I have a 1984 Dodge Ram half ton van with the /6 225. The door panel tells me it's supposed to run 195/75r/15 tires. Right now, i have 205's on it. The neighbor has a duplicate of my van (except it's a 1982) and has 235's on his. He tells me he prefers larger tires on vehicles, and i've been told the same from others as well.
So the question is, if i put those rims on mine (he's offering to sell it for parts) is that going to really mess up the handling of my van? Any other considerations, aside from the speedometer not being accurate, that I need to know and allow for before doing this? Any advantages to going with a larger tire?

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1984 dodge /6 with Lady, Evony and Breeze

the 205 is 10 mm, or abot 3/10 of an inch wider and just over 1/2 inch taller. You're unlikely to really notice it in normal driving. The tires will have a few pounds more load capacity. The spedometer difference is less the 2mph at 60 mph - you will be going slightly faster than indicated.

I just reread you question and see that I misunderstood the first time. The speedo difference with a 235 is about 5 mph at 60, or just under 10%. The 235s are an inch wider and 2 1/2" taller which will raise your ride height by 1 1/4". The van may lean a bit more on corners and it will be harder to steer but other than that I don't think you'll see a major difference. If you don't like them you can always switch back.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

thanks for the information, dakight. Is that going to fit inside the running boards? How to tell if they are going to rub?

_________________
If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving.


1984 dodge /6 with Lady, Evony and Breeze

You can take some measurements but the most certain way is to test fit them. Maybe you could borrow the spare from your neighbor if he has a full size spare. Just remember that the tire will be 1 1/4 larger in all directions from the center of the hub and it will be 1/2" deeper into the wheel opening and the same amount nearer the wheel opening lip. Potential troublespots are the frame rails with the wheels on the ground and turned to full lock each direction, the top and rear area of the inner fender and the wheel opening, especially at the lower corners. Vans often have a lot of room but you're wise to check it out first.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Hey Qtr mile, go back and look in the other thread tthat we were talking about similarities in different year vans.... I remember some talk about this there... No fitment probs (the body was the same even the 1 tons with 23585R 16 or 8.75/16.5 have the same body/wheelwells/etc. The 235s will fit no prob unless the springs are severely sagged/busted/intentionally lowered, etc. Unless you have manual steering (cant ever remember seeing a man. steer B van) the steering effort will be no different. In fact, with manual steering, it oughtta be easier to steer with larger diameter tires, but regardless which ones you run youll need to be sure and keep them pumped up to max rated pressure as soft tires (low pressure) is the biggest problem with high effort with manual steering.
That and the 235s will give you more weight capacity more of a margin of safety against overloading the tires and blowing them under a load (still limited by your springs and suspension though)
Only problem is as I remember the 2 vans were a year different from each other; 84-85 was the splitoff between 5 on 4-1/2 or 5 on 5 1/2 bolt pattern on the wheels, so you might wind up having to dismount all the tires and putting the 235s on your rims. As far as the speedo being off,an $8 gear in the tailshaft of the trans and 20 minutes' time will correct that
problem.

The only real potential problem I see is is that the taller tires will raise the van a little over an inch. These vans are already somewhat top-heavy and by raising it up it will be more prone to body lean on corners and possible tipping in emergency maneuvers. That's probably not a big issue if the van is used mainly for local trips but it would dictate extra caution on the open road at high speeds.

_________________
David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

I do alot of highway driving (live 25 miles from where i work) but not really into speeding. 100kmh (60mph) is usually what i travel at. The van itself could probably handle faster but not in any rush.
All that bothers me is that the running boards may not clear the tires with 235's. The other van is an '82 and exact duplicate, aside from the running boards.
Thanks for the answers, guys. Will let you know.

_________________
If at first you don't succeed, don't try skydiving.


1984 dodge /6 with Lady, Evony and Breeze

Going to a 235 from the smaller tire will affect your acceleration to the bad possible MPG to the good due to a greater distance covered per rpm of the vehicle. the handling in many cases can IMPROVE due to more tire on the ground ...Using tire sizes to calculate higher or lower is, at best a crap shoot...due to numerous factors such as molding temp, cure time weather conditions and phases of the moon, the tire manufactures have a seven, yes, seven percent industry variable in the same size ... In other words a 195 75 15 from BF Goodrich could be 25 something inch tall or 27 something in tall in a Pepe boys special ..that math says it's suppose to be 26.51 tall...