Even with the close trailer I'm ok, cool. What would be your cut off point (weight wise), even though I can't see myself towing more than 4000lbs.

 

If you are only going to be towing 3000#, why are you so worried about picking apart whether you can tow 6000#, 7000#, or 8000#? I said "HEAVY" towing........

I don't see any problem going up to about 5000# with "street queen" tires.

 

Thank you. I'm not worried I just wanted to make sure I'm on the same page as the person who's helping me. Everyone's definition of HEAVY is not the same as yours or mine.

 

If towing over about 4k, I would start looking at upgrading.
As far as the enclosed trailer, you will find you have more problems with wind resistance than the weight. That may even make you lock out the OD.

 

Hey pmason,

I was gone all weekend, so didn't see this until now... Sounds like King, glc and others covered for me pretty well.

As I was reading thru the thread, my first Q was 'what are you planning on towing?' Once that was established, then I think you will be ok for the most part, but..... I do think you won't be anywhere near the factory or "adjusted" factory specs on the official "tow rating"... There really is no way to determine where you are 'officially' at now, IMO..

I'm not a fan of those official "tow rating" figures, as they are really only based off of a 'base' truck and do not reflect on any options, or what the owner does to the truck after taking it home..

Those low profile tires and large dia rim will all work together to make for a much reduced payload and towing capacity IMO..

Tires heat up when loaded and the volume of air and surface area you will have with those 40 series tires is going to be a lot less then a 75 or even a 60 series tire of the same diameter.

I would stick to only carrying the quad in the bed and towing nothing more then what you have planned and carry all the gear in another rig....

There are give and takes with everything and this is no different... If you want the big wheel look, you have to give up something else... That's payload and towing ability of the truck... Can't have both!

Good luck and thanks for seeking me out!

Mitch

 

Everyone has been a really big help for me. I haven't put the wheels on as of yet b/c I'm still debating. I really like the Saleen wheel look, at the same time I want to be able to tow but when I think about it I don't really tow anything Heavy so I'm a little confused right now. If I go with the bigger wheel I'm going to stick to my plans. As of now my plans are to: Have one quad in the bed of the truck, pull the open trailer with the other quad on it. If I get a close trailer I will try to keep it around 2000lbs or less curb weight this way if I do load the quads in it I will around 3000lbs.

As for the tires what psi should I use for normal use and towing use. As of right now with my stock 275/55/20 tire I run 35lbs normal and towing (for the little towing I do). Here is a link to the tires I'm thinking about buying. The max inflation is 51.

http://www.conti-online.com/generato...master_en.html

 

I would run them at 40 for normal use, and bump them up to about 45-46 when towing or loaded. They are somewhat similar to an LT LR C tire, just with weaker sidewalls. If they were a LR C LT tire you could pretty much run them at 40 at all times, unloaded or loaded.

 

Any feedback on my idea to keep the stock wheels and put them on to tow?

 

I'd put them at the max cold psi that's listed on the tires for when I'm hauling/towing. For everyday driving, I'd back it down maybe 10 psi or so...

The higher the initial psi, the 'cooler' the tire will run, in theory.... I've got zero experience with low pro tires in a LT application, so thermo dynamics might be different, but I know that a 'standard' tire will run cooler at a higher psi then with a lower psi with the same load on it*.

* Based on personal experience with a travel trailer and a utility trailer, each with different psi in the tires on one trip and higher on the next with the same loads... Speculative at best, but the best I've got!

Oh, I'd still make sure I carry a spare tire for the truck no matter what!


Mitch

 

Yes. I'm keeping my stock tires and I will use them if needed but here is my problem. Being that I'm going from a 20" to a 23" I'm going to have my PCM re-calibrated so that my speedo and most importantly to me my odo isn't off. If I need to really tow something other than the quads or anything over 5000lbs (correct?) I will switch tires and have them re re-calibrate the PCM for the stock 20's. What do you guys think of this and the whole PCM thing?

 

It's not the ideal situation for dealing with it, but I guess it's one that you will have to decide on one way or the other.. It should work for the most part.. Just a PITA to deal with when you need to change over.

But, if you don't do it often, then have a great time with the quads! (I'd still make sure I haul around a spare tire for the truck! )

Mitch

 

I wouldn't bother recalibrating when you put the stockers back on. Just know in your head how far off the speedo is so you know how fast you are really going. If you have a GPS, it will tell you your actual speed.

 

That's cool for the speed but what about the odo. I was told by the dealership and Saleen that my mileage is going to be off. For example, my odo may read 100 when I actually put on more or less miles on it (I forgot which one it is). I know that I have to get the new tire sensors activated to work with the truck so I figured that I would re-calibrate the PCM but I wanted to know if you guys thought it was worth it. If its not that big of a deal than I will leave it b/c I rather leave it. I think it makes going back and forth b/t the two wheels easy. I should have a buddy at the dealership that may do the re-calibrating for free. If not its $120 plus tax.

1 other question. What does switching back and forth b/t the two wheels have on the long term durability of the truck? Thanks a million. You guys are beyond great.

 

Two more points.

The tire size difference is 2% vs. your stock size. Your speedometer is probably already off by that much. Don't spend any money recalibrating that.

I bet those wheels weigh at least 50% more than even the heavy 20" OEM wheels. That will have more effect on performance than anything else. But I agree with the others, under 4k pounds and you should be fine with your street queen wheels/tires.

 

Everyone is talking about the speedo being off by a little which is cool but what about the odometer reading incorrectly.