Posted by chriscase on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 10:07:04 :
In Reply to: Why are people asking for advice then,,, posted by Allen Patnode on Monday, August 13, 2007 at 20:09:08 :
Some people interpret "design width" to mean "the only width". That is not so. The design width is the width at which the other specified dimension come out as specified. For example, putting a tire on a rim that is narrower than the 'design width' will result in a narrower and taller tire than the specs show. Wider rim? Lower, wider than spec'd. Revolutions per mile will be off too.
A narrower rim, can make the tire bigger in o.d.- good in the mud, but again, possible fender clearance problems. That is, if you are even checking design specs to see if the manufacturer says that size tire will fit that particular vehicle. Like that is something we worry about here.
When I worked for BF Goodrich, the rule of thumb was +/- 20% from 'design width'.
So far as "the law" goes, everydamnthing else we do is NOT D.O.T. approved. Saginaw boxes? Disc brakes? Dual masters? Signal lights? Put your wheel and tire combo's into perspective. And keep in mind that very few of us, very seldom, will load our vehicles to anywhere near the maximum load. We are running 5500 pound trucks on 20,000 pounds worth of tires. At much reduced speeds. Well within load and speed "design parameters".
Hey, has anybody reported any actual problems?
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