I am looking at getting some Ricksons's to get increased milage. I'll do it if I can save money over the life of them. Here are my assumptions:

My current tires: H2 knockoffs - 315/70-17 (35" tire)
Current MPG: 20 highway & 18 city - highway milage went up 1.5 mpg
compared to stock due to gearing effect (effectively 3.43
instead of 3.73)
Cost of new 315 tires: $800 for a set
Cost of Rickson tires & rims: $3000 for a set
Tire Replacement interval: 50,000 for 315's & 100,000 for Ricksons
Cost of replacement for Ricksons: $300 for a set (tires can be retreaded)
Milage improvement: 10% - go from 20 mpg to 22 mpg

So
On day one, I'm $2200 in the hole ($3000 vs $300)
at 50,000 miles, I'm $700 in the hole (need new set of 315's & the 2 mpg
improvement resulted in $700 fuel savings (@ $3/gal)
at 100,000 miles, I'm $500 ahead (retread rickson's vs. buy new 315s &
milage benefit).

So, breakeven is @ 100K miles or less. What do y'all think?

 

DO NOT RETREAD unless you are putting on a 18 wheeler(not legal in frount)
I had them bolw befor and wow,they are not legal in frount because only 1 wheel,rear 2 so if 1 blows the other will help keep you safe.

As for what i think,most people will see dryrot befor the wear them out.I'me going to get a set after i get some $$$

 

Quality retreads will not cause problems. In most states front retreads are only illegal on buses.

I would not expect to pick up any mileage unless you go with a highway tread.

 

I thought that I would pick up milage for two reasons:

 

I would recommend going all the way to 22.5" from American Force Wheels. With highway treads, it will cost you $4100 and the tires are good for 200,000+ (assuming they don't dryrot first like someone said). Based on my highway mileage increase over stock, I will have paid for them in fuel savings after 25,200 miles. Your overall gear ratio goes from 3.73 to 3.19 and 75 MPH in 6th is 1900 RPM!

I have a stock height 4x4 truck as well meaning no lift necessary.

 

Did you just say that you will save $4100 in fuel in 25000 miles? Something is wrong with your math.

For example lets establish a baseline:
25000 miles @ 18 mpg requires 1388 gallons of fuel; figure $3.00/gal of fuel, you would spend $4167 in fuel costs.

Put those tires on.

At 100 mpg you would burn 250 gallons that would cost you $750 dollars - still not close to a $4100 savings (but not too shabby). As cool as those tires are, you're not gonna come close to 100 mpg, you'd be lucky to see, what? A 2mpg gain? They won't pay for themselves in fuel costs for a very long time.

I'll say it again, don't buy large diameter tires (or overdrive gear boxes, or taller gears) solely for the benefit of having any fuel mileage increases paying for themselves in short order. It just isn't going to happen.

 

Mark, your math works for me. For a 2500 and thier (ahem) "limited" GVWR, getting those Ricksons don't buy you a lot of margin over the stock tires, but if I had that extra cash burning a hole in my pocket, I'd have a set of Ricksons on my truck today.

 

Yikes! You are right. I figured out the math a few days ago and just reposted it. Aparently I did something wrong! I am seeing a 3.4 MPG gain but my engine is brand spanking new so it should get better, but not THAT much better!!

 

Again, I'd do it only if I could save money. No, I don't have money burning a hole in my pocket. But if the 100K mile breakeven point is legit - maybe?

Do you guys belive a 2 mpg increase on 1 265/70-19.5 over my 315/70-17? That's the $64,000 question.

 

I don't know about a 2mpg increase, but maybe one or so. The less rolling resistance will help, but those commercial tires/wheels WILL be heavier, and higher rotation mass will eat up some energy.

 

It all sounds good on paper but for every inch you raise that truck you are losing probably .5 mpg. Bigger tires are heavier and rotational mass is equivalent to 6 to 8 times static mass. In city driving you will be a slug. Your suspension and brakes were designed to handle stock wheels. They will wear twice as much at least with the heavier wheels. If DOT pulls you over and your tires do not match the door sticker they "could" make you replace those wheels as they are not within the safety design of the truck. They probably won't but if you were in an accident you are in a hole up to your knees from minute one. I love the look of them but they are a cosmetic choice and not a performance choice. Big tires are harder to get balanced and if you flatspot those tires early in their life you have a long time to live with them. I'd put 19.5's on in a second if I could finds an inexpensive set of aluminum ones and good tires to match. You may get better mileage but it is only because you accelerating so slowly. If your truck is under warranty just throw your engine and drivetrain warranty away. Not trying to be a wet blanket but I've read these posts for years and looked at it from all angles and reality is different than the ads. ks

 

If police busted everyone for different wheels there would be no after market venders.

Vision 19.5 wheels are only $200 a piece. Better price than Rickson so they can help with your savings.

I have 30,000 miles on my 19.5 tires and they look like they will go another 50,000 with no problem. I used to wear out my BF Goodrich in 30,000.

I love the reduced RPM my 34 inch tires give me. It has helped my mileage.

 

I'm already running 315/70-17 which are a 35" just like the 265/70-19.5 so no milage loss due to raising truck.

This is absolutely not true for highway driving & would have an insigniificant differance onity driving. I'm happy with teh city performance w/ my 315's now, and don't believe that adding another 50 lbs. per wheel will turn my 8000 lbs. truck into a slug.

Nothing magical about stock tires. Door sticker has nothing to do with what tires you run unless you put tires on with LESS load carrying capability - that is not going to be the case w/ 19.5 tires. DOT cannot give you a ticket because yoouo changed tires. Now, just because the tires can handle more does not give you the legal rightto carry more weight to take advantage of the tires capability.

Only partially true. They can void suspension/u-joint/etc. warranty, but not your engine/accesory/etc. As far as that goes, anyone who switched to 285/70-17 on thei stock rims can likewise have the warranty voided.

 

Hey I'm a huge fan of 19.5 wheels don't get me wrong. I got over 55k miles on the crap stock goodyears towing heavy. My coopers should make the same. I would think 19.5's would maybe make it to 80k miles. On the highway the bigger tires rule. I was more aiming at the 22.5 wheel and tires which weigh 3 times as much as stock. If you are going 35" for on road 19.5's give you the height without the weight penalty. Higher pressure doesn't necessarily mean better mileage and it doesn't help with the ride quality. That's a good price for 19.5 rims....With a dually the nice aluminum wheels tend to have low weight capacity. I want 35 pound 19.5 rims with 4500 weight capacity to match good 19.5 tires. Then you can run them at 65psi instead of 110psi and get a half decent ride quality. I still stand by the fact that 19.5's aren't a great investment for mileage. ks