Wheels and tires vs performance

[Jev425]

What would affect performance, specifically acceleration, the most. Would the size of a tire or the weight of the tire make a truck feel “slower”. 3.55 gears being equal

example 285/75-17, 305/70-17, 315/70-17
They are all within .5-.7” of each other in height but each one is a little wider the bigger you go.
The weight is 58, 61, 64 pounds

thanks in advance!

 

[PolarisCobra]

Taller tire has the effect of reducing the gear ratio, you will go a little farther for each tire revolution, the trade off is acceleration.

Heavier tire will be harder to 'spin-up' due to inertia, so revs will increase a bit more slowly. A wider tire will have more road friction. Good for traction, but increased friction means it takes more power to go the same speed. That's why the tires on the Tour de France bikes are so skinny.

How much will you notice all if this? That is harder to say, you could probably measure it at the track if you could try all three on the same day. In terms of 'seat of the pants' measurement, who knows?

 

[hodge-xj]

What would affect performance, specifically acceleration, the most. Would the size of a tire or the weight of the tire make a truck feel “slower”. 3.55 gears being equal

example 285/75-17, 305/70-17, 315/70-17
They are all within .5-.7” of each other in height but each one is a little wider the bigger you go.
The weight is 58, 61, 64 pounds

thanks in advance!

So you are on the same debate as I am currently.

Right now I run 315/70/17s

My progression went stock 265s > 285/70s > 315s. I honestly didn't notice much of a difference in my truck feeling significantly slower accelerating. The 8spd does a great job. But on the highway I notice the truck doesn't like to hold 8th on long grades.

Aesthetically the 315s look perfect. But I think I'm gonna run with my gut and drop to 285 75 17s on the next set of tires. I am running duratracs which are pretty agressive, and at 40 psi you can feel them slow the truck down when im coasting. The weight difference is minimal, as is the over all diameter, especially when you consider the disparity in actual size between each manufacturer. I figure a smaller contact patch and a milder tread will have a much more significant impact in driving feel compared to size alone.

I honestly can't really complain about the 315s except they tend to float a little more than I'd prefer in snow and heavy rain as well as they tend to follow imperfections in the road and "wander". Though not extreme those a just a couple gripes I personally have that have led me to think I'll try 285 75s this time around.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[rwhjr]

I wanna say weight/rolling resistance has a bigger impact that strictly the diameter.

I’m not the master of the subject but I look at it like the following: I could probably bump my tire size up 1” and if it weighed the same I probably wouldn’t cry about that size increase.

but if I were to keep the same tire size but make the tires weigh 25lbs more on each corner and I’m probably going to notice more.

I could be wrong but I do feel like weight matters a little more.

 

[Jev425]

Good Input from you guys thanks! I also have 315 on my truck but with the 3.55 gears it really seems to take away a bit of power from the hemi. I love the way the 315 looks but maybe love it even more if I ever regear the truck.

I was also looking at 295/70-17 but that’s barely taller than most stock sizes 275/60-20. Could be that the 305 is a decent “middle” size, although not sure if the small decrease in height(from 315 to 305) is worth it.

 

[hodge-xj]

Good Input from you guys thanks! I also have 315 on my truck but with the 3.55 gears it really seems to take away a bit of power from the hemi. I love the way the 315 looks but maybe love it even more if I ever regear the truck.

I was also looking at 295/70-17 but that’s barely taller than most stock sizes 275/60-20. Could be that the 305 is a decent “middle” size, although not sure if the small decrease in height(from 315 to 305) is worth it.

That's been my feelings as well. It almost seems negligible. Than again, 285 75s and 305s spec almost identically aside from width.

I also ran 275 65 20s. So far that has been my favorite overall size. I feel like wide tires have the illusion of being bigger overall when in fact the diameter is realistically no different. Tires are so expensive and last long enough that they are a commitment for most. I know I'll likely wish I'd kept 315s on if I go 285s but if I don't try 285s I'll always wonder if they are really a perfect compromise.....its like women and shoes!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[ram1500rsm]

You'll feel the height before the weigth.
I just went back to 315/70/17 that weight 68lbs from 37x12.5x17 that weighted 69lbs. Difference in acceleration is day and night. You won't feel 6lbs difference per corner unless you're living your life 1/4 mile at a time.

 

[62Blazer]

Tire height, width, weight, and rolling resistance all play a part in the equation. When you go from the stock tires, which are generally a fairly mild tread and light weight, to larger tires you are usually increasing all of those variables. The larger tires have an increased diameter, are wider, heavier, and often the more aggressive tread pattern has more rolling resistance. Regardless of whether somebody notices the change in the seat-of-the-pants performance if you change any of those variables you will change the performance and fuel economy....it may be very, very minimal or it may be very noticeable. I come from an automotive testing background where we performed controlled testing that could tell the difference of a fraction of a percent in performance or fuel economy, but the average joe would never notice it.

 

[Tim Garceau]

Stock 20" wheel and 275/60R20 SRA setup is ~72 lbs per side. The only thing the diameter impacts is your effective gear ratio.
https://tiresize.com/gear-ratio-calculator/

I was young and dumb and tried the wide tire phase(102# combo), absolutely destroys economy/performance and most importantly the stress and strain on the chassis and power-train components that were researched and developed around that rotational mass/gear ratio. Probably gained 30-40 horsepower at the wheels when I dropped 30 pounds of rotational tire mass per corner. So when you pull up to a stock ram with your 6" lifted *mall-crawler on 12 wides and 35s, just know even with full bolt-ons that you will still get what the kids now call, "gapped" especially without an 8 speed.

*Former Walmart curb jumping contest winner

 

[JB1]

What would affect performance, specifically acceleration, the most. Would the size of a tire or the weight of the tire make a truck feel “slower”. 3.55 gears being equal

example 285/75-17, 305/70-17, 315/70-17
They are all within .5-.7” of each other in height but each one is a little wider the bigger you go.
The weight is 58, 61, 64 pounds

thanks in advance!

doubt you’ll feel a 1/2” height difference or 5 lbs