Tire & Wheel Swap Question

zogg · Feb 3, 2017

My 2016 Ram has the original 275/70/18 firestone tires and chrome clad wheels, which I never liked.

I met a guy who upgraded his Laramie and is selling his 20" black wheels which I really like. They are 285/60/20 Firestones rwl....would look great on me truck (my opinion).

I used a tire size calculator thinking the final drive ratio would have a negative effect on performance, but since the sidewall of the 20's is shorted, the overall tire size diameter is almost exactly the same.....at 70 mph on the speedometer, the truck would actually be going 70.34 mph...no big issue.

My question is, how much rougher would my 2500 truck ride going from 18's to 20's????? The thing rides like a battle wagon now, and I don't want to make it undriveable.

I was told that the shorter sidewall does provide a tad better stability when towing a 5th wheel....true????

Thanks in advance for any/all advice.

Wandell · Feb 3, 2017

It all depends on the tire itself. They could ride firmer or they could ride softer. Odds are you won't notice a difference. I just went from 37 inch tires on 20's to 35 inch tires on 22's and I honestly can't feel a difference in ride quality.

Sandbox · Feb 3, 2017

I can't speak to the stability, but RAM puts them on their trucks so I wouldn't think towing would be an issue. That being said, I'd think a shorter sidewall would result in a rougher ride as there would less sidewall to flex.

Sandbox · Feb 3, 2017

Wandell said:
It all depends on the tire itself. They could ride firmer or they could ride softer. Odds are you won't notice a difference. I just went from 37 inch tires on 20's to 35 inch tires on 22's and I honestly can't feel a difference in ride quality.

That's true to. With the stiffer heavier duty suspensions of our trucks. It may not even be noticeable.

The Hulk · Feb 3, 2017

Depends on how much air pressure you run.

pcschwenke · Feb 3, 2017

The 20s would handle the bumps better. Think of it as riding a 20" bmx bike versus a 26" mountain bike over cracks in the road. Unless the tires are D or E rated.

bobbo7915 · Feb 3, 2017

pcschwenke said:
The 20s would handle the bumps better. Think of it as riding a 20" bmx bike versus a 26" mountain bike over cracks in the road. Unless the tires are D or E rated.

the overall diameter of the tire is the same.....if the OD of the original tire was 23" and the new tire is 33" then there would be a difference, rim size has no bearing in this instance.

only difference would be if the tires were inflated to lower then TPMS threshold levels, there would be some difference between the 18" and 20" rims with how much flex the sidewall is allowed.

zogg · Feb 3, 2017

Thanks for the feedback, folks....I am off and running to grab the new-to-me wheels!!!!

stingray17 · Feb 3, 2017

some states thats speeding.

zogg · Feb 9, 2017

Got the wheels and tires mounted. I really like them and the new look they give my truck versus the chrome clad 18's. The tires were new truck take offs with just under 3,000 miles on them and mine have almost 7,000. SO we swapped and I gave $300 boot....I'm happy!!!

lonestar21 · Feb 9, 2017

Not a bad deal. Your truck will sure look better now with these

RamblinRod · Feb 14, 2017

They look real nice, can you tell any difference in the ride?

Ratket · Feb 15, 2017

Nice score!!!

zogg · Feb 15, 2017

RamblinRod said:
They look real nice, can you tell any difference in the ride?

Yep...some. I only tow a few times during the summer, so the truck is a daily driver. At 80 psi the dammm thing rides like a battle wagon.

With the original 18s, I dropped the tire pressure to 45 psi for a decent ride. With the 20s, which have shorter side walls, I had to drop the pressure to 39-40 psi to get the same decent ride....at 45 I could feel every little road imperfection and my teeth got sick of being slammed together on every bump....hahaha

Tire wear on the 18s for 6500 miles was good and straight across the tread. The 20s had 50 psi when I installed them and they looked perfect.

I don't care if the tires wear out in 5000 miles...I cannot run 80 psi...ugh

Of course, I do have to deal with the stupid tpms lights.

jaflowers · Feb 16, 2017

I just had to put new tire set on the truck due to the TransForce sucking so bad in the cold and snow. I've got 20" rims and went with a 275/65R20 tire vs. the stock 20" size. The ride difference with the taller sidewall is night and day better. Even with the tires fully aired up it rides so much softer than the stock ones.

THETANK · Feb 16, 2017

from the angle of the pics it looks like you have plenty in terms of sidewall.

Tire & Wheel Swap Question

zogg

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Wandell

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Sandbox

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Sandbox

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The Hulk

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pcschwenke

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zogg

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lonestar21

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