wider wheels/tires = more traction. assuming a negligible weight (and price) difference, are there any disadvantages to getting a wider tire? is acceleration / gas mileage affected at all?

 

Yes, your acceleration and gas mileage will be affected. They do give you better grip but there will be a weight increase and increased rolling resistance.

 

i have *heard* some wider tires like to grab the road randomly, pulling the truck..

 

This is very true! I have 285's on my impala and I hate tar roads cause of this.

Also with and increased positive offset and wide tires you will wear out your wheel bearing more frequently.

~HJ

 

ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings wear out faster then stock tires...

 

x2

had my 15x10s with 12.50s on for bout a year and ahalf and no problems tho..but i dont wheel

 

I'm just talkinga bout going from 15x7 to 15x8. if the wheels/tires are the same weight, will the increased 1" of contact cause enough friction to require a noticeable amt of hp loss to overcome?

 

naw

 

not enough to ever tell

 

I notice your in Cali so you wont have to worry about this, but wont a wider tire effect winter driving aswell? Maybe I was told wrong but someone once told me that in winter you want a skinnier tire.

 

Thats true my tires pull the truck around alot and wanders. You get used to it. The worst is on streets or highways that are rutted from lots of semi traffic.

 

X2 have the same problem.

 

The only way you would notice a loss of power is if you went with a taller than stock tire. I'm running 15x8's with a 255 tire (about 1" wider than stock but same diameter) and I didn't notice any loss of power. As others have said, the truck tends to wander a bit if you drive on bad pavement, but you get used to that. Also, since mine are more of a "street" tire, the truck corners 10x better than on stock tires.