Rim width?

by Roy Blackwood
(Glovertown Nl Canada)

I have a Ram 1500 4x4, I'm using 3.9 gears and have 315/75/16 tires. Thats about 13" total width,which I have on a 8" wide rim I'm wondering what is to be gained by going to a 10" or 12" wide rim? I went with a narrow rim to protect the tire sidewalls.

Also do you think my stock drivetrain can handle bigger tires? Any feedback will be listened to.

Thanks Roy.

---SIDEBAR---------------------------------------
Hey Roy!

The tire size you have is about 35 inches and I think your Ram should be able to take 38s without too much risk, but you would be better off lowering the gear ratio to 4.88 or so.

What you gain by wider rims is increased flotation when lowering air pressure. I have 14" wide rims and two times cut the sidewalls. Both cases involved high speed driving directly onto knife-like rocks.

Lower air pressure gives the tire greater flexibility, so you can usually crawl slowly over sharp rocks.

In the end it is of course your best judgement!

Also check out the Tire Size Calculator

All the best,
Thrandur
4x4OffRoads.com
---SIDEBAR---------------------------------------