22.5 adapters and wheels for chevy
 

Hey has anyone found a good source for my 2001 Chevy dually to convert over to 22.5" wheels and tires. I tow a 38cig and a bunch of tractors and trailers, so I need some strong reliable adapters. Any links or info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mick:D :chimp:

Mick,

Look up Mark Micklovitz at Outlaw Motorsports in Culpeper.
(540) 829-0300

He is an OSO member; and cuts an OSO member rate. He has done many conversions like this, and most are a royal PITA with out-of-round wheels and adapters. It may take a couple tries at balancing to make sure there is no shimmy. Many of the 22.5s do this since you are now balancing 2 extra steel rotating masses; which are also un-sprung weight.

You are also going to see diminished braking capability due to all of the extra rotating mass, and the right thing to do is upgrade your brake system as well.

You may also look into direct bolt on 19.5" wheels vice the 22.5" with adapters. Aluminum 19.5s can end up weighing as much as the factory steel setup.

Do a search, there are a few threads here on OSO on the pros & cons of this setup.

I would MUCH rather do this conversion via a local shop rather than mail order. The shop can help you though any issues.

I echo Sydways post,,I wasted alot of money last year doing the same conversion,,,do a search on that before you spend your money.

Like sydways said...a lot of issues with the 22.5's...talk to slick02 on here also...he had me talked out of them...SHHH,I bought them anyways:D ...got mine through a shop in Texas...here's the number- (800)743-4320...talk to David...I got the whole set-up for less than $4,500 shipped...go to www.4wheelcustomz.com for the pic.gallery... I don't have them on yet so I can't give u any input, yet...the salts almost off the roads here so I'll have them on this week...as far as the balancing u fill the tires with shot if they are off...new trucks have good luck just bolted on...u might have a vibration.Mike

Told ya...he already beat me to it:p

Carboy, Who knows, maybe you'll have better luck than I did, or maybe your more tolorant than I am,,,,only time will tell...Do be careful with the brakes(you won't believe how bad their gonna suck.)
I had figured owning a tire/alignment shop and using alcoa rims/michelin tires(both hi-dollar) that I could work around/overcome any issues I found.

Wow, Thanks for the input. What kind of upgrake can you do for the brakes?

I just ordered the wheels and tires, and I get them on Wed. I got them from Quality Tire in Woodbridge for a great price, with Hanook tires, installed and my suspension adjusted= for $5k. Not bad.

I'll update on the ride and brake quality on Wed

(Man my brakes are allready feeling soft)

Thanks again for the info
Mick

Congrats! Now we'll race to get them on...1st one posts pics:drink:

Hey wait!! You allready have yours!!

But ITS ON!!!!

go with direct bolt on 19.5's ,10 wheel adapters alone weigh 30 lbs per wheel , also allison tranys dont like tire size changes,,, stick with 225/70/19.5 or 245/70/19.5 for sizes,i had a set of kumos tires,, i ended going back to 16'' tires and wheels

I got my adapters and 19.5's from chromewheel.com. They're strong, I've grossed 35000lbs+ with no problems. Brakes won't suck as bad with 19.5's but you'll be replacing pads about every 40,000 miles but you'll be looking good:cool:

buy 19.5's that are direct bolt ons ,no adapters needed

I win!!! What a pain that was!! I had the guy install them for me and we had to move and modify the front bumper, cut out a bunch of the plastic inner fender skirts, crank up the torsion bars 8 turns, and remove my rear mud flaps. But man I love it!!! it rides great, and the brakes feel fine. I haven't pulled a trailer with them yet, but it all seems ok.

Let me know if you have any questions when you put ypours on.

Thanks for all the input people!!

Mick:chimp:

Here are a few more pics

By the way, it does raise the truck up about 3" and I did fall out of the truck the first time I got out of it. Nice!!

That looks awesome....that'll be my project this fall. But I plan on adding a 4 inch lift! :D Are those 22.5's? What brand? Adapters or direct bolt on?

Micker,

after cranking up the torsion bars, make sure you get the truck re-aligned. Raising the torsion bars changes the camber angles.

I have to deliver my smaller boat I sold to Louisiana this weekend so I'm waiting til I get back...U still won,so far...I'll let u run them a week and see how they are...THEY LOOK GREAT!!!I don't know the difference in the front ends(mine's a '06), but I was told I don't have to cut or move anything,we'll see.

C.B. depends on the size of the tires..when I had them on my ford , nothing rubbed with 255/70r22.5s, but I had a 2" leveling kit on the front. Your right they do look good, the only thing I wished as far as looks go, was that they had better backspacing so that the outside rear wheels fit closer together so that they didn't stick outside of the rear wheelwell.

I see exactly what u mean about the rear tires sticking out...Micker, will u take a pic from the back so we can see how far they stick out???Thanks,Mike

19.5's make sense on a small truck. If you need 22.5's, you probably need the rest of a big truck too.

Carrboy, go to www.ricksontruck.com and click on customers trucks section to get a better look at the rear anges/width using 19.5s. and then go to www.duallyusa.com to look at the 22.5s.

It's the whole kit with adapters and 22.5"

Thanks, I noticed the wandering front end!!

Not a problem. They do stick out about an inch, but I like to wach them bounce around over bumps, and it looks tough!!

Here is the rear shot. It sticks out a bit, but I like it!!! I think I am going to lift the truck a few more inches to get the wheels out of the wheel wells.

Looks great !!!!!

That looks Phat!

Thanks!! I am waiting ot the lift kit before I align the truck, It's a little drifty. I love the way it looks, and I gained 500rpm at 80mph!!

With a taller tire, you should have lost rpms.. and if you dropped 500 rpms, you had some damned short tires on the truck from the factory.
Hows the vibration/braking ability?
As long as your happy, glad it worked out for you..

The drifting thing will go on for 5K to 8K miles due to the fact that the tread is so deep. At least that is what mine have done.

I have had mine on for a couple of years now. I love them no real issues. if you crank the torsion bars up 3" you need to change the shocks too..... I also put goodyear traction tires on mine all the way around

Lookin good!!

The company I got mine from sent me one wrong tire, and they said they would replace the one tire, then ballance the others. Thant shoud fix the vibration problem, but the brakes feel good.

Thanks for the info about the drifting. That makes sense!

Other than that I love them!!

I had to have mine balanced and cut then they where fine

What do you mean by cut? Did they shave them down so they weren't drifty? How do you do that?

And also I was wondering how everyone balances the tires. I heard that they put something in the tires, or do they just put weights on the wheels?:chimp:

I tried the beads in the tires....... didn't work. they had to shave the tires to make them true then they balanced with weights. it really made a difference. I have put 35,000 on the truck with these tires and i am usually towing when i drive it

33' boat= 11,500
32' car trailer 8000-9000

Is your boat trailer electric/hydraulic brakes? Did you upgrade the brakes on the truck to compensate for the additional rotaing mass of the heavier wheels/tires?

The look is AWESOME, but I refuse to compromise capability.

electric/hydraulic on the boat and electric on the car trailer.

i looked into doing bigger brakes and the only thing they offer is drilled rotors for these trucks . i really haven't had any issues with the brakes

Did u change the shocks,or do any kind of lift???Looks awesome!!!I'll be putting mine on soon,I hope:( This weather sucks and I'm waiting for the snow to stop here:rolleyes:

I have equal in mine rides true and smooth.