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Will 325s fit with just a level?

6K views 27 replies 5 participants last post by  myoung84 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

I'm debating on tires. Wheels are 5.81 back space with a 18 mm off set. I'm debating between nitto 295/70/18 or falken 325/65/18. The 325 is 12.8 inches wide. I know the 295s will fit. Price is the same.

What do you guys think?

Truck is a hemi 2500 non PW.

Thanks.

Eddie

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus while on the toilet using Tapatalk 2
 
#3 ·
I keep hoping myyoung chimes in. He had a leveling kit on his Power Wagon and bigger tires. Look at his build thread. He might be a good resource for you.
 
#4 ·
Although I am not a PW I do have PW coils in my 2500. I currently am running 35x12.5 on stock 17's. My only rubbing is at steering lock on control arms. My 35's are 34.8" tall and 12.5" wide. They are only a D rated tire so they weigh 13lbs more than a stock 265. I am putting on 18" fuel hostages and going with 295/70/18 nitto trail grapplers as they are roughly 10lbs lighter per tire compared to a 35x12.5x18 trail grappler. The 295's are 34.57" tall and 11.73" wide and 71lbs per tire. Although I would prefer the 35's the weight is my downside as I am still 3:73 gears and until I re gear I don't think the 35's would be justifiable just for looks.
 
#5 ·
I'm honestly not sure if the 325/65/18 will fit or not, but I'd say it probably would but you might need a 2" level kit. Without the leveling kit, my 295/70/18's rubbed the plastic fender liners.

Here's a pic with the 295/70/18 tires and a 2" lift.

 
#6 ·
Thanks for the replies. I do plan on leveling, also I have the factory 4.10 gears. Am I crazy to think you would even notice the 1.2 inch difference in width between the 295 and 325? I just don't want the tires to look tall and skinny.

Myyoung84, your truck looks really good, makes me think I'll be happy with the 295s. The tires look like they stick out quite a bit from the fenders. Any issues with throwing rocks? I'm also debating between oem or pocket style flares.

Thanks.

Eddie
 
#7 ·
The 295's are plenty wide enough, IMO. They barely stuck out from the stock fender flares and I never noticed any problems throwing rocks. Having said that, I would probably go with pocket style flares since you don't have any at all now.

I loved that look, but unfortunately it was only like that for about 3000 miles. It killed my highway driving and mileage. Couldn't maintain speed up hills and was constantly downshifting. This is Oklahoma hills, not the mountains. It was a struggle to get 10 MPG. I'm back to stock ride height with 33" Toyo AT II's and the truck does so much better. If you do a lot of highway driving, I'd think real hard about your tire choices...
 
#8 ·
I would have to agree with myyoung. Although I am getting the same tires as him my truck isn't a daily highway driver. As of January 19th I will have had the truck 2 years and have only put on 11743 miles, about 489 miles a month. Although the step down from 35's isn't hugh measurment wise I hope it will help a little bit.
 
#9 ·
I've had mine a little over a year and I've got about 14k on it. It's not my daily driver (I have a company car for that) but it does see a lot of highway use on the weekends. I think the increased weight is more of an issue than height. Going from a 295/70/18 M/T to a 285/65/18 A/T I dropped about 20 lbs per tire.

I wish I would have gone with a little bigger tire, but they don't make the size that I really want, which would be a 305/65/18 (33.6 x 12.0). The next step up was a 325/60/18 but that's a little wider than I wanted and it's also a heavy tire.

Here's how it currently sits.

 
#10 ·
myoung84,

Thanks for the advice. My truck might see 14,000 miles in 3 and half years or so, but I do plan on taking it on road trips up to 300 miles away on occassion. I am also planning on picking up a 7-8000 pound fith wheel trailer, so you got me thinking. The truck looks good with the 33's, what gears do you have?

Just when I thought I knew what I wanted...

Eddie
 
#11 ·
If you weren't going to tow and only plan on 4-5k miles a year, I would say absolutely get the larger tires, maybe even 35's because they do look good. But since you plan on buying a 5th wheel, I would honestly stick with 33's in an A/T tread pattern. I too thought that a little larger tire wouldn't hurt me too much, but it was way worse than I ever anticipated.

I have 4.56 gears and still noticed the hit. 4.10s will only be worse.
 
#12 · (Edited)
To help compare I am pulling a 8090lb 5th wheel in the summer. I have to admit I am very impressed with how well it pulls with the 35's and can only imagine how much better it would be with a smaller/lighter tire.

*Edit-Just wanted to add that I am not trying to say what I am doing is fine. I completly agree with all of myyoung's logic's. Its common sence and I have to admit I am abusing it abit with my truck.

 
#13 ·
I have been thinking about it since I swapped tires and I think that the new 6 speed for 2012 might be hurting me a bit too. The old 545RFE had a final drive of 0.67 and the new 66RFE is 0.625. It's not a lot, but it accounts for about a 150 RPM decrease and 0.045 reduction in torque multiplication. I'm not a mechanical engineer so I don't know how much effect this really has on final drive power output...

I noticed that when in 5th gear (0.816 ratio) it towed my old boat like it wasn't even there. 6th gear was a much bigger struggle and actually resulted in less MPG when running about 70 MPH on level ground, according to the EVIC. When I would shift from 6th to 5th the EVIC MPG bar graph would jump up a little.
 
#14 ·
I was thinking the same thing. Most would question me, 3:73, 545RFE and 35's and say there is no way you are pulling good but my wife can agree to it. We absolutely love pulling our 5th wheel.
 
#15 ·
All good advice, thanks. Have you guys looked ito the Bully Dog 40430 tuner? Allegedly it works for our model year but I can't seem to find any details about it besides power gains. I'm wondering about shift points, speedometer calibrations, etc.

myyoung,

Can you post larger picture with your 33's?

Thanks.

Eddie
 
#16 ·
I'm running the Bully Dog and so is 12brute. It gives some nice gains and allows you to correct your speedo, raise rev limiters, and raise shift points. I also have a Diablo Trinity, but it's just a paper weight right now.

Click this link for the full size pic.

http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i360/myoung84/IMG_0493.jpg
 
#18 ·
I ordered my 295's yesterday and will hopefully have them on my hostages in acouple weeks if your not in a hurry and want to see what they look like on a leveled 2500.
 
#20 ·
myyoung84,

I just read through your build thread and checked out all your pictures. Lots of good ideas. Definitely looking into lights and aux switches now. I'm also considering a 2.5 spacer in front with the 1.5 inch block in the rear with the AT 295s. I liked the way your truck looked with that config. How did you like it while you had it?

Congrats on the baby. I'm having my third in March.

Eddie
 
#21 ·
Slow Eddie,

Don't forget that while myyoung had a 2.5/1.5 kit in this was being added to the factory lifted suspension. Neither of our trucks will sit that high. Below is my truck with factory PW coils installed instead of a generic leveling kit.

 
#23 ·
The PW's come roughly 2" taller all around from factory. Different coils and leafs. I believe part of the 2" includes the 285's as well. I will let a PW member chime in to give exact details.
 
#24 ·
Still not convinced the 4th gen Power Wagons have any additional lift other than the increased height from the 33" tires. There have been a few pics posted of a PW and standard 2500 side by side and there is very little height difference, which could be explained by the tire size.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I went from a 2" leveling kit to PW coils and lost no more than 1/4" of height. I had a picture of my stock coil next to a PW coil before my phone crashed and there was definatly a difference. The PW also has a different track bar to correct the axle shift from the additional height. I have one but have not installed it. I have also measured the leaf spring of a PW and there is some additional thickness below the leaf spring to aid in some height. A PW with 285's sits higher in the back end than my truck on 35's. Lets say I spent alot of time on the lot with a tape measure and even more disecting part numbers between the two lol!

I couldn't find my picture but this is from another truck that swapped in PW coils. Not a 4th gen but still the same part numbers. It is possible I see a little more height from the PW coil due to weight, there is a winch, winch bracket, and sway bar disconnect that is factored into a PW that I do not have.
 
#26 ·
I believe that from the Factory PW's are taller. I believe over time the Gen 4's do settle more, and will eventually match a 2500 diesel (which has substantially heavier duty springs).

I have the weirdest feeling that the suspension was set up best for the 3G, and something was lost in the translation for the 4g (which weighs 400-500lbs more IIRC).

Hence the drooping. I will check again today; last it was 40.5 ground to fender with 34.6 inch Duratracs...
 
#27 ·
I measured mine. With PW springs and 35's (34.8).
Front 42" give or take 1/8"
Rear 43" give or take 1/8"

When I had the 2" level spacer in I was 42.5".
 
#28 ·
Just measured mine again today. Running stock springs, no lift, and 33's that measure 31.5".

Front: 40.25"
Rear: 42.5"
 
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