I have been reading back in posts about 285's on stock rims and found it works, but is not optimal. The dealer just did this for me and never mentioned that I should have a wider rim, so now I am wondering about a good solution. I absolutely need to be safe while towing (8000# toy hauler coming next week). I have the 285's (E Rating) on stock rims, the truck has been keyed and leveled, so is there a wider rim (16x8 maybe) with the same back spacing as stock that could easily be swapped, or am I worrying too much?

Thanks.

there are several available--I went with a 17x8 from motometal, but they tried to sell me a 16x8 cause it was in stock.
The wider rim will allow the tire tread to "spread out" a little--you shouldn't have a bulge in the sidewall afterwards.

You're not worrying to much - that is NOT an optimal setup. I tow a 32' fver and wanted to go with bigger tires and I was advised by folks on this website NOT to put 285s on the stock wheels because they weren't wide enough and would result in some very flaking handling problems when towing. I ended up getting a set of 285 Coopers and a set of relatively inexpensive H2 wheels and I have no trouble towing - in fact the truck is more stable and tracks a lot better now than it did with the PYOs and 245s. I'd recommend spending the bucks on a set of wheels for those 285s you want or go no more than 265s on those stockers. Good luck with your decision.

I ran 285's for years, towed about 9000 lbs, and never had a problem....

Would I do it again?

Probably not.

Thanks for the input so far. I wouldn't have thought about it since the dealer said ti was fine, until I read a few posts here.

So any suggestions for a 16x8 rim with the same offset so I don't have to muck with trimming or such?

Crank the tortion bars and trim.

As you can see here, my tortions are pretty much maxed out. I still had to do a bit of trimming to keep them from rubbing....The wheels are 16x8 American Racing.

That is what I have and I have not had one issue and have put about 7k miles with the trailer behind.

RedSoxFan,

How bad did you have to trim? Crank up the torsions?

On stock wheels, I didnt have to trim at all. 6 turns on the tortions and it clears the front air dam.

Thanks for the added input (and pictures). The trimming doesn't look as extensive as I thought it was.

Talked to the person at the shop and they have the 285's on stock rims and they tow a 9200# TH all the time, and have for years, so I don't feel the sense of urgency I had. I will be checking out 16x8 rims before I get too many miles one though. He said he would be more than happy to sell me new rims.
Go figure.

That is what I have and I have not had one issue and have put about 7k miles with the trailer behind.

Holy sheep dip! Is that the tri-axle trailer you pull seen in your avatar?

RedSoxFan,

How bad did you have to trim? Crank up the torsions?

Zip tied the ebrake cable, trimmed the front air damn just a bit. 2 cranks on the tbars - thats it.

I got 285s load range D on stock rims and have never had a problem towing anything. I halled a 4430 John Deere tractor bout 3 hours away and back grossing 25,000 lbs. with no problem till the dmv stoped me and I was 15,000 lbs over wieght lol. I dont think you will have a problem just watch your air is the key.

Zip tied the ebrake cable, trimmed the front air damn just a bit. 2 cranks on the tbars - thats it.

Hate to be a pain on this thread... Like most people, I've searched and read and read until my eyes are seeing double. Thanks for the response, but, one more thing. Was this without your Bilsteins or with? I'm not familiar with leveling kits-how much are these?

Thanks.

I have no leveling kit. Shocks do nothing for ride height. Throw on your 285's, crank the tortion bars a few turns, get it realigned, and you're golden.

Nick, as you know i am still waiting for my rims to get in...but going from 285's on stock rims...to 285's on the 8" wide rim did you notice a difference in stability?....sorry for the thread jack

Hate to be a pain on this thread... Like most people, I've searched and read and read until my eyes are seeing double. Thanks for the response, but, one more thing. Was this without your Bilsteins or with? I'm not familiar with leveling kits-how much are these?

Thanks.

The Bilsteins are OEM replacements and had no effect on the ride height. I understand that Cognito has a good 2" leveling kit but most guys just crank the front up - 4 turns and you should be fine. Anything larger than 285s requires that you either lift or drive in a straight line all day. 285s can be done without a lot of hassle and they're the size tire that GM should be putting on these trucks in the first place.

I have no leveling kit. Shocks do nothing for ride height. Throw on your 285's, crank the tortion bars a few turns, get it realigned, and you're golden.
Nick, you forgot one thing. Realign the headlights. Cranking the torsion bars to fit tires will raise the front end of the truck more than the rear and the headlights also need to be adjusted.

Why adjust the head lights? Its the perfect height to shine your lights in the back of lowrider Rice burners! :D

I never asjusted the headlights at all. They were not out of alignment whatsoever.

I also never noticed any instability either. They were good riding tires.

i wouldn't adjust the lights either i had got pulled over once for it but the cop just thought i had my brights on and didn't say anything about all the other illegal stuff of the truck he actually said that the truck looked really good and asked me what i had done to it so that he could do it to his

Well, after getting a few dealer problems ironed out I had my truck back with the 285's on the stock rims. My first two observations are that the tires don't bludge on the side as much as it sounded like they would, but I can feel it "float" a bit more with the tread being a bit crowned at normal tire pressure and not completely flat to the road. I will eventually buy some 16x8 rims, but it didn't feel unstable to me, just not *as* stable as if it were running flat. that opinion all might change when I throw the toy hauler on in the next week and go pulling up will at 65-70 mph too.

Thanks for all the input.

One thing to think about is that you are changing the area where the tire wants to flex. by pulling the beads in, you are lifting the shoulders of the tires and therefore changing the flex area away from where it was designed to flex. By doing this, you can create issues of premature casing fratigue, as well as wearing the centers of the tread out earlier than normal.
There is a reason why the tire manufactors recommend certain rims sizes, and that is because they test, test, and retest, to make sure the tire performs at it's max. They built them, they know.