Why did TJ Rubicons come with E rated tires?

[RoscoeJack]

Man am I more confused than ever. I have a 2006 Rubicon Unlimited and I have at least one bad tire. The tires on it now are Toyo MT Open Country (on it when I bought it). I have read and studied what wisdom I could glean from this group. I’ve been looking at the very limited selection of load C tires that I could find and had determined that I would have to go up a size (from 245/75/16 to 265/75/16) to get a load C tire. I completely understand the logic in what I have read on this forum about load E vs load C. Then today I decided to check my door jam (before I ordered 5 tires) to see what was the factory size. I had determined in my mind from everything that I have read that it would be a 245/75/16 C. I didn’t read that anywhere here, I had just determined it in my mind after everything that I have read here. Why in the hell did these vehicles come with E rated tires, if that is not the best tire to run on these vehicles?

 

[Chris]

Have you looked at the availability of C rated tires for a 16” wheel? Now you know why most of us refuse to run 16” wheels.

 

[RoscoeJack]

Have you looked at the availability of C rated tires for a 16” wheel? Now you know why most of us refuse to run 16” wheels.

Yes, zero available 245's. But plenty of E's which were the factory ride.

 

[Chris]

Yes, zero available 245's. But plenty of E's which were the factory ride.

They made a poor decision equipping them with 16” wheels, that’s for sure.

 

[RoscoeJack]

They made a poor decision equipping them with 16” wheels, that’s for sure.

Look at the sticker. They spec E rated tires inflated to 33 PSI. Crazy huh?

 

[Viking Jeeper]

I spent lots of time researching C vs E tires. Many people say they had a bad experience with E but just as many run them and are happy. There is forum member here and he and his son both have same JK's with same lift. One went with Ridge Grappler in C, one went with same tire in E. He said they cannot tell the difference. I wanted Ridge Grappler but not available in size I wanted in C so I went with KO2. Happy with the KO2 but still wish Ridge Grappler would have had a C option.