UPGRADE from LT225/75R16 D Rating

tatest wrote:
You can find Load Range G tires with nearly the same diameter in 17.5 inch sizes, 215/75R17.5 specifically. These are not LT, they are commercial grade high mileage tires, usually designed for retreading. Rickson wheels has 17.5 inch steel wheel for this conversion on the E-series vans; I'm not sure who might have them for Chevrolet, this wheel size was used on the Kodiak/TopKick, but not on the vans.

The Kodiak actually used 19.5s, the 17.5 is a bit of an oddball size used mostly on some of the Japanese cabover trucks. Most of them now use 19.5s. According to Rickson's website they don't yet make the 17.5 wheels for the GM but will soon.

The posters who stated that upgrading your tires won't increase your overall capacity are completely correct. However, especially with the larger E450 and 4500 Express rigs, when at full load the rear tires are very close to their max capacity. Also, the wheel wells are pretty tight, which limits the amount of air circulation to keep the tires cool. Switching to the best tire you can find, whether you invest in the 17.5 wheels or not will go a long ways toward preventing tire trouble on the road.

For LT225/75R16 the highest load rating you will find is E. Higher ratings put a tire outside the LT classification. My preference for quality tires in that size and class is for Bridgestone Duravis R250 or Michelin XPS.

I bought XPS Rib tires for my C in that size because they are easier to get.

Where I live,rather than stocking the top grade Bridgestones, the Bridgestone/Firestone dealers more often carry the Firestone Transforce line for their commercial customers, HT tread for highway users, AT for ranchers. Transforce HT is equivalent to Goodyear's Wrangler HT or Michelin's BF Goodrich Commercial T/A.

Don't know about alternative sizes for the Chevy. For E-350/E-450 dually, the alternative that fits on the rear is LT215/85R16, available in LR E, but that has the same carrying capacity as the 225/75.

You can find Load Range G tires with nearly the same diameter in 17.5 inch sizes, 215/75R17.5 specifically. These are not LT, they are commercial grade high mileage tires, usually designed for retreading. Rickson wheels has 17.5 inch steel wheel for this conversion on the E-series vans; I'm not sure who might have them for Chevrolet, this wheel size was used on the Kodiak/TopKick, but not on the vans.

Note that upgrading from LT to Commercial tires has a heavy price. In the above size, expect to pay around $400 per tire for Yokohama (RY-103) or Michelin (XZE2), around $500 for Goodyear (G-114) or $600 for Bridgestone (R250). In high quality LT tires, the XPS Rib is about $250, Duravis R250 about $220, and in OEM grade LT tires, the Michelin LTX M/S2 is under $200, Wrangler HT or Transforce HT about $140-150 per tire.

But, it could give him a Safety Reserve and not have the tires be the "weak link".

Probably a good idea, as you never want the weak link to be something that can cause the damage a blowout can cause.

I can't help you with a suggestion on tires, but would point out that unless you're beefing up everything else, springs, axles, shocks etc., higher capacity tires really don't help you very much.