Toyo Open Country Tires

Alright folks, not every modification you make to your diesel will be without its drawbacks. And while we actually lost about 1 mpg going from the stock 265/75R17 tires to the larger 285/75R17 Toyo Open Country A/Ts, in our minds, the benefits still outweigh the slight loss in fuel economy.

For starters, the factory wheels and tires just don't do it for us in the looks department. Even when stock, a four-wheel-drive Mega Cab looks too long and too tall for the puny tires offered from the factory. And once we added the SnugTop Xtra Vision truck cap over the bed, it looked like the truck was on roller-skates. We wanted larger tires and better looking wheels, but we didn't want to give up our load-carrying capacity. Our Ram routinely tows trailers weighing nearly 10,000 pounds and an 18,000-pound toyhauler is in its not-too-distant-future, so strength and performance are high priorities.

With an incredibly picky set of criteria, we began our search. We wanted the tallest tire we could cleanly squeeze under our truck with the stock suspension. We didn't want to move from a 17-inch-diameter wheel because we like the rim protection and better ride afforded by a tall tire sidewall, and we wanted an all-terrain tread pattern that offered good bite in the dirt without giving up a smooth, quiet ride on the road. All this had to be packed into a tire with an E-load-range rating. And for wheels, we wanted killer looks, brutal strength, light weight, and a bit more width, all while keeping the factory 6-inch offset. No small feat, but as you can see, we clearly got what we were looking for

The new 285/75R17 Toyo Open Country A/Ts were 3.6 percent taller than the factory tires. To correct the speedometer and ensure our fuel economy numbers would remain consistent, we used a Superchips Tirepaq tuner to correct the speedometer. The Tirepaq doesn't modify any performance parameters, so our dealership can't say anything with regard to our warranty. And if we ever do decide to add some power, we can upgrade our Tirepaq to a Flashpaq for an additional charge.

Sharp readers may also recognize that our truck is now sporting locking hubs on the front AAM 9-1/2-inch axle. Tune in next month when we'll be covering the install of the Dynatrac Free-Spin kit and see what our mileage numbers do when we disengage the front axle.