I have an 04 Ram 1500 QC (hemi). The truck came stock with 245/70/17 tires, and I always thought they looked puny. But being the cheap SOB that I am, I wanted to wait until I burned er wore through them before upsizing. Now I'm at about 40k miles and don't have much tread left. Living in New England, now is the time for me to get new tires before snow falls.

First, a funny story. I called the dealer where I brought the truck to find out pricing for them to adjust my computer to bigger tires. The guy who answered just told me, and this is exactly what he said, "the pinion factor will reset itself." Before I laughed too hard at this BS I had to say goodbye to that nice fellow. I'll have to call back and try to get somebody else on the phone or find another dealer. Of course the computer has to be reset. The pinion is a hunk of steel that is one size, how could it adjust after automatically detected bigger tire size?

I know some guys have cranked up the torsion bars to fit 35's, but I'm not sure I want to go that big. Well, let me rephrase that, I would LOVE to have huge tires but I'm not sure if they would really kill gas mileage. (See "cheap SOB" comment above.) I don't want to spend 6, 7, 8 hundred bucks on tires then also have to pay a lot more in fuel costs.

Can somebody reccomend a tire size to me? what are pros/cons of different sizes? does it really affect gas mileage?

Thanks!

 

Hoopdad,

I'm the proud owner of a new 2005 RAM 1500 4X4 Reg. Cab. I have been looking at tire options. The local dealer tells me that I can't go any wider than a 285 or the tires will hit the front control arms. I have also been reading the reviews at tirerack.com.

If your looking for an all terrain tire that's good on snow and ice, then consider the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo. It's speed rated and comes in a P265/70R17. The folks that write in to Tire Rack praise their traction on all types of driving surfaces. These are not hard core offroad tires, but a good on/off road compromise.

For mud and sand, I am considering the BF Goodrich Mud Terrain T/A KM in LT285/70R17D. These are heavy duty light truck tires (load range D). I have a set on my old F250 and I have nothing but good things to say (other than they cost over $200 each). They are quiet on the highway, relative to other mudders, and grip like superglue in the soft stuff (Digger Lugs on the sidewall). Like most hard core mud tires, they are not good for ice however.

If I were living in New England, I'd look at the Revos very carefully.

Stevet
VA

 

I just bought a set of BFG 265 70 17 Raised White Letter tires. The tires are only about 1 inch taller so there isn't much difference there. However, the RWL make the biggest difference. They look bigger and better on the truck. JMHO. I picked these up for $125 per tire. Good luck searching. You might want to mention if you have a 4WD or 2WD, It might make the difference in the responses you get.

 

Thanks for your responses. I have a 4WD.

 

I run a 305mm tire on my truck and have no issues w/ the upper control arms. It looked close, but after fitting them up there is still room.