Feedback on 19.5 Tires

[NC_Mog]

I'd like some feedback from folks that are running 19. 5 rims. Type of tire, price, dry/wet performance unloaded/loaded, winter weather driving, and miles per set. I'm trying to get my ducks in a row relative to which way to go... stick with 17s and run 315 BFGs or switch to 19. 5 rims and medium duty truck tires.



Thanks in advance.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

The steel wheels are very heavy and put demand on brakes and suspension and add quite a bit more rotational as well as unsprung mass.



The aluminum wheels for the 2000+ Rams should be out soon which weigh a lot less and should help with this although they weigh more than stock wheels.



I have heard they significantly reduce sidewall flex and people ususally (but not always) get a lot of miles out of them (over 100K).



I know there have been people jump onto the 19. 5 bandwagon and either be quite happy with them, or end up selling them off after awhile because it just didn't work out.



Vaughn

 

[jimnance]

Depends on what you are looking to do. If you want to look cool stay with the 315 BFG's.



If you need weight carrying capacity then a case can be made for the 19. 5's with higher rated commercial rubber. The 19. 5's with commercial rubber will be very heavy. For sport use I don't see the point.



I do have 19. 5's with 225 70 19. 5 GoodYear truck tires. They are great for the heavy towing I do. They do run rougher than the 315 BFG's that I had before. This is probably due to the stiffer sidewall.

 

[Task125]

If you are going to move heavy loads I think 19. 5 are the way to go. the ride is harsher then 315s. with out a load. but I got them for the looks. and have 20000 on them and they look new. they make the truck look like it is heavy duty.

 

[jimnance]

I think that's what I said. For heavy hauling the cost of the wheel and tires make it worthwhile.

 

[Cattletrkr]

I need tires soon. Looking for more of the same info/opinions. TIA

 

[Diesel Nut]

I Have 19. 5's on my dually and they are great!! I went with a 265 70 R19. 5 on 19. 5 inch 10 lug wheels. I got them second hand but I think they came frome Dual Designs. As soon as I can I'll get picks. With a 2 inch lift front and rear and these 34. 5 inch tall tires it looks screaming!! Rides a little rougher and wanders a little more than the stock 235/17s, but I imagine they are comprerable to the 315s. As far as loaded, well, my little trailer (13K#) just doesen't affect them. My ressure is about 50 psi. Also, i put on a set of Rancho RS9000X shocks that really helped. Good luck.

 

[XJSuperman]

As far as the weight of the 19. 5" wheels go... they are not THAT much heavier than the stock steel 17's.



THe stock steel 17's weigh 45 lbs each... . Ricksons 19. 5's (steel) weigh 60 lbs each... and I don't care what anyone says about 'unsprung weight' ... on these trucks if you stay with a moderate tire size (around 32-35") that weight difference will not be enough to suck that much performance.



Someone here recently... can't remember who... was able to fit 19. 5's off of a chebbie van and those wheels only weighed 46 lbs.





So while YES... the 19. 5's are heavier... it;s not that much... but I do agree the aluminum wheels would be quite a bit lighter... I think Rickson list them at 35 lbs... so that's lighter even than the stock steelies.

 

[Cattletrkr]

I Have 19. 5's on my dually and they are great!! I went with a 265 70 R19. 5 on 19. 5 inch 10 lug wheels.

How does the 10 lugs work?? By my count I've only got 8 on mine. Would I need to switch hubs, add some sort of adapter or what??



I talked to a trustworthy tire guy (he's done tires for dad for 25 yrs) and he's not impressed with the 19. 5's. He said they don't last any longer and don't cost any less than the 235/80/17's I've got now. I was under the impression that the 19. 5's were more of a truck tire and will last longer. I'm gonna have my General POS's burned up before I hit 35K. Done some checking and the lowest price I can find on the 235's is $215 for Mastercrafts, all the way up to $250 for Goodyear GSA's. I've got a few places left to check yet so that $$ should come down some.



I don't care about looks that much. A far as aesthetics go, a tire is a tire is a tire. I put on about 50K a year and over 1/2 that is with a 25K trailer behind me. I want something that's gonna last. I'd just as soon stay as close to the 235's radius as I can. A little bigger is OK, smaller is not an option.



If anybody know a phone # I can call and talk to someone who knows about this that would be greatly appreciated. No one around here knows much about doing switches like this. I'll check out Dual Designs (thanks Diesel Nut).

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

JD,



I posted a query about using 245 75(70) 17s on the DRW because they were more reasonably priced. The replies indicated you can use a 245 with no problems. I do not care for wide tires especially on a DRW. I was looking at some BFGs. This might be a workable solution for you. Someday there might be some Toyo M55s in a 235 or 245 17.



When I was looking for some winter 235s, I was quoted $195 m/b for Mastercrafts in Jackson which is notoriously expensive. I finally ended up coming across a set of Cooper Discover STs with wheels for a decent price in the classifieds. The Mastercrafts and Coopers are a good winter tire.

 

[Diesel Nut]

Hey trail dog - Glad to see those tires are workin good for you. Wish i coulda made the trip up to Reno to meet ya myself.



JD - The wheels came with adapters that bolt to your 8 bolt hubs and change the pattern to a much larger 10 bolt pattern. Real easy to reverse if you wanted. As far as mileage, these tires have about 50k on them and they have a ways to go. They are the toyo ty303. Rickson sells them.



XJ - I have steel inners and aluminum outers and the wheels are pretty light. It's all that rubber and steel in the tires thats heavy as hell. But, these new trucks have some really kick *** brakes, plus I have a 6 speed and a jake, so I hardly noticed the difference between them. Just had the dealer adjust my speedo for the new tires ( little bit bigger than stock) for free in about 2 minutes.



Also, anyone wondering about how much of a difference the jake makes - When I put the 19. 5s on at 46k miles, the tire guys checked the brakes and asked me how many miles were on the truck. I replied 46 and their responce was "hundred?" I laughed and said thousand and they said the brakes looked fresh off the lot. With all the towing and driving i've been doing, plus these bigger tires, good to know I'm not stressing the brakes at all!!

 

[jelag]

We do business with UPS and they use a special 19. 5 on their delivery trucks...



We have a F550 that uses these. . we put new tires on the front... usually Michlien XRV and if I can remember the size its like 225/80/19. 5 and usually get them at Costco for about 199 each or close to that... .



The rear tires are the UPS style recaps... in a all weather thread... we see 100K from the set... . and the F550 is always at full GVW. The rear tires we buy from the recapper who does them for UPS... . about 90 each... we've never had a failure other than road hazard type stuff...



On the other hand I can't get more than about 60K from the 17" tires on my 04 dually... and had to order them to get them... . as soon as steel wheels become available for my 04 and 05 I'm switching.....



Hope this helps... . BTW the 00 F550 now has over 300K so we have a good track record...



Jim

 

[jsimpson]

My tire dealer puts them on cutomers rigs when they request it, but recommends against it. Higher cost, increased component wear, same tread life, same carrying capacity (they won't increase capacity beyond truck's rated capacity).

 

[GPangrle]

G Pangrle Elk Grove, Il

I have 19. 5" on my 03 bought them for my 97 When I traded I drove truck home 15 miles and put the 19. 5"on and put the 17" in the basement. Iget double the mileage out of the 19. 5"s Ilike the handling especally on circle ramps to expressway most 4X4's dont stay with me Iuse Continentil 245;s Ipay $250. atire installed and balanced.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Higher cost,

Yes, a one time cost for the rims, not any more for the tires. At least not that I've found yet. Weekends are not a good time to go tire shoppng around here.

increased component wear

Not sure about this one. I'm not worried about the brakes 'cause I've got a BD brake and use the pedal way less than most. Not sure what effects they would have on other parts.

same tread life

If that's the case, they won't help me at all. Kinda contradicts other users "real world experience". My tire guy said the same thing, but I've been seeing otherwise hear. I know a couple guys with 19. 5's on F450/550's and I'll ask them on Mon. what they're seeing. They pull bigger trailers than I do so if they're getting more miles I should as well. If not, I'll just stick with what I've got.

same carrying capacity

:-laf :-laf You're joking right????? They don't increase the trucks GVW, but the tires themselves are rated at 4500-4800lb apiece. That's 1500lb more than most 10ply tires you'll find. That alone should save a lot of headaches associated with odd tread wear.



Sorry jsimpson if it seems like I'm picking on you, that's not my intent. I just think your dealer gave you a lot of bogus reasons and maybe one good one. Thanks for the reply though. I want as much info as I can get.

 

[Marty1]

The 19. 5 is an infinitely better tire than any 17" tire made.

Go compare the two tires... go look at the heaviest 17" tire made & then compare that to the lightest 19. 5" tire & the 19. 5 will still outlast the 17" by double.

I run them on my 05 DRW & I ran them on my 1993 DRW in my Readers Rig Gallery until I sold it.

You'll get over 100K miles out of the 19. 5 unless you are running the wrong air pressure. I'd love to see a set of 17's make 50K miles but the norm is 30K unless you like running banana skins.

You won't be able to tow more with your truck, you will however feel enormous improvements in handling when loaded.

I highly recommend the 19. 5's if you run a DRW... I wouldn't actually even consider using 17's but if I had a SRW I'd stick with the 17's considering you can run the wider BFG's & other higher rated tires that won't work on a DRW truck without spacers & other crazy gimmicks.

Call Rickson... they know more about tires & rims & have more experience in this field than anyone on this forum & will head you in the right direction as to which is the better tire.

They don't install 19. 5's on Tow trucks & medium duty trucks for no reason... they are a far better tire & our trucks will run them & stop just as well as they do with the 17" tires & rims.

I can honestly say I have no regrets going to the 19. 5's & there has been no downside.

The people that recommend against them, you will find they haven't run the 19. 5's yet so they are going on hear-say & what others have told them.

Take it from me... I've run both combinations & the 17's were on my truck for the shortest amount of time I could possibly arrange for! Oo.

Good luck with your tire hunting!

 

[Todd G]

I used to have a medium-duty Isuzu FSR with GVW of 22,000lbs. I ran 245 series 19. 5" tires and got 100k miles on a set. This was at or near GVW every day. I can't imagine how long they would last on a pickup truck.

 

[DPKetchum]

I to want a set of 19. 5s. BUT I know TWO trucks that one rolled 90+k on factory Mich's and they wern't to the way bars yet. The other truck has around 70k and the factory tires have LOTS more miles on them. Both TOW about 90%of the time. Both 03s

 

[Fred Swanson]

Okay, I'll chime in, since I ran them on my 03 for a period of time. I ran the 265 Goodyear G-124's. Pictures in my Reader's Rigs. I receive requests now and then for my take on them. I used the Alcoa's with adpaters, and my biggest issue was with balancing and out of round tires. 2 out of the original 6 were past . 080 out of round, and Goodyear warranteed them for replacement. Wear was decent for a truck that weighed in at 8800 lb. And while running them, I was between 400-430HP, on all the time. When I was loaded and towing, they were unbelievable, and while unloaded, they were a little harsh. Empty, I ran the fronts at 45-50, rears 30, loaded, not more than 50 in the rear. It never needed more.



If I were considering them again, I'd probably look closer at the Rickson's. The Alcoa's I had were 7. 5 inch wide wheels, which the 265's fit nice on. They stuck out a few inches past the fenders, whereas the Rickson's stay under the fender.



My average wear was about 4/32's every 15K miles. And whatever you do, don't do burnouts with 19. 5's. That rubber compound stinks for about 20 minutes afterwards. I did it a few times, and that was enough.



Now for handling, they were awesome, entering a sweeping highway entrance ramp like on the West side 101 here in Phoenix, was pure fun. The truck stuck it through the entire turn, and I would be past 80 long before the end of the entrance onto the highway. If I do the same now with my 37inch GY MTR's,

I'm power sliding around that same curve. Different truck now, so hard to compare. I enjoyed them while I had them, but my use for the truck changed, thus I sold them, and converted to a SRW. That's another story, altogether.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Marty1, yeah I noticed that all the "negatory" comments were from people not running the 19. 5's. I don't understand why tire guys don't want to sell them. I had to get a trailer tire fixed today at the place I had been pricing 17's and the guy mentioned in passing that, "those tires (19. 5's) are really expensive". He was a little surprised when I told him that they are identical to what he had quoted me for the 17's.



I talked to a guy with a Furd 450 w/225's today, he was more than glad to show me the wear and chat about the tires. He was like a kid describing a new toy. He pulls a little bit bigger trailer than I do and he's only got 35k on the truck now and the tires should get at least that many more. I wouldn't be surprised is he gets 80-90k out of them. I was thinking about going with the 245's to gain a little speed, but I think the 225's would be a better fit for me. Not sure how the spacing sets up on the duallys, how close the tires would get when fully loaded. I won't run anything that requires me to use spacers or adapters, I stress my rear axle enough the way it is. I like the carrying capacity of the 245's though.



In case all you guys can't tell, I'm trying to talk myself into spending the money for the Rickson's. I wish I had more experience with 17's so I'd know how long they'll last. Maybe I've just got a bad set of Generals, or maybe this is all the longer 17's will last me. The biggest hangup... If I decide to swap tires, no JUICE for me if it ever comes out. Too much to think about at 11pm.



Goodnight and thanks for all the info.