I'm looking to keep the stock rims but upgrade the stock 245 tires to BFG A/T ko's. Can't decide between the 265 or 285's. I like the look of the 285's a little better but I'm concerned about heavy towing and also noise with the larger tires. Any thoughts?

I have 285 BFG A/T's on mine. They were on it when bought the truck. They are great so far. The are quiet, ride great look good and are excellent in the snow.


My only concern is the load rating, which for a 285 BFG A/T is "D" rated. Stock tires are "E" rated. Is the truck now limited in what I can carry or tow?

I've had a gasser 8.1L/A and now a D/A with BFG A/T k/o 285's on them no real problems to speak of. I ran my 245s on my 02 (Firestone's) into the ground in 10'000 miles in AZ. Just couldn't take the off roading. Need to turn up the torsion bars and trim the front bumper on a GMC. I like the ride much better than the 245's. They were seriously stiff. No matter how low the air pressure was. @ 55psi my 285's run quiet and smooth in town and on the highway. I don't pull anything heavy (right now) so I can run what I want. I'd have to say it's a matter of what ground clearance you're looking for. I hunt and go off road. I needed as much as I could without a lift and serious damage to my truck. 285's have been great. Next step is to get some 8" rims with correct offset. Just need some $$$. Hunting seems to override that fund account.


No matter what the size I really recommend the BFG if you do any offroad. The 3ply sidewall has saved me a ton. My old 245's were almost sliced through in 4 places. Not good.


cmcEdited by: CMC-GMC

I have 285's on the stock rims too. They look good and the truck performs better than stock. I have no rubbing.


Jesse

To really get the full benefit and stability of 285s you need to run them on 8" rims. This is what I have, and I do ocassionally get rubbing. There is also no way I could run chains and turn the steering wheel past 3/4 travel. I have my nose lifted 2" via torsion bars. I will probably wind up getting a lift kit.


On stock rims, there is less of an issue of rubbing but the tire is a bit crowned. I initially had 265s on the factory rims, and even the 265s are a bit large for factory rims. No, I didn't have any handling problems, but the difference in stability was dramatic when I went to the 285s on the 8" rims. It wasn't the extra 20mm in width that made the difference, it was the wider rim keeping the tread flat.


Also, the bigger the tire the more load it can carry. For example, my 285s are "D" rated but their load limit is 3300 lbs each. The factory 245s are "E" rated, but their load limit is only 3050 lbs each. There are a few 285s with an "E" rating, but they are spendy and really, 3300 lbs per tire is enough. My wheels are only rated to 3500 lbs each, which is pretty typical.


With 3300 lb tires, you have 6600 lbs of weight per axle available. Let's say the truck weighs 7000 lbs, with about 3800 lbs on the front and 3200 lbs on the rear. That is just a guess, but it will illustrate my point. 6600-3200 leaves 3400 lbs of load available for the rear axle. This means you could have 2000lbs of cargo in the bed and still tow a trailer with 1200 lbs of tongue weight.


BlaineEdited by: afp1

I'll include that I don't get any rubbing while driving on the streets. Off roading I only touch the front bumper a tad. Taking off a bit of the wrap around part of the bumper cured that for me.


No rubbing inside the wheel-well for me.





cmc

if you dont get 285's youll be sick

I had 265 bfg AT KO's on my 6.0L 2500hd before I bought the duramax and have 265's on order for this truck Goodyear mt/r (like the look better than bfg) I have nothing but praise for those tires. Put over 40,000 miles on them and only rotated them once at 35000 miles. Towed plenty also. Drywall sheets, tools and scrap and a 8300lb bobcat not all at once of course but with the bobcat and 3 accessories I bought with it I was nearing 18000 lbs gross wt. and needless to say I'm alive to talk about it. I like the look of the 265's ok 285's would be nicer looking (had them on my old 1/2 ton dodge, towed a he$$ of a lot with that also) but I hate the thought of triming bumpers and wheel wells. But that's just my 2 cents.

285's!!! Period!





Well Maybe 305/70's next time???http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Evil Smile.gif

It depends on what you are going to be doing with it. I just took my 285's off and put 265 Michelins on it.


I pull a 40' gooseneck exiss trailer. The 285's sway too much with a big load, such as a trailer like that. I would reccomend an "E" load range tire. Do Not get Firestones!!

What width rims were you using? I've heard lots of people loving the 285's for their stability, and you're talking about exactly the opposite.


--Rob





It depends on what you are going to be doing with it. I just took my 285's off and put 265 Michelins on it.


I pull a 40' gooseneck exiss trailer. The 285's sway too much with a big load, such as a trailer like that. I would reccomend an "E" load range tire. Do Not get Firestones!!

What would be the best specs for a set of 8" steel rims?

Years ago I went through all the various brands and found BFG 265 AT's got more mileage and fewer punctures and have been running them ever since. My only complaint is that Costco won't install them (the book says 8" rim minimum for the 265's) and some rubbing on the top of the fender in bouncing turns. To deal with the latter, I plan on doing a 1" torsion bar lift.

Finally got a March 1 delivery date and a VIN. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif

Does anyone know if a torsion bar lift necessary for either of these tire sizes?

I had 265 bfg AT KO's on my 6.0L 2500hd before I bought the duramax and have 265's on order for this truck Goodyear mt/r (like the look better than bfg) I have nothing but praise for those tires. Hi, are you running the 265's on the stock 6-1/2" rims. I see that the 265's say they should be on 7" to 7-1/2" rims, and I'm wondering if they can do OK on the stock rims. I haul a slide-in camper that has my rear 245 E range tires close to capacity.


Thanks....

Big-dog1 I am running the 265's on the stock rims and have had zero problems.

I have put about 300K miles on 65's w/6 1/2 rims with no tire/wheel or wear problems. A lot of that was high/low-speed off-road with a few occassions where (I swear! http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Shocked.gif ) big rocks jumped in front of me and/or we could have used some wings.

There was some rubbing at the TDC of the front fender on bumpy turns. No problem with tight chains on the rear.

Do Not get Firestones!!








Why do you say this. Brother just got 4 new ones after putting 50K on the last set. Any reason why?

I've been running 285's (Nitto's, not BFG's) for over 20K now. I haven't had any problems at all. Definitely worth it.

Just a question for you guys. Do any of you have any problems running 265's or 285's on stock 2500HD rims. (ie. any trimming required in the front end)?


I currently am running a stock 2500HD w/ Dmax on stock rims and tires, but would like to upgrade the tire size without giving up the ability to tow the boat and trailer.


Would also like to know if this would affect warranty on the truck (I was told this by the dealership) if I changed the current tire size?


Are you guys running tuners to correct the larger tires as well, or can I get away without it?


Thanxs in advance


Brian

Ive also had absolutely zero problems running 265's. I cranked my T-Bars up 4 turns when my truck was new. I threw on BFG's at 29K, Firestones are worthless in snow and mud when they get some mileage on them, they are like a set of slicks. I have 23K on my BFG's now and well Ive really beat the living hell out of em, They still have say 15-20K miles left on em, but thats gonna be pushing it.


I dont do extremely heavy towing just a landscape trailer maybe 4K pounds max. The BFGs are D rated, But carry 3042 pds each tire, same as my E rated tires on my other truck. Weird aint it.


Never had a rub or a touch from tire to body at all.


PS the GY MTR's are a sweet tire, but nothing I could handle for everyday driving, noisy, squirrelly in the front end, carry loads like a SOB though


GM can change your ABS for calibration of larger tires, But that will not correct speedo, odo, etc. I purchased a Predator to change my tire size, And to be honest I felt no difference with the 265's programmed in or not.

note: 285/75/16 BFG T/A's on stock rims on a stock truck.


I put 6 turns in on my torsion bars to get the clearance needed on my 04GMC 4X4 CC SB. On my 02GMC CC SB 4X4 I didn't need as many (3-4 turns). On the 02 I removed the front air dam and no trim needed which I believe is why so little of turns were needed.


On my 04 GMC I only took off about 3/4 of an inch that can not be seen from the side or front of the truck. If needed PM me and I'll take a picture and send you to show what I did. In short a car jack, tape measure, correct socket and wrench is all that are needed to adjust the bars. ( I really recommend you take the weight off the front end with the jack although I've heard people do it without, scary if you ask me. Good chance to breaking a bolt)


Also I'd like to add that I never did an alignment and the tires show no uneven ware or pull. I've done this 'free lift' to three 'torsion bar' trucks, each screwing in the bolts and I've never aligned any of them and never seen odd tire ware on all three. I do recommend getting an 8" rim or going with 265's if you tow a bunch. I see more slop in my 285's when towing but I tow a smaller trailer and not often enough to bother. My next upgrade, after a camper shell, is to go with 8" wide rims to add stability.


again PM me if you got any questions. This being my second GMC truck with 285's I really recommend it.





cmc

Guys,


Here is a pic of my 285/16s on 8" rims. The torsion bars are cranked up 2", the inner fender liner is reformed and tied back, the parking brake cable is tied back, and the steering wheel is turned about 3/4 travel. The measurement form the ground to the uderside of the front wheel is a 41.25". Are there any further questions as to why I'm getting a lift kit?


Blaine


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/1CC_100_0164A.JPG Edited by: afp1

See my Sig. I'm very happy with what I have and that trailer is over 15,000 lbs. when loaded.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Shocked.gif

I've got the 285's on the stock rims, and had to do no trimming. But I also have the green keys, so that might be partially responsible.

Unless your boat is huge you probably won't even notice the tires. If you start to push your truck you might see a slight reduction of power, but it certainly hasn't affected me.

Warranty seems to be dealer specific. I've heard some are real @ssholes about it, while others couldn't care less. But if they want to deny you warranty for ANYTHING you've done on your truck they have to be able to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that your modification caused the problems.

I'm running the Westers tuner in my truck, but I've got the 6.0 gas motor. If you do get bigger tires it's a good idea to make the change, but it's not absolutely necessary. Just be aware that your odo/speedo will be off a bit, so your indicated speed, as well as your gas mileage, will need to have minor compensations made in order to be accurate.

When I had the 285' on I raised the torsion bars so that from the fround to the bottom of the front fender was 40"


Since I have put the 265' I have lowered it back down to 38", truck levels out more with a load on it. It's not as light as it was up at 40".

AFP1,

What Brand of tires are you runnin

Thanks

Pepperidge

Pepperidge,


They are generals I got from Discount tire. They are an all terrain type tire, but they don't have an agressive pattern. If I had known running 16x8" rims was going to cause me to need a lft kit, I'd have gotten 305/70s instead of 285/75s. Having said that, the tires are good enough.

aFP1,


My 285 dueller MT's lasted about 21000 mi
and now my general MT's might maket it 25000mi.
The new Deer lease doesn't require an MT tread so I am looking to go with an AT for longer tread life.

Sam's CLub Sells generals(Where I got mine) I'll have to check them.

Thanks,

PepperidgeEdited by: pepperidge

This may be a dumb question, but what exactly is a green key and where do you get them?

Do a search on "green keys" or "ford keys" and you'll find more info on the topic then you can read in a lifetime. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif Edited by: JimWilson