wheels and tires

[kpj]

So i'm in need of new tire set. My current summer wheels are about done, they are 355/65 18". I like the 18" wheels, but i want to change wheel style and what i don't like is at least $100 extra on one wheel compared to 16". So i'm downgrading to 16" and wheels most probably are Mickey Thompson classic II with Swamper Trxus STS Radial on them as my choice. Tires most likely will be 14.5"x36", which are the closest to my current tires. So my question is that which wheel will be better, 16"x10" or 16"x12" wheels? Is there any upsides or downsides if i choose to go with wider wheel which obviously would look much better ;p ? I have airlift air helper springs at the rear, do you think that i would ran into some clearance problem with the wider wheel? Currently tires are quite close to bellows, but then again current wheels doesn't have much negative offset and are only 9" wide.

Or if you have some other comments on your mind, feel free to write. Thanks in advance...

 

[Diesel_brad]

Do you do truck pulling or anything? because I have yet to meet one person that got any miles out of those tires on the street. They do EXCELL as a street legal pulling tire though

 

[Agnem]

I changed wheels and tires on the Moose Truck this year. I went from 16.5" rims that were 10" wide to 17" rims that were 8" wide. My 12.50 X 35" tires didn't rub my front springs, but the new 37" tires do. I attribute the rub to the fact that the new rims have less offset than the old ones. It's a pain to be honest.

 

[kpj]

Thanks for the info. I don't do pulling, >90% driving is done on streets. Current Toyo's i got does get pretty good mileage and in fact a lot better than regular size winter tires. The main reason why i chose those Swamper STS tires is that i really haven't found any other reasonable choice in 16"x14.5" size other than full mud tire, which i don't need. So do you have good recommendations on little wider tire than 12.5" and maybe 15.5" are a bit overkill?
Yep, my 9" wheels are also rubbing to leafs, which can be frustrating. I tried my friend's 16x10 Mickey Thompson wheels which were a lot better than my 9" wide due the bigger negative offset. But choosing the 16x12 what i'm concerned is that are they too wide and they rub to leafs again ?

 

[Diesel_brad]

I really like wide tires, but for winter driving a narrower tire does better.

But if you like wide, look into the Mickey Thomsons. I have a set of ATZs and LOVE them, but they are expensive

 

[kpj]

Wide is good and wider are better . Actually what my friend bought for his chevy was a complete Mickey Thompson package. Good looking tire that ATZ, but on size 35x12.5 it looks a little small for my taste, look at picture below and you see what i mean and it doesn't get any better looking from the side. But in time i probably could get use to them . One tire that i also have looked closely is **** Cepec's Radial F.C II, but haven't found either Mickey Thompon's or **** Cepec's wider than 12.5", at least they don't list them at their website, so do they exist or are they have to be ordered in some kind of special order?

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[Diesel_brad]

You could always go with a Micky Thompson MTZ. I have a set of those on my 86. I was a little concerned about noise, but there is NONE And I have about 25k on them so far and are just under 1/2 tread.
They come in a 375/65/16 Which equals 36x15.50

 

[kpj]

Yep, that 36x15.5 sounds better, I should try to find some pictures of that combination. Current tires equals around 37x14 and on tarmac there's sometimes a little hesitation on power steering if i have to turn when not moving. Yes the parking lots aren't really made for real trucks back here . Those are even wider than before, so does anybody know how much the power steering can handle or is mine at the end of its lifespan, but then again it doesn't have any visible leaks and is working otherwise.

 

[gonecrazyi]

Can you get michilin xmls over there? I love mine but they are a bit heavy and a bit loud. They cone in a 325/85/16 and wear like steel. There about equivalent to a 38 x 13.1 I believe.

 

[RLDSL]

Wide is good and wider are better . Actually what my friend bought for his chevy was a complete Mickey Thompson package. Good looking tire that ATZ, but on size 35x12.5 it looks a little small for my taste, look at picture below and you see what i mean and it doesn't get any better looking from the side. But in time i probably could get use to them . One tire that i also have looked closely is **** Cepec's Radial F.C II, but haven't found either Mickey Thompon's or **** Cepec's wider than 12.5", at least they don't list them at their website, so do they exist or are they have to be ordered in some kind of special order?

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I would imagine **** Cepecs are available in larger sizes, just call or email them, THey have been doing custom stuff for offroad longer than just about anyone, and their tires have GREAT snow traction. I remember finding that out quite by accident in an unexpected storm that dumped a couple feet overnight up in the Sierras a number of years ago . Had zero trouble getting around in a small 2x4 with a half shell on roads where only snowmobiles were running

 

[Diesel_brad]

I would imagine **** Cepecs are available in larger sizes, just call or email them, THey have been doing custom stuff for offroad longer than just about anyone, and their tires have GREAT snow traction. I remember finding that out quite by accident in an unexpected storm that dumped a couple feet overnight up in the Sierras a number of years ago . Had zero trouble getting around in a small 2x4 with a half shell on roads where only snowmobiles were running

The biggest they make in a 16" wheel is a 315/75/16 which is a 34.5" x 11

 

[George D.]

I just got a set of general grabber red letters on mine in 315/75/R16 veriaty and love them ride great awsome traction off road and look awsome especialy the red letters on my red and grey truck. Theres a lite howle above 45 but it doesn't bug me after driving my jeep with no top or doors and swapers for years. But I don't think the grabbers come bigger than 35

 

[kpj]

Tire doesn't need to have very good traction on snow, since i use Nokia's studded tires during the winter. It doesn't need to be that tall either, 35"-36" tall are fine, but thing that makes these hard to find is width. Width of the tire should be around 14"-14.5" to look good in my eyes and preferably all terrain style tire, because i drive mainly on streets. It doesn't matter if i can't find tires from here, freight ships brings them here if needed to. As a matter of fact there is much more limited collection on tires available here, only to Japanese Pick-Ups and mainly because 265/75R16 looks big on them...

 

[94_dieselpower]

How do those General Grabbers hold up to a full size pickup?

 

[Diesel_brad]

How do those General Grabbers hold up to a full size pickup?

My buddy hada set on his Duramax. BALD in 5,000 miles