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Old 02-18-2019, 07:46 PM   #1
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235/85R16 Tires On 2018 AIGT Alcoa OEM Rims...Viable?

Seeking advice and/or recent experiences of replacing OEM 215/85R16 tires with 235/85R16 tires (specifically Michelin's Defender LTX M/S) on recent vintage AIGT OEM rims (Alcoa P/N 251801DB & 251802DB).

Primary Concerns
* Michelin indicates this tires requires a 6"-7.5" rim width range and the Alcoa OEM Rim is 5.5"; is this variance viable?

* Does the Alcoa OEM DRW Rim provide a satisfactory offset enabling the DRW tires to not come in contact with each other under customary RV operating scenarios?

Thanks Friends
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Old 02-19-2019, 10:38 AM   #2
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I don't think anyone here will likely be able to answer your question. But a better question would be why would you want to install tires of a different size in the first place.

The Michelin LTX's is what I installed, but I used a same size as the OEM's.
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Old 02-19-2019, 12:11 PM   #3
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There have been several Sprinter owners on the Sprinter-Forum that have succesfully run 235/85 R16 tires on a Dually 3500 Sprinter. Some even with the Alcoa wheels.

Here are some links that might help you...

Sprinter-Forum member "Cole" has done it on two Sprinters, one older 2004 model and one newer 2012 model...
https://www.sprinter-source.com/foru...ad.php?t=58826
https://www.sprinter-source.com/foru...85+3500&page=2
https://www.sprinter-source.com/foru...ad.php?t=39007


Sprinter-Forum member "hein" has them on his 2012 Sprineer with Alcoa wheels...
https://www.sprinter-source.com/foru...d.php?p=640726
https://www.sprinter-source.com/foru...ad.php?t=25760

Sprinter-Forum member "nctrailseeker" also did it after the tire shop told him it wasn't a good idea to put them on the narrow 16x5.5" rims.
https://www.sprinter-source.com/foru...5+3500&page=13
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Old 02-19-2019, 12:33 PM   #4
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Fair question; I'm not certain whether I would want to switch to another tire size or not, however if faced with that decision I would want to be as informed as possible with what my options are. That said my experience has been that increased (wider) tread road contact translates to improved driving confidence and if this option exists it's one I would certainly consider.
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Old 02-19-2019, 12:35 PM   #5
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Thanks Mike for your response and links, I'll be sure to look at them.
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Old 02-19-2019, 01:33 PM   #6
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LUCKYSNUCK - Wider tires or wider rims are not always the best answer if taken as a singular variable. Tire width & wheel width work as a unit to afford the best ride, sidewall protection, lateral stability for best cornering ability, traction, and least amount of rolling resistance. Sounds like a car tire commercial, , eh? Actually, this is taken from my bicycle forum when discussions about the exact same thing arises. We always struggle to find the perfect balance. CONTINENTAL & MICHELIN are 2 of the biggest bicycle tire manufacturers, no coincidence same for auto tires. And the theory holds the same. Here is an illustration as it pertains to bicycles, but you might as well extrapolate the same for moto or auto tires.
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It is not just the width of the tire or the wheel, the ratio between the two is a bigger factor. Also the reason I would take the tire manufacturer's recommendations on min/max tire sizes is because they know what the stiffness quotient of each particular model of their tires, so they know how those tires will react to lateral forces when turning and cornering. Without the composition of the tire, the tire & wheel width alone are just 2 variables of the multi-legged stool. The wheel manufacturer (ALCOA) can not tell you what the min/max tires widths would be because they do not know the composition & aspect ratio of the tires that would be used in any given width.

IMHO - I would follow MICHELIN recommendations.

BTW - I too was wondering about wider tire sizes if/when I need to replace mine. However, I was mostly interested in wider fronts. What is the need/reason to make the dually tires wider? By virtue of the dually, they are already super-wide? And if wide is really what you want for the rear dually, why not go SUSI (super single route)?
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Old 02-20-2019, 06:35 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Luckysnuck View Post
…… Primary Concerns
* Michelin indicates this tires requires a 6"-7.5" rim width range and the Alcoa OEM Rim is 5.5"; is this variance viable? …….
Using a narrow rim tends to make the tire tread arch, resulting in a tire that will tend to wear in the center and follow the ruts in the road.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luckysnuck View Post
……* Does the Alcoa OEM DRW Rim provide a satisfactory offset enabling the DRW tires to not come in contact with each other under customary RV operating scenarios? …..
As a general rule, OEM's specify offsets that are slightly larger than needed - BUT - not enough to go up a tire size, particularly if the tire size is too large for the rim.

In other words, it is possible that the duals will touch.
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Old 02-20-2019, 08:11 AM   #8
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As always, solid guidance Alex.

Thank you
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Old 02-20-2019, 10:07 AM   #9
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I went with 16" Sendel wheels from eastern marine. I had Michelins mounted on them. I'm happy.
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Old 02-20-2019, 10:22 AM   #10
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the conventional wisdom sez much time and money has been invested by the engineers to get the best performance from your machine.
that said, why change tire size?
(same argument applies to offroading an otherwise stock vehicle)
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Old 02-24-2019, 11:01 PM   #11
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LUCKYSNUCK - Today I had chance to pull up the MICHELIN data sheet for their Defender LTX M/S to look over the other specs. Not only is the 235 too wide for our 5.5" Alcoas's but the widest Michelin tire recommends for 5.5" rims are the 215's. So, we already have the max. Michelin would want. It would be 1.3" taller and cover a mile in 656 revs vs. 684 revs for the 215's. So our speedo/odo would be off by ~ 4.3 %.

Even if it was acceptable to the 5.5" rim, it would have been nice if the aspect ratio was 80% to make the tire height at 30.8", only 0.4" taller than original. The one thing I would have liked about the 235's is it would've looked fuller/nicer on the front end and it also has 362lbs. higher load rating at 80psi. On a lighter & smaller car, I would've been tempted to push the limit on Plus sizing width in favor of "looks". But after seeing the rest of the specs and being our vans are 11,000 lbs., I stand by my original opinion on staying with the original 215's.

It was nice to dream about it though for few days
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