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Dodge B250 - Tires for ride quality and handling
#750215 July 03rd 2019 2:36 pm
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 19
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 19
My 89' B250 maxi conversion came with new Cooper Trendsetter SE 235/75R15 tires (35 psi max). In the road ruts with a bit of wind the driving was "white knuckle" at first. After a new idler arm, shocks all around (Blistein front and Rancho rear, frown I couldn't get Bili's for the back), handling improved quite a bit. I'm still thinking that the 4" wheel width difference in the front vs the back makes handling squirly in the road ruts. I found these AR Outlaw 2, 8x15 rims (-19mm offset), with 265/50R15 Hercules (almost new) Front and 295/50R15 Dunlop Rears. I put them on to see how they'd look and to judge clearance. They dropped the height by 1". Not a big deal, but it changes my sewage pipe road clearance from 5" to 4", I don't want that to get knocked off on a speed bump. I couldn't drive with the Dunlop tires on the highway, they are cracked badly, but stay inflated.

Before 235/75R15:
[img]https://photos.app.goo.gl/t2KBhkj79T36t3Jm7[/img]

After 265/50R15 front 295/50R15 rear:
[img]https://photos.app.goo.gl/KNU1dN14aC2BTKoeA[/img]

From a ride quality and handling point of view, I'd like your opinions/experience on the following 4 options using the AR 8x15 rims:

1. Four 235/75R15 but with a stiffer tire like the Michelin Defender LTX or Yokahama Geolander.

2. Keep the 256/50-15 Hercules fronts and get BFG or Cooper Cobra 295/50-15 rears, and live with the 1" ride height drop and passenger rated tire. (what would you use for the spare tire size?)

3. Four 265/70R15s Yoko or 31/10.5R15s Michelin's. Increase ride height by 0.5"-0.75" and tread width by ~1".

4. Go with 235/75/15 front and 265/70R15 rears

I've only started to look at A/T tire options(Wrangler, BFG KOA2, General Grabber AT). I figured they'd have worse handling on roads, but I'm reading reviews that say the opposite. I like the knobby look, but will not be off road much. All the commercial Sprinter fleet vans here seem to have A/T tires.

Thanks!
RSD

Re: Dodge B250 - Tires for ride quality and handling
fishbone #750217 July 03rd 2019 3:16 pm
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
D
journeyman
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journeyman
D
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
I think the van looks really good with those new wheels you got on there. I would consider 275/60/15s as that should give you a bit more ground clearance over the 295/50/15 (About half an inch to 3/4 inch of clearance) Another thing to consider with a 250 maxi van is the load rating for the tires. That vans gotta be pushing near 5500-6000lbs before people are in there so its definitely worth considering that too. Anyway a wider tire with a slightly lower profile sidewall should give a more stable ride and the lower profile sidewall should make it less squishy. Not sure if you have owned any maxi vans before or high tops but compared to a regular or shorty van, the big rear overhang and the high top will make it more "white knuckle inducing"

Re: Dodge B250 - Tires for ride quality and handling
DontComeKnocken #750221 July 03rd 2019 4:19 pm
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 19
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 19
Awesome, thanks for the reply. This is my first van, I'm use to very low profile European cars. :-). I'm trying to see how much I can improve the ride with the right tires. The load ratings that I'm looking at are 2100-2200 lbs per tire. My cheapest option, aside from keeping the 235/75R15s is to buy two 295/50R15s.


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