Hi,

I'm in the process of building my truck up slowly but surely, and need some advice on the next few components. My truck is a 2005 Silverado 2500HD Ext. Cab 4x4 with the 6.0L engine. So far I've put on Flowmasters, K&N FIPK, and a Hypertech.

The next 2 big things that I want to do are tires & rims & a new rear bumper / tire rack mod. I have several questions about both, so here we go.

1 - Tires & rims -

Since I only have one truck, and it is used for towing / hauling, I have decided not to lift it (even with all the engine mods, it still doesn't have a ton of giddy up). As such, I’m thinking of either leaving it on the stock rims, or perhaps replacing the rims if I can get some lighter & stronger ones (or decided to pony up for bead locks). So that begs the question, should I even bother replacing the rims if I’m not going to lift it?

The biggest I can go on the stockers is 265/75/16 and I need an E load rating. This eliminates BFG Mud TA's which is where I started from. I'd like to get a pretty aggressive AT, or some durable MT's.

Here is what I’m looking at now:

Toyo Open Country MT's
Or
Pro Comp Xtreme AT's

I'm leaning towards the AT's due to their tread warranty, but the local Chevy dealership said they suck. Anyone have any input or suggestions on the tires?

2- New rear bumper / tire carrier

If I get new tires, I’m going to have to pull the spare off the bottom of the truck either way. The dual Flowmasters have minimal space next to the spare as it is. Since I need to do that, I’m thinking about having a custom rear bumper / tire gate built. Ideally my thought was to build something like you see on the rear of many older Blazers or every Jeep in the world. Specifically, it would allow me to keep the tailgate on, mount 2 x 5 gallon gas tanks, my hi lift, and the spare.

Anyone seen something like this before, or have any input on why that might be a good or bad idea?

Thanks in advance for any/all input.

Wolf

You can't go with 285's (? E range)? Pretty sure they'll fit.....how about 255/85/16? They're about 33" tall and 10" wide.....but then you say the 6.0 lacks giddy up.....if going to a taller tire are you willing to regear? What gears are in it now, do you tow distances or around town. Maybe gain some giddy up with a lower gear? If you only tow local and want giddy up...then maybe lower gears won't hurt at the pump too much (actually may help)?

You can't go with 285's (? E range)? Pretty sure they'll fit.....how about 255/85/16? They're about 33" tall and 10" wide.....but then you say the 6.0 lacks giddy up.....if going to a taller tire are you willing to regear? What gears are in it now, do you tow distances or around town. Maybe gain some giddy up with a lower gear? If you only tow local and want giddy up...then maybe lower gears won't hurt at the pump too much (actually may help)?

someone else asked me that on another board as well, i'm just going by what tires.com, tire rack, and local chevy dealer told me. honest answer is i don't know! i have 4.10's in it now, and yes, i'm willing to regear if needed. i tow distance mostly, but do also do some local towing. as far as the pump goes, i'm already screwed, so that is officially a nice to have!! :D

go with the toyo mt's they are nice everyone I know that has them love them.
get the 265/75R16 they are about 31.5" by 10.5" they will fit fine.

If you get the toyos you may need to get new rims anyways if you have 17" rims.
If you need new rims get 16x8's

the tire carrier/ bumper sounds cool post pics when its done

go with the toyo mt's they are nice everyone I know that has them love them.
get the 265/75R16 they are about 31.5" by 10.5" they will fit fine.

If you get the toyos you may need to get new rims anyways if you have 17" rims.
If you need new rims get 16x8's

the tire carrier/ bumper sounds cool post pics when its done

Just want to make sure i understand, you're saying that if i had 17's i'd need new rims, right?I have 16" rims now, so unless there was a compelling reason, or i find a cheap package deal with beadlocks and tires i'm not sure that i'll be getting new rims.

Since you have a stock truck use stock size tires. What do you need slightly bigger tires for? and I agree, I wouldnt lift my 05 DD either.

Find a cheap 67-87 Blazer and chop it, tow it to the trail with your 05......

Since you have a stock truck use stock size tires. What do you need slightly bigger tires for? and I agree, I wouldnt lift my 05 DD either.

Find a cheap 67-87 Blazer and chop it, tow it to the trail with your 05......

it's not really my daily driver, more like a weekend driver :p . I need all/mud terrain tires so i can go camping with the wife, some lightweight wheeling, and just to make it look better. The stock tires do not look good AT ALL.

I wish i could, we have 3 cars already, and the wife will not let me get another.

285's should fit fine, even on stock rims. On my '03 Suburban 2500 I run 285/65 R18. The reduced sidewall helps with the towing (10,000# trailer). I ran 285's on the stock 16's before with out any problems. Check out tiregate.com for the spare tire carrier. They may have what you are looking for. For more power, also look at headers. I did the headers, cat-back, hypertech, K&N FIPK on my '99 Silverado 2500 with the 6.0L and it helped quite a bit. I'm also running 38's with 4.56 gears without power problems.
Just a couple of thoughts.

285's should fit fine, even on stock rims. On my '03 Suburban 2500 I run 285/65 R18. The reduced sidewall helps with the towing (10,000# trailer). I ran 285's on the stock 16's before with out any problems. Check out tiregate.com for the spare tire carrier. They may have what you are looking for. For more power, also look at headers. I did the headers, cat-back, hypertech, K&N FIPK on my '99 Silverado 2500 with the 6.0L and it helped quite a bit. I'm also running 38's with 4.56 gears without power problems.
Just a couple of thoughts.

that would be awesome if i could run tires that big on the stock rims! did you run that same size (i.e. 285/65/16) on the 16's? did you have to do anything special to get them to fit and not rub?

i had looked at the tiregate before, it's the closest thing to what i want. thanks for pointing it out.

i thought about doing the headers, but i live in Ca. so i'm not sure if they would help? how did they work for you?

The 285/75R16 worked fine for me with no rubbing using the stock rims. Others I have talked to have had some rubbing (plastic on inner fender well), but it's an easy fix with tin snips.

Many of the headers out now are 50 state emissions compliant. I used the Gibson headers and have had no problems with them. I noticed an increase in power and I still get 13MPG with my current setup. So to me, it was worth it.

:D The 285/75R16 worked fine for me with no rubbing using the stock rims. Others I have talked to have had some rubbing (plastic on inner fender well), but it's an easy fix with tin snips.

Many of the headers out now are 50 state emissions compliant. I used the Gibson headers and have had no problems with them. I noticed an increase in power and I still get 13MPG with my current setup. So to me, it was worth it.

that is good news! I really don't want to snip anything, so hopefully that will work for me too!

i actually was looking at some jba headers before, and based on your recommendation may pick them up now.

THANK YOU!!! :D

Ive seen guys run 315's on stock PYO's (aluminum chevy/GMC rims)

thats really getting much on a 6.5" rim tho

Ive seen guys run 315's on stock PYO's (aluminum chevy/GMC rims)

thats really getting much on a 6.5" rim tho

so what is your take on running the 285's on the stockers?

My daily driver is an 02 gmc 2500HD with 285/75r16 toyo's on the stock alloy's and no susp. mods i don't have any rub or turn issues at all!

i have the 4 door diesel version of your truck, but its still a 2500hd.

no way i'd mod the suspension if i towed and hauled. 285 is the limit and without a gear change you will feel a power loss. the 285 will be real close to the plastic. i put a set of a buddies on to look and thought it looked a little tight so i went with 265's.

i only went with the taller tire to get the rpm's down a little on the freeway.

these trucks are not meant to be offroaded. they are too fawkin heavy. in my mind, my front axle is for muddy campgrounds and slimmy boat docks and snow.

i do not see the extra 1/2 inch of ground clearance gained worth trimming the fender plastic or lossing any power. you already commented on giddyup problems.

it's not really my daily driver, more like a weekend driver :p . I need all/mud terrain tires so i can go camping with the wife, some lightweight wheeling, and just to make it look better. The stock tires do not look good AT ALL.

I wish i could, we have 3 cars already, and the wife will not let me get another.

BFG A/T's in the 265 size will perform the best on your truck. If you like the looks of a slightly larger tire the 285 will fit, tons of people use them but you wont gain a thing except for slightly worse engine performance and city/towing gas mileage. Your trucks never going to be a wheeler but they are great tow rigs :D

My daily driver is an 02 gmc 2500HD with 285/75r16 toyo's on the stock alloy's and no susp. mods i don't have any rub or turn issues at all!

did you chop it at all, or is that as is?

also, where did you put the spare?

i have the 4 door diesel version of your truck, but its still a 2500hd.

no way i'd mod the suspension if i towed and hauled. 285 is the limit and without a gear change you will feel a power loss. the 285 will be real close to the plastic. i put a set of a buddies on to look and thought it looked a little tight so i went with 265's.

i only went with the taller tire to get the rpm's down a little on the freeway.

these trucks are not meant to be offroaded. they are too fawkin heavy. in my mind, my front axle is for muddy campgrounds and slimmy boat docks and snow.

i do not see the extra 1/2 inch of ground clearance gained worth trimming the fender plastic or lossing any power. you already commented on giddyup problems.

my thoughts exactly on susp mods. I wonder if the tires will take me back to where i started from pre exhaust mods? guess i need headers now too to offset the bigger tires!! :)

That is one of the other primary reasons i'm looking as well is to get the rpm's down, and mpg up (in theory).

I don't plan on doing anything more than poser wheeling, so i think we are on the same page there.

what did you do with the spare, did it fit under the truck still, or is it in back now?

BFG A/T's in the 265 size will perform the best on your truck. If you like the looks of a slightly larger tire the 285 will fit, tons of people use them but you wont gain a thing except for slightly worse engine performance and city/towing gas mileage. Your trucks never going to be a wheeler but they are great tow rigs :D

hmm, i thought the bigger tires would lower rpms for towing and theoretically improve mpg? i understand it will require more hp to push, but that is what my upcoming headers are for!! :smokin:

so what is your take on running the 285's on the stockers?

285/75/16 were fine for me on the stock rims. I ran a set for 70K on my 1500 without problems. They may be considered a "tad" wide for the stock rims but they were no way near "too" wide. IMO these trucks look great with 285's on them.

285/75/16 were fine for me on the stock rims. I ran a set for 70K on my 1500 without problems. They may be considered a "tad" wide for the stock rims but they were no way near "too" wide. IMO these trucks look great with 285's on them.

sweet, THANKS.. :D

p.s. where did you put your spare? Did it still fit underneath?

Just want to make sure i understand, you're saying that if i had 17's i'd need new rims, right?I have 16" rims now, so unless there was a compelling reason, or i find a cheap package deal with beadlocks and tires i'm not sure that i'll be getting new rims.

why dont you keep the stock spare tire under in the same place and keep the new spare at home they are close enough to the same size to use if need be and you wont have to move anything.

yes that was exactly what I was saying except for the beadlocks, why do you think you need beadlocks? there not street legal in CA besides the dot approved ones.

why dont you keep the stock spare tire under in the same place and keep the new spare at home they are close enough to the same size to use if need be and you wont have to move anything.

yes that was exactly what I was saying except for the beadlocks, why do you think you need beadlocks? there not street legal in CA besides the dot approved ones.

i'm concerned after putting dual Flowmaster on that the tire / exhaust is REALLY close to each other. The other reason is i need to come up with a storage solution for my two 5 gallon gas cans and hi lift. I figure i might as well kill 2 birds with one stone.

i don't actually think i need beadlocks, but 2dogs is all over me to get some.. i'd rather save the $$ and get something else for the truck (like headers).

hmm, i thought the bigger tires would lower rpms for towing and theoretically improve mpg? i understand it will require more hp to push, but that is what my upcoming headers are for!! :smokin:

According to you, your truck doesnt have much "giddy up". Putting bigger tires on it will lower your rpms and pull it away from your optimal power band. This will decrease MPGs and power. Again, 285's are so close in size to stock 265's that it wont matter much either way but it will tilt you towards worse perfomance.

fullsizechevy.com is all about this sort of stuff. Have you been there?

According to you, your truck doesnt have much "giddy up". Putting bigger tires on it will lower your rpms and pull it away from your optimal power band. This will decrease MPGs and power. Again, 285's are so close in size to stock 265's that it wont matter much either way but it will tilt you towards worse perfomance.

fullsizechevy.com is all about this sort of stuff. Have you been there?

yeah, i'm hoping to do tires next, then headers after so it should be a wash ( i hope) on both performance and MPG. honestly, that is ok, it's a truck (and a heavy one at that), and the towing aspect is what i use it for. i just want it to look good.

i have the same post up over there as well, thanks for checking! :cool2:

I have 285s on my 2004 non-hd 2500 I had to trim about 1/2 inch of an inner plastic fender. The hds sit higher so you should have no problem. Also remember that if you switch from the stock tires to 285s that you mph and mpgs will be 10% off unless you can adjust them with your programmer. I have pictures of my truck on 285 cooper stts if you want to see what the tires look like on stock wheels. Just pm me and let me know.

Power tune it and add headers, it'll at least help with the gitty-ep. Powertuning will let you adjust your shift firmness and points in the trans should help a little with power. I powertuned my 5.3 and it's got plenty of gitty.

I have 285s on my 2004 non-hd 2500 I had to trim about 1/2 inch of an inner plastic fender. The hds sit higher so you should have no problem. Also remember that if you switch from the stock tires to 285s that you mph and mpgs will be 10% off unless you can adjust them with your programmer. I have pictures of my truck on 285 cooper stts if you want to see what the tires look like on stock wheels. Just pm me and let me know.


from the sounds of it, the hd's height elimate the need for any trimming, which is a good thing! i can adjust that easily with they hypertech, so i'm good there.

sent you a pm, thanks

Power tune it and add headers, it'll at least help with the gitty-ep. Powertuning will let you adjust your shift firmness and points in the trans should help a little with power. I powertuned my 5.3 and it's got plenty of gitty.

yeah, after i did that it really opened it up. the headers will hopefully offset the tires drag..

Thnx