19.5 wheels & tires yes or no?

[CConley]

I recently purchased a 01 HO 6spd 3500 dually 4wd with 4. 11 axle ratios. I plan to add a GV overdrive to lower hwy rpm's. I'm also considering 19. 5 wheel & tire combo to also aid in reducing hwy rpm's. Admittedly another reason for the 19. 5's is purely cosmetic as I think a big truck like this ought to look the part and clearly the stock wheels & tires fall short here. I'm aware that this is not a cheap sulution to the appearance aspect of what I'm trying to accomplish. So I'm looking for pro's & con's regarding ride qaulity , longevity of 19. 5's vs. 16's ,etc. I'd like to here from some folks who have run this combo through at least 2 sets of tires. Also looking for personal experience regarding your tire choices , I'm interested in a traction type tire but not an off road ,aggressive type. Thanks for your help. Chris

 

[geusterman]

Both are great and you would love them. I sent you a private message as well on the TDR. geusterman

 

[fest3er]

Pros:

• Long life. I've got 93K on mine now, and there's still over 1/8" tread left.
• Better handling. My Yokohama 225/70 TY303s have nearly inflexible sidewalls. the truck drive like a sports car.
• Better traction. The tread doesn't 'roll' like normal LT tires do. 93K and the edges of the tread are still 'square'. I typically drive down the corksrew VA 311 from I64 to Salem, VA, usually at 10-20 over the 'warning' speed for the curves, and the tires don't slip.
• Lower RPm. My 225/70s dropped the RPM from 2000 at 70 in OD to about 1850.
• Smoother ride. It may seem strange, but even with stiffer sidewalls, the tires are smoother on most roads. the stock Goodrear tires let me know about *every* tiny crack in the pavement. The TY303s just ride smoothly over most cracks, and usually don't notice the bigger (wider) cracks, either.

Cons:

• Balance. It'sa Bear to get these things balanced to run smoothly. Last time I went to Rickson, they put Equal in them, which has helped a lot. It isn' t perfect, and can take a some miles on the highway to smooth out. Empty pickup trucks are really a *little* too light for commercial tires. But if you always tow a largin-ish trailer or have lots of stuff in the bed, you won't notice the 'road force' balance problem.
• Bending/warping wheels. Buy the heaviest weight rated wheels you can. My truck may be an anomoly, but in these 93K miles, the steel wheels I bought (an *early* set from Rickson) have all warped to some degree. But other than that, the wheels are holding up quite nicely.
• Slippage. When you have the tires mounted, be sure they use an 'adhesive' type of bead lube. These tires do not 'snap' onto the wheel. They really only press against it, and depend on air pressure to maintain friction. Because pickup trucks are lightweight, you have to run less than 'recommended' pressure to maintain proper tread contact with the road. Thus, the wheel can (and has many times, in my case) spun inside the tire, messing up the balance. I took to marking the tire and wheel with nail polish so I could track migration. The last service, Rickson used and adhesive-type lube, and the tires don't seem to have moved since.

Neutrals:

• I really haven't noticed any difference in mileage, even though the tires are each about 50 heavier (no, they are *not* lightweight!)

Overall, if I had the cash, I would likely do it again.

Another plus is that Matt and Dan are great guys to work wtih.

N

 

[Jeff Clark]

I ran the Dual Designs setup on my 98 for 3 years. Took them off and sold them when I traded the truck in. I will get another set when my 04 comes in. I'm with fest3er for all the pros. The truck handled much better with the big tires. I only disagree with the balancing issue. I had equal in all my tires (3 bags per tire). I never had a problem with balance, they felt great. I usually got 70-80,000 miles per set, but I never rotated as I ran different tires on the front and rear (Michelin XZE on the front and XZT on the rear). I think if you try them, you will like them. If not, they won't be hard to sell.

 

[Mtngoat]

Does anybody know anything about trueing tires?? I have heard of it but havent seen it. Apparently, the tire is spun, and the high tread that causes imbalance is shaved off creating a perfectly round tire. I have heard with trueing, you dont need weights. I heard it is not done much because people cant hack seeing good tread shaved off their tires. .



Robin

 

[geusterman]

Big truck tire and frame shops do this in larger towns. I balenced a set of 22. 5 Michelins appropriately with pressure balencing and THEN trued them with cutters. What a ride that was on our Monaco MH. My Ricksons and Michelins came up real nice when balenced and no need to shave for true round. They are really nice on the road. True and smooth. Now if we could just find an aluminum wheel with the strength of steel..... geusterman

 

[Mtngoat]

My uncle was a big proponent of trueing. He always said you can balance an egg but its still out of round. On a tire the out of round causes premature tire wear, while a round one won't. Kinda makes sense.



Robin