19.5 Tires or Not??
I've been reading numerous articles and owner recommednations concerning switiching out OEM wheel/tire combos to 19.5 wheels/tires. I was about to start down that road, but recently I've been seeing n...
Forum Discussion
On good pavement the 19.5's are King.
If I never got off-road, in the sand, in deep snow, or off-grid, 19.5's would be fine.
But, since I do all of the above I need the flexibility of airing down to improve traction on loose surfaces; improve the ride on endless washboard, mongo traction AND floatation on really deep snow, and great floatation on the dunes. I'll stick with my old school 16's; those big ballooney oldies. There is a lot of air space between the tread and the rim inside. I adjust the pressure in there to my advantage.
A couple years ago, I put a set of 33x14.50R16's on 10" wheels on the front of the Dodge and had my trusty 33x15-50R16's on 12" wide wheels on the rear before we headed up to the 4 foot deep crusty snow. Now, all four tires had a deep, mud/snow type tread, not a street tread. No woes going slightly downhill with that set up even at full street pressure. We floated mostly on top. Going back slightly uphill was another story. I got 'out of track' and the truck sank to-the-frame. After digging a bit in front of all tires, and winching out of the trenches, I lowered the pressure way down to:
front: 22 lbs.
rear: 20 lbs.
and drove right up hill, floating mostly on top of the snow. For me that was the 100% effort.
Don't try that with 19.5's. Then again, if you are NEVER in that position, 19.5's are fine.
jefe
If I never got off-road, in the sand, in deep snow, or off-grid, 19.5's would be fine.
But, since I do all of the above I need the flexibility of airing down to improve traction on loose surfaces; improve the ride on endless washboard, mongo traction AND floatation on really deep snow, and great floatation on the dunes. I'll stick with my old school 16's; those big ballooney oldies. There is a lot of air space between the tread and the rim inside. I adjust the pressure in there to my advantage.
A couple years ago, I put a set of 33x14.50R16's on 10" wheels on the front of the Dodge and had my trusty 33x15-50R16's on 12" wide wheels on the rear before we headed up to the 4 foot deep crusty snow. Now, all four tires had a deep, mud/snow type tread, not a street tread. No woes going slightly downhill with that set up even at full street pressure. We floated mostly on top. Going back slightly uphill was another story. I got 'out of track' and the truck sank to-the-frame. After digging a bit in front of all tires, and winching out of the trenches, I lowered the pressure way down to:
front: 22 lbs.
rear: 20 lbs.
and drove right up hill, floating mostly on top of the snow. For me that was the 100% effort.
Don't try that with 19.5's. Then again, if you are NEVER in that position, 19.5's are fine.
jefe
