never expressed any sort of standard of sidewall cut and puncture resistance. We in the off-roading world have always assumed a correlation between a higher ply rating and cut/puncture resistance, but we pretty much just made that up. And now that the ply rating is even less dependent on the tire construction, the correlation between ply rating and puncture resistance is even sketchier. And the guys who are putting heavy and stiff E load tires on their vehicles may not even get the benefit of puncture resistance that they’re hoping for.

 

***cries in 285 C Load AT4W's***

 

Not much chatter about Rubitreks so thanks for the post. I'm leaning towards these to replace the OEM H/T tires in the near future. It's only been a little over a month but any additional updates/observations/experiences since then?

 

I'm not the OP but I am at about 7,000 miles with mine. Two longer trips pushed that extreme mileage over just a month and a half. This is also my second set of Rubitreks.

They are comfortable, quiet, don't seem to track in rain grooves, corner well, do well in rain and snow and on gravel. They pack up in mud but they are an AT tire, a little spinning action gets them hooking up ok. MPGs are the same. No obvious wear in 7k. Really nothing negative to report. I need to rotate them soon, I'm over by 1k...

 

In reference to my experience so far,

I have a company vehicle so I have only driven about 500 miles on them. So far , I am really liking them. They are super quiet compared to my factory Duratracs. They track nicely and handle superb in the rain and the soft/hard packed sugar sand on logging roads in East Texas. I have tracked my mileage and there is no difference from the previous set of Goodyears.

I am happy i purchased them and would recommend them . I keep the tire pressure at 35 psi.

 

We joined the small Rubitrek gang this weekend. The guy at America's Tire told me he hadn't heard about these before my visit. On day one we noticed a little more road noise and the ride felt a little harder than the stock Bridgestone H/T tires. On day two we no longer noticed the difference. The only thing we noticed today is that the 4R looks much better with these tires.

 

Still loving the Rubitreks?

 

Yes, I do not regret purchasing them at all. Plenty of grip, and quiet compared to what I had.

 

perfect! Thanks for the update.

 

Looks great, it looks like you are stock height, no lift?

 

those are sexy. Looks really good on your rig.

 

I am running Bilstein 5100's all around with the front set at 1.75 and a 1 inch cornfed spacer on the rear. The ride is great and i have 2000 miles on the tires. No issues at all, Just returned from a 1600 mile road trip to Big Bend national and State parks. The tires performed very well on the road and off road .

 

Awesome!! when my Wildpeak AT3s wear out Im trying the Rubitreks!