Larger tires are not worth it... ? !

[PRyker]

It is more of a question... I like the looks of a "slight" lift (leveling kit) and slightly larger tires but think it is much more of a negative than anything else. Here what I think is the reason why I am stuck into stock rims / tires:



1. Stock rims fit snugly and few if any companies make rims with proper offset / backspacing. Rims with improper backspacing and non-hubcentric will cause excess wear and will perform worse than stock. Also because of backspacing issues tires will stick out and require fender flares.



2. With a 3. 55 rear end I am even further lowering my ratio and will make my truck more sluggish and take offs / towing



3. Larger tires "growl" more on the roads. I could get around this by finding a quiet tire but it still is a bit louder



4. larger tires put more stress on steering compnents and cause premature wear.



5. Larger tires are more tempramental. They require balancing more often and are more sucespitable to puncture and wear.



6. Larger tires in general reduce overall towing capacity. There are a few that offer load range E but they are few and far between.



7. While towing the tires will feel to "soft" and the sidewalls will flex causing a floating feeling.



Now, if you guys think I am wrong please tell me why. I really would like to add a leveling kit but feel I should leave well enough alone and maintain what I have.



thoughts?



Phil

 

[JDougherty]

i think alot the same as you do. i have kicked it around time and time again and i thinkt to continue as my daily driver and "tow" truck i want to keep it reliable and safe... . i would love to lift it but i to am scared of excessive wear.

 

[Lorenz]

How about dropping the rpms on the freeway in order to get a couple more MPG out of the beast?



That would be a benifit right?



How big can you go with 3. 73 and still see an improvement on freeway mpg?

 

[BarryG]

I am still running the 265's for the reasons you mentioned. Mainly the rpm level though.

 

[DKarvwnaris]

It is more of a question... I like the looks of a "slight" lift (leveling kit) and slightly larger tires but think it is much more of a negative than anything else. Here what I think is the reason why I am stuck into stock rims / tires:



1. Stock rims fit snugly and few if any companies make rims with proper offset / backspacing. Rims with improper backspacing and non-hubcentric will cause excess wear and will perform worse than stock. Also because of backspacing issues tires will stick out and require fender flares.



agreed, I run stock rims for this reason. Another plus is they remain under my truck, not in some thieving little worms hands.



2. With a 3. 55 rear end I am even further lowering my ratio and will make my truck more sluggish and take offs / towing

Are you kidding? I pull a 20,000 lb trailer just about daily, startups are not my issue, I only use 1st gear when starting out. My concern is slowing down.



3. Larger tires "growl" more on the roads. I could get around this by finding a quiet tire but it still is a bit louder

not true, I have run 285 tires on my dodge for years. The engine rpms are lower, therefore quieter on the interstate. I don't run muds, just all terrains. Last set I put on are from Walmart, Liberators 285/16's just as quiet as my suburban with 235/75/16's



4. larger tires put more stress on steering compnents and cause premature wear.

If you keep within reason, 285 and smaller, You won't notice a significant change. Width hurts more diameter on steering parts, contact patch on the ground creates the friction, not the diameter.



5. Larger tires are more tempramental. They require balancing more often and are more sucespitable to puncture and wear.

Don't run mud terrains or super swamper type tires and you won't notice a big difference. I've never suffered more punctures due to larger tires, but I only go up a few a sizes at best, still shouldn't be related.



6. Larger tires in general reduce overall towing capacity. There are a few that offer load range E but they are few and far between.

If you're putting tires on for towing, you don't want big ones in the first place, hard to get most trailers to fit over the bed or line up without a drop hitch off the bumper.

7. While towing the tires will feel to "soft" and the sidewalls will flex causing a floating feeling. I run mine at 60 psi when pulling, they don't roll or flex too bad, definitely more than stock 235's, but I do not feel unsafe with them on.



Now, if you guys think I am wrong please tell me why. I really would like to add a leveling kit but feel I should leave well enough alone and maintain what I have. I don't like leveling kits as it further stresses the pathetic track bar on my body style dodge, not worth the chance of death wobble to me to have it level, I just throw a trailer on the back.



thoughts?

Phil

I have fit as large as 315's under my dodge with no trimming, how big of tires would you want to run on it?

 

[Glen Pratt]

You need to get some Parnelli Jones Dirt Grip tires. Load Range "E", not very noisy, wear extremely well. I'm running 36" Dirt Grips and if I can keep my foot out of the pedal, can still get 16 MPG on the highway. I agree with you about steering wear and tear. My truck just went over 100,000 miles on the odometer (really aprox. 130,000/speedo 11 mph slow) and am going to need ball joints and tie rod ends soon. But then again who knows if this would be the case if I had left my suspension and tire sizes stock. A lot of times driving I forget I'm driving a truck and not a big sports car. -Glen

 

[PRyker]

If I was going to put bigger tires on I would add the KORE leveling kit first. I do not want some big "balloon" tires. I prefer the look of the narrower tires on 19. 5" rims but they are too heavy. I would probably go with a 17" rim if I could find decent looking load range E tires for them...



I am not a fan of the big fat tires. I want a narrow taller tire if anything.



Phil

 

[DKarvwnaris]

If I was going to put bigger tires on I would add the KORE leveling kit first. I do not want some big "balloon" tires. I prefer the look of the narrower tires on 19. 5" rims but they are too heavy. I would probably go with a 17" rim if I could find decent looking load range E tires for them...



I am not a fan of the big fat tires. I want a narrow taller tire if anything.



Phil

If you don't increase the sidewall proportionately to the diameter, like a 285 is, you will suffer more roll and sideflex. The width needs to be approximate to the sidewall for this reason.

I don't have big balloon tires on my dodge, they look like they belong under it for the '94 to '02 bodied trucks. Alot more so than 235's for sure.



Big rims are for heavy commercial trucks and drugs dealers in Lincoln Navigators. Thin sidewalled tires on a truck belong in the ghetto maybe, as it reduces the chance of a gang banger shooting out a tire. :-laf but not anywhere near where I will ever live.

 

[ben_ak]

I have 35" TruXXs M/T's (Load Range "E"), Skyjacker leveling coils, DT Track Bar & Arms, and a DSS. I have had to replace two tie rod ends, a steering stabilizer, two track bars (before 35's), and ball joints once (54,000 miles). As you can see, I've spent some coin up front and since my "upgrades" (it's hard to call the track bar and DSS upgrades when your fixing DC's poor design), my truck has held up and handled better than it ever did before. I pay a lot of attention to tire pressure and inspect my truck often. I tow fairly often (5,000 to 8,000 pounds) and don't have stability problems. I do have 3. 55 axle gears, I have a Superlift Truspeed (works great, by the way) for speedo correction. I hit 18. 6 MPG at 8400lbs. on a 740 mile round trip (using my GPS). I do see your points, however I think leveling kits, when installed as a system, aren't all bad.



Just my $. 02

-Ben

 

[DPelletier]

All good points here, and in general I tend to agree with Phil, but Phil, you forgot the biggest reason to avoid 2" leveling kits and large load range D tires: Death Wobble.



Dave

 

[Cummins4Life]

1. Use factory alloy wheels.



2. Anything over 34" with 3. 55 and an auto sucks. Probably not as bad with a manual. I ran 36's on my 01 for a time, even with a lot of fuel it was laggy, and I had to do about 70mph in order to use overdrive.



3. I've never noticed a difference in tire noise between allterrian tires. No matter the size. Mud terrains tend to howl a bit but I cant hear my BFG's even with the windows down.



4. Thats probably true, but I doubt 285's, 305's, or 295's put that much more stress than factory 245's or 265's. If you stepped up to 38's then I'd say yes.



5. In my experience larger tires are not any more tempermental than the factory sizes. Balance just as well.



6. Dont get too stuck on the load range thing too much. I had a set of 285 Drange tires that had a higher load rating in pounds than the factory E 265's. Its also getting to where E range larger tires are pretty common. Now my D range 255's are a big more squishy than the factory E's but they're a lot more narrow too.



7. I've towed a few almost heavy loads, upwards of 9K, with my old D 285's and they didnt handle any worse than my factory 265's. Just make sure to air them up.



You dont have to add bigger tires with a leveling kit but they tend to fill the void a bit better. Milage may go down a little 1-2mpg with a leveling kit and larger tires but none of the above listed reasons would keep me from leveling and going with 285's.



Oh and death wobble. I've had leveling kits and larger than stock tires on my last two trucks. My 94 with 180K needs a trac bar bad but I've never had a problem with death wobble with either truck. Not to say I wont but it hasnt been a problem for me.

 

[klaybus]

Tire Size

I'm running 285's with the 2" leveling pods up front & so far so good. I certainly do agree with you on gearing however. With 285's & 3. 5s it makes for a taller gear ratio. I tow a #8000 5vr & 4. 10s would be nice running with the 285's but my truck came with 245's & that just plain looks silly.

I tow with my DTT auto & lock out OD with no problems. Keeps me at about 2200 rpms & right at about 60 mph. At just under #16,000 I don't want to go any faster than 60 mph while towing. I haven't had any "death wobble" issues yet & my brother told me my 99 with 100k miles drove better than his 1st 02 Cummins with under 10k miles. I also agree with you about the wheel offset of after-market wheels. My Schwab ultras push the tires out a bit furthur than I would like. As far as speedo correction, I use the Abbott ERA. Works awesome & easy to install! Just my experience FWIW.



Clay

 

[Oasis-3]

Big Tires

I have run 3 sets of TRUXS M/T 285's with a 2" leveling kit and could tow my 32' TT anywere / anytime.

Now I have a set of TRXUS M/T 34/12. 5's and love them.

They do hit my mud flaps when I turn the wheel all the way to lock.

But I can live with that.



Cliff

 

[Matt400]

I like the looks of a "slight" lift (leveling kit) and slightly larger tires but think it is much more of a negative than anything else. Here what I think is the reason why I am stuck into stock rims / tires thoughts?

I'm kinda like you Phil, I don't care for lifts on my stuff but think they look cool on the other guys stuff. I do like the look of a bigger tire, just not overkill.



Without going through all the pros-cons on your numbered items I think based on what you started off saying and what is in your sig, is that you want to go bigger but need more reasons not to and thats ok... 285's or 295's would look great but won't do well with an auto and 3. 55's



Forget all the other stuff, the biggie is auto and 3. 55's. If you are dead set against changing gears in both diffs then you have your answer.

I have 3. 73's with auto trans and find that 33" tall is my max or power will suffer especially towing.

34's or 35's would look great but I am holding tight at 33's cuz I am not about to go 4. 10's just for the sake of tires.

 

[DPelletier]

6. Dont get too stuck on the load range thing too much. I had a set of 285 Drange tires that had a higher load rating in pounds than the factory E 265's. Its also getting to where E range larger tires are pretty common. Now my D range 255's are a big more squishy than the factory E's but they're a lot more narrow too.



7. I've towed a few almost heavy loads, upwards of 9K, with my old D 285's and they didnt handle any worse than my factory 265's. Just make sure to air them up.



Oh and death wobble. I've had leveling kits and larger than stock tires on my last two trucks. My 94 with 180K needs a trac bar bad but I've never had a problem with death wobble with either truck. Not to say I wont but it hasnt been a problem for me.

A couple of comments;



- Too many people think that a larger load range D tire with the equivalent load rating to the factory E's are just as stable. They aren't. The 85psi vs. 65psi makes a big difference especially with a heavy slide-in camper. With my 3217lb camper on my '01. 5 SRW truck, I always ran at 80psi loaded; anything less caused increased sway. Trailers are less of an issue.



- I'm glad that you haven't experienced DW, but there is NO doubt that it is much more prevalent on trucks with bigger tires and 2" leveling kits.



Dave

 

[DKarvwnaris]

A couple of comments;





- I'm glad that you haven't experienced DW, but there is NO doubt that it is much more prevalent on trucks with bigger tires and 2" leveling kits.



Dave

Offset aftermarket rims that throw the factory steering geometry out of spec doesn't help either. I have yet to find a tire that I can't fit on the factory width and offset rims, just a matter of preference to some, but I look at the steering specs more critically as I used to align big lifted trucks etc. THe rims can influence the wobble just as much as the coil spacers and bigger tires can.

 

[DPelletier]

Offset aftermarket rims that throw the factory steering geometry out of spec doesn't help either. I have yet to find a tire that I can't fit on the factory width and offset rims, just a matter of preference to some, but I look at the steering specs more critically as I used to align big lifted trucks etc. THe rims can influence the wobble just as much as the coil spacers and bigger tires can.

Good point.



Dave