well it's time to replace the tires on the dodge. as for style i think i have some ideas, but now for size i am in a delema...

at first i was set on just stock size and call it good... it was easy, cheaper, and better on the truck. But then i started reading some crazy talk about how 285's could acually help with mileage! how is that? i figured more mass and taller tire = worse mpg. anyone acually think i will be better off with the 285?

i will be doing alot of mixed driving for daily use, but also a few times a year i take long trips (over 1200 miles one way) while hauling a 4runner rock crawler. well now i bought a bigger trailer (gooseneck) and now will be hauling two 4runners. so thats why i thought it would be better to keep 265's.

also on the towing topic... with this trailer and two 4runners on it would you stay in tow/haul mode (this cancels OD on my truck) on the freeway doing 65? seems like the rpm's are to high.

thanks for any input... also any input on good brand/style tire let me know too...

 

You're not going to do any better economywise than the 265's. I lost about .5 mpg when I put 285's on but they look so much better than stock I will never go back down to a 265 again. I don't believe anybody that says they put a bigger tire on and got better economy it just defies all logic. Anyways it sounds like an AT tire would be your best bet. I went with Toyo's because they have a reputation for wearing good and lasting a long time. Almost 10,000 miles on them and they look like they've hardly worn at all so far so good. Looks like the next set will also be Toyo's but maybe a little bit bigger size.

 

only a .5 mpg drop huh? i think i could live with that...

mind me asking what you paid for those toyos a tire?

 

Mpg was .5 maybe a 1 gal drop not much but it was a dropoff. I didn't do any hand calcs on stock tires so that is only a guess but I am getting 18.5 hand calced over the last 6 months now.. I think they cost me about $1,100 mounted balanced filled with nitrogen at a local tire shop with free rotations for the life of the tires. I can't remember exactly. You can find a much better price than that online but then someone has to mount etc. For me I wanted the tires then and there and wasn't willing to wait for internet shipping or other hassles. I thought it was a fair price. If you'll wait I'm sure others will chime in with opinions on good tires, you won't go wrong with Toyos thats for sure, but don;t limit yourself to one guy's opinion on them. I really wanted Nittos, the tread looks great on those, until I discovered they are made from softer rubber and won't last much past 20 or 25K miles. One thing I would do different is get E-rated in the same size. My tire shop only had D's and told me, wrongly it turned out, that an E in the tire I wanted wasn't available...

 

since going with toyo mt 35's i feel like i've added a 7th gear as my rpm's have dropped substantially when running on the highway. maybe the lower rpm's could account for improved fuel mileage but you would lose the mileage everywhere else except for highway driving.

 

I would go with 285s. As for the tow/haul mode you could leave it in OD at that speed on the interstate to keep the RPMs down without any issues. But if your towing over hilly terrain and the tranny begins shifting back and forth a lot or 'hunting' - youll want to turn the tow haul on.

 

There are some variables but, for your every day Joe, the early 2005-2006 trucks with g56s were geared poorly for highway economy (6th gear say 60-70mph). The rpm per mph on the highway was way beyond what the 5.9 is most efficient at running (towing heavy excepted perhaps). Larger diameter tires, say 315s, put the rpms into the 5.9 1900-2100 rpm sweet spot in top/OD gear and provide as much as 10% improvement in mpg (when correctly calculated with all factors considered). It provides the overall top gear ratio that stock auto trucks usually run (and the reason autos and later model G56s don't see much improvement if any). This improvement more than makes up for the additional rolling resistance and drag (truck rides higher) of the larger tire.

Hows that for logic?

My personal experience reflects the theory, but your mileage may vary.

 

I cannot give ya some brainy reasons or explainations,but if I was towing and hauling alot I would be more concerned on the fuel economy part,it's not the point of being able to afford it,it the point of paying the high price of fuel for no good reasons.

I have 265's on mine,about 3 mos old,I got them becuse at the time I had no idea were my truck was going,now being it spends alot of time off road and if I would have seen that comming I would have gotten 285's in tire more for off road,I almost had to dig myself out of a mud hole a few weeks back,that makes me think how good they will do on snow and ice.

As for me if I did not live on a hill and or had a garage I would have bolth,just mark what tire goes were and swap them in and out as needed.

I do haul heavy loads here and there by heavy I mean up to 4500 pounds so I need the the weight rating.

I have buddys that say I should lift the truck and put bigger tires on it,but they don't pay for my fuel,they run around with the lifts and can complain about how much gas and fuel they use and in the same breath talk about getting bigger tires,go figure.

Bottom line is if what you have is working for ya don't fix what ant broke.

Pav

 

Just put Toyo Open Country AT 285 75 17 on my 04.5. Look real nice, ride real quite, lowered my rpm's on the freeway, load range E, and 3970 lb load capacity per tire. Could not be happier with my decision.

 

I have an '04 HO too. I have almost 120,000 miles on it now. I went to 315s at about 5000 miles or so and loved the off road ability and the look but the mileage dropped about 1.5 MPG. Next set I went to 285 BFGs and got about half of that mileage loss back. I actually like the 285s better because they have excellent traction like the 315s but they don't tend to steer the truck around as much as the 315s do. Plus they roll easier and get better mileage.

I just got new tires again and went with the Toyo Open Country AT 285/75/17 E.
It has a very stiff sidewall, is a slightly narrower tread than the 285, and seems to be getting better mileage than the 285s did. They are tall and raised the gearing a bit so starting out while towing is a little worse. But with light loads and on the road they are great with 1900 RPM at 75.

There has been a lot of discussion about D vs E ratinge. Both my 315s and the 285s were D and the new ones are E. I would pick an E over a D every time if they were available but the BFGs were only available in D and I had no trouble related to that (each one was rated for a higher load than the stock 265s). These new Toyos, though, are VERY heavy sidewall. Much stiffer than the E rated Toyo 285/70. The tire guy said he never sees them with sidewall damage. They roll along perfectly smooth too, very round.

As far as tow/haul is concerned I don't like to pull too hard at lower RPM because the EGT goes up and the tranny is nearing it's limit. If you feel that you're lugging it, meaning it won't accelerate much with more throttle, it's time to drop out of OD. I know they sound great at 1600 RPM and they will pull there, but it's a bit unfair. In the mountains 2000-2200 RPM seems like a good RPM for heavy work.

John

 

are the 285 75's a taller narrower tire that the 285 70's?

i also forgot to mention i will be getting load range E tires with whatever i choose.

 

Yes, they are about an inch taller. 33.8" I think and the tread width is about 5/8 inch narrower. But the widest part of the carcass is about the same. They steer very nice and much better the the 315s did.

I'm running mine on H2s and they are nice. I posted some pix on an earlier H2 thread.

 

x2...........

 

I have a 05' 2500 with 265/70-17s. I picked up 4 new Firestone Destination M/T, I priced them at two shops here in New York and one wanted $1025 and the other wanted 1150 bucks for 4 tires mounted, taxed out the door. So I went on-line and priced around I found one place for $179 each, the other wanted $172 each. I googled around found a place in Florida for $156 each, the 4 tires came to $625 plus $37 shipping Total of $661. I took them to a local shop paid 100 bucks to put them on my wheels. A TOTAL PRICE OF $771 I SAVED 379 BUCKS SHOPPING ON LINE. go on line to Roadway Tire Pompano Beach Fla. WWW.ROADWAYWHOLESALETIRE.COM

 

Raspy, Just sent you a pm. Interested in your wheel/tire combo. Thanks