Scored Some Factory Take-offs

Spurshot · August 23, 2009

Getting things ready for the upcoming bird season and started looking the trucks over. Found out the tires on the new 1500 are car tires and won't get past a cornstalk without going flat.

I was planning the purchase of some replacement tires and started considering either having a second set of wheels/tires for the hunt season or getting some better looking wheels than the dated/dorky looking LTZ Silverado 17" wheels mine came with. I was thinking some Centerlines but was dreading the expenditure at the same time with the tire purchase. 'Like the look of the All Terrain factory wheels, but the seem about like finding hen's teeth and then they're pricey. Other brands of wheels aren't much cheaper than Centerlines...I suppose you get what you pay for.

Then I started thinking about the Sierra 6 spoke factory wheels. Nicer looking than my wheels and available. I found a local guy that had 4 for $350. This will work out just right for me. I'm putting 285-70/17's on it (front raised only 3/4" (now)) and they'll be fine on those inexpensive wheels and look better to boot!

Probably going with the Cepek FC II's

Might need some help with getting the right TPMS part numbers and where to buy (ebay?).

Thanks

Chuck

2COR517 · August 23, 2009

Don't see many Dick Cepeks around here. With the BFG AT so good and so popular, I guess that's why. The tread design does look good though. But looks can be deceiving. I was fooled enough to buy General Grabber AT2s LOL.

Spurshot · August 23, 2009

Don't see many Dick Cepeks around here. With the BFG AT so good and so popular, I guess that's why. The tread design does look good though. But looks can be deceiving. I was fooled enough to buy General Grabber AT2s LOL.

Yeah, I bought some Firestone Destination M/T tires for the 2500. Loud! Probably outlast the truck. Damn.

Cepek's are made by Cooper. Seem to be pretty popular in SoCal. Cepek's name was bought out by Mickey Thompson who is probably owned by someone else like 4WheelParts or somebody.

Not being much of an off-roader, I've deferred the question on these tires to a friend that owns a 4wd (mostly Jeeps) shop. He's seen most of the movies. But so far, good feedback on the Cepek FC II tires. I've fallen out of the BFG fan club. Rubber seems to get real hard as the tire ages. Actually, I really like the rubber that Firestone uses. It wears like steel, resists chunking, and remains soft thruout its life. The killer is that Firstone doesn't make a decently treaded A/T tire anymore. Just the M/T and a car-like treaded tire they call an A/T.

Zembonez · August 23, 2009

I think that tire and wheel combo will look really good. Post up some pics when it's done!

cerbomark · August 23, 2009

I like them too. So far I think they are more durable than the polished or chromes that seem to pit and peel pretty fast. How did you get a 3/4 raise and will that be enough for the bigger rubber?

Spurshot · August 23, 2009

Mark,

I have the Bilstein 5100 shocks in the front. Everyone seems to forget that they have 4 height adjustments, since everyone that buys them just puts them on the highest setting. The lowest is stock height, the highest is about 2.5" according to those who have done it.

There are at least two members that have had the 285-70/17 on stock height trucks without any problem. I measured the well clearance and it looks good. Can't say about when the wheel is at the stop and suspension bottoms out, though.

Pilot12 · August 24, 2009

There are at least two members that have had the 285-70/17 on stock height trucks without any problem. I measured the well clearance and it looks good.

How about the speedo/ odo? I'm not good enough with tire numbers to figure out of the diameter is the same as what you're replacing.

What birds ya chasing where?

Pilot12 · August 24, 2009

How about the speedo/ odo? I'm not good enough with tire numbers to figure out of the diameter is the same as what you're replacing.

Just looked it up....285s are 1.1 inch taller than 265s. What kind of difference does that equate to on the speedo?

Spurshot · August 24, 2009

Pie times the diameter. ...and always remember pie are round, not square.

Spurshot · August 24, 2009

ok, ok, already.

Your tires being 32.6 dia vs stock at 31.7 will be off about 2.8% across the board at any speed or distance, assuming it was right to begin with. That puts you at 77.1 mph when it reads 75...theoretically.

My proposed 285-70/17 FC II being 32.8 dia will be off about 3.4%

Pilot12 · August 24, 2009

ok, ok, already.
My proposed 285-70/17 FC II being 32.8 dia will be off about 3.4%

Thanks! Your odometer will be off by the same amount.

So, it's a good thing you change your oil with 11% remaining.....

I like those wheels, can't find any around here.

Spurshot · August 24, 2009

What birds ya chasing where?

Chasing pheasant, quail, and chukar if they don't live on the side of a 1000ft rock peak. I'll shoot a dove or two, but don't really consider that "hunting". 1st trip of the season is off to So. Dakota, all the way from SoCal, for the pheasant openner. The rest of the season depends on where the birds are in this draught. I heard last yr, that there were quail down on the border in south central AZ. Nothing at the Colo river near Blythe. Nothing in the deserts I could find. My fav patch to hunt up between Ojai, Gorman and Santa Maria has been very low on quail last two yrs.

I leave for "dog school" Wednesday up to Oregon. Went last yr too. I'm finding out my job is doing everything for the dog. The dog is getting the royal red carpet treatment. If I'da known, I'd have been a dog.

hockeypro1411 · August 28, 2009

You get those wheels/tires yet? I'm curious to see how they look! And I promise you won't regret the Cepek FC II's. I love mine, and they're wearing really evenly and at this rate they look like they'll go another 30k!