I see the common upgrade is for 37” tires. Curious if there is a benefit from ride quality over stock tire size? My ultimate use for the 2500 diesel will be a tow rig for the boat. Every weekend all summer. 16-18 weekends. Some weekends will be both Saturday & Sunday trips. Lake is a short 25 minute drive. In the future I plan on taking the boat to other lakes in the western states. Longest trip planned will be 1,200 miles away.
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Ride quality comparison stock vs 37’s.
- Thread starter cruzinZ
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Dave01
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IMO you won't ever benefit in ride quality going larger in tire size. Having said that, these trucks ride so well that you may not feel a real world difference in ride with 37's over stock. The bigger tires look better, drop highway rpm a bit. You don't mention if you have gas or diesel, depending on weight of the boat you could negatively affect towing capability with the 6.4 a bit by going bigger.
I stayed with stock size tires mostly because I didn't want the bed height higher, I'm constantly putting kayaks and paddle boards in and out of it in the summer, and didn't want it to be even more of a challenge on my old shoulders. Otherwise I'd enjoy going a little bigger.
Again just IMO ... I believe that the best on-road performance, from ride quality to towing capability to fuel efficiency, is from running with stock size tires. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with going bigger, whether for looks or height or better off road capability, but I think at times people think they are gaining something with bigger tires and in truth stock size works really well.
I stayed with stock size tires mostly because I didn't want the bed height higher, I'm constantly putting kayaks and paddle boards in and out of it in the summer, and didn't want it to be even more of a challenge on my old shoulders. Otherwise I'd enjoy going a little bigger.
Again just IMO ... I believe that the best on-road performance, from ride quality to towing capability to fuel efficiency, is from running with stock size tires. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with going bigger, whether for looks or height or better off road capability, but I think at times people think they are gaining something with bigger tires and in truth stock size works really well.
Rockcrawlindude
a rock crawlin’ dude
Mostly because people like the looks and it’s cool to have a truck on 37s.
More sidewall could be argued to give a slightly softer ride but it will depend on what tires you buy and your inflation.
Larger tires are heavier and usually more aggressive tread such as AT or MT which will give you a little less mpg and a little more noise.
More sidewall could be argued to give a slightly softer ride but it will depend on what tires you buy and your inflation.
Larger tires are heavier and usually more aggressive tread such as AT or MT which will give you a little less mpg and a little more noise.
I went from stock 275/75r18 size tires (Toyo at3) to 37x12.50r17. Assuming both are inflated appropriately for the load the 37s are significantly smoother on the road, and drastically smoother off road when aired down. The additional sidewall plus the improved roll over really makes a difference.
I followed that up with Thuren-everything which made an even bigger difference.
You'll want at least 4.10 gears with 37s.
I followed that up with Thuren-everything which made an even bigger difference.
You'll want at least 4.10 gears with 37s.
After doing more research on this subject your 100% right on selecting the proper gearing for the transmission. I would venture to say a big majority of failures with the 68 RFE is due to deletes, tunes, larger tires. This is a receipt for disaster on a stock transmission with stock gearing. The setup becomes a torque multiplier combined with a huge power increase from the engine.
I’m fairly confident that the engineers knew what they were doing when designing vehicles. Your average everyday joe doesn’t have a clue what the downstream effects are with his choice of vehicle modifications. For me the mission of the truck would be strictly road truck for use in pulling a 9K load (boat). I’m also heavily leaning towards a mega cab as it’s going to double as a family oriented vehicle. Must be 4x4 due to certain situations that are unforeseen. Some jobsights require me to travel in snow/icy conditions. I would also be inclined to use the truck as a dinghy vehicle behind a diesel pusher motorhome in the future. These uses would put the truck more in a stock configuration than needing to go up in tire size.
elephantrider
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the recipe for disaster lives in the right foot more than anything else.
H3LZSN1P3R
You're doing it wrong
You wont have any issue on 37s with the diesel the ride change will be minimal. The 68RFE biggest failures is driver failure when the trans is tuned it can hold 550rwhp safely
I ran 37s on two different diesels without issue, one being deleted. As mentioned, if you’re going WOT and slamming down gears the transmission will not live even with stock tires, it kills the OD clutches. If you use your gear selector you have much better chances of making your transmission survive. While 37s do add additional stress down the line, the 19+ models are 373s which is helpful with larger tires. 410s would be ideal still. I saw no change in transmission temps in S Fl heat when swapping tires. Also towed my wife’s Q8, bed full of ammo and other things from Florida to Tn running 37s. Avg 14 or maybe it 15 mpg and perfect trans temps the whole way.
You are right on. Stock(ish) tires are probably best for you. Imo either keep it stick or do it right (bigger tires + re-gear). I went for a 3500 SRW HO to avoid the 68 transmission. The Aisin in the HO is super burly. Here in the mountains it's rare that I see a 68 truck with over 100k miles on the stock transmission. They struggle with heat management when towing in tight steep roads, which are plentifully in Colorado's rocky mountains.
I have the Megacab and it is great for our family of five. Loads of room and very comfy in the back with the reclining seats. Plus it has enough room in the back that I can comfortably put on my ski boots sitting in the back seat all warm and dry
.I was looking at the HO with Aisin but not sure if it really makes sense. From everything I’ve read up on towing less than 15k & you should be good on the 86. For me it would also come down to normal everyday practicality. I’ll have to test drive both to see if the slower shifting points in the Aisin would make that big of a deal to me for the 99% of regular driving unloaded & without towing would make a difference. If I lived in an area like you or was planning on towing considerably more frequently the HO & Aisin would be a no-brainer.You are right on. Stock(ish) tires are probably best for you. Imo either keep it stick or do it right (bigger tires + re-gear). I went for a 3500 SRW HO to avoid the 68 transmission. The Aisin in the HO is super burly. Here in the mountains it's rare that I see a 68 truck with over 100k miles on the stock transmission. They struggle with heat management when towing in tight steep roads, which are plentifully in Colorado's rocky mountains.
I have the Megacab and it is great for our family of five. Loads of room and very comfy in the back with the reclining seats. Plus it has enough room in the back that I can comfortably put on my ski boots sitting in the back seat all warm and dry
With it being dedicated more for normal use and the need for a 3/4 ton truck during the summer months for the boat I think the standard output engine and 86 would check all the requirements.
Seems reasonable. I don't have any complaints with the Aisin, but it's not my daily driver either. If you go with a 2500 make sure it's got enough payload for your uses. It's shocking low for a HD truck (2k lbs is typical for a ram 2500 diesel 4x4).
For me payload isn’t a huge limiting factor. Should be plenty considering it’s mostly going to be a few people on board and the boat behind. I do see your point for payload though. Should the wife want to add a 5th wheel travel trailer to the mix, before my plans of getting a diesel pusher, that could change the truck requirements.
For purely ride quality, swapping to a bigger tire of any size is not worth it. The negatives out-way the positives. I went from 37x12.50r18 toyo RT with 4:10’s to 285/60r20 Michelin defender on stock wheels with 3:73 gears on my 2018 and the Michelins definitely road better. I will also add that even with the correct gearing those 37’s still prematurely wore my transmission and it was beginning to slip on a truck with 60k miles. As someone already said, us normal people can’t better design a truck for longevity than OEM engineers. I’d suggest staying stock for your scenario.
And there’s several examples of people running 37s for 100ks of miles without issue. Your example isn’t the rule, nor is mine. Too many factors could cause premature failure of a transmission
The 37’s are going on a truck that was deigned in every way to run a 285/60r20. Anything otherwise will eventually cause an issue, whether it takes 50k miles or 100k miles.
You can’t say it’ll cause an issue unless it’s 100% guaranteed to cause an issue, which it’s not guaranteed. Sure it increases the chances but it’s not guaranteed, it’s not a rule. Theres stock trucks that have issues, transmissions that wear out prematurely or even worse. My point is saying 37s will kill your transmission is not accurate unless it ALWAYS kills it.
Wanderlust073
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Truck looks bad ass with 37s, and that’s the reason to get them 
Dave01
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I don't have an opinion either way, I run on stock because I didn't want the truck any taller, but absolutely love the way some of the guys trucks look on big tires (yes Wanderlust073, that truck DOES look bad ass!!!)
But your claim "can't say it's cause and issue unless it's 100% guaranteed ..." is a bit too strict a standard.
I can't say 100% guaranteed that if you do a tranny flush you're going to kill your transmission, but I'd strongly advise against it, likely to cause problems.
I can't say 100% guaranteed that if you tow 5,000 lbs. over your tow rating that you're going to kill your transmission, but then again it's likely to cause problems.
All I'm saying is, seems ok to me for the guy to say that running bigger, heavier tires might cause issues with some components. I think every person who runs bigger tires is OK with that risk.
If he had said “might” there’d be no argument hahaha so we are saying the same thing and in agreement.
He said running bigger tires caused his transmission to die at 60k miles. How does he know it was the tires? Now he could say “he believes” running bigger tires added to the issue but he didn’t. I’m splitting hairs here but I run into this all over car forums and it’s just false information. I’d go to say majority of people who modify any vehicle know the inherent risk of changing said design, but it doesn’t always lead to an issue. These forums are super helpful but it can also spread information that isn’t the full truth.
It’s not false information that I posted. I posted what happened in my scenario, which is what the op asked for. I also said, again imo that for the op’s scenario stock size makes more sense.
I never said 100% it would cause an issue. But to think it won’t is naive, it’s beyond what the vehicle is designed for lol and it seems most agree here. I have a 2022 Audi RS6 that is modded from 591hp to over 800hp and I accept the fact that it will most likely cause issues haha, but I like it. Just like I liked 37’s and how they looked.