Winter Tires 2004 3500 158"

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USTenor

New member
There is a lot of talk on here about tires but I need an answer. I have a 2004 3500 158". It's got vancos (195/75r15) and one more winter is going to get me killed. Without upsizing to 16's, I want a tire that's gonna save mine or someone else life. These Vancos are absolutely WORTHLESS!

 
R

Redive

Member
Blizzaks. I live at 7000' in the mountains of Utah at the end of a steep one lane road that drops of into a stream and gets limited County maintenance. They are the absolute s**t.
 
sailquik

sailquik

Well-known member
USTenor,
Why do you not want to convert to 16" wheels.
The 16" 3500 wheels/lug nuts can be found as RV takeoffs and are not very expensive, and you then have so many more
options for winter (and all conditions M&S rated) tires.
The Blizzaks may be good and you may find Nokian Hakkapeliitta's in the 195-75R15C size but that's about the
all you may find.
Nokian WR C Cargo Tires
Nokian WR C3 Tires
These are rated for your 3500 Sprinter and the cost is ~$155 each.
Hope this helps,
Roger
 
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U

USTenor

New member
Thank guys.

7 wheels, 7 tires $2500. Maybe next time. Gotta save some money for sprinter Rogain. ��.

Can I go any larger with a 15". I've read several posts here about upsizing to a larger 15" tire. I have looked at the Nokian. Just want a better tire that's not like these vancos on snow and ice.

Thanks
Dan
 
S

sarahj

New member
I'm wondering what you ended up doing as far as tires. I'm not super knowledgeable (have had my dually for 2 years, but went south before the snow previously). Optimally, I'd love something I don't have to change out for the summer, but safety is definitely a priority. I can always use chains, but wondering what you ended up doing/how it worked?
 
F

Fletch9871

Active member
sarahj...I have a 2005 158" 3500 that came with the 15" wheels. Needless to say the quality of the ride and tire options were quite disappointing. I went the route of upgrading to 16" wheels(x7). Got the wheels off ebay for $50.00/ea shipped. Lug nuts need to be replaced and got them for $2.00/ea (x28) from: https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/243843/Lug-Nut-M14x1-5-F46707/. For tires, I'm in NC so full on snow tires aren't really needed, I went with: Hankook DynaPro AT-M 225/75R16 115 for $117.00 (x7)when they went on sale at Walmart (warranty good nationwide). I had my local MB dealer set the ECU to the 225/75-16 (this size was an option for 2005) tires size which corrects the speedometer and odometer. The services charge was $92.00.

The quality of the ride improved tremendously, much, much quieter than Vanco's and handling is greatly improved. I got a slight bump in MPG as the RPM at highway speeds was reduced. All in I spent ~$1300.00 but you'll have to add mounting and balancing as I did that myself. It was a decent amount of money but IMO it was well spent. Being able to carry on conversations without every other being "What...???" made road trips more enjoyable.

Regards...Chris
 
G

Gabe Athouse

New member
Why 7 wheels on a dually? Also consider that a true snow tire will be possibly dangerous in summer or at least crappy. In a warm rain they can feel oiled. Real winter tires are very soft rubber. So, maybe the best solution is to get the 16” rims but use them for your 3 season tires, and keep the 15’s set up with some sort of true winter tire.

Another vote for the hankooks, had them on my 2500 and they were great, although I’m going with falkens this time round.
 
F

Fletch9871

Active member
Gabe Athouse said:
Why 7 wheels on a dually? Also consider that a true snow tire will be possibly dangerous in summer or at least crappy. In a warm rain they can feel oiled. Real winter tires are very soft rubber. So, maybe the best solution is to get the 16” rims but use them for your 3 season tires, and keep the 15’s set up with some sort of true winter tire.

Another vote for the hankooks, had them on my 2500 and they were great, although I’m going with falkens this time round.
Click to expand...
Gabe:

2 front wheels and tires
4 rear wheels and tires
1 spare wheel and tire
---------------------
7 wheels & tires total

Chris
 
F

Fletch9871

Active member
hskinner said:
Adjusting the tire size in the ecm did not fix the odometer for me just an fyi
Click to expand...
hskinner...Did you have the work done by a dealer...???

225/75-16 is optional tire size. The ECU has built in settings for this tire size and corrects the speedometer and odometer.

Chris
 
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