New Tires
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New Tires - 5/6/2008 5:29:43 AM
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JasonA
Posts: 348
Joined: 3/24/2008
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Well, I've got my 32" tires sold, so I bought my new tires last night. Got Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s. http://www.indy500tire.com/index.asp I had the very first "Firehawk" tire YEARS ago (the Firehawk SS10) and it was a good tire. I read a lot of good things about the Indy 500, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm not really a fan of Firestone tires, but it seemed like a good tire. So far, they're extremely quiet and smooth -- so much quieter than those BFG A/Ts were. I got them in a P255/70R15 size, a very popular size for older 2WD trucks. My truck still has the 3" body lift on it (had to do the tires before removing the lift), and I'll probably remove the lift this weekend. It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would with the smaller tires on it, still lifted. But I WILL remove the lift.
I REALLY like the wheels that's on it now; I bought a set of the 15x8 Dakota wheels, the 5-spoke wheels with the "hollow" spokes. These are them:
http://cpwstore.carpartswholesale.com/catalog/?Ntt=dodge+dakota+alloy+wheel+aly02082u10n
Got 'em for $100 for the set of four locally off Craigslist. Two needed some slight refinishing, and I found the Dupli-Color wheel paint was perfect for the job. It matched the two other wheels pretty well. I'll take some pics soon. It's a pretty nice-looking combo. The truck will look real nice when finished. I plan to do a silver on the bottom quarter of the truck (like what was available from the factory) and start refurbishing the rest of the green paint (lots of scuffs, swirl marks, blemishes, etc).
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1997 Dodge Dakota Sport Club Cab
5.2L V-8 / 44RE / Emerald Green Pearl
255/70R15 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s
Flowmaster 40-series Dual Exhaust
Pioneer DEH-2900/Sirius Stratus Receiver
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 6:11:05 AM
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wink2873
Posts: 754
Joined: 10/15/2006
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those tires look good. my truck is going to need tires soon, if they make those indy's in 255*65*R16 and they're not too expensive i would like to get them.
_____________________________
88 dakota 3.9 5-speed RC. stock
2001 dakota 3.9 auto CC
AIRAID CAI
Dynomax 3" superturbo catback
Hughes Stage one intake manifold
NGK's with minor ignition work
5.9 TB
180Tstat
Next: 4:10's W/LSD, 1.7rr's
2003 Harley Wide Glide, loud
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 8:04:52 AM
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scandal669
Posts: 318
Joined: 1/16/2008
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good looking tire. i bet you get better mileage with those too. the size you chose is quite a bit smaller. how does it look with the lift you have? is there a pretty big space in the fender well? your speedo will be about 6mph off at 60 mph.
how about painting the new wheels black? i think that would look cool with the two tone paint you are planning. i been thinking of painting mine black too. :)
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99 Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4 Extended cab
PB3 - Intense Blue, Pearl Coat
5.2L 318
5 speed manual
31x10.5x15
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f295/scandal669/010.jpg
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 8:18:35 AM
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RoaminGnome
Posts: 197
Joined: 3/1/2007
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I am painting my stock rims black, the rims you got jason, and they look sweet so far. I have been thinking of painting the bottom half of my truck so keep us posted if and when you paint yours 
OH and take pics too 
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99 Dakota STD Cab 4x4 5spd 3.9l V6
31x10.5R15 Kumho MT on 15x8 AR black steelies
Custom exhaust with high flow cat and drop in K&N
89 BMW 325IX 5spd 2.5l I6
This is AWD everyone! :)
I cant spell worth a damn deal with it :)
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 8:26:41 AM
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JasonA
Posts: 348
Joined: 3/24/2008
Status: offline
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The difference isn't quite 6 mph at 60. About half that. My original tires were 215/75R15, or 27.7 inches tall. The new ones are 255/70R15, or 29.1 inches tall. That's a difference of a hair less than 5%. So when my speedometer reads 60, I'm actually going 62.9 (http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html). Now with the 32" tires -- I had some speedometer error then...about 15%, or 8 or 9 mph at 60. I got a lot of acceleration back, too. I had an effective gear ratio of about 3.00:1 with those 32s. Now with 29" tires, I'm at about 3.38:1, compared with the stock tires and 3.55:1 gears. So it's much closer.
There's quite a bit of gap in the wheel wells now. I definitely won't leave it like this. But it's not as bad as I thought. I'll upload a pic.
After I get the lower 1/4 painted silver, I'd like to find some stock fender flares also, and paint those the same silver, if necessary. I've seen a lot of 2WD trucks with them, so I'm sure they came from the factory like that. But I don't think I'll find those cheap, so it may be a while before I do that particular item.
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1997 Dodge Dakota Sport Club Cab
5.2L V-8 / 44RE / Emerald Green Pearl
255/70R15 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s
Flowmaster 40-series Dual Exhaust
Pioneer DEH-2900/Sirius Stratus Receiver
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 8:46:00 AM
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scandal669
Posts: 318
Joined: 1/16/2008
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ahhh ok, i used one of those tire calculators too and compared the 32's with the 255/70's...i thought you went from the 32's to the 255's.
sounds like its going to be a nice color scheme. i like that you are making it look like it would have from the factory too.
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99 Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4 Extended cab
PB3 - Intense Blue, Pearl Coat
5.2L 318
5 speed manual
31x10.5x15
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f295/scandal669/010.jpg
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 8:48:15 AM
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scandal669
Posts: 318
Joined: 1/16/2008
Status: offline
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Roamin--- my only problem with painting the wheels black is the wheel weights. i dont want to paint over them, and i also dont want ugly gray ones over my nice black wheels...
_____________________________
99 Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4 Extended cab
PB3 - Intense Blue, Pearl Coat
5.2L 318
5 speed manual
31x10.5x15
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f295/scandal669/010.jpg
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 10:01:19 AM
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JasonA
Posts: 348
Joined: 3/24/2008
Status: offline
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Well yes, I did go from the 32s to the 255/70s. So yes, the speedometer is quite different now. But it was never corrected from stock by the previous owner when they put the 32s on, so it was WAY off. Now it's just marginally off...such a small difference at most speeds to where I don't even consider the error.
_____________________________
1997 Dodge Dakota Sport Club Cab
5.2L V-8 / 44RE / Emerald Green Pearl
255/70R15 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s
Flowmaster 40-series Dual Exhaust
Pioneer DEH-2900/Sirius Stratus Receiver
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RE: New Tires - 5/6/2008 4:18:56 PM
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wink2873
Posts: 754
Joined: 10/15/2006
Status: offline
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would 25570R16 tires work on my truck? my truck came with the goodyear eagle 25565R16. What is the difference?
_____________________________
88 dakota 3.9 5-speed RC. stock
2001 dakota 3.9 auto CC
AIRAID CAI
Dynomax 3" superturbo catback
Hughes Stage one intake manifold
NGK's with minor ignition work
5.9 TB
180Tstat
Next: 4:10's W/LSD, 1.7rr's
2003 Harley Wide Glide, loud
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RE: New Tires - 5/7/2008 4:19:48 AM
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JasonA
Posts: 348
Joined: 3/24/2008
Status: offline
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The first set of numbers in a tire's description is the section width, in millimeters. In the case of a 255/65R16, that's 255mm. That's not the tread width, it's the section width (the widest point of the tire, minus any sidewall markings such as raised white letters).
The second set of numbers is the aspect ratio, expressed as a percent. So with a 255/65R16, the sidewall of the tire is 65% of the section width.
And then the R16 is obviously "Radial, 16 inch wheel".
So to find out the outside dimensions of a tire, do some math (1" = 25.4mm). A 255/65R16 is going to be right at 10" wide. The overall height will be the height of two sidewalls plus the wheel diameter. In this case, each sidewall is about 6.5" tall (65% of 10"), and the wheel is a 16" wheel. So you've got 6.5+6.5+16 = 29. Now these are "nominal" dimensions. Any given tire model may be a few tenths of an inch different in any direction.
So if you're considering a 255/70R16, you know it's going to be about the same width (still a 255mm section width), but the tire will be taller, because each sidewall is 70% of the section width (or about 7") rather than just 65%. So the tire height should be in the neighborhood of 7+7+16 = 30".
Indeed, when you check some tire dimensions on Tire Rack.com for instance, the Goodyear Eagle LS in the 255/65R16 size (OE tire for our Dakotas in that size) has a 10.2" section width (close to 10") and a 29.1" height (close to 29"). Now the Goodyear Eagle LS isn't made in the 255/70R16 size...that's commonly a "light truck" tire size, so you see tires like Bridgestone Duelers and Goodyear Wranglers. But looking at a Goodyear Wrangler RT/S, it has a section width of 10.2" (close to 10") and a height of 30.1" (close to 30").
You'll find that you can't always EXACTLY custom-fit any tire to your truck because certain tire sizes fit different industry niches. For example, I could have easily went with a 265/70R15 instead of the 255/70R15 (it's not that much taller). But the 265/70R15 is really a light truck size, and very few street tires were available in that size. The Firestone Indy 500 was not available in that size...but Firestone did have a Destination tire available in that size (all season light truck tire). I didn't want that, so I stepped down to the 255/70R15...which happens to be exactly 29.1" in diameter -- pretty much exactly the same as the 255/65R16 that came on the later Dakotas.
I know you asked before whether the Indy 500 is available in the 255/65R16 size...it's not. It's only available in select 14" and 15" wheel sizes.
< Message edited by JasonA -- 5/7/2008 4:27:34 AM >
_____________________________
1997 Dodge Dakota Sport Club Cab
5.2L V-8 / 44RE / Emerald Green Pearl
255/70R15 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s
Flowmaster 40-series Dual Exhaust
Pioneer DEH-2900/Sirius Stratus Receiver
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RE: New Tires - 5/7/2008 4:19:09 PM
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wink2873
Posts: 754
Joined: 10/15/2006
Status: offline
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P255/70R16
RWL
wouldnt those tires fit my truck? those are on the webpage for the indy 500's. they would just be a little bit taller than stock right?
_____________________________
88 dakota 3.9 5-speed RC. stock
2001 dakota 3.9 auto CC
AIRAID CAI
Dynomax 3" superturbo catback
Hughes Stage one intake manifold
NGK's with minor ignition work
5.9 TB
180Tstat
Next: 4:10's W/LSD, 1.7rr's
2003 Harley Wide Glide, loud
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RE: New Tires - 5/7/2008 4:37:51 PM
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JasonA
Posts: 348
Joined: 3/24/2008
Status: offline
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This is certainly something worth looking into. The Bridgestone-Firestone website lists only 15" wheel sizes:
http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tireselector/SizeSpecs_BS_EN.aspx?Product_ID=1056
And Tire Rack only lists 15" wheel sizes:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Firestone&model=Firehawk+Indy+500&tirePageLocQty=
I do believe that website I listed (the indy500tire.com website) is outdated, and not all of those sizes are produced anymore. But absolutely check. Yes, I believe you'd be able to use a P255/70R16. It would be slightly taller than your current tires...about an inch total.
Here are some pics of mine on the truck that I promised long ago.
_____________________________
1997 Dodge Dakota Sport Club Cab
5.2L V-8 / 44RE / Emerald Green Pearl
255/70R15 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s
Flowmaster 40-series Dual Exhaust
Pioneer DEH-2900/Sirius Stratus Receiver
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