New Truck!

They ran 2 Ford F-150s with the Ecoboost engines at the Baja 1000 off-road race last November. While they obviously would not run with the big dogs (800 hp highly modified monsters), the trucks (stock, whatever that means!) both finished and did very well. Fuel mileage was reported to be exceptional. This is an amazingly nasty course, and Ford was just pushing them a bit to see how they would do. It looks to be an excellent package.

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

...
The 2008 GMC 2500HD long bed crew cab has stiffer suspension than the 2002 Chevy 1500HD short bed crew cab. the difference was not noticeable until I loaded either a pair of motorcycles or an ATV in the back of the truck.
...
I am glad that I have 4wd in both trucks. Where I go it is sometimes mandatory.
...

This reminds me that another difference between our old 4x4 Tacoma and the new 4x2 F150 is the suspension and ride quality.

Unloaded, the new 4x2 has a much smoother ride. On rough roads, the unloaded 4x4 just bounced all over.

But loaded with the trailer, gear, kayaks and all 1500#, the old 4x4 Tacoma was better, especially once I got the WDH right.

With the 4x2, no matter what I do with the WDH, there's always some squirm. There's also some side-by-side rocking in gusty cross-winds.

My guess is that the shocks on a 4x2 are softer than a 4x4. Also the P-metric highway tires on the 4x2 (Pirelli Scorpion STR) may not be as stiff as the P-Metric All-terrains on the 4x4.

So I'm thinking of switching to LT-metric Michelin LTX M/S2 highway tires and perhaps putting on heavier duty shocks (like Bilstein HD).

In the long run, it might have been better to get a 4x4 for the stiffer suspension alone. But as I never used the 4x4 capabilities in the Tacoma, we opted for the slightly better mileage of the 4x2.

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by brulaz

So I'm thinking of switching to LT-metric Michelin LTX M/S2 highway tires

Bruce,
When we made the switch from the P-metric to the LT tires for this years trip it was necessary to raise the tire pressure from 35 psi to 50 psi to get the same load capacity. After 12000 miles the tires show no strange wear patterns.

This is something you may want to run past wmtire.

Originally Posted by scrubjaysnest

Bruce,
When we made the switch from the P-metric to the LT tires for this years trip it was necessary to raise the tire pressure from 35 psi to 50 psi to get the same load capacity. After 12000 miles the tires show no strange wear patterns.

This is something you may want to run past wmtire.

Yes, I understand the higher tire pressure is normal for LT Tires. One of the reasons they run stiffer.

I'll also try running the current P-Metric tires at their max pressure (44psi) when under load to see if that helps with the squirm.

Nice truck. Our Tacoma has 100,000 miles and we are thinking of the next TV. It is good to learn of your experiences with the Ford. Perhaps that is the next TV for us.

[ELM-JLM]

Originally Posted by brulaz

Yes, I understand the higher tire pressure is normal for LT Tires. One of the reasons they run stiffer.

I'll also try running the current P-Metric tires at their max pressure (44psi) when under load to see if that helps with the squirm.

Hi All, Our New Chevy came from the dealer with nitrogen in the tires and the quality of ride is considerably better! Before our trip to Alaska, I drove back to the dealer and asked the salesman a favor! He took it into the shop and had them rebalance and set the pressure to the max on the sidewall with nitrogen! I hardly noticed a difference in the ride and to this day have only noticed a minimal drop in pressure! I am a firm believer in keeping tire pressure in check and at near max pressure! I am considering having nitrogen put in the trailer tires before our trip to Maine this summer!:

[trailbiker]

When I purchased my TM I had a brake controller installed on My New Honda Ridgeline. It a simple unit with a dial on each side to adjust the power on one side and more or less agressive on the other. There have been a couple of times when I had to go from 60 to nearly O MPH on the highway. I have adjusted the controller so that works well at slower speed, but the stopping power did not seem adequate for this sudden stops a at highway speeds. Someone mentioned their new tow vehicle has a factory controller that compensates for higher speeds. Does anyone know if their aftermarket controller which work better in these situations? I am wondering if I should have bought a better controller. I did not see any other threads which discussed this.

Originally Posted by trailbiker

... Someone mentioned their new tow vehicle has a factory controller that compensates for higher speeds. Does anyone know if their aftermarket controller which work better in these situations? I am wondering if I should have bought a better controller.

I don't know of any aftermarket controller that compensates for speed. I know first-hand that the one in Ford pickups does, and I've heard that the one in GMC/Chevy trucks does also.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by ELM-JLM

Hi All, Our New Chevy came from the dealer with nitrogen in the tires and the quality of ride is considerably better! Before our trip to Alaska, I drove back to the dealer and asked the salesman a favor! He took it into the shop and had them rebalance and set the pressure to the max on the sidewall with nitrogen! I hardly noticed a difference in the ride and to this day have only noticed a minimal drop in pressure! I am a firm believer in keeping tire pressure in check and at near max pressure! I am considering having nitrogen put in the trailer tires before our trip to Maine this summer!:

While I don't doubt your perception that the nitrogen rides better, I cannot think of any explanation that would support that perception. Atmospheric air (the air we breathe) is 80% nitrogen, so that's what tires have been filled with since their invention. But even if you filled them with 100% oxygen, or any other gas for that matter, and filled to the same pressure, then they have the same weight bearing capacity, and thus, shouldn't affect ride.

Dave

[ELM-JLM]

Hey Dave, You are right as usual, FWIW though I am truly impressed with the ride of My Truck!

Q: Is there any advantage to using nitrogen instead of compressed air in tires? Will I notice improved fuel economy or a smoother ride? Will my tires last longer?

A: Sort of. From the top: Air is 78 percent nitrogen, just under 21 percent oxygen, and the rest is water vapor, CO2 and small concentrations of noble gases such as neon and argon. We can ignore the other gases.

There are several compelling reasons to use pure nitrogen in tires.

First is that nitrogen is less likely to migrate through tire rubber than is oxygen, which means that your tire pressures will remain more stable over the long term. Racers figured out pretty quickly that tires filled with nitrogen rather than air also exhibit less pressure change with temperature swings. That means more consistent inflation pressures during a race as the tires heat up. And when you're tweaking a race car's handling with half-psi changes, that's important.

Passenger cars can also benefit from the more stable pressures. But there's more: Humidity (water) is a Bad Thing to have inside a tire. Water, present as a vapor or even as a liquid in a tire, causes more of a pressure change with temperature swings than dry air does. It also promotes corrosion of the steel or aluminum rim.

If I ever need to top off a tire when I'm out on the road, I'll always briefly depress the tire chuck's valve with my thumbnail and vent some air. If my thumb gets wet, there's water in the line. Some gas stations don't do a very good job of keeping the humidity out of their air system. I don't even like to use a water-based tire-mounting lubricant unless I can let the tire bake in the sun for a couple of hours before I air it up and seat the bead. I've dismounted tires (not mine) that had several quarts of water inside—probably from a compressed-air hose that collected water and was never purged properly.

How is water relevant to a nitrogen discussion? Any system that delivers pure nitrogen is also going to deliver dry nitrogen. Filling tires with nitrogen involves filling and purging several times in succession, serially diluting the concentration of oxygen in the tire. This will also remove any water.

It's certainly simple, although time-consuming, for a tire technician to fill and bleed tires. But most shops use a machine that not only generates almost pure nitrogen by straining the oxygen out of shop-compressed air, but will also automatically go through several purge cycles unattended. Some shops have been charging as much as $30 per tire for this service. I think that's too much. If you're buying a new tire, it should be far less. Still, the nitrogen generator, filling system and technician's time aren't free—the dealer is entitled to some return for that.

So, to answer your specific questions: With nitrogen, your tire pressures will remain more constant, saving you a small amount in fuel and tire-maintenance costs. There will be less moisture inside your tires, meaning less corrosion on your wheels. You will not be able to feel any difference in the ride or handling or braking, unless your tire pressures were seriously out of spec and changing to nitrogen brought them back to the proper numbers.


Read more: Nitrogen vs Air In Tires - Why Nitrogen in Tires - Popular Mechanics