New advertiser - Southwest Wheel

[More Power]

Please welcome Southwest Wheel as our newest advertiser.

http://www.thedieselpage.com/images/alcoabanner.jpg (http://forum.thedieselpage.com/cgi-bin/banners/ebanners.cgi?SW)

Message from Southwest Wheel:

Southwest Wheel Company was established in 1919. We carry a vast supply of OEM steel wheels for almost every make and model of truck, car, motor home, trailer, semi, etc. We carry wheels from manufacturers such as Accuride Wheel Corp., Hayes Lemmerz, and Titan, we are an authorized distributor of Alcoa Aluminum Wheels, and carry a wide variety of farm/implement wheels.

Wheels are not the only product we carry. If you look at our family of Web sites you will find we carry one of the largest selections of trailer parts and towing products. With our product line you can install a brake control, wire it to a new plug, install your receiver hitch with a ball mount, build a trailer, and lock it.

We have years of experience and knowledge. Most items are in stock and ship the same day.

Thank you,

Southwest Wheel Company
www.southwestwheel.com (http://www.southwestwheel.com)
www.brakecontroller.com (http://www.brakecontroller.com)
www.utilitytrailerkit.com (http://www.utilitytrailerkit.com)
www.etrailerpart.com (http://www.etrailerpart.com)
www.hdpsales.com (http://www.hdpsales.com)
www.secureyourtrailer.com (http://www.secureyourtrailer.com)

[Heartbeat Hauler]

Hi welcome to the forum. I was wondering if you offer, or will offer a steel replacement wheel for dualies with a modified offset to allow the use of larger tires? Currently the wheels on the 2001 - 2004 model 3500 cause the tires to rub under load when going to a larger tire, for example, currently the 3500 comes with a 215/85/16 tire and I would like to use a more common 235/85/16 tire. Using this upsized tire can cause rubbing between the duals under load. Some guys use a spacer(approx 5/8" thick), but this can make the studs a tad to short. Anyway, just asking.
Thanks
JP

[Darrick Sweeden]

This is a common question and the answer is one that most do not want to hear. When Chevrolet redesigned the new 16"x6.5" dual wheel for 2001-current trucks, I had the privilege of working with a GM engineer and Alcoa. I was told they designed the wheel to run no tire larger than an LT215. Their goal was to create less bulge on the tire. They did this by designing a 16"x6.5" rim width, basically .5" wider than a traditional dual wheel. Most would think you could run a wider tire, but they then pushed in the offset and changed the curvature of the wheel. Now to answer your question on the spacer, this is a bad idea. The modern dual wheel is a hub piloted system, meaning the entire weight of the vehicle rest on the center bore. The purpose of the swiveling flange nut is to create a large amount of pressure on the two flat faced wheels against the hub. This allows all the pressure of the wheel to return to the center bore. If you allow an object between the dual wheels you increase the chance dramatically of vibration or stud breakage and you will automatically void your warranty. If you run the larger tire without the use of a spacer, the tires will rub together creating heat and increase the chance of "blow outs". So for the purpose of this discussion by increasing the size of tire you reduce the overall performance and weight carrying capacity of the truck using a 16" wheel.

Modern steel wheel manufacturers can not justify a cost to produce a wheel with a different offset. One reason is the ability to produce enough volume for the tooling and the second is the liability of re-engineering the wheel. Your alternative is to move away from the 16" wheel, but finding a wheel with the correct center bore and offsets will be hard to do. Alcoa Wheels will be producing a 19.5" version wheel that will directly fit on the new Chevy/GM trucks in the coming year. Southwest Wheel (http://www.southwestwheel.com)

[Heartbeat Hauler]

Figures....Thanks GM......for nothing :mad:
JP