My objective: find ideal tire size without the tire sticking out too much.

I bought a set of stock rims off a 2005 1500, 2WD to replace the crappy aftermarket rims on my 1999 1500, 2WD. Stock suspension with 3/4 spring spacer in front to level front end.

The PO took a narrower aftermarket 16" rim and put 285's on it and they look rounded and sort of squished on in my opinion and they handle terribly.

I got the stock 17" rims to hopefully create a more aggressive appearance and beefier off-road kind of look.

The 17's should be 17x8.5 with 4.75" backspacing compared to the 16's at 16x7.0 and 5" backspacing.

Right now, I'm thinking 275's would be ideal, if not, 265's.

What say y'all?

 

What gears ya got in there? If you have the 3.55's, 265's will be just about right. (as far as gearing goes.)

 

Should be stock rear end, but I can't confirm that 100%. To my knowledge, they have not been changed. I can tell you that with the current 285's the truck seems to perform well in terms of acceleration, although I think 3rd gear is a little sluggish at first.

 

Get a build sheet for your truck. (either from the dealer, or, there is a link in the FAQ section as well.) That will tell you what gears it came with from the factory.

 

I have a 97 and I just put 265/70/17 on my truck and they fit perfectly. They don't stick out at all.

 

thank you... do you have a picture by chance?