Eliminating spare tires

[JDgreen227]

You are right. My F350 SRW diesel 4x4 has the high 11,500# gvwr package. No way a small tire and wheel combo is going to do that. There is a reason it has 18" wheels.

Chris

What load range and psi are required to get that gvwr?

 

[Diamondpilot]

What load range and psi are required to get that gvwr?

I think they are E and 80 psi. I am out of town right now and can not check.

Chris

 

[JDgreen227]

I think they are E and 80 psi. I am out of town right now and can not check.

Chris

Chris, not trying to bash those who actually NEED larger tires and rims to carry a payload in their truck, but the vast majority of GM and Ford and Dodge half-tons I see with 20" tires have an empty cargo bed. My GMC is fitted with LT245/75R16's, load range E, and are rated for 3042 pounds per tire @ 80 psi. Nobody with a half-ton is going to NEED anything larger than a 16 inch...20" rims and tires are strictly for appearance.

Just looked up the specs for my GMC...it, along with the C-K 2500 series pickups built on the same chassis in Y2K, have a 8600 pound GVWR. This means the OEM tires have well over 3500 pounds of load carrying capacity in excess of the GVWR when inflated to 80 psi.

 

[cmore]

Chris, not trying to bash those who actually NEED larger tires and rims to carry a payload in their truck, but the vast majority of GM and Ford and Dodge half-tons I see with 20" tires have an empty cargo bed. My GMC is fitted with LT245/75R16's, load range E, and are rated for 3042 pounds per tire @ 80 psi. Nobody with a half-ton is going to NEED anything larger than a 16 inch...20" rims and tires are strictly for appearance.

:thumbsup:

 

[mikehaugen]

large rim/ low profile tires have a place on the racetrack. The lower profile tire provides much less side flex and offers better handling (though with a loss in ride quality)- I guess the same could be technically true on a truck. That said however, I have a 2500 ram with 285/75r16 and have hauled upwards of 5k in the bed (probably not the best idea, but wasn't far) and have towed probably around 12k and have never felt my tires were an issue. This however was when I used to have firestone steeltex tires load range e and those were phenomenal tires. Wish they still made them. The last set of tires I had and the current ones I have do feel much more squishy and squirrely. So I don't think the 20's are a necessity just for weight handling alone- load range and proper inflation are more important.

I do also see the other argument about the bigger brakes. I don't care what anyone says or thinks... bigger brakes are better brakes. So if they are putting bigger rims on to enable the use of bigger brakes then I am all for it.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I guess at the end of the day i am a appearance guy. We are looking to trade in our BMW335I for a Ford Edge. The sport package with the 22" wheels make that car, without the 22's it looks just like everything else on the road.

Chris

 

[JDgreen227]

large rim/ low profile tires have a place on the racetrack. The lower profile tire provides much less side flex and offers better handling (though with a loss in ride quality)- I guess the same could be technically true on a truck. That said however, I have a 2500 ram with 285/75r16 and have hauled upwards of 5k in the bed (probably not the best idea, but wasn't far) and have towed probably around 12k and have never felt my tires were an issue. This however was when I used to have firestone steeltex tires load range e and those were phenomenal tires. Wish they still made them. The last set of tires I had and the current ones I have do feel much more squishy and squirrely. So I don't think the 20's are a necessity just for weight handling alone- load range and proper inflation are more important.

I do also see the other argument about the bigger brakes. I don't care what anyone says or thinks... bigger brakes are better brakes. So if they are putting bigger rims on to enable the use of bigger brakes then I am all for it.

My GMC still has the OEM Firestone Steeltexes and at 42,000 miles they still have half the usable tread left, my only gripe is they have limited traction in snow but for an all-season tread that can be expected.

Yeah, Chris...I agree with the point about bigger rims and tires looking great...the 16 inchers on my GMC look really lost in the fenderwells....like somebody put a lift kit on and ran out of $$ to upsize the rubber and rims.

 

[brin]

All according to what you want to spend your money on....doesn't it ?

 

[oldyellr]

Bigger wheels and tires give bettrr final drive ratios and help mpg ratings. They alsp add ground clrarance but do cost. You pay to play.

Smallest wheel I have in my fleet is 17"

Chris

The transmission and/or the differential is what is used to set the final drive ration. Wheel diameter is just a part of the equation and not the determining factor. Those giant "hoops" are to impress people who like that stuff, that's all.

Bigger wheels also allow more room for bigger brakes.

But that's not the reason they have them on luxury poseur SUVs. That's only on performance and sports cars that actually get the big brakes.

 

[Ken45101]

Chris, not trying to bash those who actually NEED larger tires and rims to carry a payload in their truck, but the vast majority of GM and Ford and Dodge half-tons I see with 20" tires have an empty cargo bed. My GMC is fitted with LT245/75R16's, load range E, and are rated for 3042 pounds per tire @ 80 psi. Nobody with a half-ton is going to NEED anything larger than a 16 inch...20" rims and tires are strictly for appearance.

I am not quite sure what you are trying to say. Our C3500 (dually) is not far from the max load rating on the front tires when empty. That engine is heavy!

We had a 3/4 ton (F250 SD) and it wasn't enough rear axle capacity for our horse camper, we had to go to a dually to safely handle it. The 3/4 ton was 300# over the rated rear axle weight without horses or water.

Ken

 

[oldyellr]

Chev could have made the spare tire storage area large enough to put in a spare. The base model has a 17" and u can get up to a 22".

That ship sailed in 1968 when they started using compact spares. You're supposed to store your dirty big fat flat tire in the passenger compartment until you get it fixed.

 

[JDgreen227]

That ship sailed in 1968 when they started using compact spares. You're supposed to store your dirty big fat flat tire in the passenger compartment until you get it fixed.

First car I ever owned with a small spare was a '73 Nova hatchback with the "Space Saver" you inflated with the supplied can of air. Never used it. And what does one do when they have a flat and no spare or flat fix kit? Put the big dirty fat flat tire in the back seat and drive around on the brake rotor?

 

[slowzuki]

Really? The 10.5" is good for almost 9000 lbs except the older 16" rims are limited to 3400 or so each, so 6800 lbs on 265/75 r16 E's. It leaves about 4000 lbs for pin or bed weight. Oh I forgot they derate the tags on the 250 for tax and registration purposes.

I am not quite sure what you are trying to say. Our C3500 (dually) is not far from the max load rating on the front tires when empty. That engine is heavy!

We had a 3/4 ton (F250 SD) and it wasn't enough rear axle capacity for our horse camper, we had to go to a dually to safely handle it. The 3/4 ton was 300# over the rated rear axle weight without horses or water.

Ken

 

[dodge man]

I own a Dodge Challenger with 20" rims and very low profile tires, my truck has 17" wheels and e rated tires. The setup on my Challenger is much lighter than the truck wheels and tires. The Challenger handles very well and the unsprung weight is made up for the fact the car has independant suspension front and back. I do agree that trucks don't need 20" wheels and low profile tires, and I think they look better with about a 17" wheel and higher profile tire.

 

[Ken45101]

Really? The 10.5" is good for almost 9000 lbs except the older 16" rims are limited to 3400 or so each, so 6800 lbs on 265/75 r16 E's. It leaves about 4000 lbs for pin or bed weight. Oh I forgot they derate the tags on the 250 for tax and registration purposes.

You are not very clear on what you are trying to say.

With the F250SD, we were 300# overweight on the rear axle rating. That was with the horse camper, no horses, no water. I could feel the rear end sway a bit on gentle highway curves. When we went to the 1 ton (C3500) dually, it's very solid.

 

[yelbike]

I run 305/40/r22 on our Expedition EL. I have no ride quality issues. Looks great. And it feels planted when towing a 7000lbs load(rated for 9600lbs) and the vehicle is loaded with the familly. Only problem is the spare is the wrong circumference. I would never install it as I don't want to screw up the traction control.

 

[crazyal]

Haven't you realized it yet? These automakers just think you are not bright enough to change a tire or just too lazy. The new way will be to just text the guy. After all somehow our government thinks automakers should get to an average of 52 mpg in 2025, every pound matters.

 

[Bob77064]

I guess at the end of the day i am a appearance guy. We are looking to trade in our BMW335I for a Ford Edge. The sport package with the 22" wheels make that car, without the 22's it looks just like everything else on the road.

Chris

Chris be careful with the 22" rims, there is very little rubber for cushion. If you hit a pothole it is very easy to do wheel damage.

 

[JDgreen227]

Chris be careful with the 22" rims, there is very little rubber for cushion. If you hit a pothole it is very easy to do wheel damage.

Not to mention a brush with a curb will ruin the exterior of the rim as the sidewalls are too short to give any protection. Maybe they need to bring back "curb feelers"....

 

[Topkicker]

When GM first introduced the Hybrid Tahoe, weight was an issue to get the final MPG's they wanted. The stance is lower than a traditional Tahoe, the front fascia is more "closed off" with deleted tow rings, the rear lift gate has less inner sheet metal, and yes....NO SPARE. Comes with a pair of gloves and a can of Fix A Flat. I'm one of those Jeep owners the OP mentioned with the large tires. I run 17 in wheels because I need alot of sidewall for off-roading. You can't run a smaller spare on a JK Wrangler (07 to present) due to the ESP. The smaller spare will be turning faster than the other 3 tires so it will "think" the vehicle is skidding. This will cause the ESP to apply brake pressure to that wheel. You can manually turn the system off but a smaller spare is not reccomended. BTW. When I bought my GMC 4500 flatbed w 19.5 wheels, I was surprised when it did not come with a spare or a can of Fix A Flat. LOL.