Wheels?

[ramv]

Tired of shiny wheels... Stock size/spacing is fine. Assume they have improved bead retention?

Anyway, looking for a strong wheel that's 8-8.5" wide. 17" Good on/offroad. Black or similar. I have never done aftermarket aluminum wheels so new to me. 35"s on Stock '16 PW.

Open to ideas. Need the 3500 lb weight rating +/-

[DamageWagon]

I run the Ultra 234’s. They came with the truck, nothing special, but for a cheap wheel they have been super tough, definitely due to how meaty the spokes are. My truck has seen a lot of desert at speed and crawling. I’ve only damaged one when I smacked a rock at 40, poked through the sidewalk and slammed into the section between the spokes - didn’t crack but was deformed.

The progression goes: low pressure cast, counterpressure cast, forged. Most wheels are low pressure cast. Quality wheels are counterpressure cast and 2-3x stronger. Forged can be totally avoided even for a lot of racing.

In general try to find a wheel with beefy spokes and the proper offset. Bead retention is something I’ve never considered to be a factor - every tire has a standardized lip, so there’s no magic to what the wheel does I believe unless it’s something like the Method lip with serrations but even that might be useless because of where they’re located. You cannot air down that low in a heavy vehicle like this due to risk of smashing the wheel into the tread, so bead retention isn’t as big an issue as on much lighter rigs, unless you’re aired way too low.

[ramv]

On my 2nd gen w/ 37" at 5500 lbs on stock 1500 wheels I popped beads occasionally. When I went to 2500 wheels, and 7000 lb I popped beads all the time below 20 psi. The tires had way more traction at 17 psi front/14 psi rear but fell off the wheels too much.

The raised bead on the original PW is an attractive feature. I believe H2 wheels may have had it as well (my buddy had a similar size rig and popper way less beads with the same tires and H2 rims.)

[Ducky's Dad]

The raised bead on the original PW is an attractive feature. I believe H2 wheels may have had it as well (my buddy had a similar size rig and popper way less beads with the same tires and H2 rims.)

I have been running H2 wheels for maybe 8 or 9 years with a couple sets of 35" Toyos. These wheels give you an extra 1/2" of rim width, an extra 1/4" of backspacing, and still have the internal bead retention ridges. When I got mine they were cheap and readily available. Only issue is that you have to have the center hole machined to fit over the larger Dodge hubs. Pay a professional to do the machining because the wheels are hub centric. I had mine done .002" over and that seems about perfect. And they are not shiny.

[DamageWagon]

I know a few people that have used hand routers to open up H2 wheels with no problem. Are they not lug centric?

I do not understand why the theory that Power Wagon wheels are just better is still floating around. I need to find the pictures. Except for the few years of Alcoa forged wheels, they are not special. The famous ‘bead retention lip’ is pretty much identical in every aluminum wheel I’ve seen and does not appear to be different in the factory wheels. Thats not to say they’re bad wheels, they are good quality with OK offsets, but they aren’t something unique except in styling.

[Reloaderguy]

I know a few people that have used hand routers to open up H2 wheels with no problem. Are they not lug centric?

I do not understand why the theory that Power Wagon wheels are just better is still floating around. I need to find the pictures. Except for the few years of Alcoa forged wheels, they are not special. The famous ‘bead retention lip’ is pretty much identical in every aluminum wheel I’ve seen and does not appear to be different in the factory wheels. Thats not to say they’re bad wheels, they are good quality with OK offsets, but they aren’t something unique except in styling.

The inner bead on the factory PW wheel is the same size as my KMC wheels.



Ramv, where are you located? I'll be selling my KMC wheels in a month or two. They are 17x9 +18mm.

[Ducky's Dad]

Are they not lug centric?

Hub centric. Some guys get away with the router treatment, but that plus big tires and high speeds is probably a dangerous combination, especially on trucks that may tend toward death wobble. It's been a long time since I did mine, but I found a shop with a wheel lathe and he did 8 wheels for (I think) $10 each. Once the lathe is set up, it's pretty simple to machine as many wheels as you need. My guy machined the first one to factory spec and it took a sledge hammer to get it off the truck, so that's why we went .002" over.

[Reloaderguy]

Most OE wheels are hub centric, most aftermarket wheels are lug centric with available hub centric centering rings. I currently have lug centric wheels on my truck, the main advantage of hub centric is wheel centering and balance. With that said I wouldn't put routered wheels on my truck.

[ramv]

I did my third gen wheels with a 4 1/2" grinder to fit my second gen. I then ran them with the original 2nd gen tires on my Chevy (definitely no where near the hubs.) Really wasn't noticeable. Rode better than the Walmart authoritys I had on the front and Pro Comp ATs I had on the rear prior. Rode smoother than the new Dura Tracs on stock wheels I had after.

I am in Colorado, so not that close to Oregon, but open to ideas.

I would like to stick 8" or 8.5" I was considering the AEV wheels as they at least have the valve stem protection (the 3rd gens were horrible at ripping valve stems off, I did that almost as often as popping beads) and are 17 x8.5. The 4k lb rating is appealing. I was toying with the idea of running a higher rated tire over the summer (since I tow and haul then) and go back to the 315s on stock wheels with the 3 peak rating for the winter to ensure I can fit my chains, and not get pulled over on chain law when I don't.

Part of me just wants to buy two sets of Hutchinsons (one for my 2nd gen and one for the PW) and call it a day. I am tired of breaking bolts on the Allied 32 bolt beadlocks, and losing inner beads. Not to mention bending them. It really does seem overkill for the PW.

Any issue with using factory TPMS in any of the wheels? Links to replacements?

[Will]

Plasti-dip for $40 and be happy.


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