rickson 19.5's

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Does anyone have the rickson 19. 5's on their 2500? I'm considering them but am worried that with a 3. 54 rear end and an auto transmission that I'm asking for trouble. I don't tow that much. Twice a year a 7500lb boat from it's slip to the house 22 miles away. Acceleration is relativly slow as it is. I'm concerned I'll be lugging the engine too much. Any thoughts and what kind of mileage can I expect from commercial tires?

 

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Originally posted by JJP:
Does anyone have the rickson 19. 5's on their 2500? I'm considering them but am worried that with a 3. 54 rear end and an auto transmission that I'm asking for trouble. ...

I put 'em on my '98 3. 54 auto. Specifically, I put 225/70 Yokohama TY303s on. They are about 8% bigger
around. I rarely haul (usually 1-2 tons of horse dung), but when I do, the Yokos are up to the task. Empty, the ride is softer (the tires seem to absorb the highest frequencies of jolts), but firmer (stiffer sidewalls), and steering control is better.

I lost an embarrassing amount of rubber due to atrocious alignment, but I still expect to get at least 100K miles out of the tires. The Yokos aren't as quiet as I might like them to be, but I can now hear the engine at highway speeds.

I run 75 PSI front and 65 PSI rear. The fronts seem to have full tread contact. 65 PSI is a tad much for the rear; I really should drop it to 55 or 60 - the outer edge of the rear tires don't make much contact with the road.

I adjusted the speedo/odo to read 1. 5% over true; I expect that when the tires are worn out, the readings will be 1. 5% under true - on average, the odo will be dead on. The speedo is not very accurate or linear, so I opted to make the odo accurate.

At 70MPH, the tach dropped from about 2000 to around 1850 in OD. Unladen, the truck has no problem with most grades. It does slow down on the steep grades on I-64 in West-by-God-Virginia near VA; I don't quite have to take it out of OD. However, if I do, I can easily maintain 55-60 in direct, running at 2600-2800 RPM. Generally, if I hit the hill doing 85, the boost stays up and I don't slow down much at all.

Fuel economy? Hard to tell if there's any difference. Typically I've been getting 17 MPG on the highway, running 75-80, though I'll lose perhaps 2 MPG if I'm running into a strong headwind. However, I just drove back from Hell and kept the speed down to 70; I got 19. 2 MPG, something I haven't seen since the truck was new!
So, fuel economy didn't really change with the larger, yet heavier, tires.

Next, Dan and his sidekick are good guys to wirk with. They're quietly competent, uncomplaining and got the job done right the first time.

And the last point, my truck looks much more 'manly' with the larger tires, lower profile and big grey wheels. (I never have liked wheel covers; the stock hub caps look fine to me... . ) Of course, any passengers I had complained about the large step into the 4x4; it's now an inch higher, and the few passengers are more vociferous. I may have to install that electric hide-away step just to silence them. (The grand leap up into the truck helps keep me young, so I rather like the extra height!)

As an aside, the tread width on my 225/70s is the same as the 265/70/17s on my brother's new F150. I didn't really want a wider tire, just taller, and that's pretty much what I got.

In all, if you stick with around 8% difference in circumference, you'll be quite happy with 19. 5s.

GAAAAAASP Geez. I must've forgotten to inhale. #ad


Fest3er

 

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Fest3er, Thanks for the info.

 

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Hey JJP,
Check out the Product Review section on this site. Rob has a 3:54 and installed the Rickson's on his dually. A nice review...

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2000, 3500 Driftwood, 4X4, Quad Cab, SLT+ Laramie, Tan Leather, 6 Speed, 3. 54LSD, Tow Package, Camper Package, All Possible Options, Rancho RS 9000 Shocks, Linex Bed Liner, K&N Air Filter, Husky Floor Mats, Geno's Smoothie, Chrome "Down and Out" Exhaust, Stainless Steel Fender Trim Kit, Geno's Charcoal Air Filter, Mopar Bug Deflector, Whisler Radar Detector, AirLift 5000 Air Bags, Smittybuilt Polished Stainless Steel Nerf Bars, Sylvania Cool Blue Headlights, Pro Flaps, 1999 Lance Fiberglas 1010 Legend, TV, VCR, Air, generator, max'ed out all possible options, sleeps 5. Ya Baby!

 

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I've got the Rickson/Goodyear combo on my 3. 54'd auto----your transmission's plenty tough enough to stand between your Cummins and (effectively) a 3. 23 rear (the G159 unisteels are almost exactly a 10% overdrive) --As an added "plus", mine have been on for about 23,000 miles, and still look new. I was expecting about 100K on the first layer of rubber (regroovable!! #ad
) but may get more, as they seem to have undergone zero wear. ---also your Cummins is plenty b*llsey enough to pull a 7,000 truck and occasional 14k gcw with overdrive and 3. 23's----if you've got the $2500+ to do the initial purchase (get a set of 5) do it--you'll be happy as a clam

 

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RichM,
What year is your rig? Did you purchase 5 tires? What size were they? Did the extra fit in the stock Spare Tire holder? Thanks Buddy and congrads on the smart buy #ad
.....

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2000, 3500 Driftwood, 4X4, Quad Cab, SLT+ Laramie, Tan Leather, 6 Speed, 3. 54LSD, Tow Package, Camper Package, All Possible Options, Rancho RS 9000 Shocks, Linex Bed Liner, K&N Air Filter, Husky Floor Mats, Geno's Smoothie, Chrome "Down and Out" Exhaust, Stainless Steel Fender Trim Kit, Geno's Charcoal Air Filter, Mopar Bug Deflector, Whisler Radar Detector, AirLift 5000 Air Bags, Smittybuilt Polished Stainless Steel Nerf Bars, Sylvania Cool Blue Headlights, Pro Flaps, 1999 Lance Fiberglas 1010 Legend, TV, VCR, Air, generator, max'ed out all possible options, sleeps 5. Ya Baby! #ad
#ad
#ad


[This message has been edited by Bad Brad (edited 06-30-2000). ]

 

[Archive]

howdy Bad Brad---see signature for the tires, but here's the #ad
#ad
story... buddy of mine had an OEM tire thrash the crap out of a 1/4-panel when it shelled out @80mph---got the body re-done, and bought the Ricksons. (powder-coat black w/blackwall tires/use the OEM "ram cereal bowl" chrome centercaps and makes'em look like real big cop-car tires #ad
)----his wife got tired of him spending BOMB bucks on his 97, so he pulled the tires (yup a setta 5 all right) and sold'em to me. I got a mild discount from him @ $2500. I love these tires/wheels!!
--they come shipped fully ready to bolt on. The Rickson people check for "round", "true", and balance them accordingly... this set of 5 was distilled from a choosing batch of 9---that's right, they rejected and returned 4 out of 9 to make a nice set of 5. --they use the same balance techique that the tire guys at the car companies use on the ass'y line. ever notice the lack of "showroom" ride quality when you buy a set of rubber from a regular tire store? that balancing is "adequate" but quick, to get your vehicle out of the service bay, and the next one in... the Rickson balancing is "showroom" quality on a better than OEM tire... . I'm not paid by Rickson, and I don't get any "freebies" from them. these are damn good round black things, and well worth the initial outlay.

now the technicals:
OEM tire (w38K wear) was 14. 5" from pavement to axle-center, and about 30. 5 or 31 tall overall... (bottom-squish makes the lower1/2 of the tire shorter than the upper half)

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98 12-valve qc2500(made in Canada,eh) 4x4/kill-switch, K&N,silencer ring hanging in garage,600amp quick-connect jumper cables, 4"straight-thru 5" chrome slant-cut outlet angled out fwd of rear wheel,PrimeLoc,Warn Front receiver,100Watt offroad lights, 19. 5"Ricksons w/Goodyear Unisteel 159 tires, camper shell, Westin step-rail/nerf bars, diamond-plate rail caps, bedliner,12-V weatherproof outlet hidden inside rear 1/4-panel, B&M remote trans fluid filter on framerail near t-case,whole BD setup(except torque converter) (valvebody,Torqloc,injectors,#5plate,Isspro trans,exhaust temps,and boostguage,exh. brake(60lb)))aux backup lites, ported airbox, 3 snide bumperstickers, Tazmanian Devil mudflaps and floormats--"%$*#)%$^#"-(translation:"TAZ LIKE DIESEL")

 

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---ooops! wrong key!! #ad

---Ricksons are 16" from pavement to hub-center, for an almost exact 10% "overdrive" compared to the 14. 5 figure for the OEM michelins
the Unisteels have the belts in the tread, as you would expect, but also have steel fabric up both sidewalls, giving a 7,000lb truck excellent lateral stiffness on fast curves
will fit the stock spare hanger location just barely, and rubbed the last bend of exhaust tubing #ad
(before installation of the Obnoxotube exhaust non-system #ad
)--see signature again for that detail

if yer gonna do the install yourself, wear a weight belt, or just get scott1 to do it... this was a 600lb #ad
order when the UPS guy brought them to Kurt's house, and when I subsequently took them to my own #ad

 

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How tall are the tires? Are they comparable to 34 or 35 inches? How wide are the wheels? How wide are your tires? What is the biggest tire that you can stick on these wheels and still get them into our Ram wheelwells? Sorry for all of the simple questions, but the Rickson website is almost completely content free.
Thanks

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2001 4x4 High Output 6-Speed, Driftwood, JRE 4" Exhaust, Van Aakan Box, Leer High Rise Camper, Custom front and rear bumpers, truly offensive bumper stickers, more to come soon...

 

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I put a set of them on my '96 3500 4x2 about three weeks ago. I got the General LMT-400's, which were take-off tires from the Ford F550 that Rickson was doing a 22. 5 package for, so I saved about $300 off buying the same tires new.

Now I'm having problems that aren't the fault of the new wheels/tires, but are much more apparent with them.

Once they heat cycled and the tread squirm went away, I noticed the steering wander was really, really bad. Using tips from this forum, I did the first adjustment from the TSB. That helped cure most of it, along with a new steering damper. I haven't gone into the steering box yet to do the rest of the TSB, because I'm goign to see about putting a tigher-ratio box from a 1500 on the truck first.

But at any rate, there's a very pronounced pull to the right. It was there before the new wheels, just not as bad. I had the truck aligned, and everything is within spec, yet it still pulls no matter what. I only have 45k miles on the truck, so my thoughts about the balljoints or tierods being worn out probably aren't valid. Still, I'm debating replacing them and the pitman arm just to see.

As for the wheels/tires themselves, the ride is better except on very bumpy roads. I think this is because the Bilstein shocks I have on the truck don't have enough rebound damping. I may go to the Ranch RS9000's, but I don't think it'll be in the budget before I make my trip to Colorado in mid-August.

I'm also running 75/65 pressures, and agree that the rear could probably go a little lower. However, I carry a Lance model 1030 truck camper, and 65 seems perfect with it back there and my air springs set to 50 psi. It's way too much work to remove the simulators to do tire pressures, so I'll leave 'em alone.

Rob

 

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Mornin' Hill Country Ram---sure 2 weeks is punctual--- the overall height of my tires is 32&1/4" tread is 8" (5 big ribs, separated by 1/4" cuts) and the wheels are 19. 5x6. 75---Wheel rating (per DOT stamp imprinted in rim 3500lb tire rated higher-like 4500@90psi)
For the other questions,like max tire size on that wheel and max wheel size on unlifted (i presume) truck, call Rickson or email them... in this amount of time you may have, already---- if you want to see what my tires look like, go scope out a UPS truck, then imagine that tire on plain black (like a cop-car) ---rich

 

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Greetings!

Thinking about Ricksons when the stock rubber goes.

It's good to hear all of this positive stuff about this product. I've got a question about speedo adjustments. Rickson offers some kind of electronic pulse adjuster (or something like that). Is that what you guys did? If not, what is the trick?

Also, when it comes time that the Ricksons tread is gone, what is the procedure for re-treading or re-grooving?

Was planning to take the road trip to Sparks, MD and have them mount them for me at the shop. What did anybody else do? Actually, I'll probably go down this summer, before the stock rubber is needing replacement, so I can get an idea what options I have.

Thanks in advance for the answers!

Eric




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Eric Schultz
2000 RAM 2500 w/Cummins
QuadCab SLT Plus
Medium Bronze Pearl Coat
Stainless SmittyBilt Nerf Bars, flaps, X-Tang tonneau cover & Rhino bed liner

 

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Originally posted by Eric Schultz:
It's good to hear all of this positive stuff about this product. I've got a question about speedo adjustments. Rickson offers some kind of electronic pulse adjuster (or something like that). Is that what you guys did? If not, what is the trick? ... Was planning to take the road trip to Sparks, MD and have them mount them for me at the shop. What did anybody else do? Actually, I'll probably go down this summer, before the stock rubber is needing replacement, so I can get an idea what options I have.

We're still trying to figure out the best way/place to adjust the speedo/odo. Abbott says only one lead from the sensor needs to be adjusted, but, elctrically, both should be adjusted. Dan should be sending me another EPRA to put on the other lead so I can see if the pair of them correct the speedo/odo without interfering with the ABS *. However, I have never had the ABS engage unexpectedly at greater than ~10 MPH. Usually it happens in the last 20 feet or so when stopping; I've learned to leave enough room so I can stop safely whether the ABS kicks on or not. Most folks have never noticed anything weird happening.

Give them a heads-up. I think they'll happily show you what they do and explain why they do it. They showed me just about everything when I stopped in to get my tires mounted, matched and balanced. And because they wanted pictures of my grey beast, grey wheels and Yoko tires, they scrubbed 50K miles of rusty brake dust off my my nasty-looking center caps. They will also send you a nice packet containing lots of info so you can order what you want; your options are many.

Fest3er


* Both leads from the speed sensor in the axle need to be adjusted because the CAB needs to see a simple, sinusoidal waveform; it essentially pays no attention to the amplitude of the signal - only the frequency. Correcting only one lead presents a complex waveform to the CAB; this signal can, and often does, have a area of apparent, sudden frequency change at around 10-5 MPH, causing the ABS system to engage. See http://user. mc.net/epra/epra.html for some pictures illustrating the problem.