Hey guys hows it goin, I got a 1998 dodge ram 2500 sport ext cab short bed. I mainly ride my Honda 450r.

But since I bought this truck Im going to turn it into a mild trail truck/commuter.

Right now it has durango 315's first off, can anyone explain the size relation of 315 and like 35 inch tires? whats the difference in the measurements.


More importantly, I'm looking for new tires. Im not sure if any of you have been in or near hollister hills SVRA, but It's very muddy when its wet, and very slippery when its dry. so either way it's interesting to say the least.

I'll be running my truck in pismo, dumont, hollister, glamis, so mud, sand, snow, road ect ect.

I'm looking for 35 or 36's. What kind of tire should I go with.

As of now I'm purchasing a KORE suspension system. 3 inches of lift in the front and 1 in the back with deaver springs, and bilstein 5100's all over.

the 33's are too small and make the truck look really strange. I was thinking somthing taller and wider. I like boggers, but of course it isnt a pure trail truck. and boggers would suck on highways or anything not off road.

What about somthing from like a cement truck or an earth mover type tire???

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Also, what upgrades aditionally would i be looking at? I know 4.56 gearing, but who should I go with for that as well, way too many companies.

thanks in advance

-Grady  

If you want good snow and ice performance, do not go very wide with tread. Realistcally you really want a set of tires and rims for the winter months and then another set for the rest of the time if you want best snow and ice performance because good mud tires usually suck in snow and ice. Also a 4.56 is not really deep enough if you want best performance with 35's or 36's. I would consider 4.88's minimum and maybe 5.13 if you plan to hill climb and crawl as deeper gears also improve traction and since you have OD tranny, even a 5.13 with 36's yeilds only about 2200 RPM at 65 mph which is really about right for vehicle size, weight, lift and engine. Forcing RPM lower with taller gears will not improve MPG at all. Below is a link to a tire sire/axle ratio calculator that you may find usefull and will also answer your tire size question.

http://www.snoman.com/HTML/axlecalc_5a.html  

So any suggestions on a tire type? or company for new gearing.

I will probly do 4.88's then. If I do switch out my gears. would it be worth wile to stick in lockers while I'm there anyways? I heard ARB is good. electric or air? what are some suggestions?

Thanks alot snoman.  

I am not the best source for best mud and rock tires but I do know snow and ice. On the gears, Yukon makes some good gear sets that have good quality. On the locker, a selectable locker is the best way to go period. ARB is a good sturdy unit but electrical lockers are gaining ground and it is easier to keep a wire intact controlling locker than a air line and there is no worries about ice in air line in winter or need for a compressor or air source. Eaton makes some nice electric lockers and some with LSD too so you can have a LSD normally and a locker on demand. Stay away from mechanical lockers because they are 2 wheel drive same speed or one wheel drive in a turn. (you will loose balanced powered differentail action in turns) They can cause handling problems too (especailly up front) and can be a heart axtack on icey roads.  

Go with a 35x12.50 17  in a nice all-terrain, such as BF Goodrich or Toyo. Thats my recommendation. Boggers are a horrible tire for a daily driver. Also, I can tell you what gears to get, but I need to know the height of your current tires and your current gear ratio.

You can input here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Gear_Tire_RatioChange.html

Also, the 315 measurment is metric, the measurement I listed above is standard.  Basically a tire is measured in either way.

A 315/70R17 is a tire that is 315mm wide with an aspect ratio of 70 percent of that with on a radial 17 inch rim.  A 315/70R17 is the equivalent of a 34.5 (high) x 12.4 (wide).

See here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Metric_To_Inch_Tires.html


--Sean  

Stock gearing and i believe 315/45-16... not entirely sure... the company only has listed a 225/75-16 and a 255/85-16

I honestly don't know what my stock gear ratio is on the dodge... sorry :-(


thanks for the help guys.  

hollisterdodge:
Stock gearing and i believe 315/45-16... not entirely sure... the company only has listed a 225/75-16 and a 255/85-16

I honestly don't know what my stock gear ratio is on the dodge... sorry :-(


thanks for the help guys.

It is likely a 4.10 though it could be a 3.73. There is a lot of miss conceptions on proper gear ratios as I stated earlier and some think the lower RPMs equal better MPG and want 1800 to 2000 RPM at 65 or 70 with big tires and a small black gas motor in a big truck. THis in just not the case. There are also those that think 4.10 is a great gear for any tire size and their fix (I am not pointing any fingers here) for big tires is a custom tune and/or dual exhausts or some other mod and think nothing about the extra strain that is placed on tranny, tcase and drive line by large tires with taller gears. I have been messing with 4x4 I have owned since about 1970 and for many years we did not have the luxury of a OD tranny when we ran 4.56, 4.88 or 5.13 gears for power with bigger tires. There was also a time when stock trucks came with 4.56 or 5.13 gears in true HD models (I had a 66 chevy 3/4 ton that had factory 4.57 gears in it). The nice thing about modern truck is that you can install those nice 4.88 or 5.13 gears for power and still cruise nicely in OD but rather than exploit this, detriot generally gears truck tall and adds OD and the result is a 4x4 that is a slug and times and can struggle in OD. In my book a serious 4x4 is geared properly when you can hold and pull OD well on just about any highway grade (not towing).  If it cannot do this, it is not really a real 4x4 truck power wise.  

SnoMan has some good points. Bottom line is you need to look at a holistic approach to modifications to your truck and choose your modifications wisely. Modifications that will work together in the end.

--Sean