I'm running the stock Bridgestone tires that came with my 2004 GMC Sierra Duramax. (They sure look anemic to me..!) What is the maximum height tire, using the same OEM rims, I should consider using with my truck? I don't want to go way out there and get too radical. I would like to keep the relative same pulling power I have now; I can deal with a + or - 5 mph error on the speedometer.


Thanks for the help! http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif

I put 285/75/16 on mine, now the speedo is off by 3mph according to my gps unit (slower), wish I had went with the 265/75/16 instead.

Why don't you guys get a programer~Hypertech, Quadzilla etc.


They will allow you to adjust for your new tire size and give you a few extra ponies in the process http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif

Speaking of tires, my '03 has 27k miles. The stock Firestones are wearing out fast. I am ahout 1/8 of an inch or less from the warning tread. When is the tire considered in need of replacement. Is it when I hit the warning tread? I can't believe these crappy tires. I hope to ride them until fall and replace with Bridgestone REVO's before winter, but they look kind of scary now. SPICER

Jeff,


I put 265's on mine, and the difference is power or speedometer is not really noticable. I have heard that going bigger that 265's could create issues with trans., power, etc.


As far as getting any power enhancers, I would be cautious, as it will void your warranty.


Regards,


Bill

285/75's is what I put on mine. Speedo was 3mph off, fixed with programer. Slight diff. in power. This is the biggest tire you can put on w/o modification. I think it makes the truck look more proportional and normal, stock tires are just too Dinky!

I have 265/75/16 and these look pretty good. I too agree that the factory tires look dinky and make our big trucks look goofy. Mine threw my speedo off by 1-2 and easily corrected by a programmer. The dealer actually sold me mine and told me the programmers dont void the warranties. There are conflicting stories out there.


Ben

Did you guys notice any difference in the way the trans acted when pulling a trailer with larger than stock tires?

I never really towed with the stock 245's. I've had 265's on it for most of its life (and closing in on 100k miles now). No issues at all with towing heavy. Next set of tires will be 285's.

--Rob

I switched to 265's and notice a little less power. My trailer is heavy though. On 6% grades I've run with both tires, I used to max out about 59mph, with the new tires, I max out about 53 which is a mile or two lower. You get some SOP difference.

255/85/16.. nuff' said.

I've held with the original tires mainly 'cuz if'n one goes with any taller-type tire one loses rear end ration - i.e., taller means some ration less than the 3.73:1 I have currently and that means the transmission will be working harder than it should. Sound right?

Jim R.

http://www.piersdiesel.com/PhotoAlbums/DynoMania03/images/dm0312.jpgWith a schedule that is at least 40% pulling materials (based on miles driven) And after using different size tires in all weather conditions, I run a 235-85-16E
Never had a separation with this size while trailering, No Casing failures and no excessive heat etc.
Mileage is as good as any wider tire I have run, and they indicate a 5% high reading on speedo by GPS.

Yeah, they are 'pizza cutters' , but they really shine when you run into varying road conditions like snow, ice, slush. They do sacrifice some lateral handling in the dry, and aesthetically they look terrible narrow front or rear profile (from the side view they are 31.75" tall and look almost normal)

your ratio will get smaller but the power these things put out shouldnt be affected that much. buy a hypertech or any other programer, use the extra power and adjust the tires and you will never notice a power loss. i dont think a stealership would be about to find out you have had a programer on it unless you tell them.(that is if you put it back to stock b4 you drop it off) i am sure theres a lot of people that use bigger tires and pull heavy load and not have any problem with the slightly extra strain on the tranny from the bigger tires and extra power. i run the 285 mudders when i pull and havent had any trouble execpt for the tranny-too much power ):h . going from a 30" tire to a 33" tire isnt to hard on the vehicle. its how you treat it

your ratio will get smaller but the power these things put out shouldnt be affected that much. buy a hypertech or any other programer, use the extra power and adjust the tires and you will never notice a power loss. i dont think a stealership would be about to find out you have had a programer on it unless you tell them.(that is if you put it back to stock b4 you drop it off) i am sure theres a lot of people that use bigger tires and pull heavy load and not have any problem with the slightly extra strain on the tranny from the bigger tires and extra power. i run the 285 mudders when i pull and havent had any trouble execpt for the tranny-too much power ):h . going from a 30" tire to a 33" tire isnt to hard on the vehicle. its how you treat it
I should have prefaced my remark/comment with the following: I'm a Systems Engineer so I'm looking at the truck as a system that was engineered to work as purchased and, since I'm not keen on adding a 3rd party programmer, I'm focused on running/operating the truck as "stock."

The 1000 Allison has some GCWR limitations (don't pull more than 26K GCWR with that transmission 'cuz you'll be overextending it) but I'm not reaching the limit. I wouldn't expect any power loss - what I posited was the transmission would be doing more of the work than the engine which is not a loss of power, just a transfer of who's doing the work.

Regards, Jim R.

255/85/16.. nuff' said.Any trimming or cranking required to fit without rubbing ???

Dang....I LOVE my truck! :ROCK:

285's and notice a loss of power. MPH is off by 3 as well.

The earlier quote about 27K on stock tires... I wish! I got 10K and had to toss mine. Except I used mine in the Arizona southern mountains for hunting. Massive chunks of tire missing when I pitched them at 12K. No love loss with them. Love my BFG's with 30K on them and lots of life.

cmc

i will never own another set of firestones.....ever. these are the absolute worst tires ever - and ive only had em for 5,000 miles. bought the truck used with the stock tires still on. 27k and they are almost toast. chunks of tread missing all over the place, extremely uneven wear (not like inside or outside that could be due to inflation or alignment, i mean from lug to lug) and they are loud as hell (which i actually like, but shouldnt be the case for a street tire. very mild all terrain is the best these things could be called). :mad:

why did gm start using them?? they put wranglers on the z71s (at least they used to). im sure goodyear makes a load range e tire as well.

285/75/16 REVOS on mine. 46k miles and its time to replace them (thanks Edge:rolleyes: ). I will replace them with the EXACT SAME TIRE AND SIZE.

No noticable loss of power, my old Z71 held the same tires just fine with over 140k on the clock.

If the Dmax/Allison cant handle a 285 like my stock Z71 could then I would sell the POS. The Allison was made to work, dont loose a minutes sleep over it.

46k on mine with Hot Juice/Attitude and driving it hard, no tranny problems to date. Many stoplight to stoplight runs in 4x4, level 5. Normally run in level 4, tow in level 2.

Enjoy your truck.

got juice, are those donut marks from you in the front of your truck in your pic

New member here! Great site!

I just put 285 REVOs on mine and love them. Awesome tire with prety agressive tread and road noise is not even a concern.

http://centexhotrods.com/clark/11-13-2004/truck_resize.jpg

got juice, are those donut marks from you in the front of your truck in your picYes, although i went easy on it.

There was some serious asphalt resurfacing later that day!:ro)