Truck Tires

[Ponytail]

Right now I have;
P265/75R16

Do you think it would be stupid to go with;
P275/70R16

A little height and width.

Nothing wrong with that. I think you'll find though that even that will be a smaller tire in diameter. I'll have to find that website that I have that gives good comparison and measurments. Though most tire manufacturers websites give height and width measurements for all of their tires.

The only thing you have to watch for when going wider (and higher for that matter), is the turn radius. Turn your trucks steering wheel one way or the other to full stop and shut it off while holding it there so that it doesn't spring back. Get out and look to see how far the tire is from the frame and body at both front and rear of the tire. You may have to play with it a little to find the closest point to the body on the wheel well.

I don't think you'll have a problem though. You're not going that wide.

Also, skinnier tires do better in rain/snow. If you increase the size of the contact patch, you're decreasing the p/a, or load over area.

 

[RoseRed]

Truck Tires 02-03-2006 11:48 AM :sleuthwannabe:

Now that was funny.

I need new tires for my green SUV, what is your recommendation?

 

[Ponytail]

PROBABLY.. though don't like the replacing tires every 3 or 4 months, do like the performance.. Don't know much about tires, but have heard good things about Avon.. Just want to be sure my tire's aren't going to slip out from under me when sliding my knee through a corner.

The guys over at Buell like these:

Michelin Pilot Powers
Pirelli Diablo or Diablo Corsa
Metsler Roadtec Z6 (for long wear)
Pirelli Scorpion Syncs

I'll be trying the Syncs next. Lots of good stuff written about those for sporty daily driver types.

 

[John Z]

I'll have to find that website that I have that gives good comparison and measurments.

Here is the tire size comparison web site I use:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I plugged in the numbers, and you are right PT, the new tire is about .4" shorter overall. Speedo will be 1.6% too fast. Not bad really.

Another thing to think about is wheel width. Probably not an issue, however, with 10 mm wider tires.

 

[Oz]

I need new tires for my green SUV, what is your recommendation?

Get the black ones - they'll look pretty with the green!

 

[Ponytail]

I need new tires for my green SUV, what is your recommendation?

My recommendation is that you quit going around corners on two wheels. The tires you have will last longer that way.

 

[Ponytail]

Here is the tire size comparison web site I use:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I plugged in the numbers, and you are right PT, the new tire is about .4" shorter overall. Speedo will be 1.6% too fast. Not bad really.

Another thing to think about is wheel width. Probably not an issue, however, with 10 mm wider tires.

10mm is less than 1/2". That little bit won't make a difference.

 

[itsbob]

I need new tires for my green SUV, what is your recommendation?

http://cycletires.com/t1.htm

They make different colors for bikes, why not trucks??

 

[RoseRed]

My recommendation is that you quit going around corners on two wheels. The tires you have will last longer that way.

Fine, I'll go with the whitewalls.

 

[gumby]

Right now I have;
P265/75R16

Do you think it would be stupid to go with;
P275/70R16

A little height and width.

I bought some Firestone Firehawks online from The Tire Rack for $78 a piece. $380 to the door. Old lady got them mounted at her work. I have 40000 on them now and they look like brand new. Best tire I have ever bought. Great in rain, quiet, smooth ride. They're on my 02 Tundra and I take them 100 miles a day to DC and back. I have the P275/70R16 and luv em.

 

[teverheart2002]

Expensive way to go, but have you thought about 19 1/2 inch wheels with semi tires. We are thinking about doing this for my F-350, and interested if anyone has done this on here. A website that we were given is: www.ricksontruck.com

 

[gumbo]

Right now I have;
P265/75R16

Do you think it would be stupid to go with;
P275/70R16

A little height and width.

On the new style Chevy and GMC Pick ups you have to watch out for tire to front bumper clearance when you turn the wheels.

 

[MMDad]

On the new style Chevy and GMC Pick ups you have to watch out for tire to front bumper clearance when you turn the wheels.

http://forums.somd.com/showpost.php?p=1344899&postcount=21

 

[gumbo]

http://forums.somd.com/showpost.php?p=1344899&postcount=21

I seen that..The reason I made my post is because the Chevy and GMC truck only has about an inch of clearance to play with from the factory.
The clearance is only a small problem. It's a little more complicated than the redneck tire gage (turn the wheels see if they fit)
The front end geometry of the new Chevy and GMC trucks are very temperamental because of the long spindles used.
For every tire size you go up the more caster gain you get, unfortunately on the Chevy and GMC trucks they already have a ton of caster gain.
So by adding to it, it causes sever tire wear much like the I beam suspension of the older F-150 and 250.
You can adjust the initial caster but not the caster gain
The caster gain is built into the spindles geometry, so by increasing the tire size you are increasing the geometry angle of the spindle, also by do this you throw off the Ackerman steering and the bump steer geometry thats built into the suspension.
In layman terms. Caster gain is how much your tire leans in or out at the top for every degree the tire is turned.
By increasing the height the more the tire leans.
The more the lean the more the tire wants to ride on the inner or outer edge.
Clearance is the least of the problems..
If the truck is a daily driver do not go over one tire size up on the newer Chevy and GMC trucks and if you go up one size do not expect the same wear you got from the stock size.

 

[MMDad]

You've gotten a lot of "expert" opinions, but what does your owner's manual say?

 

[gumbo]

You've gotten a lot of "expert" opinions, but what does your owner's manual say?

Not opinion... fact
I build and design race car suspension.
I also own a collision repair shop.

BTW..A owners manual will recommend the same size tire. Your front end geometry is designed for the size tire on your vehicle.
Some designs are just more temperamental than others.

 

[MMDad]

Not opinion... fact
I build and design race car suspension.
I also own a collision repair shop.

BTW..A owners manual will recommend the same size tire. Your front end geometry is designed for the size tire on your vehicle.

Relax, Dumbo. I wasn't slamming you.

Without knowing year etc. you can only make an informed opinion. I was asking for what the owners manual says because it might recommend a different tire than either of those he mentioned. If you start with the manufacturers recommendation, you have a lot better reference to start with.

 

[bcp]

I do heavy towing so on my I use the Wrangler All season 10ply.

they are rated 10 for snow, and when you only put 60lbs of air in them the ride is not too bad going down the highway. They are also quiet tires as they do not have the standard aggressive tread that causes the noise.

a little steep on price but I have had good luck with them.

I just replaced the two back ones and I think the out the door price was around 450 bucks.

 

[fddog]

I seen that..The reason I made my post is because the Chevy and GMC truck only has about an inch of clearance to play with from the factory.
The clearance is only a small problem. It's a little more complicated than the redneck tire gage (turn the wheels see if they fit)
The front end geometry of the new Chevy and GMC trucks are very temperamental because of the long spindles used.
For every tire size you go up the more caster gain you get, unfortunately on the Chevy and GMC trucks they already have a ton of caster gain.
So by adding to it, it causes sever tire wear much like the I beam suspension of the older F-150 and 250.
You can adjust the initial caster but not the caster gain
The caster gain is built into the spindles geometry, so by increasing the tire size you are increasing the geometry angle of the spindle, also by do this you throw off the Ackerman steering and the bump steer geometry thats built into the suspension.
In layman terms. Caster gain is how much your tire leans in or out at the top for every degree the tire is turned.
By increasing the height the more the tire leans.
The more the lean the more the tire wants to ride on the inner or outer edge.
Clearance is the least of the problems..
If the truck is a daily driver do not go over one tire size up on the newer Chevy and GMC trucks and if you go up one size do not expect the same wear you got from the stock size.

We install camber/caster bushings everyday, and do cut outs on trucks to fix caster

 

[Pete]

Seems strange to me too. I have a GMC K1500 and I have 245/75/R16's. The same model truck also comes with 265/75/R16's like the one sitting next to mine in the parking lot.

I don't know why but it seems that GMC does a run with 245's and then some with 265's. I cannot imagine the front end geometry is different between the trucks off the same production line because of tires size. Seems like it would screw up the efficiency of the line having to match suspension part to tires.