Tire Issue and Questions

[afp]

When I bought my truck 17 months and 19,000 miles ago, I knew very little about 3/4 ton pickup tires. Prior to my DMax I had owned only 1/2 ton rigs. I also didn't know the DMax rim was only 6.5" wide.

Now I did know I wanted larger than stock tires for ground clearance when hunting, so the dealer sent me to a local shop who allowed me a very good trade-in on my stock tires. I went to 265/75R16s, because my two previous Z-71s had that size and they both worked very well when hunting on rough roads.

I went along fat, dumb, and happy for a while. Then I learned that my 265s had only a "C" load rating and the stock rims were only 6.5" wide. I knew I would have to change tires to at least a "D" rating before doing any serious towing, but that was down the road do I didn't give it much more thought. I also decided that I did want to run 285s when I changed the tires, for looks and a bit better ground clearance. I knew that to properly run 285s, I needed 16x8 rims.

To make a very long story into just a long one, today I actually checked the poundage limits on my "C" rated tires. It was 2500 lbs. Well, I know my truck with me and a tank of fuel weighs 7000 lbs, and that probably translates to 4500 lbs on the front at 3500 lbs on the back. This means the two times when I had a measured ton of stuff in the bed, I was exceeding the weight limit of the tires by 500 lbs. I also realized that with six people in the cab, I must be close to the max for the front tires as well.

I then learned that a 6.5" rim is borderline for even a 265.

So today I had 285/75R-16s mounted on some 16x8 rims. yes, the look very nice. I had Discount Tire do the work. The rims are MB "Motoring Overdrive" models. The tires are General Ameri Track TRs

They look great. I have the nose of the truck raised 2" with the Hill Country leveling kit, but I find the tires rub at the steering wheel limits on my mud flaps (aft portion of the wheel well). That will be no problem to trim those. I have an aftermarket front end replacement, so there are no clearance concerns with the bumper.

However, it looks like if I bounced hard at full wheel lock, the tires might hit the front part of the fender liner. There is nothing there to really get hurt--even my Mega is out of the way.

Do you guys with larger tires trim this area?

Blaine

[afp]

BTW, the ride and handling are substantially better. Even the 265s were a bit crowned on the stock rims. The 285s on the 8inchers are nice and flat.

I suppose it will have a tad less pep than with the 265s, but it doesn't seem to drive much differently. I'm sure the Juice is a big part of that.

[Heartbeat Hauler]

This concerns the 3500s:
Can I go to a 245/75/16 without worrying about tire rub at the duels?

I ask this because on TireRack.com it lists this size as OEM. Mine came with 215/85/16s. Also, My wife's new Suburban 2500 has these tires and I was thinking they are too tiny for the Sub. So, if I can use'em on my truck I can get larger tires for the Sub.

And another thing, what is up with the 6.5" wide wheels? Sheesh, I gotta get wider wheels for the Sub...Thanks GM.
I know, got any cheese to go with that whine... :rolleyes:

[Bellrule]

I have the same questions about going to bigger tires on a 3500. I was looking on Cooper tires website and the 235's and 245's were about a inch wider than the 215's. I was looking at a 3500 chevy with 235's on it yesterday and there was only about a half inch between the tires wtih no load on. Also you could see where they had rubbed some already. Another thing I found out on Cooper's site is that 235/85/R16 E's have almost 600 pounds higherrating than a 215/85/R16 E. So if you find a solution let me know. By the way, a neighbor called about putting 235's on his 3500 and was told by the dealer that you could go two sizes bigger and the warraty would still be good.

[VFRRider]

AFP I'm running H2's, and have trimmed the plastic liner at the front of the drivers side tire. Did not have to do anything to the passenger side front, on both sides I tucked the liners at the back of the tires behind the sheetmetal. I also found that using a heatgun you can remold the shape of the liners, I heated the drivers side, held it in position I wanted (with leather work gloves) and let it cool in the cold air. Stays in place. Real easy to melt tho with a heatgun, gotta be careful.

Mike

[afp]

VFR,

I'll give the heat gun thing a try--thanks!!

Blaine

[JimWilson]

I've got 285's on my truck, and I have yet to rub anything (they've been on for about 18K now).

[billnourse]

I don't know how you all did it with out rub. I just put 16x8 American Racing Slider wheels and 265/75/16 Michelins on my 2002 and had to trim the splash guard on the left side, and a corner of the air dam on the right side.

Regards,

Bill

[JimWilson]

The 8" rims are what killed you. On the stock rims -- which are only 6.5" wide -- I haven't had any problems.

[afp]

Nobody seems to have seen this on my other thread, so I'll repeat it here.

Thanks to VFRRider's heat gun tip and some help form Billy14 (thanks guys), I have my 285s which are mounted 16x8s clearanced. I don't know how you guys with 285s and completely stock rigs make it work with no mods.

My measurements show my 285s to be 2" taller than the stock 245s. They are also a couple inches wider. My 285s measure 32.25" in diameter.

A year ago I raised the nose of my truck 2" from stock with the Hill Country Leveling Kit. Aditionally, I have a Frontier full front end replacement, which has much more clearance than stock. Even so, I still needed to work on the front fender liners.

Initially, the front tires were rubbing on the mud flaps. After I sorted that out, the tires still rubbed on the aft portion of the fender liners, and had almost no clearance on the front side.

Here is what I had to do:

1. Trim my mud flaps and reconfigure their mounting. Although they were only rubbing on the front, I did all four to ensure good clearance in the rear for chains/cables.

2. Driver's front: Using HVAC cables ties, I pulled the parking brake cable out of the way. Then--using regular cable ties and the heat gun, I pulled and reshaped the aft portion of the fender liner. For the front part of the fender liner, I also installed cable ties and used the heat gun. It takes a lot of heat gun work to flatten the "V" and shape the front portion of the fender liner around the washer tank.

NOTE: To install the cable ties, I simply drilled a pair of holes in the fender liner about an inch apart, pushed the cable tie through, then found a part fo the frame to tie them to.

2. Passenger front: This one was much simpler--the heat gun alone may do it on a stock truck. However, I have the Mega installed, so I tied the bottom front portion of the fender liner forward a bit. I am leery of putting heat on the fender liner where it touches the Mega............The back portion of this side took a cable tie and a little heat.

3. I did raise my torsion bars one turn, which is about 1/4" more lift. With the Hill Country keys, I have at least another inch to go, but I really don't want to go any higher. If I do, the ride may get choppy and the front end will need a realignment.

All said and done, the rear wheel wells have plenty of clearance even for chains. However, the fronts are a bit tight when the wheel is turned. On the aft portion of each front wheel well, the point where the fender sheet metal ends has only about 3/4" to 1" of clearance when the steering wheel is turned between about 3/4 to full. This isn't really enough for chains of cables--not that I'll need any as long as I am in San Antonio. However, it is a consideration when I move back to Oregon.

I have been looking at the wheel wells, and I think i'll just roll back the inside corner of the fenders myself. It won't take much to get an additional 1.5" of clearance, and where it is it won't affet the appearance of the outer fender.


Blaine