Question about Larger Tires?????

[BlackMagic04]

I've been talking with a few of my friends and some Tire sales staff about the New tires that I just put on my '04 Silverado EC 4x4 Z71 1500 truck. One thing that keeps coming up in the conversations is if my truck is an HD or a 2500. It got me to thinking and perhaps erroneously, but will these larger tires...and they are not that big 33x11.5x16 MT's hurt my truck in any way? Yeah they are somewhat wider and overall larger, but not that much. Is there a problem with 1/2 ton trucks and oversize tires? Is it harder on the transmission or drivetrain?

Thanks in advance for any advice or information.

[GMCwantsLS1]

I would imagine that any larger than stock size tire will be harder on the drive-train. That being said there are lots of trucks running over-sized tires with little or no trouble. 33's are not that big.

[foggy]

you won't have any problems.
You will need to have your tune adjusted for them though, to adjust your speedo.

[trx2stroke4life39]

the reason they were asking about if it was 2500 or hd is for the correct load range tire. If you get to low of a load range the tire wont last as long.

[withac]

Depends on what you do with it. I have a '98 Ram 1500 (half ton) with 33X12.5X15's with the 5.2 (318). It throws the speedo off and since you have in effect just changed your gear ratio you have less power, I'm sure you noticed it doesn't accelerate of the line like it did before. All that being said, if all you do is drive it around town you shouldn't have much trouble. HOWEVER, if you tow anything that's a different story. I've got a K&N drop in, a throttle body spacer, a Jet chip (several people tell me those last two are a waste of money although the chip did help with shift points) and a Spin Tech muffler and 3" pipe. Not major mods but a few things to try and get a little more power out of the 5.2. I pull a 23' camping trailer and after going to the 33's it was a bugger to drag that thing up the nearbye hills, and I'm talking paved highways, not backroads. Now all that extra work puts extra load and wear on your tranny. I did a pan drop two weeks ago and the tranny fluid was almost as dark as the crankcase oil. I've had them 5 years +/- so it's not like it got that wear in one year but obviously it's not good to work it that hard year after year. A transmission cooler would be a great thing although I haven't put one on the Dodge yet. What I really need, and a good thing for you to get if you are going to tow much would be new front and rear (I assume it's a 4X4) gears. I would do them if I could afford them. I suppose a new tranny won't be any cheaper but that's where I'm at right now.

[txarkitekt]

the reason they were asking about if it was 2500 or hd is for the correct load range tire.

Exactly. The HD (3/4 or 1 ton) have an 8 ply tire or thicker. The only thing you will feel is the extra weight of the tires. You have probably added 150-200 lbs to what you were running before. Some people add that in tool boxes or speaker equipment! It really isn't a big deal at all. Like Foggy said, just make sure to hae the speedo calibrated to compensate for the larger rolling diameter of the tires. Adding a few hundered lbs is not going to wreak havoc on your tranny. You might go through brake pads faster than usual, but by only a few thousand miles... Don't look to far into it.

[withac]

Not to argue with txarkitekt, he's given me some good advice before and knows way more than I do, but on this one I speak from first hand experience. It's not the weight of the tires that will strain your tranny. You have all the same gears now trying to turn a larger diameter tire, it's a gear ratio thing not a weight thing. Think about trying to take off from a dead stop on a bicycle with it in 2 or 3 gears higher than you usually do. You're going to have to stand up and pump a lot harder to get that bike moving. Now imagine it's your tranny working harder to get the truck moving. Like I said, if you don't tow anything you prolly won't have much if any problem but I'd still recommend a tranny cooler. I also really think if you can afford the front and rear gears you'll really want to do it just from a performance standpoint. Speaking of brake pads, I have also noticed decreased braking power with the same size brake drum trying to stop a larger diameter tire. With disc brakes I imagine a guy could put on larger discs with bigger calipers but I can't say for sure.

[BlackMagic04]

Thanks guys!! I knew I could count on you for some quality feedback!

"withac", I will be installing a tranny cooler soon, as for the gears (front and rear), I'm not sure if I'll do that, but I certainly will keep it in mind...you know how $$ can be the decider for upgrades or mods!

What I can't believe is all the looks the truck gets now and how often someone compliments the overall look. Cool!

[withac]

So post up some pics.

Most of the folks on this site seem to be into plus size rims and lowered vehicles, I'm sure it's partly a regional thang. I live in Eastern Idaho and don't see many slammed rides but you can't swing a dead cat without seeing a lifted one. Actually, the 33's were my wifes idea. Talk about looks, wait until the kids at the quick mart tell you they like your ride and you tell them it's your wifes. They're like Doooood, I want a wife like that. I understand the coin thing, that's why I've never done the front and rears, I'd do it in a hearbeat if I could afford it, I just don't like the sluggish response.

If you do the tranny cooler yourself (I just put one on my 2000 'Ho) as long as you have the grill off think about removing the bow tie and painting it. If you do it right and paint it from the back side you get a nice shiny look that won't rock chip.

[BlackMagic04]

withac...

I just put a new grill on the truck. My truck is black and the stock grill was chrome on the center bar, and black around the center section. The one I got at the local Super Chevy Show is carbon fiber looking on the long center bar and chrome where it was black, so I'm not sure what color I would paint the bowtie. I saw some at the SCS that were shiny black with red trim that looked real nice, but they were the wrong size for my grill. Oh well!