Aftermarket 3500 rims

[bearman]

Hey guys
I am trying to find aftermarket rims for my 3500. All I can find is 6" and my steels are 6.5". You guys that have these after market rims, what are they, did you get 6" steels to run inside, or just run 6" on the outside and 6.5" on the inside, do you notice any unusual tire wear????? Help and quick I want to buy new rims this week and 19.5" are unheard of up here in Canada.
On a side note I got my Juice box this week and installed a BD X box, all I can say is :D :D :D :D :D :D . Holy #@&%?%$#*&
Cheers
Bear

[ 12-07-2002: Message edited by: bearman ]

[ 12-07-2002: Message edited by: bearman ]</p>

[LA DMAX]

bearman,
Try ricksontruck.com they have some 19.5" wheels and tires. If not, Alcoa makes 19.5" wheels, mdrag has a set of them, look at his pics. Hope it helps.

LA DMAX

[mdrag]

bearman,

I thought the OEM 3500 steel wheels were 6.0"...at least for 2001?

[bearman]

mdrag
Acording to GM by my VIN # my wheels are 6.5", I don't know about 2001.
LA DMAX
I looked at rickson truck.com and diden't like the set up near as much as 19.5" Alcoas like mdrags and Maverics. I have tried to find somebody in western Canada that can get me the same set up but they have never heard of that and think I am nuts. I have checked into getting the parts out of the States, but tires, rims, and adaptors + getting them across the border I am up over $8500.00 Canadian :eek: . So now I am back to 16" and American Racing says there rims won't fit on a 2002 because of brake changes between 2001 and 2002. Am I screwed or what :confused: :confused: ?
Cheers
Bear

[ 12-08-2002: Message edited by: bearman ]</p>

[NickLeinonen]

the 6.5" wheels are for the single rear wheel version. the dually wheels are 6". bummer eh?

[LA DMAX]

bearman,
Do you have a tire/wheel shop that is an Alcoa dealer? If you do, then mdrag or Maverick could give you the part numbers to order. I'm not understanding why there wouldn't be an Alcoa dealer in Canada, or why it seems so hard to get 19.5" wheels. All the medium duty trucks in Canada run 19.5" wheels, don't they? Hmmm...maybe that's why you guys get T-shirts and baseball caps and we don't. Hope ya find what ya need.

LA DMAX

[deadlyman]

Hey Bearman
try www.chromewheel.com that is where I got my kit from just don't buy the tires from him I had to just can't find mud and snow tires in florida

[bearman]

deadlyman
Awsome website, we may have a winner here, I have e-mailed them for shipping costs and broker fees, will find out tomorow. Thanks
LA DMAX
We definatly have Alcoa dealers up here, its the adapters they have trouble comprehending
Cheers
Bear :D

[deadlyman]

bearman
If you just want just the adapters go to arrowcraft.com much cheaper and that is where he buy's them but he does polish the rims better than alcoa.

[ 12-09-2002: Message edited by: deadlyman ]</p>

[bearman]

deadlyman
It is looking like I will go with chromewheel.com :D :D , thanks for the heads up on that one.

mdrag
All GM 3500 rims 2001, 2002, and 2003 are 6.5", I spent several hours figuring that out today.
Those fancy self ballancers of yours, do they work well, will they stand up to a lot of off road? They look pretty cool and if they work, while I am spending money, what the he!! :D :D
Cheers
Bear

[mdrag]

bearman,

I was VERY pleased dealing with Arrocraft. The adapters were not listed on their website www.arrowcraft.com. Give them a call and speak with Bob. He designed and machines the adapters and is a straight shooter.

You are correct on the 6.5" wheels as OEM. I remember looking for that spec before - it was not listed in the Chevy literature for the 2001's, and not listed on my window sticker. I came up with the 6.0" from previous posts... I carefully looked at one of my OEM steel wheels - nothing. Checked the sticker on the driver's side door frame -&gt; 6.5" CLEARLY printed there...DUH... :eek:

The Centramatic balancers are great and highly recommended. Hopefully Maveric will post his results with the balancers. He put on 20K+ miles without the balancers, then decided to get them - and I hear he is very pleased with them as well.

The rear balancers COULD be vulnerable to damage from off roading if something jammed up between the duals. The fronts should not be a problem since they are well protected. You may want to put them on the front wheels only - you would feel the most benefit on the fronts. Be sure to get the balancers for 19.5" with 10 on 285mm bolt pattern. Good luck.

[Maverick]

I am pleased with the Centramatic balancers. Smoothed the steering wheel right out.

Bearman,
I am surprised you just found out about Chromewheel. Didn't Mdrag or I or someone else give you this info awhile ago? I got my wheels from him but bought my adapters from Arrowcraft. I saved on the adapters but Probably come out the same for me with shipping from 2 different vendors. Might save a few bucks ordering everything from one place. Good luck.

[reynog]

Where can you get the Centramatic balancers?

[mdrag]

reynog,

I got my balancers directly from Centramatic:

www.centramatic.com

Give them a call to see what they have for your wheel size.

mdrag

[LeeV]

I can see how they can really smooth out the ride. How much are these things?

[c5dura]

I wonder if there will ever be aftermarket 6.5" aluminum rims for '01+ 3500s? I would not mind installing longer studs if necessary.

Slightly inscreased off-set would also be nice as that would allow running something slightly larger than 235s, or at least prevent 235s from touching under heavy load.

I don't think this small additional off-set would present a problem on the front.

So a full set of 6 6.5" aluminum rims with a slightly larger off-set, and I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

[gmc sierra]

The new Alcoa Hot Shot rim has been on my truck for a while. It is a 6.5 rim. www.southwestwheel.com

[mdrag]

Reading gmc sierra's post about the Hotshot's refreshed my memory a bit more - here is a part of an email I got from Southwest Wheel when I was waiting for the Hotshots to come out:

---------------------------------------------

"The New redesigned Chevy 2001-2002 Alcoa HotShot Wheel
The new Chevy dual wheel has finished the design process and is getting tooled up for production. The wheel is still a month or two away, but will be worth the wait. The wheel has a larger center hole than the earlier models. Also, they have widened the wheel from 16x6 to 16x6.5, but they have move the offset in so you will still have to run a LT21575R16 tire."

---------------------------------------------

I read 'they' to mean Alcoa -&gt; and the OEM was 6.0 and the Alcoa would be 6.5...but if you read 'they' as GM, then the OEM wheels on the new trucks were widened to 6.5"....

The door frame tire/wheel info says 6.5" - so it be...

mdrag

[mdrag]

LeeV,

$179 or $189 per axle. IIRC, certain appications have aluminum balancers versus galvinized. If you check the pics of the balancers at the BIG WHEELS link in my sig, look at the ALCOAS/MICHELIN MOUNTED album. A pic of the balancers is near the end.

The front is aluminum and is similar to a drum brake hub, while the rear is completely flat galvinized steel - with the balancer around the perimeter.

ON EDIT: I meant to add that the aluminums were the more expensive set.

[ 12-12-2002: Message edited by: mdrag ]</p>

[Maverick]

My fronts were $189 plus freight.