Captain-Caveman
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- Jun 24, 2022
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Hi all,
Newbie here, so pls be patient!
I am a Brit currently living in Spain, and have just bought a new 2022 RAM Sport with GT package in black, which is on its way over to Europe as we speak.
I know in the States trucks of this size are massively common, whereas in Europe its a bit of a novelty to have a big truck - something characterful and a bit different, in a sea of dull German estate cars, Range Rovers and SUVs. I am buying mine to use 95% as a street truck for family trips and camping, with the added practicality over an SUV to fit my snowboarding and mountain biking hobbies.
One of the mods I'd like to do, which I like to do on all my cars is widen the stance. I like to fill out the wheel wells and have wider rims and tyres that sit flush with the outside of the fenders. I think it gives it a more aggressive look, and gives you more tyre for better grip on twisty mountain roads etc. One thing I've noticed is how skinny the stock tyres look in terms of width, in relation to the width of the truck, and how 'tucked-in' the wheels and tyres look in relation to the fender flares. I am planning on running a staggered setup, with much wider tyres at the back, much like any powerful mostly RWD car, and for better looks and better grip and traction on windy roads. Obviously, being that the truck has a 4WD option, I want to run a setup with diameters with as minimal difference as possible, to avoid any issues with the diffs in 4WD mode, but as the truck will run 99% in RWD drive mode, I'm not overly concerned. I know that most truck owners in the US prefer the offroad look and opt for huge/heavy AT tyres that ruin performance and fuel economy, but I prefer the street look and the handling improvement of low profile, wider street tyres.
From what I can see, there is about a 20mm gap between the outside edge of the fender flares and the edge of the tyres, and loads of room on the inside of the rear tyre between the edge of the tyre and the wheel well liner. The best front-rear tyre combination I can find that keeps overall tyre diameters almost identical is 285/45/22 front and 325/40/22 rear, giving a 2mm sidewall difference front to back, and a 2revs per mile difference overall which should not bother the diffs to any extent. To push the stock front tyre out by 20mm I was gonna go for a +2mm offset on a 10" wheel, which should also extend the overall width of the tyre onto a rim that is better suited for that width of tyre, instead of being too wide for the rim as per the stock 9" rim setup. For the rear I was gonna run a +19 offset on a 12" wheel, which with the 325 tyre would push the outer tyre edge out 20mm towards the fender edge and about 20mm closer to the wheel well on the inside.
I don't have the truck yet, so these calculations are all theoretical and not based on precise measurements of the available space on the truck. But, as I am buying my wheels custom, I wanted to get the ball rolling before the truck arrives, as they take 6-8 weeks to be made! So the questions is, in your guy's vast experience, do you think my calculations look sound, or will my tyres stick out further than the fender flares or rub on the inner wheel wells?
This is the wheel I'm having made, which is inspired by the RAM Limited 6 spoke wheel:
Thanks in advance for your advice fellas.
Mart.
Newbie here, so pls be patient!
I am a Brit currently living in Spain, and have just bought a new 2022 RAM Sport with GT package in black, which is on its way over to Europe as we speak.
I know in the States trucks of this size are massively common, whereas in Europe its a bit of a novelty to have a big truck - something characterful and a bit different, in a sea of dull German estate cars, Range Rovers and SUVs. I am buying mine to use 95% as a street truck for family trips and camping, with the added practicality over an SUV to fit my snowboarding and mountain biking hobbies.
One of the mods I'd like to do, which I like to do on all my cars is widen the stance. I like to fill out the wheel wells and have wider rims and tyres that sit flush with the outside of the fenders. I think it gives it a more aggressive look, and gives you more tyre for better grip on twisty mountain roads etc. One thing I've noticed is how skinny the stock tyres look in terms of width, in relation to the width of the truck, and how 'tucked-in' the wheels and tyres look in relation to the fender flares. I am planning on running a staggered setup, with much wider tyres at the back, much like any powerful mostly RWD car, and for better looks and better grip and traction on windy roads. Obviously, being that the truck has a 4WD option, I want to run a setup with diameters with as minimal difference as possible, to avoid any issues with the diffs in 4WD mode, but as the truck will run 99% in RWD drive mode, I'm not overly concerned. I know that most truck owners in the US prefer the offroad look and opt for huge/heavy AT tyres that ruin performance and fuel economy, but I prefer the street look and the handling improvement of low profile, wider street tyres.
From what I can see, there is about a 20mm gap between the outside edge of the fender flares and the edge of the tyres, and loads of room on the inside of the rear tyre between the edge of the tyre and the wheel well liner. The best front-rear tyre combination I can find that keeps overall tyre diameters almost identical is 285/45/22 front and 325/40/22 rear, giving a 2mm sidewall difference front to back, and a 2revs per mile difference overall which should not bother the diffs to any extent. To push the stock front tyre out by 20mm I was gonna go for a +2mm offset on a 10" wheel, which should also extend the overall width of the tyre onto a rim that is better suited for that width of tyre, instead of being too wide for the rim as per the stock 9" rim setup. For the rear I was gonna run a +19 offset on a 12" wheel, which with the 325 tyre would push the outer tyre edge out 20mm towards the fender edge and about 20mm closer to the wheel well on the inside.
I don't have the truck yet, so these calculations are all theoretical and not based on precise measurements of the available space on the truck. But, as I am buying my wheels custom, I wanted to get the ball rolling before the truck arrives, as they take 6-8 weeks to be made! So the questions is, in your guy's vast experience, do you think my calculations look sound, or will my tyres stick out further than the fender flares or rub on the inner wheel wells?
This is the wheel I'm having made, which is inspired by the RAM Limited 6 spoke wheel:
Thanks in advance for your advice fellas.
Mart.
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