Big Rig Wheels And Tires
 

anybody out there running 19.5" or 22.5" on there trucks? i run hotshot with my '08 Dodge and i am tired of having to buy tires every 6 months. i like the look of the 22.5 but i have heard that you have to install a leveling kit on the front to keep the turning radius. the other thing i was concerned about was my gear ratio in the rear-end how badly will the taller rims and tires affect my pulling power. i think my truck came with a 3:42 geared rear end. any info would be great. by the way i dont have any mods/programmers yet so that also plays into affect my pulling power if i make the conversion. waiting on the smarty for the 6.7L:w2:

those tires don't have be be any taller than your current tires... they are just lower profile.. if the overall diameter of the tire does not go up more than an inch or so, you shouldn't even notice them. As for the fronts, I know you will need the 8 to 10 lug conversion kit, but again, if you run a low pro 22.5 steer tire, and your truck is 4x4, then I think you will be fine..

just my opinions.

I think your right on the 22.5's and 4x4 not needing leveling kit. And tire height can be the same. But you will be adding quite a bit more weight in wheels and tires. Not sure on difference in weight but I have looked into doing this myself.

i just dont want to lose any pulling power, but i would like the gain of tread wear, and i have heard it can help out with fuel mileage. i was looking at some 22.5x8.25 rims with a 255/75/22.5 goodyear g164 tire i think the height is around 35 or so. if you look at the american force wheel guide, it shows that this setup does not require a lift or leveling kit. but that is what i would say to if i was trying to sell wheels and tires,LOL

what size tire are you running now? whats the overall diameter of them?

i have the stock tires on there now they are a 235/80/17 i believe not exactly sure about the outside diameter i know that on the 17 in. rim i can run up to a 285/70/17 with out a lift. just would have to have spacers for the rear wheels. cuz i had 265/75/16 on my old 01 and i still couldve put a bigger tire. they did rub the inside fender wells a little when i turned but other than that had no problems

I run 19.5's its one of the best things I have ever done for the truck, I am on my second set now and got 115k outa the first set, the reason I switched was for the load rating of 6400 lbs which is about the same as a duely, I have the Rickson direct bolt ups and they are heavy at 172 lbs each but this works great for a towing truck, I also run the 6 speed manual and this combo is excellent because 6th gear is perfect for flat land cruzin and 5th gear is most excellent for mountain passes when towing....I have the 3.55 gearing. my fuel milage runs 20 when empty and 21 on a good day....towing heavy heavy I get 13-14 when grosing 28-30k...........my ride did get rougher with the stiff sidewalls , this coupled up with air bag suspension would be the best combo ever IMHO

i am running the 235/80/R17 which i just looked up has an OD of 31.80 or 32 in.

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yah i know i can definately do the 19.5s but i really like the look of the 22.5. but its not something i cant do without. whitmore is your truck 4x4? i could use the fuel mileage you are getting. course with all the emmisions on my 08 dont help, i am average between 9-10 mpg loaded and 11 with an empty 40 ft flatdeck. ITS KILLING MY PAYCHECK!!!:argh:

the tires are 35 plus tall so as long as ya stay in that range its all good.............yes its 4x4......its against the law to own a 2x4 in Wyoming :w2: heheheheheeee

LOL i hear that, im in east texas, we dont have the mountains but where we lack there we make up for with black gumbo that likes to stick lowridin' dually, i dont buy nothing but 4x4

MYself I would go for anything that requires an adaptor.............go direct bolt up.............IMHO

you mean you would not go for the adaptors? cuz the 19.5 are an 8 lug direct bolt up correct?

that is correct.direct bolt up

No I wouldnt do adaptors at all but thats just me, I dont trust shit like that

i understand ya on that. it makes sense too.:humm:

the 19.5 direct bolt ups will give ya the same thing in the end ................you wont be sorry

also all truck stops handle the 19.5's shit man thats why they were created for semi trailers and tag axles

Cool, you have me convinced. plus i can keep my inner fender wells. LOL.

I paid 2600 the first time for the tires and wheels shipped to my door but it has been well worth it and in you case with the haul biz I would consider this to be one of the safest upgrades you could do to protect your load and yourself and also I consider it to be a wise and profitable economical decesion

yah absolutely. not having to buy tires every 30-40000 miles will be nice, hey do you have the alcoa rims or are they the american force. and what is the width on them. i found a pic of a truck with the american force 19.5s and some 265/75 goodyear G164 that is just bad ass looking :rocking:

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http://www.chromewheel.com/gallerypages/2003ram3500.htm check this pic out.

I have the all steel rims and the Goodyear tires G124......I have a pic here

man that is nice, im gonna need new tires in about a month or two max. so that is definately the way i am gonna go. i like the tires too, they got a nice tread pattern. do those hold up on the highway just like other commercial tires?

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do you have a recommendation on where to buy the rims and tires?

the only place I am aware of is http://www.ricksontruck.com/

if I were you I would head more to a highway tread if possible...fits yer application better I think

My first set of tires was the yOKAHAMA ty 303 AND THEY WERE VERY GOOD TO ME.......THOSE WOULD PROLLY BE YER BEST BET FOR HOT SHOTIN

sorry caps lock got me

no prob thanks for the info

the 225/70/19.5 should be close to the same height as stock tires around 32 inches. the bigger the tire over stock the more your truck will lug, so it would be harder to pull the bigger tires, dont know how much weight ur pulling but my dodge pulls 40,000 through the small hills better with 215's than 235's

you have a manual or auto tranny .........makes a big diff

the 225/70/19.5 tire should be about the same height as your stock tires which will keep the pulling power close to what u have now, I now mine seems to pull better with 215's than 235's just my personal experience

i have a 6 spd manual tranny.

excellent........I wouldnt hessitate going to a 35-36 inch tire............this will work great for ya

interstate travel at 75 you will need the mph to keep yer rpm up.......I think I run 1900 at 75 mph.........jam er into 5th and there aint a hill around ya cant take

hell yah, she does good stock loaded down with 20,000 lbs of thick wall pipe as is. so i will go nuts. to get them big wheels on there. :tttt:

I am running 22.5's on my truck and it is by far the best thing I have ever done. I have a 6 speed manual and the gearing is now perfect.
Couple things to consider if you do 22.5's Rubbing isn't a issue in the front. But it is in the rear. Air bags took care of that problum.
Front adaptors get from arrow craft incase you ever want to put in a dyna trac free spin kit.
I went all aluminum rims saves a lot of weight. But the adaptors need longer studs. no big deal they are at every truck shop and they are cheap.
I was going threw 6 tires every 18 to 20K. I have about 50K on the 22.5's and the way they look 200K should be easily possible.

I think they look totaly badass. When i get a diesel I am goin to put 22.5 on it.

Hummins Cummins. my question is what do you pull with your truck? i like what you are sayingbut i hot shot for a living and i cant sacrifice the gear ratio in the rear end for the bigger wheels. that is my biggest concern. i pull a 40 ft flatbed that is usually loaded down with 20K lbs. of thick walled pipe. gotta make sure she will get me where i need to go. i am planning on doing some mods in the future but i got to get some funding together first.

I have a 7X32 livestock trailer
I also have a 36ft flatbed with tripple 10K
and a 450 bushel gooseneck grain trailer that when loaded is around 44K gross.
The picture below is with my old 34 ft flatbed. And the picture below that is what a redneck does when it starts hailing and will do anything to keep from getting hail dents!!! You can LOL but it worked!!

man that is a good looking truck. i hear ya about the hail dents man. so the truck pulls pretty good with the big rims on it? i mean abviously if you are hauling 44K lbs.

Power has never been a problum I am in ND and have no problum holding 75 in 6th gear over any hills.
I just put the Twin turbos on and it is just crazy how hard it will pull. I pull with all my tuners on their lowest levels Smarty on 3 and TST on 1/1 (timeing only)

My truck came with 3.73 gears and I don't know if you know but the G56 OD gear was really low. Basicaly it made the truck feel like it had 4.10's I hated the truck running 80 I would feel guilty just for running the engine so hard and the fuel milage :argh:
I believe in early 07 Dodge changed the G56 6th gear OD to lower the RPMS. So I believe that along with your 3.42 gears the 22.5's you might be giving up some towing capacity :humm:
If I remember corectly I lost 400 RPM at 80 went from 2550 to 2150
You might be better off with the 19.5's if your RPM'S are already low 19.5 look nice too :U:

yah that is prolly the way i am gonna go. cuz your right at 75 with the stock tires i am barely over 2000 rpm's

Final stats
 

Raptr85

Love the look of the new rims and tires. I have an '05 Dodge 3500 dually 4x4. Look'n for ideas of what to put on it. What did you finally put on yours? I couldn't find the info on what you finally went with. Good job, looks great!

Chris

I got a 07 mega cab 5.9 6speed 4x4 DRW and I am running 285/70./17's Nitto Dura Grapplers on stock rims with a spacer in the rear and at 75 mph my RPMs are at 2200... Would I be better off getting 19.5's or 22.5's? I pull a 28 foot with 5 foot dovetail normally around 30K I already got Air ride Susp. Trying to decide on what would be better for my truck. Plus I love the look :c: