ShootinTheBreeze

I purchased a 2500 Avalanche to tow my 31' Sonic. I love the truck but would like bigger wheels and tires to make the truck look better. If I upgrade the wheels and tires what will that do to the tow rating? Will I need to change or reprogram the chip and what finishes for the whells should I consider since I'll be launching the boat in salt water sometimes? And who has a good selection of wheels to choose from? Thanks

Sean H

look up sydwayz threads, he has the same truck....

JPD Motorsports

you can do a what most call plus sizing the wheels, going inot an 18-20" wheel is ok as long as the load rating is up to the task in that tire.

UNSANE

Greatly increasing the rim size on any vehicle adversely affects the braking. It will take a lot more effort to stop the truck so be cautious with going "too big". If the truck is a 4x4, that might explain the small rim size. My Titan is 4wd and came with 17" rims instead of the 18" on the 2wd models. This allows for more tire flex over rough terrain. You might want to check with an expert for safety's sake, just my 02.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I have upgraded brakes too. The stock 16x6.5 wheels are heavy as hell.

There are folks putting 19s and 20s and bigger on Avalanches, but NOT on 2500s. The front axle is too wide to allow for any turning of the wheels/tires once installed. When we tried the 18x9 wheels on my truck, I could not get 1/2 turn of the wheel before contact with the fender well.

My truck tows MUCH MUCH better since I went to a bigger and wider wheel/tire package. I did one 500 mile roundtrip towing my 12K lbs (on trailer w/ fuel) 37AT with the stock wheels and tires, and it was DAMN scary.

mopower

I just switched from 305-60/16 to 305-50/20 and the overall diameter is almost identical so no brake probems . Eaglle Alloys rated at over 3000 lbs eack and Goodyears GTs"extra load" rated at over 3000 lb each , so no weight prob.
Look way cool , too.
Not an Avalance...just a tire and wheel example

ShootinTheBreeze

Hey man thanks for the reply regarding my 2500 Avalanche. Where can I find that Putnam XDR Class V hitch you referenced? Do you have any idea of the cost and is that what you have on your truck? Also I'm in Manassas VA.

Bill272

I know Sydways and I both have the XDR hitch on our 2500's, as do many on the Chevyavalanchefan.com site. I got mine from this site -

http://www.etrailerpart.com/Receiver...tavalanche.htm

It says it's for the 1500, but it fits the 2500 perfectly. I did have to trim some of the cladding to the right of the hitch and make a couple of small notches where the frame of the hitch touched the cladding at the bottom of the bumper. Nothing major at all and that part took maybe 5 minute with a dremel cut-off wheel. I can post a pic later.

I also got a 15K# shank and ball and it came to under $200 shipped. The hitch alone was $128 + $22 shipping.

HiPerf2000

iTrader: (2)

I'm surprised the Trout Man hasn't chimed in yet