This Silverado 2500HD On 46-Inch Rims Hates Life

Or is it 34-inches?

byEvan Yates|
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When Chevy Silverado HD trucks begin their journeys in the Flint, Michigan truck plant, they hope to one day be purposefully putting their power to good use. Perhaps their destiny is towing a fancy camper trailer across country, working on a farm transporting horses or maybe even hauling a 40’ Baja boat to the lake. They’re born to work. It makes them happy.

There are those very few, unfortunate heavy duty haulers that go down a much different path, ultimately living a life that simply isn’t meant for them. This is the story of one of the unlucky few.

I don’t mind big wheels. Matter of fact, I think some vehicles actually look better with plus-sized rolling gear stuffed under the fenders. However, there’s a big difference between slightly pushing the envelope and pure absurdity for the sake of stuntin’. My apologies for the click-bait-laden title, this particular Silverado 2500HD actually has 34-inch Asanti wheels. To date, 34-inch wheels are the largest size available with accompanying DOT approved tires. 

Gotta keep 'em clean!, https://www.instagram.com/bestunderpressureautodetail / Joey Coles

This particular Silverado HD from Alabama is not the first vehicle with 34-inch wheels – far from it. However, when this picture popped up on the Instagram Explore page, I found myself turning into the old geezers I used to despise on the car forums as I cringed in disdain. It’s a Silverado 2500HD with a Duramax Diesel under the hood, not a base-model, 2WD model with the 4.3-liter V6. If there’s any vehicle (outside of a Hummer) that needs a hefty tire, it’s this truck. The 2500HD weighs about 7000-lbs bone stock, plus the weight of the wheels and whatever audio equipment that may be inside, too. I have no doubt in my mind that this Silverado 2500HD can effortlessly propel the massive rolling gear with over 700 lb-ft of torque but that’s not really the point.

Outside of this particular truck looking a little out of whack - which is really just a matter of taste and opinon - my attention is on the tires and lift

TIRES

These massive chrome Asanti wheels are wrapped in 305/25/34 tires that have about an inch of sidewall – literally. Having personally owned a couple sets of 25 series tires, let me tell you, it’s a nightmare and I’ll never subject myself to the automotive paranoia that accompanies them ever again. The tires are Carbon Series made by the Parrish Tire Company and run about $6,000 on eBay. Three-piece, 34-inchers are about the most expensive wheels you can buy right now and although I couldn’t locate Asanti's retail pricing online but their competitor, Forgiato run almost $7,000 – EACH. Yep, that’s about $35,000 for wheels and tires.

LIFT

A 305/25/34 tire measures just under 40-inches in diameter which typically requires a considerable lift. When I say considerable, not only do I mean a kit that raises the vehicle substantially but one that also retains the factory specs and doesn’t cause excessive wear on the rest of the suspension components. For comparison, the vehicle below is a GMC of the same generation, built in the same plant and lifted properly with a 12-inch Bulletproof Suspension package.  

You don’t need a WyoTech degree to notice the major differences between the two trucks. If I had to guess, the Silverado probably has an assortment of spacers and heavy trimming. On the other hand, the Denali's lift is visually impressive with Fox shocks and heavy duty hardware. If you’re a true rock-crawling fanatic or function-only fan, you’ll probably despise both of these trucks anyway but neither are techinically "better" than the other as it's all a matter of taste. However you slice it, one is absolutely more capable and comfortable while the other may be destined for a flatbed upon its first encounter with a ‘Bama pothole.

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