Tire Size Help

[ffburns2]

Hi all I have a 2004 Silverado Quad cab 4x4 Z71. It has P265/70R/17s on it right now. That is the size that it came with from the dealer and they are just about at the end of their life. I was wondering what tire size I could put on it as i want to go a little bigger and do I need to put the "P" tires back on or can I go with the "LT"?

 

Thanks for the help I am not very good with vehicles

[rodram]

... reasonable question if you have not had to deal with tires before

 

.. you could go a little bigger size... one size up would be 285/70R17

the 265/70R17 has diameter 31.6 inches and the 285/70R17 has diameter 32.7 inches

when you are really going 60 mph... your speedometer would show 58 mph

my preference is to stay with stock size tires or maybe one size up if getter a better tire

I don't have any personal experience with the 2004's but if you get too big then you start to rub the tires on the fenders and on the frame when trying to turn a corner....

 

.. tire size is a preference... the only caution is when you go to larger size; larger diameter tires.. there is more stress on your braking system... but these ones would only be a little over 3% diameter difference which is not critical

 

.. P vs LT is a preference as well.... my preference would always be to put a LT tire on a truck... but that is not a universal thing for everyone.... the LT tires will give you stronger sidewalls, and a tougher tread base and will be more stable when pulling a trailer or loading you truck with people in the cab or stuff in the truck box .. the LT tires will also ride a little stiffer and may have a little more tread noise ... so this decision really depends on how you use your 'truck'.

 

... when I bought my truck used it had some crappy tires on it .... P series and one size larger than stock... since they were over 50% worn and the front two were starting to tread separation .... my preference was to go back to the LT (Load Range D - 8-ply rated) stock size designated for the original equipment on the truck... I bought 4 new TOYO OPEN COUNTRY AT and have been very happy with these tires