[jeffdakota1970]

Howdy fellas. I have my 95' 3/4 ton Ram diesel (I've had her for 15 years now) that is in dire need of new tires. Wheels are 35 x 12.50 r16.5. The 16.5 (which is factory) is killing me. Been searching for days everywhere for replacement tires this size with no luck. BF Goodrich no longer makes all terrain tires this size anymore. If I recall correctly, the last two times that I've bought tires for this truck, I was pretty much limited to BF Goodrich's 35 x 12.50 r16.5 all terrains.
I've been searching around looking for four used 16" patterned eight lug replacement rims that I can put nearly the same sized tires on.(height and width wise). From some of what I researched, it looks to me like I can go with 295/75 r16 tires? I'm not tire/rim savvy. Just looking for anyone who can help point the way to me as far as what exactly the dimensions are for used 16" rims that I need to look for. I'll also be taking a long a caliper for bolt space patterning. Thanks in advance! Jd.

 

[jeffdakota1970]

16.5 rims are not Factory on a 95 Dodge Ram, they are 16".

I stand corrected. I saw the 6.5 sticker on my door frame and thought it was 16.5. I also just remembered that I purchased the 16.5 rims from a feller who worked at a Tire Rama several years back.

 

[jeffdakota1970]

 

[jeffdakota1970]

If you’re able to go up to a 37” tire you can get the Goodyear Wrangler MT 37x12.5R16.5 Military Humvee tires. They are all over the place some as low as $125 each some times. eBay, Craigslist, OfferUp, military auctions. Used to run them on a 99 Powerstroke, only down side if I remember right is they are heavier then a typical 37.

Thanks. As a matter of fact, in my research today, I took a screenshot of two different sellers on Ebay of the exact tires you speak of. I might go this route. Looks like I'll be doing some lifting.

 

[jeffdakota1970]

Why not go back to 16 or use late model 17?

Looks like I will go back to a 16". The more I think about it, I'd rather not have to lift it higher for 37" Hummer tires.

 

[jeffdakota1970]

Craigslist has lots of OEM 16" rims. If you can get the alloys they would be lighter too.
Go to Auto parts and type in Dodge Ram 2500 stock rims. Some should come up.

Dodge ram 2500 rims - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

16” 8x6.5 bolt pattern Comes with 4 center caps

losangeles.craigslist.org

I appreciate the info. Thanks. I actually just got off of the phone with a guy who works at the tire shop in town that had a 97' who is selling me four nice 16" aluminum rims he had on it for $150.00.
I'm glad this headache is going away!

 

[jeffdakota1970]

Good show. The CL rims I posted were way overpriced. Be sure and inspect for any tiny cracks.
You're good to go.

Thank you sir, and everyone else who chimed in. Greatly appreciated!

 

[jeffdakota1970]

The bes option is go to 17" or bigger rim. I have the same problem on my 62 Ford with 12.5X25.5x 16.5 tires. Talked to my favorite tire guy, that's what he said.

I picked up some 16" rims and ordered 285/75 r16 recapped all terrains. I kind of wished that I had gone with 17" rims. I'll probably go that route seven years from now.

 

[jeffdakota1970]

If it were mine, I would not go with a 16" WHEEL (a rim is what's coupled with backboard to make a basketball goal).

16" truck wheels are going the same route as the 16.5" wheels you have now. There are more tire sizes available for a 17" truck wheel these days and prices can be less expensive as it become the base model wheel size for almost all manufacturers. By the looks of your tires, you don't purchase them often so you may be money ahead getting a set of 17" wheels and tires now so next time you only have to get tires and not another set of wheels.

I'm unsure of the exact year but Dodge replaced their 16" OEM wheels with identical 17" wheels probably around the '98.5 24V change. If you're looking to go OEM, that's an option and those wheels should be readily available at used wheels vendors all over.

A 35" tire is a 35" tire no matter what diameter wheel it's made for. You start to get limited on tire width vs wheel width when the sidewall gets smaller as the wheel gets bigger. Essentially, when the wheel is narrower than the tire (i.e. 6.5" wheel, 12.5" tire), the sidewall makes up the difference. The more sidewall the easier it is with less sidewall stress as the angle from the tread to the bead is less. When the wheel is a bigger diameter, the sidewall becomes shorter to maintain the overall diameter of the tire making the angle of the sidewall from the tread to the wheel bead steeper. More stress is placed on the sidewalls when cornering and increases the chance of early fatigue or blow out. It's why tires will have a wider wheel requirement the larger the wheel diameter gets. (i.e. 35/12.50R16 may be ok for a 6.5" wheel but a 35/12.50R20 may have an 8" wheel width requirement)

Metric tire sizes go like this (I'll use your OEM size as reference):
Tire size: 245/75R16 E
245 = tread width in millimeters
75 = tire sidewall height as a percentage of the width (i.e. 75% of 245mm or 183.75mm) This is known as aspect ratio.
R16 = Radial tire made for a 16" wheel
E = load range

To change the diameter of a metric tire while maintaining the width, you get a different aspect ratio tire (i.e. 65 would be a shorter tire, 85 would be a taller tire)

Here's an awesome tire sizing tool that's really simple to use to calculate, compare and visualize tire sizes:

Tire Size Calculator

The website also has a bunch of other great tools for figuring out all kinds of wheel and tire things.

Great info. Thanks for the calculator link.

 

[jeffdakota1970]

Did the 16 rims fit over the brakes? Steel will, some alloy may not fit over drums.

I had 16" rims on it previously before the 16.5s were on it.