Tire/rim recommendation for a 79 K10

[jumpkickyergunt]

Hey just picked up my first K10 and it needs tires pretty bad. Its got the stock white 15's on there and my friend is saying go with 17's and a Toyo AT, but I don't know. The Toyo AT gets good reviews, but I was thinking more 16's. I'm going to be using 75% on the road and 25% off road. What's best for me? It has a stock lift at the moment so I'm also wondering what size tire I should put in there.

[bake315]

Hey just picked up my first K10 and it needs tires pretty bad. Its got the stock white 15's on there and my friend is saying go with 17's and a Toyo AT, but I don't know. The Toyo AT gets good reviews, but I was thinking more 16's. I'm going to be using 75% on the road and 25% off road. What's best for me? It has a stock lift at the moment so I'm also wondering what size tire I should put in there.

I ran the Toyo Open Country AT's on my dually for years - great tire.  For those percentages, I think the AT tread is quiet enough for highway, but aggressive enough for occasional off-road.  Size-wise, I think it becomes a matter of personal taste.  But that's just me.

Welcome to the forums!

[jumpkickyergunt]

Thanks. Would 285/75R16 be too much?

[bake315]

Well, I can tell you that I recently put that size on my '74 C20, and had to trim the fenders a little to make them work, so with a K10 I'd say it's going to depend primarily with how much lift you have, or plan to have.  With a stock lift you might be pressing your luck a bit.  Hopefully some of our K10/20 guys will chime in on this for you.

[bake74]

     I know that 31x10.5x15 were close to stock size.  As far as rims go, it would be on if you like big rims or not, I personally would not go bigger than 16" rims, but I generally stay at 15" rims for anything under 35" tires.
     I have a stock 74 K10 with 33" tires on it, it used to be fine but lately they are rubbing under hard turns like into a parking lot where the truck leans to one side, I guess the body mounts or something are worn, luckily it's just my parts truck anyway.

[jumpkickyergunt]

Thanks guys. Very helpful. I found a rim that doesn't seem too bad. How do you guys feel about this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-Inch-Chrome-Wheels-Rims-Chevy-Silverado-1500-Suburban-Tahoe-Truck-6x5-5-NEW-/231190429570?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Wheels&hash=item35d405ff82&vxp=mtr

[78 Chevyrado]

Thanks guys. Very helpful. I found a rim that doesn't seem too bad. How do you guys feel about this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-Inch-Chrome-Wheels-Rims-Chevy-Silverado-1500-Suburban-Tahoe-Truck-6x5-5-NEW-/231190429570?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Wheels&hash=item35d405ff82&vxp=mtr

If you love it, screw what we think...   That being said I like it... 

Most K10's back in the day had 33" tires on em, but had a 4" lift also.  I know 32's fit a light duty 2wd with no problems.  If you stick with a 16"  or 17" wheel, you'll have more tire size choices.  15 has anything you could want.  18 is soso.  19 expect very little.  20" a decent selection.

[ehjorten]

I have 17" rims and 31" Toyo M/Ts on my '77 K20.  It sits on stock suspension.  No rubbing or chaffing issues! 

Reply#3

[jumpkickyergunt]

Ran into a little problem once I received my rims. They actually don't fit. They're 16x8 with 0 offset (4.5" backspace) and it hits the tie rod. I just found out that the original 15x8's you could do as option had a 4" backspace (comes out to -12.7mm offset). It seems like a tight squeeze, but I guess that extra 0.5" into the body causes problems. I'm a little confused though...even if it had that extra 0.5" it still seems like it would barely make it. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[jumpkickyergunt]

Ooof so painful. Finally got the money back from AR rims I had to return (fitment guide said yes, tie rod said no). I just ordered a set of mickey thompsons with a -22mm offset on an 8" wide. GM says the 8" options came with a .66" offset so I believe this will finally work. Can't wait to get this behind me.

[ehjorten]

Not sure what the backspacing is on my '77, but I know when I took it in to get new rims and tires, the shop put on rims with too much backspacing!  It rubbed pretty bad on the first turn!  Did they even check?!  I took it right back and said...too much backspacing!  It rubs really bad!  They didn't give me any grief and ordered a new set of rims in with less backspacing and swapped the tires.

[jumpkickyergunt]

Not sure what the backspacing is on my '77, but I know when I took it in to get new rims and tires, the shop put on rims with too much backspacing!  It rubbed pretty bad on the first turn!  Did they even check?!  I took it right back and said...too much backspacing!  It rubs really bad!  They didn't give me any grief and ordered a new set of rims in with less backspacing and swapped the tires.

Yikes! Its a little bit of a pain isn't it? I'm so glad mine are on and looking nice.