Looking at Rickson Alum. wheels

[Posm]

I spent a frustrating morning looking for load range E tires in 265, 275 or 285/ 17". The selection is very slim. I found the two stock choices of Michelin A/S and the BFG Rugged Trail T/A. I have owned both tires and have found them to have very poor wet traction after 20 to 30K miles. I am currently running the BFG TA ko in 285/70/17 load range D. The side wall is not stiff enough for good stability if you carry loads over 1000 LBS either in the bed or on the hitch. I would love to have the Michelin M/S tires. I have owned three sets of them and get about 60K out of them and they have good wet traction.



This leads me to Rickson tires/wheels. I am looking at their Forged wheels and 225 tires. I am looking at the forged wheels to save weight and Would like to have the 225 tires to stay close to my 285s in Revs per mile. I hate to shell out over $3. 1K, but I will not drive around with an unsafe tire wheel combination.



Does anybody have experience with the Forged wheels?



Can you give me advice on the tire selection. I am leaning towards the Michelin XDE-MS or the Yokohama TY-303. Do these tires ride and wear well? Are they Noisy?



If you have 19. 5 wheels and tires, would you buy them again? Why or Why not.

 

[JCL]

Check out this site. www.BrentzWheels.com these guys are great.

 

[JRMora]

I spent a frustrating morning looking for load range E tires in 265, 275 or 285/ 17". The selection is very slim.

I know how you feel. If you think that selection is bad, I am currently trying to get new tires for my dually (235/80/17)now that all six are cracking at the sidewall!



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At this point I am going to get some Generals so I can start saving my pennies for a set of 19. 5's



Good luck on your search.



Juan

 

[SRadke]

I've had a set of 285/19. 5's since October. They sitting in the shed. It seems getting a set of 19. 5" wheels with the stock offset is like pulling teeth



-Scott

 

[Posm]

Do the Brentz wheels fit on SRW too or DRW only?



Juan

Michelin has now launched their M/S in a dually tire. I think the size is 235/80/17E. If I could fit this tire on my rims, I would buy them tomorrow.





SRadke

That is one wide tire. The tire width will have more to do with the protrusion than the difference in offset. That tire is as wide as a 315/17 and those people are having problems with the tires stick out too.





Thanks for your help





keep the advice coming

 

[JCL]

They do both single and dual wheel applications.

 

[DHayden]

Brentz is speeeendy. They run as much just for the rims as Rickson does with rims AND tires. Brentz and Rickson run 2 inner steel wheels unless you specify differently but then your still going to be paying alot extra.



Rickson also supplies the inner steel's to Brentz. JMO but Dually Designs seems to be the best value for rim's, it's still cheaper even with having to buy an adaptor and you get 6 alluminum wheels, plus you will be able to get a 19. 5 wheel just about anywhere in an emergency if you have to. Just a thought you may be interested in.

 

[jackcaptjr]

I have had 19. 5s since 1999. 3500 but with the steel wheels. liked them so much I put the origional wheels back on when I sold it and now have them on an 04. Origional set up came from Rickson with Mich AXV?????? Nice tires, 110K but real poor wet performance. I meen real poor... ... ... ... 12K trailer with 1K toung weight and the rear sliding around at 65mph constant speed. Switched over to a set of Goodyears and all is fine. They don't look quite as good but run very nice.

 

[SRadke]

285's are only 11 inches wide compared to about 12. 5 inches for a 315...



-Scott

 

[JRMora]

Juan

Michelin has now launched their M/S in a dually tire. I think the size is 235/80/17E. If I could fit this tire on my rims, I would buy them tomorrow.

Yeah, They are on their website, but every tire dealer in town hear's the same story - "they'll be available some time this summer". Same thing with Firestone (though I probably wouldn't ever do that again! - can you say Wilderness AT?)



Anyway, I need tires, I don't want to spend a huge amount of money, so I'm getting General AmeriTrac TR's. At $125 a pop, they are considerably cheaper than anything else locally available in this size. I'm gonna get them for less than a prorated (adjusted) Goodyear GSA (about $135/tire after adjustment) and I get Road Hazard & lifetime balance and rotate. plus a 50,000 mile tread warranty.



BTW, all 6 of my Goodyears are failing on the sidewall - cracking all the way around. They only have 32,000 miles on them - there's enough tread for another 15,000 miles.



Next time around I'll be looking at 19. 5", but 7 would have cost me over 3 grand for STEEL! Yeesh, these trucks can be expensive!



Juan

 

[Hoagie]

I spent a frustrating morning looking for load range E tires in 265, 275 or 285/ 17". The selection is very slim. I found the two stock choices of Michelin A/S and the BFG Rugged Trail T/A. I have owned both tires and have found them to have very poor wet traction after 20 to 30K miles. I am currently running the BFG TA ko in 285/70/17 load range D. The side wall is not stiff enough for good stability if you carry loads over 1000 LBS either in the bed or on the hitch. I would love to have the Michelin M/S tires. I have owned three sets of them and get about 60K out of them and they have good wet traction.



This leads me to Rickson tires/wheels. I am looking at their Forged wheels and 225 tires. I am looking at the forged wheels to save weight and Would like to have the 225 tires to stay close to my 285s in Revs per mile. I hate to shell out over $3. 1K, but I will not drive around with an unsafe tire wheel combination.



Does anybody have experience with the Forged wheels?



Can you give me advice on the tire selection. I am leaning towards the Michelin XDE-MS or the Yokohama TY-303. Do these tires ride and wear well? Are they Noisy?



If you have 19. 5 wheels and tires, would you buy them again? Why or Why not.

I recently purchased the forged Eliminator from Rickson. They are very nice. So far I have only about 1000 miles on them and I am very pleased with the ride and the looks. I actually picked mine up at the Rickson facility near Baltimore MD. I tracked my miles there 85 and miles returning 80. 5 so I know that mile speedo is off a little(approx. 5. 5%) My overhead console showed no difference for mpg-about 19. 4. This is not a scientific fillup and calculate method yet it showed that the tires didn't cause a significant observable mileage change on the same road going both ways. I took my bathroom scale with me and weighed my old E rated tire/chrome factory wheel combo at 92 pounds and the Rickson Eliminator with Continental HDR 245/70/19. 5 G rated weighed 108 pounds. Photos are available on Rickson site under User rigs and Dodge. Mine is in the lower left thumbnail with several shots from different angles http://www.ricksontruck.com/customers/91/ . The service was exceptional.

Hoagie

 

[Posm]

Thanks Hoagie



That is great info. It looks like there is about 10 LBS difference in a 225 and a 245. I am looking at going with the 225 in an "F" rated tire. I do not greatly overload and would like the lighter ride while empty. I drive about 60K each year with 15,000 of those mile loaded. My main concern is tread life and wet traction. Hoagie, can you tell me why you chose the Continental, and why the 245 over the 225? Rickson recommends the 225 in all of the written statements on there site because of stock ride hight and lower weight, but 85% of the photos have trucks with the 245????



By the way, you can go down to a competent dealer and they can reset your speedo to 628 Revs per mile.

 

[Hoagie]

I do not overload either. I liked the tread pattern of the Continental. It looked similar to the tread pattern on the continentals I have on my Chrysler which were very quiet on the highway. I am pleased with the sound. Not noticeable with the windows up and when they are down the noise goes down as the speed goes up. I have a 750 lb plow I hang on the front in winter and wanted the higher weight rating for that purpose. I have noticed no problems with wet weather. I will reprogram when I go in for the next oil change/service-thanks. The 245's were about an inch taller thus improving the look a little IMHO and with the 3. 73 I still have power and the cruse rpms are now in the 1600-1900 range right were the torque is good .

Hoagie

 

[Posm]

I have about decided to go with the Rickson forged wheels. I am a little iffy on what tire to go with. I lean toward the Michelins, but everyone says they howl a lot. I also am a little concerned with service. I wanted a quote from Rickson after talking with them and e-mailed them my specs on Tuesday morning. After 48 hours the still have not replied?????.



Thanks for any input on the tires. Dan was very high on Hankook tires. He says they wear good, are quite and have great wet traction. Anyone have any experience with Hankooks?



Thanks



Bryan

 

[Cattletrkr]

Count me in as one who says, THE MICHELINS ARE NOISEY!!!!!!!!!!!. That's not to say they are a bad tire. They ABSOLUTELY ROCK on snow and ice. But 15K of towing into it, they still howl like mad. They are the loudest aspect of my truck. I wish I only needed four rims, you guys can get 4 al's for what I paid for 6 steels.



If you have loud exhaust, go with the XDE's, they look awesome and winter traction ROCKS(yeah I know I said that already). I'll probably go with Continentals next time. They're M/S rated, cheaper, and I won't make the mistake of getting them in the 16ply version like I did with the XDE's.



If I had the $$$, I'd be running the Eliminators. I love the looks, and the weight savings alone might almost be worth it.

 

[Posm]

Cattletrkr

I have about decided to not go with the Michelins. I have been a big fan, but hear too many people say they are very noisy. I do not have snow and ice to contend with, but we do get multi-inch downpours. For this reason I want something with superb wet traction. Dan at Rickson recommends the Michelin, a new Yokohama, and a Hankook tire. He raves about his personal experience with the Hankook tire. I will try to decide by tomorrow wheather to go with Yokahama or the Hankook.



Still needing feedback.

 

[Posm]

Well

I took the plunge. I am now $3K lighter. I ordered the Rickson forged aluminum wheels with the Hankook 245/70/19. 5 G tires. I am not familiar with the Hankooks, but Dan at Rickson has them on his personal truck and says they are great.

The final straw was the call to the dealer concerning the 285/70/17D BFG TA ko tires. I thought the were lasting a lot better than they actually are. They are only 7 months old and have about 36K on them . In the last week the have developed a bounce. I believe they have a broken belt. I can not stand to shell out $800. 00 twice a year for a tire that is less than optimum to begin with. The tires have rode good and worn evenly up to now. I would guess that the tread should go to 45K if you can stand the bounce.

 

[Hoagie]

You will enjoy!

Posm,

I think you will be well pleased and enjoy them! Be patient and wait for them to come in like ordering a new truck. It seems to take forever when you order them-a can't wait anticiption you know

Hoagie

 

[Posm]

They told me it would be about two weeks. They have the wheels, they just need to get the tires and do the balancing. Itsounds like they are pretty backed up on the shop floor. How good are they at predicting delivery dates? What are people doing for spares?

 

[Hoagie]

I am planning on using the factory spare. The larger diameter tire makes it difficult to put a spare big tire under there. There were several posts on how to do it without having the tire interfere with the pumpkin.

The factory spare will cause a slightly out of level for a while till I can get the big one fixed, I just rotate the ones on the truck. I know some are buying a spare and including it in their rotation.

They were pretty good about their time schedule. They take in shipments of tires and then match mount them to make sure everything is round and this makes it ride nice. I saw the tires they were rejecting and sending back to the manufacturer(for use on big rig type trailers).

Hoagie