Staggered tire on 4x4

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JUANGOODUDE

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I'm looking to get a set of, NITTO 420V'S. Putting them on the stock wheels.
REAR: 285/50/20 LOAD 2756. DIA. 31.26
FRONT: 265/50/20. LOAD 2337. DIA. 30.47

THE QUESTION IS, WILL THIS MESS UP MY 4WD SYSTEM WHILE ENGAGED?? DIA. IS MINIMAL BETWEEN THE TWO TIRES. I PERSONALLY THINK IT WILL BE OKAY BUT, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SYSTEM YET ON THIS TRUCK.
2017 LONGHORN
 

Wild one

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I'm looking to get a set of, NITTO 420V'S. Putting them on the stock wheels.
REAR: 285/50/20 LOAD 2756. DIA. 31.26
FRONT: 265/50/20. LOAD 2337. DIA. 30.47

THE QUESTION IS, WILL THIS MESS UP MY 4WD SYSTEM WHILE ENGAGED?? DIA. IS MINIMAL BETWEEN THE TWO TIRES. I PERSONALLY THINK IT WILL BE OKAY BUT, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SYSTEM YET ON THIS TRUCK.
2017 LONGHORN
I wouldn't,as that's almost 3/4" differance,you might get away with an 1/8" differance,but i think you might have transfer case issues with 3/4",the electric clutch in the t-case is probably going to be very unhappy.
If you don't use your 4X4 mode,you can pull everything ahead of the t-case and then you'd have no issues,but if you use it as a 4X4,find tires that are virtually identical heights
 

crash68

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Well if you don't want to use 4X4 then it will work just fine, but I'd pull the front driveshaft just in case.

If you want the rear tires to stick out slightly farther than the fronts, use all the same diameter tires and a set of spacers on the rear wheels
 

62Blazer

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In general I would not recommend doing that. Obviously in 2wd there is no issue. If you only used 4wd for short distances in low traction situations, like mud or snow, then would be okay. What I mean is that if you were actually stuck in 2wd or could only move with a lot rear wheel spin, then shifting into 4wd to get out that situation would not cause issues. Just make sure to shift back into 2wd.
I definitely would not use 4wd or any extended periods of time of higher speed driving, like if the roads were spotty with snow and ice (which I do all the time, but with matching tire sizes).
The size difference you list means that for each revolution of the tires there is a 2 1/2" distance difference in how far the front versus rear tires are trying to move the truck. The larger rear tires would want to "push" the truck 2 1/2" further than the front tires during each revolution if you had it locked in 4wd and would be fighting against each other. In another example, if you drove 1 mile the rear tires would make 645 revolutions where as the front tires would need to make 662 revolutions. Again, if you were locked in 4wd you would have some serious scrubbing and stress going on between the front and rear if on any surface with reasonable traction.
Also not sure how the auto 4wd system would react to this (assuming the truck has it). Not 100% how the Ram system works as I have never owned a 1500, and therefore never had the auto 4wd system (my 2500 has no auto mode). The difference in wheels speeds between the front and rear may be great enough where it's always basically fooling the system to think one or the other end is slipping and therefore applying the 4wd clutch packs???? In any case, don't think the system would like it one way or another.
 
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JUANGOODUDE

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Not kidding. Why do you think I asked the question. Your only talking about 3/4" difference. I have always had exact size tires on my 4x4's. Had to ask.
 

Jeepwalker

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Are those measurements you gave *actual* measurements or published? Sometimes actual measurements differ from published. If you own them already, you could try inflating the 'larger' ones slightly less, and the 'smaller' ones a little more ...just to see if they even out.

Some simple math I plugged in:
REAR: 285/50/20 LOAD 2756. DIA. 31.26 - 196.41 Circumference
FRONT: 265/50/20. LOAD 2337. DIA. 30.47 - 191.45" Circumference

Difference in circumference: 4.96"

Every 10 revolutions(160') = 49.6" difference.
Football field length = 7.8'
1 mile distance driven = 136.8' difference

Again, those are going off the numbers you indicated. At face value it seems like quite a bit to me, and would likely put stress & additional wear on your transfer case and other components. Unless the Actual real-world circumferences are closer together. Or you used 4x4 mainly on slippery roads. Cheers :waytogo:

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