Questions about bigger tires for newbie

finn5033 · July 8, 2021

Hello all, I've had my 2021 Silverado 3500 for about a month and put 2,200 miles on it so far. I had to fly out to get my truck and drive it 5-6 hours home, and I had the dealer change out the Michelin LTX AT2's for stock size BFG K02's before I got it. I had thought about going bigger right away but I looked at a ton of pictures of the 2500's that came stock with the Dynapro MT tires and thought they really looked great with that more agressive looking tire. So I thought I'd be happy with the 275/70/18 K02's.

This is my first HD truck, and I've always ran 33" tires on all my half ton trucks. Always been 275/60/20 so I've never had a tire wider then just under 11". Plus I've almost always gotten after market wheels for my trucks but I really like these gloss black OEM wheels. I've been looking at lots of pictures and from what I've gathered I should be able to fit 35x12.5x18 tires on my truck with out leveling it. I don't want to level because I bought this thing to tow and I really think the rake doesn't look bad as is.

So this brings me to my question, If I go to a 35x12.5 is there any drawbacks as far as how it will ride, handle, or tow compared to a 275/70/18 tire? I have considered going with a 295/70/18 as well. The load capacity of the tire is not an issue, and I do see that the 35" tire has a 65psi pressure max which is also not an issue. I really want the wider stance and look. My other thought was to try some BORA hubcentric wheel spacers to get that wider look but for an 1.5" set of spacers it's over $500 after tax and shipping. I can get a set of 35x12.5x18 Kenda Klever Rt's mounted for less than $1,200.

Any thoughts are appreciated, as I said I've never had a tire bigger than 33" or wider than 11" so if there is a significant difference in how my truck will drive or handle I'd like to know. Thanks in advance. Here is a picture of my truck as it is now.

RugbyRef · July 9, 2021

@finn5033 - Great looking truck! Since your not exactly new to the forum, I'm not gonna bore you with the usual mantra of, "use the Search feature", as I'm sure you already have done that. Here's a link to a thread that might be useful -

T1 Wheel/Tire Setup. That thread has a lot of great posts from the community here showing different setups on Silverado's and Sierra's.

Although I'm no longer a fan/customer of these guys, you might want to check out the gallery at Custom Offsets Gallery.

Good luck!

Tim

kylant · July 9, 2021

35s will fit. make sure the load index is correct. many 35s come in 2 load index versions.

i would not use any type of wheel spacer. that is just asking for problems.

a 285/75-18 would be a great tire to throw on the 18s

finn5033 · July 9, 2021

2 hours ago, RugbyRef said:

@finn5033 - Great looking truck! Since your not exactly new to the forum, I'm not gonna bore you with the usual mantra of, "use the Search feature", as I'm sure you already have done that. Here's a link to a thread that might be useful -

T1 Wheel/Tire Setup. That thread has a lot of great posts from the community here showing different setups on Silverado's and Sierra's.

Although I'm no longer a fan/customer of these guys, you might want to check out the gallery at Custom Offsets Gallery.

Good luck!

Tim

Thanks for the reply., yeah I’ve been looking on custom offsets site a lot for ideas. I come across some pictures that look like what I’m going for and then find another one with the same set up that doesn’t look right so it gets frustrating. I’m leaning toward getting a separate set of wheels and tires for the summer and keeping my current stock set up for winter since I do a lot of ice fishing. I know the current set up will be good in the snow and on the lakes. Maybe run the a true 35 in the summer. And thanks for the link to the thread I’ll check it out. I did search the site for threads and that one did not pop up.

finn5033 · July 9, 2021

32 minutes ago, kylant said:

35s will fit. make sure the load index is correct. many 35s come in 2 load index versions.

i would not use any type of wheel spacer. that is just asking for problems.

a 285/75-18 would be a great tire to throw on the 18s

Yeah I’ve been doing a ton of research. Looked at every possible size. I do see that some of the 35’s come in load E and Load F.

garagerog · July 9, 2021

Just remember by going from a tire 33.2" in diameter to 35" in diameter you're going to effectively decrease your numerical gear ratio by around 5%, may or not matter depending on how heavy you plan to tow. Also your mileage will probably suffer with that and the heavier tires, again may or not matter as I understand the 6.6 gasser's mileage isn't all that great to begin with.

kylant · July 10, 2021

23 hours ago, finn5033 said:

Yeah I’ve been doing a ton of research. Looked at every possible size. I do see that some of the 35’s come in load E and Load F.

that is load range, not index.

many E rated 35s have less carrying capacity than the stock tires

finn5033 · July 12, 2021

On 7/10/2021 at 8:42 AM, kylant said:

that is load range, not index.

many E rated 35s have less carrying capacity than the stock tires

Yeah I noticed that. I usually use discount tire and they said they wouldn't even sell me the 35's if they knew they were going on a 3500 because they weren't rated for the trucks capacity

finn5033 · July 12, 2021

So using some wheel offset calculators and playing with different size tires here's what I ended up buying.

I found a crazy good deal on some 20x9 +12 offset wheels. They are Vision Widow 418 wheels in satin black. I really wanted a gloss black wheel like my stockers but for $132 a wheel I decided it was too good a price.

With that wheel I decided to go with a 295/60/20 tire. Went with the Atturo Trail Blade XT, according to their website that size is a 34.2" tire by 11.5" wide. They are reasonably priced and I've heard good things about them. I've been wanting to try them for quite a few years, and since they are going to be my summer set I figured it was time. I'm going to keep my stockers with the K02 for my winter set.

This set up should fill out the wheel well nicely but not too much and should put me about flush with the fender flares. I'll post pictures once I get them on.

Edited July 12, 2021 by finn5033

finn5033 · July 12, 2021

On 7/9/2021 at 10:29 AM, garagerog said:

Just remember by going from a tire 33.2" in diameter to 35" in diameter you're going to effectively decrease your numerical gear ratio by around 5%, may or not matter depending on how heavy you plan to tow. Also your mileage will probably suffer with that and the heavier tires, again may or not matter as I understand the 6.6 gasser's mileage isn't all that great to begin with.

Yes I knew it would effect that, luckily for my use it wouldn't cause me any issue. I ended up going with a 34" tire instead of a 35" so it won't effect it quite as much.

finn5033 · July 19, 2021

Wheels and tires are on, love the look but unfortunately I do not like how loud the tires are. I didn’t think they would be bad but my K02s make no noise, these trail blades make a very noticeable hum. I’ve realized now getting older I care more about the quiet ride than the looks. So I’m seeing if I can return these and might go with the continental A/T or anything else really that is quiet. I may go down to a 285/60/20 from the 295/60/20 as well because the tires stick out a bit from the fenders which I don’t want either.

Edited July 19, 2021 by finn5033

finn5033 · July 19, 2021

kylant · July 19, 2021

go to a 285/65-20 BFG KO2. slightly narrower, slightly taller, less noise.

you are not going to be able to do much with the with because of the offset of the wheels. +18 or more offset would have tucked the wheels/tires in more

finn5033 · July 19, 2021

2 hours ago, kylant said:

go to a 285/65-20 BFG KO2. slightly narrower, slightly taller, less noise.

you are not going to be able to do much with the with because of the offset of the wheels. +18 or more offset would have tucked the wheels/tires in more

The wheels came in a +12mm so I was stuck with that. I have been considering the 285/65/20 or maybe even a 275/65/20.

finn5033 · July 21, 2021

Normally I get my tires at discount tire, they give you 30 days to try them out and if you don’t like them they take them back. Well the Atturo’s I wanted to try were on national back order through them but I found them at a local place. They don’t have the same policy on returns but after a discussion they agreed to give me a full refund on them as long as I bought a different set. So I have a pair of 275/65/20 Pirelli Scorpion All terrain plus going on tomorrow. I was trying to decide between these and the continental terrain contact A/T. This is my summer set so I wanted a tire that was quiet and smooth on the highway which these are supposed to be. Really the only reason I went with these was just in case I did end up running them in the winter they have the 3peak snow rating, the continental ‘s don’t. These are the same width as my stock 18 tires but an inch taller. With the +12mm offset wheels they should be right at flush with the fenders and give me the look I was after. I just couldn’t stand the road noise of the Atturo’s and that wide tire look is not for me.

I’ll post some pics after I get the new ones on

Edited July 21, 2021 by finn5033