Chevy & GMC Vans

Lots of good info here and I searched for a couple hours but couldn't find any reference to 225/75/16's.

My van is a 2003, all factory stock but I'd like to dump the 215/70/16's for an E rated tire. Can anyone confirm that the 75's will fit?

TIA

They are about 1.5" larger in diameter than stock. The 225/75/16's are a little over 29" tall where the stock 215/70/16's are around around 27.7" tall. The 225/75/16's will fit! You will probably need to trim the bottom corner of the front bumper a little and you may need to trim a little in the rear of the front wheel wells also. These will be minor trimmings. If your van is an AWD, you can just turn up the torsion bars a little.

On 1996 to 2002 vans, in order to fit a 29" tire, members have needed to fit a 2" lift. You could get by with trimming the front wheel well as needed. or try to find a 225/70/16 in LR E.

Thank you for the information fellow NY'er. My goal is to install an E rated tire. These P metrics and C/D rated tires plain old suck and wear out too quickly. Besides, they feel mushy under my astro.

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:On 1996 to 2002 vans, in order to fit a 29" tire, members have needed to fit a 2" lift. You could get by with trimming the front wheel well as needed. or try to find a 225/70/16 in LR E.

So 03-up vans have larger wheel wells or taller ride height?

I should clear that up...

The 2003 - 2005 van have the same wheel well dimensions as the 1995 - 2002's. The stock wheels on the 03 - 05's are 16" and the stock tire size is 215/70R16.

Basically, to fit a tire with a diameter of greater than about 28", you will need to trim or lift the van depending on tire diameter.

I just picked up a set of 225 / 70 / 16 lt tires ( Open Country by Merit tires ) mounted on Sierra Wheels for $100.00. I am hoping they will fit on my '03 AWD. I have the Yukahoma's on the van now ( stock 215/70/15r passenger tire ) and don't like them at all. They were great when new by now with 30 thousand kms on them they feel a little too soft and the fronts are wearing much faster than the rears.

Wish me luck

used this to calculate difference in tire size

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Another site that I use to compare tire sizes is: http://www.wheelsmaster.com/rt_specs.jsp Check it out. Jim

Lingus wrote:Thank you for the information fellow NY'er. My goal is to install an E rated tire. These P metrics and C/D rated tires plain old suck and wear out too quickly. Besides, they feel mushy under my astro.

What is your tire pressure at? That can lead to that mushy feeling. As can a mis-aligned front end or worn shocks. Jim

blacknome wrote:I just picked up a set of 225 / 70 / 16 lt tires ( Open Country by Merit tires ) mounted on Sierra Wheels for $100.00. I am hoping they will fit on my '03 AWD. I have the Yukahoma's on the van now ( stock 215/70/15r passenger tire ) and don't like them at all. They were great when new by now with 30 thousand kms on them they feel a little too soft and the fronts are wearing much faster than the rears.

Wish me luck

Not very happy with my purchase. I bought the wheels and tires and cleaned them up a little at work before I brought them home. I mounted them on the van over the weekend. They rub on both the front bumper and on the factory body cladding at 3/4 lock ( parking lot manuevers ). I double checked the size and they are actually 225/75/16 so they are even taller than I thought. It rubs bad on the DS where the mudflap used to be and on the PS on the front bumper only when turning on uneven ground.

I wonder how difficult it is to crank up the torsion bars in the front, but really my fear is that even if I can get the front up another inch or so the wheels still won't clear. Tires are nice ( esp for the price ) and the van corners so much better with these tires. You can tell by the pics the tires really fill up the wheelwell both in height and in width. ( I removed the mudflaps in front hoping to gain some clearance but it wasn't enough )

So whaddya think ? Should I start looking for tires again ? I am having a hard time trying to find 215/70/16 LT tires at a decent price. I can get some Passenger tires but really don't like the mushy feeling of them

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn21 ... 1140-1.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn21 ... 1139-1.jpg

Hey Black, PM sent. Jim

thx for the link, the kit looks great and it got me thinking..... how goofy would it look with the body lift without raising the rear suspension

blacknome wrote:thx for the link, the kit looks great and it got me thinking..... how goofy would it look with the body lift without raising the rear suspension

A little wonky. But if you have to move in steps, It would work. If you do that to begin with, don't forget to aim your headlights when you are through. Jim
ps: keep us posted.

Hey Black, I found these just poking around ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-Chro ... ccessories

Might be just what you need to finish the look. Jim