Howdy,

I own a 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 and decided to go with a wheel that would allow the 285 tire. 285s won't work on my factory 6.5 width. I bought a set of alloy wheels off a 2002 (8 inches wide). I tried one of the wheels on the front and found that the steering arm was in the way. Some folks suggest installing spacers. This would messup the 0 offset and could cause harm to wheel bearings. So, my questions are, will the spacers cause bearing problems and will spacers solve ALL clearence problems? Or, do I just sell the rims I just bought and keep looking for rims?

Thanks,

John

 

you can fit 285's on a 6.5 inch rim mine has 285 bfg's on my stock wheels and I have not problems

 

They'll fit. Worked on mine. They bulge a bit and wear some more in the middle unless you run ultra low pressures. If you do that though than the sidewall won't be as stiff and the truck will handle a little mushier.

Personally I run them aired up and deal with the added wear, otherwise my truck handles terrible...

 

I have 285's on the stock steel wheels on my 98, they fit fine. I tried the AL wheels off my 01 on it, they won't fit front or rear.

I'm not real keen on spacers for a heavy truck I tow with. I know several people with them on jeeps, and other trail only rigs, and they don't all stay tight.

 

I just had to have 2 cracks in the inner bead wall repaired on 1 of my stock 16x9 alloy rims. (2002) One of my friends had cracks show up in all 4 of his rims. I'd have a really good look for this as we were both told it's a common problem with these rims. I'm planning to upgrade to the 17 inch wheels next time I buy tires so I can upgrade my rotors to the 2003 style.

Good luck! Randy.

 

285s on the factory rim 6.5" here too, no problems.

 

OK folks. Let's just pretend there might be a few 16x6.5" stock steel chrome wheel users out there who don't want to run 285's because of the issue of extra wear at the center of the tire. Do you have any suggestions for those ever so few crazy folks out there, like me and the original poster, who don't like to shell out $800 to $1000 on tires only to wear out the centers prematurely?

 

Pick up a cheap used set of aftermarket 16x8's. Eagle makes some pretty decent designs in 16x8, and they're very reasonable even for new wheels.

FWIW, 20k miles and my tires seem to be wearing just fine.

 

Now I'm just confused. Do they wear more in the center, unless running very low pressures, or not?

 

2002 alloy rims are 7.5" wide approx. I had 285/75R16's BFGs put on 2 months ago and the tire dealer said the rims were at the minimum width for those tires. They bulge some but are wearing fine. I run 55 in the front and 40 in the rear.

BFG specs here>>http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/specs...t-a-ko/44.html

 

Sorry to confuse. Theoretically they do. In actuality, my tires get rotated enough that the funny wear in the back evens out on the front when the tires get switched front to back.

If you're the type of person that is too lazy to rotate, or too cheap to get the lifetime rotate and balance than you will definitely notice the abnormal wear.

It's funny actually. My back tires always look like they have more tread than the front even with the chip As soon as they get rotated though, they even out again.