Hello everyone,
Frist I want to apologize to everyone in advance before I make any stupid comments or questions
I'm new to the forum scene and have many many questions and maybe a few answers.
Well, with that out of the way I do have a very important question! My wife has just given me
permisson to buy a set of new tires for my 05 Dodge Ram 1500 QC 4X4 (with 5.7 Hemi) and
I have stock 245/70/R17s now and want to put the largest tire without any mods. Everyone
tells me that I can go as big as 295/70/17 without rubbing and no mods. The only tire I can
find is Nittos with a 6 to 8 week back log. Any help or expert advise and send pictures Please.
Thanks

 

check your local laws in your erea. Around here your are only allowed 2 sizes in alot of states if a vehicle has abs there is no changed allowed unless the computer is recalibrated for the size. as it stand right now around here for abs we will fail and inspection for bigger tires. 265's would be a pretty good size difference.

 

If the larger tires fitted are also wider,
and have 'aggressive' mud/snow style tread that is extra deep,
there will be a significant fuel economy penalty of 1-3 MPG.

info from an older post:

TIRE MODS

Increasing the air pressure in your tires, and picking a narrow 'rib tread'
commercial delivery truck type tire that has low rolling resistance
definitely will help MPG.

Raising the air pressure by 15 psi to the max 70 psi in Goodyear Wrangler
HT 235/85R16E tires increased my mpg by +1 in a 311 mile
test run - but the ride was bone jarring. A narrow, highway rib tire like the
HT gives the lowest rolling resistance. Wide, aggressive tread tires can be
three times harder to roll. It might pay to have a 4 tire set for the weekday
commute, and a weekend mudder wide tire set.

Consumers Reports is the only organization I know of that tests for rolling
resistance of tires.
Quote from CR:
" Fuel mileage at a price. Some tires roll with less drag than others. The
lower a tire's rolling resistance, the more fuel you can save. Those savings
can be significant. {Pickup and SUV} Tires with the lowest rolling resistance
delivered nearly 2 mpg more at a steady 65 mph in our highway tests {2003
four-wheel-drive Ford Explorer XLT 4x4} than those with the highest rolling
resistance. The catch: While some high-scoring tires had low rolling
resistance, most tires with the lowest rolling resistance also had lower
overall scores."

In their 11/2004 Pickup & SUV tire test CR the
lowest rolling resistance tires rated 'excellent' were the:

Bridgestone Dueler H/T (D684)
Michelin Cross Terrain
Continental ContiTrac
BF Goodrich Radial Long Trail T/A

The Pickup & SUV tires with the worst rolling resistance were the:

Pirelli Scorpion STA
Kelly Safari Signature
Yokohama Geolander H/T-SG051

A tire with a 'very good' rolling resistance and high scores in other handling
and braking tests was the Hankook DynaPro AS RH03

The California Air Resources board is pressing the tire companies to make
rolling resistance measurements on tires freely available to the public by
2008, one of the few worth while things CARB has ever done in my opinion

The lower profile 17 and 20 inch tire designs used on the 2003-2005
5.7Hemi Rams have a 'sticker' tire tread and higher rolling resistance than
earlier year Rams. It is probable that if a manufacturer makes available a
235 85 R17 tire in Load
Range E it would be lower rolling resistance than the stock tires and might
improve MPG by 1-2 at 70 mph.

The 2006 Ram press release says the new model will have 'low rolling
resistance tires.'

 

Thanks for the info. I live in delaware and not sure of the laws but will check out ASAP
Where do you live anyway?

 

Thanks Hank, Lot to digest. I just ordered BFG 285/70/17 going to take my chances. I'll post how they do...

 

Buddy of mine had Nittos and loved them....

 

I'll be watching this thread. I'm looking at 285/70/17s also.

 

Hey all, I have been looking for bigger tires for my 2003 Ram 1500. I want to get something bigger as well without doing any mods. Im hoping it will make the truck look mean as I like the look of the bigger tires. Keep us posted on those tires!

 

Was going to get 295/70/R17 Nittos but they are on a 6-8 week back log everywhere.
Long time to wait just to find out they may not fit....Mr Hemi from
http://hemitruckclub.com says they will. Afraid to take the chance.
Anyone have Pictures of 285/70/17 with no mods please post..........

 

looks like I'm too late, but you got some good info from people on here. The short answer to your question is 305/70/17. I put those on mine, and they work great on/off road.