Larger Tires On Stock Wheels

wmorgan518 · May 2, 2009

Was wondering if a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers sized LT295/70R17 would fit on the stock wheels for a 04 Sierra Z71. Anyone know?

The stock wheels are 17's by the way.

Zembonez · May 2, 2009

Was wondering if a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers sized LT295/70R17 would fit on the stock wheels for a 04 Sierra Z71. Anyone know?
The stock wheels are 17's by the way.

Tires are too wide for a stock wheel. I know some will say otherwise but you really need a 9 inch wide wheel for a 295. I'd prefer a 10 inch wide wheel if it were me. 295MM is 11.6 inches.

chakis24 · May 3, 2009

you could get a 285/75/17 instead. roughly the same size.

Zembonez · May 3, 2009

you could get a 285/75/17 instead. roughly the same size.

Some people run 285s on stock wheels. I've seen a lot of 285-75-16s on GMT800 trucks. Not a perfect fit but they do work. The beads are a little sucked in which probably results in accelerated center tread wear to some extent but if you run moderate air pressure, even that should be minimal. IF you like the look.

brims · May 3, 2009

So is there a general rule of thumb for tread width to wheel width?

Matt_ · May 3, 2009

So is there a general rule of thumb for tread width to wheel width?

General rule of thumb is that a tire should never be more than 4.5" wider than a wheel... however as the diameter of the wheels increase, the difference of them should be less.

For instance its much more important for a 33" tire to have an appropriate wheel width if the wheel is 20+... but you can get away with more with that 33" tire on a 15 or 16" wheel.

In the end, every tire manufacturer has a recommended wheel width range for every tire they make... just go to the manufacturers website and look up the tire specs and it will tell you the appropriate wheel width for that particular tire. Thats much more accurate than rule of thumbs on public forums

Zembonez · May 3, 2009

So is there a general rule of thumb for tread width to wheel width?

When selling custom wheels, we stuck with the wheel maker's recommendations. Most recommended bead width of at least 85% of thread width. It made the tires fit correctly made for a safer and better wearing setup. LOTS of people run tires that are actually too wide for their wheels. Some actually look better with a little too much tire on them.

275mm = 10.8 inches, so a wheel width of 9-11 inches would probably be "recommended". In reality, every 275 tire will be different in actual width if measured, so I'd pick a tire and go by its actual size myself.

Opinions in here may well vary...

Matt_ · May 3, 2009

Was wondering if a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers sized LT295/70R17 would fit on the stock wheels for a 04 Sierra Z71. Anyone know?
The stock wheels are 17's by the way.

Per Nittos specifications ( http://www.nittotire.com/functions/tire_po...e=terragrappler ) the tire you mentioned has a recommended wheel width of 7.5-10".... I forget if the 2004 stock 17s are 7" wide or 7.5"... If they're 7.5 then you should be good to go

sc4808 · May 4, 2009

you could get a 285/75/17 instead. roughly the same size.

Some people run 285s on stock wheels. I've seen a lot of 285-75-16s on GMT800 trucks. Not a perfect fit but they do work. The beads are a little sucked in which probably results in accelerated center tread wear to some extent but if you run moderate air pressure, even that should be minimal. IF you like the look.

My 03 is running the setup you mentioned with no problems, I have seen no indications of center tread wear.

Zembonez · May 4, 2009

you could get a 285/75/17 instead. roughly the same size.

Some people run 285s on stock wheels. I've seen a lot of 285-75-16s on GMT800 trucks. Not a perfect fit but they do work. The beads are a little sucked in which probably results in accelerated center tread wear to some extent but if you run moderate air pressure, even that should be minimal. IF you like the look.

My 03 is running the setup you mentioned with no problems, I have seen no indications of center tread wear.

You probably won't if you don't run extra high pressure in them. Centers will wear out first if run at high pressure but it will take quite a few miles to show up.

2000DV4.8 · May 4, 2009

So is there a general rule of thumb for tread width to wheel width?

General rule of thumb is that a tire should never be more than 4.5" wider than a wheel... however as the diameter of the wheels increase, the difference of them should be less.

For instance its much more important for a 33" tire to have an appropriate wheel width if the wheel is 20+... but you can get away with more with that 33" tire on a 15 or 16" wheel.

In the end, every tire manufacturer has a recommended wheel width range for every tire they make... just go to the manufacturers website and look up the tire specs and it will tell you the appropriate wheel width for that particular tire. Thats much more accurate than rule of thumbs on public forums

/thread.

Zembonez · May 4, 2009

So is there a general rule of thumb for tread width to wheel width?

General rule of thumb is that a tire should never be more than 4.5" wider than a wheel... however as the diameter of the wheels increase, the difference of them should be less.

For instance its much more important for a 33" tire to have an appropriate wheel width if the wheel is 20+... but you can get away with more with that 33" tire on a 15 or 16" wheel.

In the end, every tire manufacturer has a recommended wheel width range for every tire they make... just go to the manufacturers website and look up the tire specs and it will tell you the appropriate wheel width for that particular tire. Thats much more accurate than rule of thumbs on public forums

/thread.

NOT exactly. Tire manufacturers are whores. They want to sell tires. All their info does is tell you what size wheel the tire will fit on WITHOUT BEING DANGEROUS. They do not care how it wears or how it looks. I think the OP was after better and more accurate information than that.

wmorgan518 · May 4, 2009

sc4808, did you mean you were running 295/70 r17s on the stock wheels? Just wanted to clarify.

sc4808 · May 5, 2009

No sorry, Zembonez, mentioned that this is the same as what people did on th last generation trucks (GMT800), they came with LT265/75R16 tires and it was common to upgrade to LT285/75R16 which have on mine (my 2003 Sierra), I was just mentioning that I have that setup and have had no issues.