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Questions – New Aftermarket Wheels on Sierra 1500 AT4X

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    • #804899
      Josh-GMC
      Participant

      Hey guys!

      So few questions for those with more experience than me. I purchased a 2023 AT4X and currently have 12k miles on it. The day I brought it home (May 2023) I added 1.5″ spacers and have driven the truck like that ever since. A few weeks ago I pulled the trigger on a set of MVX VX12 wheels (got a crazy good deal on them) in 18×9 and -12 offset. I figured since my tires were still good, I’d just get them mounted onto the new wheels versus spending the money on brand new tires (still running with the stock Goodyear Wrangler Territory MTs).

      My local GMC dealership got them mounted and road force balanced and ended up not only messing up the rims, but also messed up the balancing. Long story short I ended up getting comped for the install plus they gave me another $200 because they scraped each of the wheels. Had the wheels re-balanced (balance only, not road force) at a local tire shop where I learned I needed to get hub rings. Purchased some plastic hub rings off Amazon, but still noticed a slight vibration, so had a different GMC dealership do a road force balance. Turns out one of the tires needed to be rotated on the rim and two others needed slight re-balancing.

      Been driving around now for about a week and the ride is much smoother, but there’s still something “different” in the ride as compared to the stock wheels. Now, this is my first time owning a truck and the first time purchasing aftermarket wheels, so I honestly don’t know what to expect, but had a few questions:

      1. My new rims are 29 pounds each compared to the 32 pounds of the stock AT4X wheels; could having a lighter wheel result in a slightly rougher ride? I’ve read mixed opinions about the subject so not sure…
      2. After 12k miles running the stock wheels/tires with the 1.5″ spacers, could that have chewed up the tires enough that now they ride different? The truck has never had an alignment since I’ve owned it.
      3. The stock wheels were 18×8.5 whereas my new rims are 18×9; could that affect the way the tire rides now?
      4. Could the fact that my new rims are aluminum versus whatever the stock wheels were made from also result in a slightly rougher ride?

      As of now, there doesn’t appear to be any vibration, so I feel like everything is balanced out, however, the ride does seem a bit rougher than before. Maybe like I’m “feeling” the road more and all it’s imperfections? I don’t know if any of this makes sense, but hopefully you guys understand what I’m saying.

      Thanks for any help!

    • #805260
      Parts Man1
      Participant

      Curious why you put 1.5 spacers on??

      • #805323
        Josh-GMC
        Participant

        I did not like the offset from the factory (+24), so added the 1.5″ spacers to get the wheels just a bit outside the fenders and the stance I wanted.

    • #805331
      Parts Man1
      Participant

      Factory offset is for a reason and you may have killed the wheel bearings in the hub with the new off set.

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