10 ply BFG AT on a Tahoe? (275/70/18)

[matt trakker]

Except for the winter, when I run the stock wheels, I have a set of 2009 Z71 18" wheels and tires that I run with the Dueler AT RH-S factory tires (they were new take-offs I got a few years ago).





These tires look a little small to me for some reason, but I don't mind them, they ride nice. However eventually I'll need new tires and I'd like to go a little bigger. I had 285 BFGs on my Blazer but those were 16" tires I got in like 2006, seems BFGs have gone up a LOT in price, and when I saw what the 285 tires go for in an 18" I promptly said to hell with that. I don't even think I paid 180 per tire back then. I do like those tires and they seem to last forever, I've always gotten them and I remember my dad always buying them in the 80s when I was little for his truck, he'd run them until they were bald at like 70-75K!

I realized that instead of the 285s, you can get a 275/70/18 that is a slight amount taller and very slightly narrower for like 40-50 bucks less per tire. But, all of the 18" tires available above stock size seem to be load range E. I am worried that such a tire would kill my MPG and ride like crap...I had E-rated ones on my old 88 Suburban, but that thing was heavy.

My truck is cranked up front around 1.5-2 inches maybe. I see on the NNBS trucks a lot of people have to get leveling kits because of the non-torsion bar front end. I'm wondering if these tires would even fit on an NBS body style truck. I've only seen pics of them on NNBS Silverados with the Z71 wheels, etc. I've also seen pics of them as well as other brands in this 275 size on all kinds of half ton or less SUVs and pickups.



http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/picture.ph...pictureid=22681


I've looked at other tires too, I like the Nitto TGs but a couple people told me they only got 30-40K out of them, don't know how true that is.

I noticed this newer BFG that only came out a year or two ago, it gets rave reviews on Tire Rack and looks pretty cool as well. But that would be Load Range E also...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...L&tab=Sizes

I suppose I could get those for even less and run them in the summer...

Anyway, kind of trying to weigh options before I get to a point where I have to get new tires...has anyone else run these wheels and what did you do for tires with little to no lift? I plan on doing keys and spacers down the road...has anyone put this wheel and larger size tire on an NBS truck?

[matt trakker]

As far as the sizing goes, 265/70R17 is 31.6 in diameter, whereas the 18s on there right now are 31.56 overall (I knew they must've been smaller).

A 275/70/18 is supposed to be around 33.15" dia., but I feel BFGs usually run a little bit small. A 285/75/16 is 32.83" dia., not a whole lot smaller, and supposedly those would fit an NBS truck with just a crank if anything. The 275 is actually a bit narrower too. I'm not a betting man, but I think they may fit without a lift, maybe I'd have to crank the bars slightly more...and I think they'd look okay with the future keys and crank...

[TheBigMortboski]

As far as 10 ply tires "killing" the ride, I think cranking your bars will be worse for the ride than the tire load range. Personally, I could never figure out why they thought a P-rated tire on a half ton truck was a good idea in the first place. I live in a mountain valley, so granted, we're a bit harder on tires than the average Joe. But when I worked at the tire shop, we were always having people with ruined P-rated tires come in, and after we swapped them out to at least a 6 ply (Load Range C) or better, they didn't have any more problems. I don't recall any complaints about the ride either.

Just my two cents. Rant over.

[matt trakker]

Rant welcome, lol. While cranking the bars on my '93 a little bit did create a noticeably firmer ride up front, I didn't really have many problems because I kept it around 2 inches tops, maybe less than that, and had it aligned right away, didn't have extreme CV angles or anything. Did the same thing with this truck, but I noticed that on the NBS you can't get much out of cranking, I just tried to get it a little more level. The ride really wasn't affected much at all to my surprise...the front end was really low for my tastes before.

I've noticed this truck rides and handles a million times nicer than my OBS ever did. I always thought keys and all that were a bad idea when trying to lift an OBS, but I think they're fine on the NBS if you add the longer Bilsteins or some other longer shock and don't get too crazy, because you can't crank them that much anyway.

After doing some more searching I've seen a few posts about people getting these BFGs in that size and not really noticing much harshness from the 10 ply factor...

[TheBigMortboski]

I had some BFG Mall Terrains on my Ford F-250, and I thought they were great tires. They were 285/75R16, and I can't remember if they were LRD or E, but I thought it rode alright for a 3/4 ton truck, and the tread wear was awesome on them. Traction kinda sucks in the snow because it tends to pack between the treads, but they're probably better than a mud tire.