Would someone please speak to the advantages/disadvantages of 15 inch tires compared/contrasted to 17 inch tires? I have a 1979 Chevrolet pickup and it has 15 inch tires. I am thinking about the best way to make it mesquite thorn resistant and I thought some big, mud tires would help. Then I wondered about any other issues that would come up if I converted.
Best Regards,
Highsmith
Chances are adding the big tires to you present truck will make for rapidly escalated suspension wear and gear ratio's may not be compatible. You must also check to insure you have physical clearance in the fender wells.
In most cases the larger diameter rims have a lower aspect ration. They should also allow larger diameter disks to be installed??? The tires may run a little cooler???
Please note my knowledge on this topic is very limited. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Your '79 Shivel-A is a half ton? Is that right? Those pickups have fairly generous fender well clearance and should accommodate the larger tires with little or no rubbing. My 1980 3/4 ton Shiv-Lay has the 16" rubber on it and they look dinky in those fender wells. The suspension on the 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton is dimensionally similar, but the 3/4 t has stiffer springs that hold it up off the ground better and allow for more tire clearance. As Egon has cautioned, you'll have reduced acceleration due to the axle ratio being wrong for the seventeens, and you'll also have reduced braking, so driving that modified truck won't be any fun. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
CJDave
I believe the larger wheel will give better handling in turns on highway use ie: less side wall=less side wall roll however, guessing I'm not too sure of any other advantages to larger wheels in your case. Going to a different tire (not wheel) may produce some wanted effects for you. A lot people run "P" tires (P265-75-15) on trucks and seem to get by with it. In fact, I have P265-75-16 on my truck. It's what it came with. However, I believe the only real advantages to the larger wheels in my case are looks and maybe a little better highway handling. The "P" is a passenger tire while the "LT" is light truck. The "LT" tire will have more plys and load caring capabilities. If you are running a "P" tire you may want to go to an "LT" tire. The "LT" tire will offer more ply options as well. Going to a 6 or 8 or 10 ply tire could offer better work performance, longer tire life, and possibly more thorn resistant. The trade off would be highway comfort. Also a more aggressive tread is going to be a little louder/rougher handling on the highway. That's about it for my naw lige, Hope this helps Troy.
The size of the tires have little to do with puncture resistance. What you need to do is put a set of load range E LT tires on it. They would be 10 ply rated vs probably 4 ply if you are now running P rated tires. They are most easily found in 16in size but are available in 15in. I do this on all of my 1/2 tons as soon as I buy them. the P rated tires that come on them from the factory won't make five trips to town from here. Run them at standard pressure vs full 85lb. You don't need the carrying capacity.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=55
I'm mostly in Jim's camp. If you have low enough axle ratio to take the overdrive effect in stride then the tires will not be a PITA BUT... Larger diameter won't help for thorn resistance. Steel belt may. aggressive tread has big gaps between the thick places and they are not more thorn resistant! Super duper tires often are still vulnerable in the sidewalls. Replacing stock tires with wider tires will expose more sidewall to thorns and such.
There are load range G tires but in the small print they are for a certain specified rim (trailer and 5th wheel type application.) The specif rim is called for because standard rims would be the weak link in load capacity. Since you are not looking for extra load capacity just stronger tires to resist puncture you should do fine with load range G tires on standard rims BUT...
Before I bought any different tires I'd get a gallon jug of Slime and put at least 8-12 oz in each tire. That will do wonders for mesquite resistance in the tread area as well as the sidewalls.
I have a '97 one ton Dodge/Cummins 4x4 that I am running 6 each 19.5 inch Alcoas with Michelin X steel belted M&S tread (the tires UPS had on its delivery trucks before the Dodge Sprinter sized vans but they used highway tread).
It has 4.10 diffs so the OD effect didn't put me higher up in gearing than the truck could have been bought with stock and the Cummins has plenty of torque and HP so it is a non issue. I have no big clearance problems. If I put the steering wheel hard over to lock and bounce just right the tread can touch the front wheel front mud flap just barely and doesn't hurt it. (Yes, I have mud flaps front and back for the front tires as I am just as likely to sling mud in reverse as forward and reverse is worse.
I hope Slime is not too simple and cheap of a fix for you.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
In most cases, the increase in rim diameter was originally done to accommodate larger diameter brakes. Recently, the 20" and larger rims are for looks.
The 16" rims on my '01 Dodge 3/4 ton won't fit newer trucks, because they have larger brakes, and need 17" rims to clear them. The 17" rims will fit on my truck; I had a set of factory take offs on it for a while.
Even without going to a bigger rim, you can run bigger tires. For years people ran really big tires on 15" rims; 12.50x35 tires are common.
You might look at Mickey Thompson and Dick Cepek tires. They make tires for running Baja; they are made to stand up to that kind of stuff.
If you do get a tire that is more puncture resistant, it will have a tougher case, and probably more ply's. It will though, ride tougher too; it will be a stiffer tire and ride quality will suffer.
Robert, Those are mighty expensive tires you mention and they are not all that more mesquite proof than good LT's. Given the cost benefit ratio, I'd go with a little slime. It works for me.
A friend has to air one of his tractor tires every couple days because he refuses to use slime because some "slime" working at a tire place said it was not good. One of the largest and best tire dealers around here installs it or its "other brand" equivalent for a few $ per each stroke of the pump to inject it into your tire.
I use it and it seals up what would otherwise be a flat tire. I have good tires, the most robust I could find on my Dakota but locust thorns will penetrate them. Slime makes it into a non issue. With slime I go YEARS between airings on my tractor in spite of thorns that used to give me flats.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
How is Slime different from Fix A Flat? Seems the idea is Slime is good for a long time inside the tire whereas Fix A Flat becomes useless pretty quick.
Best Regards,
Highsmith
Some friends of mine run slime in their tires for thorn resistance. Like I said, a pair of Lt tires would go a long ways. Combine the slime and I think you've got a great combo!
I believe fix a flat "dries" out and is not good to help prevent future problems Ie: more for after the fact. While slime stays in a consistancy that can be applied before you get a puncture. I would have to guess that balancing a tire with slime could be a little harder to do. This could be a reason for some to "stay" away from slime. If it were me, LT tires and slime.
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