I'm helping a good friend set up his '96 2500 Dodge Ram Diesel with a new set of tires. The truck is a 4x4, manual trans, 3.54 gears, that is now completely stock and that will be used for both work (towing no more than 9K lbs.) and long distance expo travel, seeing a mix of highway and country roads and trails, but definitely there will be no rock climbing or anything extreme of any kind. When in expo mode, an ARE MX topper will provide the needed shelter, and an easily removable sleeping/storage platform the necessary amenities.
After exploring the various possibilities, we have decided to stay with 16" rims since there is a big jump in price when going to 17" tires and, though the 17's offer more choices and options, the Toyo LT315/75R16 tires in both the M/T and AT2 flavors seem excellent choices in the context of what the owner has in mind for his truck.
When briefly considering 17's as an alternative option, we thought of going with 3rd Gen aluminum wheels (they are 8" wide with a 6.25" backspacing), reasoning that OEM wheels tend to be stronger than aftermarket ones and that 3rd Gen rims look really great! and also given that a friend of ours had a line on a cheap set of four of them, in great condition, for around 250 bucks.
However, the problem is that these wheels' backspacing (6.25") places them too close to 2nd Gen trucks' control arms and therefore would lead to excessive rubbing. To circumvent this problem, we considered getting 1" - 1.5" aluminum wheel spacers, but after reading a bit on this topic and talking to an experienced 2nd Gen Dodge owner who had gone this route only to later regret it (because wheel spacers had become the weak link in his otherwise solid platform), we gave up that idea.
The other way around it would have been getting aftermarket, bent control arms, like the Thuren's, which would make possible using 3rd Gen wheels on 2nd Gen trucks, but it would all become unnecessarily expensive and complicated.
Thus, we decided to stay with the original 16" tall, 8" wide OEM aluminum rims that came originally with the truck.
I'm not positively sure about this, but I remember reading somewhere that the original 2nd Gen Dodge aluminum rims have a 5" or 5.25" backspacing, perhaps someone here who knows the exact number can confirm it? Adding a 2" leveler kit should reasonably clear the 315's with no rub or very minimal rub at complete wheel turn.
The only question that still remains is, would a 9" aftermarket wheel be preferable to the 8" OEM 2nd Gen rims? The Toyos are usually true size tires and the specs given by the Toyo website are 34.9"x12.9" @ 76 lbs. for the 315/75R16 M/T's and 34.6"x12.3" @ 72 lbs. for the AT2's in the same size. A few people have some concern that using 8" wheels with these large tires might lead to a bit of ballooning and consequent premature wearing of the center of the tires, feeling that 9" wheels allow for substantially flatter tires at higher pressures with comparable loads. I'd appreciate some feedback especially on this last point (preferable wheel width to run these tires) and, if 9" rims are suggested, what brands/wheel models and what backspacing are most desirable in your experience for this application? Responses from 2nd Gen owners with actual practical experience with these tires would be especially appreciated, but also input and comments from anyone else are very much welcome.
The truck, as pointed out before, has 3.54 gears, and there is the argument that 315/75R16's with 3.54 gears result in a rather sluggish stop and go, especially when towing. and often 285/75R16 tires are recommended in their place. However, we plan to do some very basic engine mods in the near future, so, with the additional power from the mods, the 315's should provide an almost ideal final gear ratio for both decent power and fuel economy...being able to go 75 mph @ 1900-2000 rpm on the highway, which is the sweet spot for these trucks.
Pardon the long post...I meant to contribute the information I learned along the way and also the reasoning leading to tire selection, not only in the hope that it may be useful to someone facing a similar decision, but also so that it can be challenged if it doesn't seem to make much sense, rather than just asking a concise, less informative and less detailed question.
Looking forward to your comments and suggestions...and thanks in advance for your input!
After exploring the various possibilities, we have decided to stay with 16" rims since there is a big jump in price when going to 17" tires and, though the 17's offer more choices and options, the Toyo LT315/75R16 tires in both the M/T and AT2 flavors seem excellent choices in the context of what the owner has in mind for his truck.
When briefly considering 17's as an alternative option, we thought of going with 3rd Gen aluminum wheels (they are 8" wide with a 6.25" backspacing), reasoning that OEM wheels tend to be stronger than aftermarket ones and that 3rd Gen rims look really great! and also given that a friend of ours had a line on a cheap set of four of them, in great condition, for around 250 bucks.
However, the problem is that these wheels' backspacing (6.25") places them too close to 2nd Gen trucks' control arms and therefore would lead to excessive rubbing. To circumvent this problem, we considered getting 1" - 1.5" aluminum wheel spacers, but after reading a bit on this topic and talking to an experienced 2nd Gen Dodge owner who had gone this route only to later regret it (because wheel spacers had become the weak link in his otherwise solid platform), we gave up that idea.
The other way around it would have been getting aftermarket, bent control arms, like the Thuren's, which would make possible using 3rd Gen wheels on 2nd Gen trucks, but it would all become unnecessarily expensive and complicated.
Thus, we decided to stay with the original 16" tall, 8" wide OEM aluminum rims that came originally with the truck.
I'm not positively sure about this, but I remember reading somewhere that the original 2nd Gen Dodge aluminum rims have a 5" or 5.25" backspacing, perhaps someone here who knows the exact number can confirm it? Adding a 2" leveler kit should reasonably clear the 315's with no rub or very minimal rub at complete wheel turn.
The only question that still remains is, would a 9" aftermarket wheel be preferable to the 8" OEM 2nd Gen rims? The Toyos are usually true size tires and the specs given by the Toyo website are 34.9"x12.9" @ 76 lbs. for the 315/75R16 M/T's and 34.6"x12.3" @ 72 lbs. for the AT2's in the same size. A few people have some concern that using 8" wheels with these large tires might lead to a bit of ballooning and consequent premature wearing of the center of the tires, feeling that 9" wheels allow for substantially flatter tires at higher pressures with comparable loads. I'd appreciate some feedback especially on this last point (preferable wheel width to run these tires) and, if 9" rims are suggested, what brands/wheel models and what backspacing are most desirable in your experience for this application? Responses from 2nd Gen owners with actual practical experience with these tires would be especially appreciated, but also input and comments from anyone else are very much welcome.
The truck, as pointed out before, has 3.54 gears, and there is the argument that 315/75R16's with 3.54 gears result in a rather sluggish stop and go, especially when towing. and often 285/75R16 tires are recommended in their place. However, we plan to do some very basic engine mods in the near future, so, with the additional power from the mods, the 315's should provide an almost ideal final gear ratio for both decent power and fuel economy...being able to go 75 mph @ 1900-2000 rpm on the highway, which is the sweet spot for these trucks.
Pardon the long post...I meant to contribute the information I learned along the way and also the reasoning leading to tire selection, not only in the hope that it may be useful to someone facing a similar decision, but also so that it can be challenged if it doesn't seem to make much sense, rather than just asking a concise, less informative and less detailed question.
Looking forward to your comments and suggestions...and thanks in advance for your input!
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