19.5 Wheel Update anyone???

[rcaldwel]

Has anyone made any headway in trying to find a less costly approach for the 19. 5 inch wheel? I would think that if we found some alternative that was workable, companies like Rickson might begin to re think their pricing strategy. Nothing like good old fashion competition to benefit the consumer.



Thanks,



Bob Caldwell

 

[gitchesum]

Scroll down for the adapters

http://www.chromewheel.com/dominator.htm

They also sell refurbished wheels

http://www.chromewheel.com/refurb2.htm



Just explore their website for some other neat stuff and pictures.

 

[CDrake]

Just a little update for ya,

i got a set of Rickson's for my 3500 4X4 in Jan 2001. The improvment in ride quality is great! I got the 19. 5x6. 00 wheels and Cooper C120 8R19. 5 tires. I got the silver powder coated wheels and use my stock center caps- they look factory

I've put about 30K on the tires and they still look like new. It was a big expense up front, but I belive it's a good investment in the long run. Now my tires will last as long as the truck

 

[BigUgly]

Bob;

If you need them for a 3500, I just might have an avenue you can look into. A friend of mine was able to get 6 19. 5s at a junkyard for ~$160 total. They came off of a Chevy (I'm assuming an old C50 or so). My buddy had to drill out the stud holes a bit and drill out the hub hole a bit also. These wheels are just old steel wheels that cleaned up pretty well. I don't know how much it would cost to get the holes inlarged, he has a friend with a shop, but the overall price has got to be lower than the Ricksons.

Hope this helps,

Josiah

 

[EShaw]

Alcoa.........

Guys,

Alcoa is currently working on 19. 5" replacement wheels for our trucks... ... ... ... . NO ADAPTERS... ... .....

Eric

 

[jasond]

I also came across this company... don't know if anyone has used them or not, but a friend of mine used their wheels on his big truck. They are very nice quality, and I think cheaper than some of the other companies... . I called to get pricing and it was... . $564 per wheel... 30 for front caps and 35 for the rears. They don't sell the steel inners but have a company to buy them thru. Hope it helps... .



www.appforgedwheels.com

 

[fest3er]

Re: Alcoa.........

Originally posted by EShaw
Guys,
Alcoa is currently working on 19. 5" replacement wheels for our trucks... ... ... ... . NO ADAPTERS... ... .....
Eric

Also, Rickson are coming out with a whole new set of wheel designs, including aluminium.

Fest3er

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

You get what you pay for and.....

... . you pay for what you get. I went the Rixon 19. 5 inch route (all seven including the spare) just over a year ago and have had no regrets. Yes, the up-front cost was not insignificant, but I plan on keeping the truck and these tires & rims for a L O N G time.



I'd also agree with CDrake in this thread that the ride and handling is far superior and IMHO, the 19. 5 inch set-up should really be a standard ex-factory option. The Yokohama TY303s are barely scrubbed-in now and have more than met my expectations!



Even more important, given my current location, is customer service; Dan and Matt extended every courtesy whilst I was stateside travelling from west coast and Canada upto Sparks, Maryland last year - they even helped me locate a fellow TDR member who was looking for a complete set of standard factory 16 inch tires and rubber, which we shipped back to the mid-west and the last I heard from this TDR member, was that he was very pleased with the deal.



I'm sure there are and will continue to be, other 19. 5 inch alternatives out there but check out their attention to the details like wheel balancing in particular, when you make your purchase. It makes a heck of a difference. Good luck!!

 

[EagleEye]

I just called Alcoa last week...

and talked with them about wheels for the Dodge Dually. They told me that they were starting to phase out the light truck line, and did not have anything on the drawing board for 19. 5 Dodge wheels.



I think I will check again, because the 19. 5" aluminum wheels look like the way I am going to go. But the rep at Alcoa was pretty sure they are trying to close all production to the 'light' truck market. It doesn't make me too happy because the Alcoa's are some of the best out there, and I would sure enjoy running them.



I just can't justify the price Rickson gets for their wheels, and I won't spend that kind of money unless they are true forged aluminum... NOT steel!

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Rickson has aluminum wheels too... . but be prepared to spend upwards of $4. 5k on the whole setup(rims/tires/balancing\mounting/etc. )



They use a high $$ balancer that makes a huge difference on how long the tires last and how they ride... . but that's about the only good thing.



The bread they are getting for these rims is related to their intial cost in development... . hopefully these costs will be dissolved soon and the prices on the rims will come down to below Ionospheric (sp?) levels... . they're in outer space now... .



Matt

 

[jasond]

I think i will seriously look at the APP wheels... . i thought they were pretty spendy, but hearing 4500. 00 for Rickson's makes APP sound cheap... .

 

[BCFAST]

What about 22. 5's... . REAL Alcoas with new Michelins for a dually for $4k? Doesnt make sense to do Ricksons for that kind of money...

 

[Dan]

OK guys, I guess it's time to set things straight. First, thanks to those of you who praised our products. Alcoa is going to make the 19. 5's for the 3500's for us exclusively, as we are paying for the development and tooling costs. We have Wheel AND Tire packages from about $2700 (steel with trim rings) to a little over $4000 (aluminum) and anything inbetween and that's WHEELS & TIRES. The problem with APP is that they do not have the steel inner rears. If you try to put 4 aluminum wheels on the rear, the inner wheel uses all of the machined surface on the rear end that centers the wheels due to the thickness of the wheel. Also, the studs are too short to accomodate dualing up the aluminums. There's no "holy grail" when it comes to doing this conversion.

 

[RoryTek]

Hi Dan, thanks for chiming in. I guess either way you look at it going to 19. 5 is gonna cost some bucks. My biggest problem is I really don't want to pay for the R&D cost when six months to a year later the price drops in half (can anyone say price protection) I do have a valid question tho. With a dually setup are tire rotations a thing of the past? Because like you said you won't be able to mount two alum. rims back to back.

Thanks maybe a check will be in the mail soon,still have 30k or so of tread left.

 

[EagleEye]

OK...Now some questions...

I have not looked too closely at the big rigs running Alcoa's, but the reason they do (and justify the cost) is the savings in weight=mpg.



I will look more closely at the inner portion of the dually on the big rigs, but it seems kinda strange to run an aluminum outer and a steel inner. I like (having the option) of rotating through all 7 tires on my beast.



Is there NOT a way to go with longer studs and run 6 alum rims with strength??? I think the big rigs do it, but gotta check it out. I just don't like the idea of 4 aluminum rims and 3 steel. Seems like the cost justification kinda got thrown out the window. ANY unsprung weight that I can save may be justified, for mileage AND ride quality.

 

[TomGolden]

So what about us 2500 guys?

So, does anyone make 19. 5's for those of us without the training wheels on our trucks ??



Tom

 

[NVR FNSH]

Tom,

Rickson makes 19. 5s for the 2500s. I just got the latest catalog and man do those 19. 5s look nice.....



Brian

 

[BCFAST]

weight

EagleEye, the reason big rigs run aluminum wheels and other components isnt MPG... they are liscenced to run 80,000lbs... and the less the truck weighs the more cargo they can haul. The truck will get 1. 5-2mpg different from empty to full... so certainly the weight doesnt matter.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

MPG will increase on our trucks due to less reciprocating mass and a larger overall tire diameter than OEM sizes.....



Class-8 trucks get 7MPG (some of 'em do anyhow... . ) no matter what they do... unloaded, loaded, whatever... . but the weight savings is a huge benefit..... more cargo = more dough.



I'm not knocking Rickson's stuff... it's all very nice, but the prices are a bit high... .



$2500 for a steel wheel setup is a bit much.

Figure on $1400 for tires..... that leaves each wheel to be about $275 a whack... . give or take an ounce (no tire balancing pun intended... . )... . and if you want aluminum... you had better try and sell that pesky spare kidney on the black market.



Matt

 

[Dan]

Hey guys,



(1) The big rigs are designed to run aluminum on the inner and outers. They have a wide machined surface so that both wheels are properly centered and long enough studs. If you want to run six aluminum wheels, to be honest, the best thing would be to call Dual Designs and get adapters, as the adapters are set up with the correct flange width and stud length. If you look at a new Ford Dually, they only come with 4 alum. wheels also, but only polished inside (rear) and outside (front) so there is no rotation possibble.



(2) There is very little development cost built into the wheels that we have. When we spread the tooling costs out over current and future production, it doesn't add much to each wheel. The wheels will NEVER be half of what they are now. This stuff is expensive to make, as a standard 19. 5" wheel is generally about double the cost of a 16" wheel... Add to that, that this is a speialty (very limited productiion) wheel, and the costs are pretty in-line... There's really not a way to do this conversion cheaply.