Dodge Rims in Front

I always get asked about the front Rims on my GMC.   I am not the first to install these, and I just followed and copied another GMCer.   Not long after I bought my coach, I came across a deal on the rims, and Lug nuts for 16" dodge aluminum rims, thinking 16" aluminum rims was the thing to have, I bought them up quick.  There are some things I love about the Dodge Rims, but there are some things to also know before everybody goes out looking for this option for front rims.

After I bought my Rims, I found some nice tires off craigslist as well, that fit, and had the capacity to hold up the front of the GMC,  So I was set, but I had some things to learn as time went by.  3 summers later,  I ended up hitting some road hazzard, and it ruined one of my tires.   This forced me to find new replacement tires a little sooner then I had hoped for, so took some time for some pictures and explanation on using Dodge rims.

When my tire went flat, I  was smart enough to carry  the old lug nuts, lucky enough to be close to home,  and was able to install the 8.75 r 16.5  tire/rim I had as a spare.  The coach did pull a little while I drove it home, but it was a short distance.   I would not drive much further with an original 8.75 r 16.5 tire/rim on one side, and a 255 70 16 tire on the other.

 

Here are Pictures of an original 8.75 r 16.5 tire on the front.   that tire is now only available in a Firestone Transforce,  and normally not found in stock, and has to be ordered in to most tire shops.  I have found some tire places to carry that tire, but it is rare, and they cost a bit more then tires you would buy if you have 16 x 6" rims.  (225 75 16, or a 245 75 16).   By going to a Dodge Rim, your tire choices really are not any better, if you want to keep with the 29-30" tall tire.  So this change does not help tire availability or cost.   In my world, tire height was important, because I do not have lower gears, so anything that would gear me the wrong direction by jumping up in tire height was not preferred.   So between keeping a tire height that was close to stock, and finding a tire with  load capacity I wanted the tire Choices I found were limited, and 2 of those I think could be the same tire.  one choice, would be a  BFG A/T tire, in a LT255 70 16.  It was the preferred size, could be inflated to 60 psi.  and handle the weight, even though technically a D rated tire.  I have heard and know of issues running this tire on the front of  powerstoke fords, and not getting much life out of them, so I did not want to run them with all the weight of the GMC ont he front.   So  dropping a little off the width, and going to a LT245 70 16 tire, gave me either a Dick Cepek tire, or a Cooper AT3 tire to chose from..  I found the Dick Cepek not to be readily available from anybody but tire rack,  and I found most places can special order up the Cooper in the size.  Someone did say that Cooper makes the Dick Cepek tire, so they might even be the same.   They also look to be made in the USA.  So I called around and foundt two of these tires for $161 each + 7% tax, whose date code was just 3 months old.

My old craigslist tire was a Hancook. I could not find that tire today.

It had an "E" on it,  but not sure it was truely a 10 ply tire.  the weight was OK for the front, but not really preferred.

My rear tires have Counteract beads for balancing.  I was pretty happy with that, but I decided to go the route of air soft beads for these.   This is what I bought from walmart, and 4 oz is what I was directed to put in each tire, I figured 4.2 was a little better.

Had to make sure that the valve stem was replaced,  the other stems were only good to 65 psi   High pressure stems are needed on e rated tires.

tires I found in the size and capacity all seem to be a aggressive tread.  for what I am trying to do, this is actually a good thing.

Dodge rims are stud centered, and there is a little gap.  be careful on how you torque them to make sure they are centered, and they do not mar up the stud holes.

caps clip on to lug nuts. 

difference in Lug nuts from original to the dodge rims.  even though you can find dodge rims pretty reasonable on craigslist,  getting the correct Lug nuts can cost a bunch, since you need 8 for each rim.   I lucked out and was able to buy the rims with the correct lug nuts.  I do not even know where you would find the right lug nut, or if it would be off the dodge truck, or is a special order all together. 

showing the width difference between original tire and the 245 tire.

without measureing,  I think the inside edge of the 245 tire on the dodge rim stays about the same location as the inside edge of the original tire/rim.   but the outside edge moves outward to be inline with the rear tires.  I have not measured,  but the rims do not rub when turning and have plenty of clearance for original brake calipers.  I have not ever tested these with other combination of brakes in front.

Reasons I like my dodge rims are because they look good, they are way lighter then steel rims.   I think it drives nicer, especially going straight.  It might give more traction up front, having a wider footprint, but I am not 100% sure on that.

I will not discuss cost, because even though they can be cheaper to purchase,  getting lugnuts, correct tires, it could be getting close to what eagle rims might cost.

The downfalls i have found, is tire availability, and cost. there is a issue with having the correct spare tire.  These stick out too far in my opinion to be used on the rear.   I also found some more torque steer, and at one time had tires spinning easily trying to climb onto a lift, then coaches that were going up that same lift without the wider stance.