View Full Version : Biggest tires with stock rims ??
NETMINDER
12-16-2003, 10:03
How big can I go - safely ??
Heartbeat Hauler
12-16-2003, 10:10
Technically you probably already have the largest tires you can get(245/75/16). However, you may find a shop that will mount a set of 265s on the stock rim. Some guys have talked shops into mounting 285s on the stock rim, and with a certain amount of air pressure, run ok. Also, a 235/85/16 will go on the stock 6.5" rim, it's taller not wider.
JP
Netminder, where in central WI are you? Near Kennedy in Loyal WI? Mav in Wausau?
255's on the stock 6.5" rims are within tire specs.. 255/85/16 are a hair over 33" tall too ;) They should fit without turning torsion bars, if not a couple turns should do it ;) I wouldn't go to 235/85/16's they are SKINNY, ask Kennedy. 265's are available everywhere. I had a set of Kelly Safari DTR tires in 265 on the stock rims, no problems with crowning or anything. NOISY, went up to Kennedy's for exhaust earlier this year they drowned out the exhaust sound totally :( Personally, I wouldn't go wider than 265 on stock rims MY $.02
NETMINDER
12-16-2003, 10:35
I'm guessing I'm close to both. Live in Merrill - Work in Wausau
NETMINDER
12-16-2003, 10:37
265's it is. thx for the input gentlemen..
Running 285/75 Bridgestone REVO's on stock rims. There are several here on this forum running 285's also.
ZERO problems with handleing, towing, ride, clearence, nothing. 20,000 miles on them with no uneven wear, running 50/55 PSI.
I did turn the torsion bars up 3 turns due to a very slight one time scrape on a hard left to lock turn going down a steep drivway. No scrapes since.
Click Pictures below if you want to see them on my truck.
I originally ran 265/75R16s on stock rims. Everything seemed okay in terms of ride and handling. I very recently installed 285/75R16s on 8 inch rims and the improvment in ride and handling is significant. I would not go back to the factory rims for anything. I might consider 265s on my 8" rims, but my preference is what I now have. BTW, my mileage seems to have improved with the 285s.
I did have to work on the wheel wells a bit to get clearance, and my truck's nose sits 1.75" higher than stock.
Blaine
I went with a set of 285 REVO's on some 16x8 OutLaw II's for a total of $1206 out the door. I'm very pleased with my purchase... They do very well in the snow.
I've driven a friends 2500 with 285's on the stock rims, and his is pretty squirmy compared to mine. A lot of extra sidewall flex.
On my previous 2001 2500hd, I went with some 265 Steeltex's, and the extra sidewall flex was minimal. I even actually like the SteelTex AT's in the winter. Very good traction in the snow.
I put nearly 100k miles on my '01 D-max using 265 Steeltex AT's, great tires, and no problems. I have 285's on the '03 and no real issues. Sometimes they will rub a little at full steering lock but, I live with it. The truck goes down the road beautifully on the 285's. I have 11,000 miles on it now. This truck will always have 285's.
I just had 285/75 16 BFG mud terrains mounted on stock wheels. My truck is stock ride height. The tires fit without rubbing but it is very close at the back corner of the front bumper. They look good though
Been running stock wheels and 295 BFG All Terrains on the truck for 70,000 miles. Handles like a car, never rubbed anything with heavy rock climbing, and towing up to 16K. Run 55 psi in the front and 40 rear. Dealer cranked up the torsion rods almost to the stops and run a replacement front bumper.
I prefer this setup because the sidewall is pulled in more square with the wheel, and away from the sharp rocky terrain I travel frequently. The tire does crown out more and they DO WEAR FASTER. I'm getting around 35K per set. The Hot Juice doesn't help either.
Billy
my buddy is running 315's on the stock wheels, he did have to install the torsion key leveling kit to fit that big of a tire. they do wear out a little bit faster than smaller tires but it sure does look good!
Heartbeat Hauler
12-17-2003, 13:59
PBR,
You mean to tell me that your friend got a set of 315s on a 6.5" wide rims, and it works ok? I thought the 265s would be pushing the limit, 315s are nuts. :eek:
Alright, running a 295 (33.5x11.5 inch) tire or, worse yet, a 315 (34.5x12.5 inch tire), on a 16x6.5 inch rim is just plain wrong. Sure you can mount them and drive around and convince yourself it's okay, but that doesn't mean it's safe. You simply don't run a tire that's basically twice as wide as the rim! Think about what you're asking that sidewall to do! There's a reason why tire manufacturers have recommended rim widths! If you're going to run that size tire, and can afford it, then go and buy a matching set of rims that will work for those tires!
265's (10.5 inch wide) will work but are not ideal. 285's (11 inch wide) are being done, but even those people admit that really, the stock 6.5 inch wide tire is too narrow.
--Rob (done ranting)
let me explain my view on wide wheels, take a look at off-road desert racers, most of the big dollar trucks are running 37" tires, some are even running the new bfg 39" tire, the tires are all 12.5" wide and they are running 7" & 8" wide rims on a full blown race truck!!! nobody runs 10" wide wheels, nobody! the sidewalls get slammed and abused more than most people can imagine but they don't come off the rim unless something really bad happens(like hitting a rock). so just because someone runs a wider wheel doesn't make it safer.
No doubt if a severe offroad environment, oversize tires designed to run on narrower rims are the way to go. However, much of what we do with our DMaxes is drive them on pavement and haul loads or tow. When driving on pavement, hauling, or towing, we need firm sidewalls for good handling.
Blaine
Yeah, let's look at this closer.
- Offroad racers go through a set of tires (at least every race). That's upwards of 1000 miles, as little as a couple hundred. Rock crawling competitions are going through a set of tires every race or two as well. We're talking a couple hundred yards. With our trucks, we're getting 35k-60k miles out of a set.
- Dmax pickup - 6600lbs. Offroad racer - 4000lbs.
- Dmax sidewall height - ~8-9 inches. Offroad racer sidewall height - ~10-11 inches - lots more sidewall to flex
- Offroad racing - you want the sidewall to flex to absorb punishment, DMax trucks - we need a good sidewall profile and pressure to maintain good handling while hauling loads.
You can't compare apples to oranges. Besides, many club members, myself included, used to run 33x12.5's, 35x12.5's and 36x12.5's on 8 inch rims. We're now finding that a 9-10 inch rim is superior - even with the bead surface getting damaged - that isn't actually happening as much more frequently as we expected - gives a far superior contact patch, even when aired down to 2-10 psi.
--Rob
Originally posted by PBR:
let me explain my view on wide wheels, take a look at off-road desert racers, most of the big dollar trucks are running 37" tires, some are even running the new bfg 39" tire, the tires are all 12.5" wide and they are running 7" & 8" wide rims on a full blown race truck!!! nobody runs 10" wide wheels, nobody! the sidewalls get slammed and abused more than most people can imagine but they don't come off the rim unless something really bad happens(like hitting a rock). so just because someone runs a wider wheel doesn't make it safer.
ryeguy - i agree with most of what you said, but the question was what is the largest tire you can run on the stock rim and i am saying that you can SAFELY run a 315 on a stock rim. the comparison to off-road racers was just to explain that they run 7" wide wheels with 12.5" wide tires at high speeds in rough terrain and it is totally safe.
i myself run a 285*16*75bfg all terrain, i ran a 255 75 16 before them, to date i have not raised my bars but with the bfg i do have a very slight rub on a hard left turn, the 285 are a very wide tire over the 255 and and do have a better ride with them, but do find them noticably harder to spin and their cost is another 50 dollars a tire more, as for the rim sise, have no worrys with the larger tire :rolleyes:
Originally posted by fredw:
i myself run a 285*16*75bfg all terrain, i ran a 255 75 16 before them, to date i have not raised my bars but with the bfg i do have a very slight rub on a hard left turn, the 285 are a very wide tire over the 255 and and do have a better ride with them, but do find them noticably harder to spin and their cost is another 50 dollars a tire more, as for the rim sise, have no worrys with the larger tire :rolleyes: I notice the same rubbing as you after a few days with the bigger tires. At first when I got the tires, I didn't think they were rubbing, but they do touch in there a tiny bit.
Maybe someone FORGOT that these tires for the offroaders are DESIGNED for the narrower wheels????
The tires for our passenger vehicles are not.
Also if Im not mistaken the off-road racers bead-lock their tires to the wheels. This lets the sidewall flex a whole lot more without the worry of breaking the tire free from the wheel.
I run Dunlop Rover AT 285/75R-16s (D Rating) on the stock wheels (15K) with no problems. I run 55 PSI in the front and 50 in the rear. I only raised the t-bar adjustment after the Ranchhand frontend replacement. Everything looks and works great!!!
i didn't forget anything... the tires are not specifically designed for narrow wheels, as a matter of fact the same tires many of us run on our dmax's are the same ones used in off-road racing(bfg all terrain/bfg mud/goodyear ats/goodyear mud). and you are right some people run beadlocks but many don't and having the narrow rim actually helps the bead stay on the wheel better.
Ok, 6.5 on 285 is ok but what about the H2 rims? H2's are 8.5 x 17 and come with 315's. Are you saying that 315's are too big for the H2's as well? I ask this because the sidewall has been lowered and the width increased. :confused:
Burner--------->
I love my truck but the fuel mileage SUCKS!
burner - 8.5" is not to big for the hummer 315's, all i am saying is that the 6.5" rim is not to narrow for the 315. imo, a 10" rim is way to wide for a 315 but lots of guys run them. 8.5" will be fine, i run an 8" wheel on my 315's and i think it's perfect.
A 10 inch rim is fine for a 12.5 inch wide tire (315's). Usually a 8-10 inch wide rim is recommended by tire manufacturers. A 6.5" wide rim IS far too narrow for any 12.5" wide tire.
Another offroad analogy: A stock Hummer rim (not H2, the beadlock/runflat 8.25" wide rims) is too narrow for a 44x18.5 tire...people have done it, including me for a while, but the 13.5" wide rims that I'm using now are far better for those big-un rubbers - BTW, I still wacked the stock Hummer rim with the 44's on it! AND...guys running in the snow have found that 44's on 14 inch rims are vastly superior to 44's on 12's. Narrower isn't necessarily better for offroading either.
One buddy reports his beads leaking LESS frequently after going to a 10 inch rim...from an 8. Still, that's at 2-3psi, not the pressures or weights we're at.
--Rob
More Power
12-22-2003, 10:47
Transferred to "2500HD/3500 Trucks & Drivetrain" forum.
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