Any recomendation for new tires

tiju1000 · 07-14-2008, 11:39 AM

Hi guy,

I'm new to this forum and also pretty new in the truck world.

Last year we bought a used 2004 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with a 12'000lbs 34 foot long 5th wheel. We're Nascar fan and also camping fan so we travel a lot towing the trailer during the summer.

It's almoast time to change my "summer" tires and I have some questions ?

I try to find a good Highway summer tire ( no real need of winter one as I already own dedicated winter tires for the truck).

I also plan to eventually by a second set of wheel to use just with my summer tire.

Is it a good idea to upgrade to a bigger wheel ( like 18 or 20 inches instead of the factory 16).

Any recomendation for a tire in particular and also a wheel ?

Thanks
Thierry

**Meyerperformance** · 07-14-2008, 11:44 AM

Toyo's and nitto's are a good tire, but you might consider a hankook more pricey but im pretty sure they have a very high weight rating.

tiju1000 · 07-14-2008, 11:48 AM

What about going with bigger wheel. What will it change in my truck handling ?

**Meyerperformance** · 07-14-2008, 11:51 AM

i know with sports cars i belive the bigger wheel the better it handles, also with a bigger wheel you could upgrade to bigger brakes to help stop your trailer.

TheHoov · 07-14-2008, 11:54 AM

The nittos r very nice i like them a lot. I don't think a larger wheel will affect the handling

Duramax_JP · 07-14-2008, 11:20 PM

Ive heard nittos are nice but are made of a softer compound and wear more therefore they dont last as long but if your not worried about that they are good ones.

**gr8shot** · 07-15-2008, 02:18 PM

I've also heard of the nitto's wearing fast. A larger wheel can help handling, since there's less sidewall to flex when turning. about the only problem with bigger wheels may be sacrificing a little bit of ride quality. Can't speak from personal experience, but you'll have less sidewall to absorb bumbs and rocks and what not. When your towing you'll obviously have tires with thick sidewalls to carry the weight, so I would think that it would be amplified when towing a heavy trailer like you do, since the sidewalls would be very thick, plus not very tall.

As for tire, I've had luck with bridgestones, firestones and michelins. they all seem to wear like they're made of steel.

ellisk02 · 07-15-2008, 03:12 PM

I don't have experience with the lower profile tires on these trucks, but I would expect a lower profile tire on a 20" rim to wear much quicker than a good highway truck tire on a 16" rim. Not to mention you lose weight capacity with the tires when you go to a lower profile.

**Tow Master** · 07-15-2008, 11:42 PM

I just bought 265/75/16 Nitto terra grapplers for my truck. I changed my mind sold them and bought a 285/75/16 Nitto and am very happy with them so far! A bigger tire will hurt handling a little but it KILLS mpg. with the 265 i was getting 22 now im getting 18 on the highway

The only downfall with a bigger wheel is the tires cost WAY more. My friend bought the same tires as me in a 17 wheel and they cost $50 a tire more

2008_WHITE_DURAMAX · 07-22-2008, 12:36 PM

man i have had three sets of tires.... 285/75r16 bfg all terrains 285/75r16 michelin ltx m/s and 295/75r16 nitto terra grapplers. by far the nitto was the worst tire. it wore out fast but it did do good in the sand. my favorite tire so far has been the 285/75r16 MICHELIN LTX M/S