Upgrading to 18" truck tires

goducks10 wrote:

JIMNLIN wrote:
The LT275/70-18 E is a option for your 2500 Ram.

You upgrade the tires and wheels for more capacity but your 2500 truck is still limited by those small 6200 RAWR spring pack.

RAWR is limited by the tire rating. I have the same springs on my Ram 2500 as you get with 245 or 265 tires. My RAWR is 6000lbs. With 265 it jumps to 6200. Where's the limit? Looks to me like the limit is tire.

My point above was towards the OP '13 2500 Ram ......maybe I didn't word it right.

A GAWR is limited by the lessor of tires/wheels or suspension. In the OP case the rear suspension has the big AAM 11.5" axle.

He is upgrading to the LT275/70-18 E at 3640 lbs tires with matched wheel ratings. The rear spring pack has a 6200 ratings so without rear spring (or bags/etc) upgrades its the limiting component.
If he upgrades the rear spring pack to match the new tires and wheels capacity the truck will have the same load carrying ability as the 3500 SRW.

I've noticed on Fleet Fords website many of the wheels Ford uses has less capacity than the OEM tires capacity ....and in some cases its the spring pack with the lessor rating.

The 265/70-17E are rated for 3,195#, while the 275/70-18E is rated for 3,640# (if I recall the values correctly)

If you do nothing else to the axle or suspension, it is worthwhile to increase the tire capacity. Greater margin of safety.

There are some 285 and 315 Nitto tires that are still 17" that will increase your load capacity a bunch without having to buy new wheels..

B.O.

Thank you all for your input! I will check out the options!

I read recently how 17" tires may be going to be a thing of the past--with 18" tires preferable for trucks. You will still be able to get 17" tires, but just not so many brands and models.

I don't think you could go wrong if you need tires now, and if you can buy wheels for a fair price. There are a number of regional wheel reconditioners online that are buying all sizes and types of wheels from salvage yards.

I bought an 18" very wide wheel for my Lexus IS from a dealer in Atlanta for 1/4th the cost of a new one.

I have a 08 Ram 2500 with 17". I carried a truck camper and needed added rear axle capacity. I went with the 285/70R-17 and could not be happier. If you are going to upgrade the 285s will fit nicely and are not too much taller. They should not affect your speedo too much, just check it with a GPS (I was about 2 mph off, hardly a difference). I like the Nitto Terra Grappler/Toyo Open County A/T for their tread life, traction, and carry capacity (3750 lbs). Just something to think about.

Head over to cumminsforum.com/forum tons of specific info for the Dodge crowd!!

Bamaman1 wrote:
I read recently how 17" tires may be going to be a thing of the past--with 18" tires preferable for trucks. You will still be able to get 17" tires, but just not so many brands and models.

I don't think you could go wrong if you need tires now, and if you can buy wheels for a fair price. There are a number of regional wheel reconditioners online that are buying all sizes and types of wheels from salvage yards.

I bought an 18" very wide wheel for my Lexus IS from a dealer in Atlanta for 1/4th the cost of a new one.

True. There will be less and less demand for 16/17" tires in the future as 18" have quickly become the norm wheel size on all new trucks.

I think 17" will fall to the wayside far quicker than 16".
16s are just too popular with the off road crowd.

I have a 2012 Ram 3500 SWR. Upgraded to 295/70-18. 3.73 rear end. No issues here.

UPDATE: Well I found some new take off 275/70/18E's from a 2015 Ram 2500 for a heck of a price on Craig's list.
I'm going to make the change but I now have another question:
A spare doesn't come in the deal so is it alright to use my current 17" spare? I called a tire dealer and they said it wouldn't be an issue if I didn't run it in 4 wheel drive.
anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks again for the help!!