How are guys putting 35" tires on stock 8" wide rims? I'm trying to order new tires today and while I like the Toyo M/T's I'm really leaning towards the Nitto Terra Grapplers for road noise and longevity. I've seen several pics on here and other forums with guys running them but my 2004 ram 2500 has 8" wheels correct? According to Toyo and Nitto's specs I need at least an 8.5" wide rim for their 35's so how are these guys pulling it off?

Nitto tire I want........
LT325/70R17 D122R 200-890 16.5 35.00 13.12 8.5-(9.5)-11.0 *3305@50

Sorry I know tire questions are annoying but it's not exactly a "will it fit" and more of a how according to tire specs it shouldn't fit.

Thanks Guys

 

Ideally the wheel should be 3" less than the tire width, with 1" -/+ considered "in spec". The problem you run into with a narrower wheel is that the bead can fail, this happens A LOT when airing down to run off-road, but can happen on pavement when cornering or braking hard.

Do guys run a wider tire on a wheel that's too narrow? Yep. Some never have an issue, although I dunno if I'd take the chance. Would suck ***** to lose the bead on a hard turn at speed. Although unless you do air down off-road and keep a good eye on tire pressure, I don't think you'll have an issue at just 1/2" out of spec.

As for the tires, both are an excellent tire. Toyo and Nitto are the same company (or at least owned by the same parent company). The M/Ts are one of the better performing mud tires as far as off-road/pavement balance goes and the Terra Grapps uses about the same tread pattern that the Toyo A/Ts do (and have been copied by many others). For longevity and quieteness it's hard to beat the Terra Grapps and they do great off-road if the mud ain't deep. I have them on my Grand Cherokee (mainly my daily driver) and have found them to be the best wet pavement tire I've ever owned. If you don't intend to get in the deep slop, the Nittos are probably your best choice...

 

Thanks for the fast response hammer. Nitto also makes a tire one size smaller LT305/70R17 E125R 200-900 16.5 33.98 12.36 8.0-(9.0)-9.5 *3640@65
That is made for an 8" rim but I'm scared the dodge will swallow them whole like it does now with my 33" Mickey thompsons. Was also a little hesitant going with an E rated tired for ride comfort. This truck will rarley ever see mud but it will average around 3k highway miles a month so looks are important but ride and performance are more important to me. You think I should order the smaller E Nitto's or just go with the 35's and be done?

 

I am running Nitto Trail Grappler M/T 295/70/17 on stock rims and just about stock ride height (couple cranks on torsion keys). Just barely have enough clearance where the uppper ball joints sit with how their side wall is. I wanted to go next size or two up but am glad I didn't. Wouldn't do it without a lift with those tires, could probably do it with a different type of tire.

 

I normally hesitate to go with an "E" tire and my Cepek FCIIs are a "D", because the ride can be harsh with an "E", BUT that's on a 1500. With the extra frame weight, the heavier leafs and (I'm assuming you have a 4x4) the weight of a SFA coupled with the fact that the "E" Terra Grapps tend to have a bit softer sidewall than a traditional mud tire that are built up a little for the side-biting tread, I don't think the "E" Terra Grapps would be bad at all. The plus side of a slightly shorter tire with a little bit stiffer side wall is that it'll help fuel economy a tad over a taller tire with more sidewall flex.

Either would work for you, really.

BTW, I'm a Mickey Thompson/Dick Cepek nut! Which Mickey's do you have? I'm hoping to get half the life out of my Terra Grapps I've gotten out of some of my Mickey's in all honesty. I got 68k out of the MTXs that were on my 2nd Gen and it had a good 15k in tread left when I traded the truck. My current Cepeks have almost 32k on them and honestly, I don't think I'm down 10% yet. The FCIIs are worth looking at for you too, IMO. A/T center tread coupled with an aggressive M/T outer/inner and aggressive side-biters. Best of both worlds and it's available in a "D" range 35" cause I have 'em. Only down side is the cost.

I'da done ATZs on the Grand Cherokee, but $127.50 for the Nittos (265/70/17) were a LOT cheaper than the same size Mickey's at just under $200 a tire. The budget just didn't allow for it.

Hate to see you leave "the fold", but both the Toyos or Nittos are a high quality tire...

 

You got the 1500 or 2500 Flying Mullet?

The FCIIs are my worst enemy right now hammer. I had one come apart on me last month going 65-70 mph and tore my bed to pieces. Give me a sec and I will post some pics.

 

I have the 1500, just caught the 2500 in your op, didnt see that before.

 

You do know there was a recall for that? Both Mickey Thompson and Cepeks, made at one factory during something like a 9 month window. If I'm not mistaken some Cooper off-road tires were included. It happened right after Cooper bought them and moved production to one of their over-seas factories to cut cost. I know two people got brand new replacements (there's hadn't failed though, they just went in for the recall). One guy got new and his had over 50k on them.

I checked mine at the time, but mine I believe were made in Canada, it was one of them Asian countries I think the bad ones came out of.

Wonder if yours was one of them? I think I posted a link to the serial #s on here probably a good three years ago now. I know it's out there if you do a search...

The ex-wife had a Wrangler SRA do the same thing on the interstate on our '02 GC Laredo 4x4, she almost had a wreck. Tore the side of the thing up pretty good. I had to do the old rubbing/polishing compound on the side and replace a piece of cladding on hers. I was PISSED to say the least, but the tire place showed me where she picked up a good size screw and the tire slowly deflated, heated up as it got too low and blew up. It happens.

 

Yea I do believe mine was part of the recall, but I never knew it as I just bought this dodge 3 months ago. I contacted Cooper tires and filed a claim with them. I just sent them the exploded tire yesterday so only time will tell what becomes of that mess.

Here are the pics.......

 

Look at your manufacture date on the side (it's coded), I'll bet it was made between May of '04 and Jan. of '06 at the plant in question because the recall was for insufficient support around the belts and THAT's the result!

Mine were manufactured right at the beginning of that (I did my lift in early '05, but at a plant like 3500 miles away) when I checked. I was told the 35s were not an issue as that plant in question produced only tires ranging from (and don't quote me, I'm going from memory here) 265/70/16s thru 33x12.5 or maybe 13.5x17s...

You may get REAL good news from Cooper, as I said, they've replaced tires with a good bit of use (over 50k) with new ones for free and Cooper does have an excellent reputation for customer service. Only thing I will say is the people I know personally who got them replaced were original purchasers, might make a difference, dunno...