New Rims/Tires Discussion

[Cougs57]

Firstly, I posted this in the Exterior forum and had ZERO responses. Not sure if its because most of them are 1500 folks or what but I figured this may be more appropriate.

I have been searching around all day for some answers but have fallen short. I have a 2018 Ram 2500 CC Laramie with the Lovely 18 Rims and 275/70/18 Firestone AT Tires. I live in Northern Wisconsin where winters are terrible on top of the cold weather. I plow quite a bit in the winter and told myself after half a winter last year I will NOT be plowing again with these tires.

When I started this search I wanted to go with the 20inch black Ram Rims you see on quite a few stock models. I have not been able to confirm the rim weight but I have a hunch it is around 45 lbs from some scraps I piled together. I have mulled over the ideal of getting designated winter tires (like we do on all our other vehicles).

After everything I have come to the conclusion the best solution is to stick with a 18 inch rim that is lightweight and durable and a little wider (18x9 versus the stock 18x8) and go with a moderate to aggressive all year tire. Below is my idea and I am curious if the size (as it is an optional size for this rim) will be a problem.

I have a white truck with black running boards and want to go black with a tint of chrome.
Rims MotoMetal MO970 Link They weight 29 lbs each
Tires Discovery AT3 XLT 285/65/18 Link They weigh 57 lbs each (on the fence of the regular Discovery AT3's versus the XLT but the regulars weigh 55 lbs each and about $60 less in my pocketbook)

All in all, I know there are a lot of threads out there about this but there is not one that says the weight of the stock rims that come in the Ram HD series in this generation. The 18 inch laramie, the 20inch laramie limited, or the 20 inch longhorn/standard editions.

 

[McBroom]

Firstly, I posted this in the Exterior forum and had ZERO responses. Not sure if its because most of them are 1500 folks or what but I figured this may be more appropriate.

I have been searching around all day for some answers but have fallen short. I have a 2018 Ram 2500 CC Laramie with the Lovely 18 Rims and 275/70/18 Firestone AT Tires. I live in Northern Wisconsin where winters are terrible on top of the cold weather. I plow quite a bit in the winter and told myself after half a winter last year I will NOT be plowing again with these tires.

When I started this search I wanted to go with the 20inch black Ram Rims you see on quite a few stock models. I have not been able to confirm the rim weight but I have a hunch it is around 45 lbs from some scraps I piled together. I have mulled over the ideal of getting designated winter tires (like we do on all our other vehicles).

After everything I have come to the conclusion the best solution is to stick with a 18 inch rim that is lightweight and durable and a little wider (18x9 versus the stock 18x8) and go with a moderate to aggressive all year tire. Below is my idea and I am curious if the size (as it is an optional size for this rim) will be a problem.

I have a white truck with black running boards and want to go black with a tint of chrome.
Rims MotoMetal MO970 Link They weight 29 lbs each
Tires Discovery AT3 XLT 285/65/18 Link They weigh 57 lbs each (on the fence of the regular Discovery AT3's versus the XLT but the regulars weigh 55 lbs each and about $60 less in my pocketbook)

All in all, I know there are a lot of threads out there about this but there is not one that says the weight of the stock rims that come in the Ram HD series in this generation. The 18 inch laramie, the 20inch laramie limited, or the 20 inch longhorn/standard editions.

I think a set 33-11.5/18 Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires would do great for you. They are a 10 ply rating too.
And wouldn’t you want to have more weight on the front to help keep the plow down?? With the salt n snow up there a set of steel wheels wouldn’t pit up like an alloy type wheel.


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

 

[Cougs57]

I think a set 33-11.5/18 Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires would do great for you. They are a 10 ply rating too.
And wouldn’t you want to have more weight on the front to help keep the plow down?? With the salt n snow up there a set of steel wheels wouldn’t pit up like an alloy type wheel.


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

Thank you for your response. Its actually the opposite. I have thought about adding a counterweight to the back end or hitch area to help offset the plow weight. I recall the SS DXT 8.2 weighing around 920 lbs. I am not up on this metric style tire stuff. Those are 2nd on my list for tires though. Just on the fence with everything else.

 

[Megazor]

You are probably the first person I've seen with a post concerned about weight of the wheels and tires, especially with adding a plow to the front.

Is there a particular reason you are worried about the weight? With my 2100 lbs of go-kart Toyota I was concerned about wheel and tire weight for performance reasons, but my 8000 lbs truck not so much.

 

[Cougs57]

You are probably the first person I've seen with a post concerned about weight of the wheels and tires, especially with adding a plow to the front.

Is there a particular reason you are worried about the weight? With my 2100 lbs of go-kart Toyota I was concerned about wheel and tire weight for performance reasons, but my 8000 lbs truck not so much.

I want to stay close to OEM spec. I do not want huge rims and tires as wider could rub or give the dealership an excuse to not cover something in warranty. I do not drive around town with the plow. The counter weight was mentioned to help give the rear tires more traction as the truck ends to lean forward with 920 lbs on the nose (ever see a truck driving around town with a huge plow?) I want to keep the same rotational weight ratio to stock meanwhile giving me a better slightly wider tire (what I listed above). I cannot seem to find the exact weight of the factory 18 laramie and 20 longhorn standard rims though.

 

[Megazor]

I want to stay close to OEM spec. I do not want huge rims and tires as wider could rub or give the dealership an excuse to not cover something in warranty. I do not drive around town with the plow. The counter weight was mentioned to help give the rear tires more traction as the truck ends to lean forward with 920 lbs on the nose (ever see a truck driving around town with a huge plow?) I want to keep the same rotational weight ratio to stock meanwhile giving me a better slightly wider tire (what I listed above). I cannot seem to find the exact weight of the factory 18 laramie and 20 longhorn standard rims though.

I have the factor Laramie 20s with 295/60r20 STT PROs and when new the combo was around about 102 lbs. The tire factory weight is supposed to be 66lbs. Which would leaves 36lbs for wheel. Placing the factory 18s (5XV56AAAAA) in several shopping carts online shows a 30lbs shipping weight.

Super familiar with plows on the front of trucks. Back at home I have a 94 F150 with the inline 300 and mazda five speed we push snow with. Generally we have sand or salt in the back offsetting the front.

 

[Cougs57]

I have the factor Laramie 20s with 295/60r20 STT PROs and when new the combo was around about 102 lbs. The tire factory weight is supposed to be 66lbs. Which would leaves 36lbs for wheel. Placing the factory 18s (5XV56AAAAA) in several shopping carts online shows a 30lbs shipping weight.

Super familiar with plows on the front of trucks. Back at home I have a 94 F150 with the inline 300 and mazda five speed we push snow with. Generally we have sand or salt in the back offsetting the front.

That is good to know... How do you like them? I think I heard back and the weight for the 18 laramie rims is 37 lbs and the 20 inch longhorn (standard 20 inch rims) is 41 lbs.

 

[McBroom]

I want to stay close to OEM spec. I do not want huge rims and tires as wider could rub or give the dealership an excuse to not cover something in warranty. I do not drive around town with the plow. The counter weight was mentioned to help give the rear tires more traction as the truck ends to lean forward with 920 lbs on the nose (ever see a truck driving around town with a huge plow?) I want to keep the same rotational weight ratio to stock meanwhile giving me a better slightly wider tire (what I listed above). I cannot seem to find the exact weight of the factory 18 laramie and 20 longhorn standard rims though.

The 33x11.5 on your stock rims won’t hurt a thing. Plus it’s a strong 10 ply tire. It’ll do exactly what your wanting to do. I still believe that the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 is the way to go.


I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

 

[Megazor]

That is good to know... How do you like them? I think I heard back and the weight for the 18 laramie rims is 37 lbs and the 20 inch longhorn (standard 20 inch rims) is 41 lbs.

I have no complaints for either the wheels or tires. The STT Pros have worn well, but have the standard cons of a MT. Noisy with the windows down on the highway (not the worst I've owned), you can feel the lugs on pavement, and love to dig in the sand. When the time comes I'm going to try one of the hybrid tires instead, but if I needed a MT still I would buy them again. I like the factory wheels, but wished they had a more aggressive back spacing to bump the tire out a bit.

Glad you got a more solid answer for the weights.

 

[Cougs57]

I am running into the problem where no one can give me a definite answer of the factory rim offsets... I have the 18 inch laramie rims. I always thought they were an 18 offset but it appears... They are around 45-46mm offset stock? I have searched threads and threads and nothing has been found for the 2018 Ram 2500 Laramie 18s. They look like this. I do not want to stick outside of the factory fender flairs. Discount tire is saying to go with a 18mm offset rim otherwise you will rub going any lower (0mm offset). I am going with a factory size 275/70/18 inch tire.

 

[DarthMegaHD]

I hear the Cooper st maxx is a good overall tire that does great in snow. As far as offset yes the HDs are super positive, I was gonna say +30ish but I wouldn't doubt your claim. I'm gonna have my stock black 20s up for sale real soon

 

[G. Mcpherson]

Factory 18" are 43mm

 

[Sandbox]

an 18x9 with a 18-20 offset will keep you about flush with the factory flares depending on the tire you use. I run 295/70/17s on the same rims and they are just barely tucked in. Go to customer wheel offsets and look at their gallery. You can filter by tire/rim specs and different lifts to get ideas of how they fit.

My personal preference is 18x9 with a 18+ offset with 295/70/18 with a mild leveling kit. I have the tires, just need to save up for the rims.

BTW, the 285/65/18 you mentioned earlier would be slightly smaller that than the stock tires.

 

[black-betty]

Good thread. I have been doing some research on this subject, as I need to get some new tires too. But I am looking at it in a different way....in particular....

I just dont like the look of the current tires - I think they look to small, ie the aspect ratio is too small - so I want to go bigger, without the issue of rubbing.

Now my wheels are the 20" blacked out version - from Ram - OEM...so I need a 20" tire. Here is where I am thinking I have settled....note that i am not "Offroading" my truck.

https://tiresize.com/tires/Yokohama/Geolandar-AT-G015-35X12.50R20.htm

Also, for all you blokes looking - found this really helps in "VISUALIZING" tire differences, plus it gives you details on the MPH difference you will expect to see (or the PoPo will see)

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

 

[Sandbox]

Good thread. I have been doing some research on this subject, as I need to get some new tires too. But I am looking at it in a different way....in particular....

I just dont like the look of the current tires - I think they look to small, ie the aspect ratio is too small - so I want to go bigger, without the issue of rubbing.

Now my wheels are the 20" blacked out version - from Ram - OEM...so I need a 20" tire. Here is where I am thinking I have settled....note that i am not "Offroading" my truck.

https://tiresize.com/tires/Yokohama/Geolandar-AT-G015-35X12.50R20.htm

Also, for all you blokes looking - found this really helps in "VISUALIZING" tire differences, plus it gives you details on the MPH difference you will expect to see (or the PoPo will see)

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

Hey, I see you're in No. VA. What part?

 

[black-betty]

Hey, I see you're in No. VA. What part?

Leesburg

 

[Cougs57]

Looks like Mavericks it is. They come in a +20 or +1 for my situation. My assumption is a +1 will cause some minor problems with stock suspension... +20 will be about .91 inches further out than stock +43 offset (if that is indeed what the stock 18 laramie rims are (some things I look at say they are stock +53 or something)). With the Black Friday sales tire places had the cooper discovery xlts are 2-3 weeks out.

 

[redvettx2]

I grew up in the mid-west and raced snowmobiles all over. I moved out west 30 years ago and have been dragging trailers through the mountains here and in western Canada. You have seen Highway to Hell. That is our main route to Revelstoke. My riding buddy and I have tried lots of combination and the one proven tire for our heavy trucks that work are BFG KO's. Now they have the KO 2's. They have to compounds a soft with the Snow flake(snow rated) and a harder long wear formula. You want the snowflake soft compound for snow. Try them and if you want more bite have them sipped. Its like $10 bucks a tire and worth every penny. We just sipe them right away because they have better traction and add to longer wear as they run cooler. They are only 242 a tire at Tirerack. I am going to run 275/65-20 once my TransForce are shot. So far I air them down and tried them in the snow and I was impressed. Much better than I thought after reading the reports. Airing them down helps a lot and I need to go lower still. I might run Nitrogen once I figure out what I like. No water in it like air so the temps don't fluctuate like they do with air. My stock size is 285/60/20. 275 are actually 1/2" taller and only 1 lb heavier than the TransForce. They are also 100 a tire cheaper than the stock size which is huge.

 

[Cougs57]

I grew up in the mid-west and raced snowmobiles all over. I moved out west 30 years ago and have been dragging trailers through the mountains here and in western Canada. You have seen Highway to Hell. That is our main route to Revelstoke. My riding buddy and I have tried lots of combination and the one proven tire for our heavy trucks that work are BFG KO's. Now they have the KO 2's. They have to compounds a soft with the Snow flake(snow rated) and a harder long wear formula. You want the snowflake soft compound for snow. Try them and if you want more bite have them sipped. Its like $10 bucks a tire and worth every penny. We just sipe them right away because they have better traction and add to longer wear as they run cooler. They are only 242 a tire at Tirerack. I am going to run 275/65-20 once my TransForce are shot. So far I air them down and tried them in the snow and I was impressed. Much better than I thought after reading the reports. Airing them down helps a lot and I need to go lower still. I might run Nitrogen once I figure out what I like. No water in it like air so the temps don't fluctuate like they do with air. My stock size is 285/60/20. 275 are actually 1/2" taller and only 1 lb heavier than the TransForce. They are also 100 a tire cheaper than the stock size which is huge.

Thank you for the information. My assumption is I am going to test these out for the winter and see how I like them and next fall get blizzak lts for my stock 18s for the winter. I cannot imagine anything is going to handle better in the winter than a blizzak or other comparable snow rated tire. A lot of people at work have the KO's and they just look noisy... I drive to work and back occasionally (IT geek so I work from home half the time) and its about a 50 mile trip each way on 55mph and 70 mph highways. Another note... Anyone with the 6.4 hemi and wanting to get the magnaflow 19200 or 15333 exhaust there is a seller on Amazon right now that is about $200-300 less than retail. Looks authentic and reputable but I sent them a message anyways. Hell of a deal for anyone wanting to give themselves an early xmas present.

 

[Lyndon]

I bought a set of chrome clad 18 inch oem wheels and I put on some general grabber atx tires. They are 10 ply and I got them in lt275/70/18/ The tires have a stud holes if you wish to stud them. I only put these tires on before I left for work, but the drive to work was snowy and slippery. I think these tires will be great. I ran some grabber at3's on my old gm the last 2 winters. Check them out