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dave17352's avatar
dave17352
Explorer II
Aug 26, 2013

Bigger tires on a 2011 Chevy 3500 srw?

My 2011 3500 SRW comes with 265/70/r18 tires stock. I am looking to possible change to a Terra Grapler 295/70/r18. The diameter change will be from 32.7 to 34.41 inches 1.71 inches larger. The tires have a huge load capacity of 4080 pounds. My stock tires have a 3525 capacity which is healthy also. I am checking into this because with my truck camper and boat in tow I will be a couple hundred pounds over my tire weight rating on the rear. I have read reviews on this tire and all around are pretty good.

My questions are

Has anybody else put these on the same truck. If so how did they fit? Do you have to level the font end.

Do you think the tires overall diameter would change the handling much of my truck.

Do you think it will effect the drive train, tranny and if so how much.

I did talk to the dealership they said a larger diameter tire could effect warrantee on drive train but can't really see where it would effect transmission. I am actually more interested in the facts. Like is this going to be harmful to my truck in any way?

Just something I am thinking about and curious what you all think.



Thanks
Truck Campers

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  • dave17352's avatar
    dave17352
    Explorer II
    Aug 26, 2013
    DWeikert wrote:
    dave17352 wrote:
    trail-explorer wrote:
    Affecting the final drive ratio would be a big negative for me because I am so used to, and LOVE, the power my truck has now.

    As mentioned before, that big of a tire may not fit the front.

    Aside from that, and making the Speedo inaccurate, everything else should be fine


    That is interesting. So you folks think it would be a big noticeable difference in the power. I am a very conservative driver, seldom do I put my foot down hard. Will it really be that bad?

    In my case, I went from a 30.5" diameter to 31.7" and I didn't notice any power hit. But I have the Duramax/Allison. If you have the gasser it may be a different story.


    I have the D/A I sure wish someone could find out what the 2011 18 forged aluminum wheels were rated for!
  • DWeikert's avatar
    DWeikert
    Explorer II
    Aug 26, 2013
    dave17352 wrote:
    trail-explorer wrote:
    Affecting the final drive ratio would be a big negative for me because I am so used to, and LOVE, the power my truck has now.

    As mentioned before, that big of a tire may not fit the front.

    Aside from that, and making the Speedo inaccurate, everything else should be fine


    That is interesting. So you folks think it would be a big noticeable difference in the power. I am a very conservative driver, seldom do I put my foot down hard. Will it really be that bad?

    In my case, I went from a 30.5" diameter to 31.7" and I didn't notice any power hit. But I have the Duramax/Allison. If you have the gasser it may be a different story.
  • Bedlam's avatar
    Bedlam
    Moderator
    Aug 26, 2013
    I went up 6% in size from my original 17" rims when I went 18" and did not feel a difference with a 11K+ lb TH in tow (even across the Rockies). When I went to 19.5 rims, the diameter didn't change. However I now haul 4K lbs of TC and 7K lbs of trailer which results in same GCW I had in the past.
  • dave17352's avatar
    dave17352
    Explorer II
    Aug 26, 2013
    trail-explorer wrote:
    Affecting the final drive ratio would be a big negative for me because I am so used to, and LOVE, the power my truck has now.

    As mentioned before, that big of a tire may not fit the front.

    Aside from that, and making the Speedo inaccurate, everything else should be fine


    That is interesting. So you folks think it would be a big noticeable difference in the power. I am a very conservative driver, seldom do I put my foot down hard. Will it really be that bad?
  • dave17352's avatar
    dave17352
    Explorer II
    Aug 26, 2013
    Bedlam wrote:
    As the others have posted, your wheel openings may be too small for those tires without giving your truck a lift or modifying the wheel wells.

    Are you sure your rims are rated sufficiently to handle the weight you plan to carry? I ended up going to the 19.5" rims and tires to ensure I had a good margin on my capacities.


    I have done some research on this. There are some others that have done this, without a problem. But they have lifted the front end 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Also if you google "norcal fender mod", he has a easy mod that cures any rubbing problems. Looks pretty simple.

    As far as the rims go they are forged aluminum. They should be pretty strong. Some time ago I posted a thread on what they could carry and no one was sure. Nobody could come up with facts. I even had a tire removed and found all the numbers on the rim. They may be in code but nobody could figure it out. Many though believed they should easily carry more. My tire dealer who is friend and runs a pretty good size shop also believes the rims are more than adequate. All that being said no one was able to find ratings on these rims.

    Point is I am looking to upgrade the tires to have more safety margin,
    Like I said fully loaded now I maybe a couple hundred pounds over. That won't change whether or not a get different tires.
  • trail-explorer's avatar
    trail-explorer
    Explorer
    Aug 26, 2013
    Affecting the final drive ratio would be a big negative for me because I am so used to, and LOVE, the power my truck has now.

    As mentioned before, that big of a tire may not fit the front.

    Aside from that, and making the Speedo inaccurate, everything else should be fine
  • Bedlam's avatar
    Bedlam
    Moderator
    Aug 26, 2013
    As the others have posted, your wheel openings may be too small for those tires without giving your truck a lift or modifying the wheel wells.

    Are you sure your rims are rated sufficiently to handle the weight you plan to carry? I ended up going to the 19.5" rims and tires to ensure I had a good margin on my capacities.
  • DWeikert's avatar
    DWeikert
    Explorer II
    Aug 26, 2013
    Might want to check some of the Chevy forums. Dieselplace is one source I'm familiar with. It's primarily about engines (obviously) but a lot of members have done other mods. Only real problem you might have is you can get tire rubbing on the front fender liner as you make hard turns with stock suspension and a larger diameter tire.

    PS: rimsntires has a calculator that will show you how far off your speedometer will be. Using the tire sizes you posted:"When speedometer reads 60mph (96.6km/h) actual speed will be 63mph (101.4km/h): 5% faster." I'd check the speedo with gps and see if it actually warrants having the dealer adjust it. Mine actually read high with the stock tires (245/75R16) and now reads closer but just a little low with the 265/75R16
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Aug 26, 2013
    Besides making your speedo off and altering the final drive ratio there should be no issues. The biggest negative will be the reduction in power.

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