Originally posted by dnelson:
I'd like to know if any of you have purchased 19. 5" wheels (or larger) for your 2500, and how much you like (or dislike) them. In particular, has anyone bought from Rickson? They seem like they actually care about their customers. ...
I bought my 19. 5s from Rickson. Drove to MD and 'assisted' with the install. They're great guys, and spent the money for the top-of-the-line matching/balancing machine.
They mount the tires using irons - lay the wheel on the ground and 'pry' the tire onto
the wheel while standing on it, of course.
They use brass valve stems. These could be a problem if you drive in nasty areas (like in the woods or through rock piles - they might break), but on the road, they will likely be more durable than rubber.
Then they use a jack to lift the tire/wheel high enough to slip onto the balancer; it's a 'delicate' machine and they'd rather not jar it any more than they have to. The machine measures the out-of-round of the tire and the wheel. They deflate the tire to rotate it so the high spot of the tire is aligned with the low spot of the wheel; the result is a tire-wheel combo that is as round as it can get. Then they balance the set and install them on the vehicle or ship them, as the case may be.
Of course, they wanted pictures of my 2500 with the new wheels, so they scrubbed my center caps 'til they shone!
I bought my tires from a Yokohama employee (they seem to have mistakenly applied the full employee discount - I got a fantastic deal). I bought the TY303 (225/70). I'm quite pleased with the result. RPMs dropped from 2200 at 75MPH to about 2000. They ride nice and smooth. The Yokos are a bit softer than the OEM Goodyears, but are also stiffer. They do fine in the snow, and they are incredible on wet roads. Driving down US311 to Roanoke, those tires refused to slip at all going around all those curves with the pavement wet. There were times I thought I was driving my old Formula 350 again!
I had them podwercoat my wheels in Driftwood. The color's very close, but the light has to be right to see the difference.
They supplied the Abbott EPRA for adjusting the odo/speedo. This box works well enough (the odo is 1. 5% under now, and I expect it to change to 1. 5% over as the tires wear out), but I'm not too sure of Abbott's interface between the RWAL sensor and the CAB. The sensor is differential, but Abbott only adjust *one* lead. But, as I said, it works fine; I just encounter anomolous brake operation under 5MPH. (Often, but not always, the height sensor will kick in and cut out the rear brakes as I'm almost stopped, and I can feel the CAB ticking the brake pedal, often for several minutes *after* I've stopped, but releasing the brake corrects the pulsing. The height sensor probably just needs to be shortened, since I've never had it cut in with a load in the back. ) It would be nice if DC would figure out how to reprogram the CAB for any size tire (as their documents state), but I don't think we'll ever see a solution from them.
One warning. Before you install the tires, make sure the front end is properly aligned. I've learned not to think about how much rubber I scuffed off the new tires because the alignment was so far off.
Also, if you have them shipped, remove only *one* existing wheel and ensure that all wheels fit correctly. One of mine didn't fit (the center hole was a smidgeon too small). That was the only bad wheel they'd gotten to that point, and it was only luck that I was there for them to catch it immediately. They may now be quickly gauging their product before shipping, to avoid dissatisfied customers.
Overall, I'd do it again. And the same way. Unless, of course, a solution better than Abbott shows up.
Fest3er
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