295/70/18 Recon Grapplers are on... Major whining sound. Please chime in...

[texas347]

Fellas - I need some help here. My 2022 PowerBoost has been flawless for 25k miles. Today I took off the stock sport package 20's with the Hankooks (76.8 pounds) and replaced them with KMC Impact 18x9 et18 wheels along with Nitto Recon Grapplers in a P-metric 295/70/18. This combo weighs 82.5 pounds so I'm about 6 pounds over stock. The Nittos are 34.29 inches tall as opposed to 32.8 for the stockers. They look fantastic.... however, from about 45 mph on I get an increasingly loud whining/road noise sound. The truck has been leveled with a 2 inch level. It will go into electric mode still - that is not an issues.

I've had many vehicles with many different tires - Ride Grapplers, Open Country's, WildPeaks, K02's, etc. - the Recons are in this category and should actually be quieter but are far from it. The sound continues to get louder up to 80mph - I did not go beyond that. They seem to ride smooth but there is a noticeable noise occurring. I have not yet changed my tire height in ForScan - for other owners with these tires or similar sized ones - did you have any issues? I'm at a loss here. Is it a PB drivetrain issue until the tire size is changed? I want to love these things but am not looking forward to driving the truck again....

I'll try to post pics tomorrow of the combo. Many Thanks - Andrew

Sponsored

 

[Vin]

Is your truck "whining" after the change for some reason (rubbing, bearings, tranny, etc) or are the new tires just loud?

 

[Icecoldak]

New tires and then a loud whining sound--got to be the tires 100% no way around it!! Thats why I like stock, nice and quite!

 

[Blue22]

I installed Nitto Recons in 275/65R20 116T SL load range a month or so ago and have been very happy with them with no road noise at all. Did you inspect them to make sure nothing was rubbing like the front wheel well liners? That tire/wheel combo shouldn't rub on UCAs but I would thoroughly inspect each one and look for anything on the tires that look out of the ordinary and check that the lugs are torqued. You could also have a bad tire which is not out of the question but trying to figure out which one it is may be difficult.

 

[RickBullotta]

Welcome to A/T tires. Turn up the music.

 

[Blueshound]

I see more complaints about Nitto than any other tire. What's the attraction?

 

[texas347]

I see more complaints about Nitto than any other tire. What's the attraction?

@Blueshound - I've had multiple sets of Nitto's and they've all been excellent out to very high mileage. I have not owned the Recon Grapplers before as they are brand new. They are supposed to be slightly less aggressive than the Ridge Grapplers which were very quiet on my last F-150 and other vehicles so I'm trying to determine if this is a tire issue or if it has something to do with the PowerBoost as others have complained of this loud humming/howling with these trucks and larger tires.

This combo is only 6 pounds more than stock - 1.5" taller so that certainly has an impact, but the noise is what I would call excessive so I'm just trying to narrow down the issue.

 

[texas347]

I installed Nitto Recons in 275/65R20 116T SL load range a month or so ago and have been very happy with them with no road noise at all. Did you inspect them to make sure nothing was rubbing like the front wheel well liners? That tire/wheel combo shouldn't rub on UCAs but I would thoroughly inspect each one and look for anything on the tires that look out of the ordinary and check that the lugs are torqued. You could also have a bad tire which is not out of the question but trying to figure out which one it is may be difficult.

I do not see any rubbing at all - they have plenty of clearance. I would describe it like blowing across the top of a bottle and it gets louder as you go faster. It's very odd. It's like a howling sound. Exactly on the which tire is bad problem.... time consuming and a pain for sure....

 

[texas347]

Is your truck "whining" after the change for some reason (rubbing, bearings, tranny, etc) or are the new tires just loud?

Good questions - truck only has 25k miles and was whisper quiet before the change. I've had Ridge Grapplers and other more aggressive tires - these Recon's are louder by far and are not supposed to be. Since its a PowerBoost I'm trying to figure out if its an issue with the drivetrain and larger tires or if I have a bad tire.

 

[Static]

Did you get the level installed at the same time as the tire switch?

 

[Vin]

Good questions - truck only has 25k miles and was whisper quiet before the change. I've had Ridge Grapplers and other more aggressive tires - these Recon's are louder by far and are not supposed to be. Since its a PowerBoost I'm trying to figure out if its an issue with the drivetrain and larger tires or if I have a bad tire.

OK. I have 35X11.5 Recon Grapplers and they are certainly not "quiet", but I wouldn't call them loud either. They are on par with other AT tires in my opinion.

 

[9663mu]

Count me as someone who gave up on my ridge grapplers. The noise was ok , nothing like Duratracs and obviously they look great but I couldn’t get mine to balance right. 3 different shops and 1 shop who did road force balanced and still the damn tire shook/vibrating around 30-45MPH. I bought a set of cooper discover XLT and absolutely love them. Little to no noise and zero shaking. Maybe I had a bad batch who knows.

 

[Badhabit]

I do not see any rubbing at all - they have plenty of clearance. I would describe it like blowing across the top of a bottle and it gets louder as you go faster. It's very odd. It's like a howling sound. Exactly on the which tire is bad problem.... time consuming and a pain for sure....

Could it be the new wheels? The sound you described could be a condition caused by the pattern in the wheel webbing.

 

[Westonvoss]

I have a 2017 and put these same tires on. I'm about 5000 miles in and they sound horrible! I thought I had a wheel bearing going out or 4x4 issue! Texas347, what did you figure out with yours?

 

[Facemelter]

I would say its most likely the tires if you are just now hearing the whine.

Lump me into the category of not a fan of Grapplers. Bought them for my 16 from Discount Tire.
Absolutely horrible in the rain. Towing my boat and leaving a red light on a slight incline required 4 wheel drive.

I've got Falken Wildpeak AT3's and so far they seem to be a decent tire.

Sponsored