klockw243

I'm looking for a cheep alternative to my steel rims on my Express 3500 and wondered if anyone had advice or experience swapping out for something that is the same size and fit. There's obviously a lot of chevy take-offs out there from Silverados and Suburbans. If I find another set of stock chevy 8-lug, 16" rims, they should be a direct fit... right?
I assume any chevy 2500/3500 truck or van in the same model years would have the same wheel specs, such as wheel width or offset, but maybe someone knows something I don't know.

It seems like this style of wheels are the only ones that match the same size requirements:

canucklehead

Any 8 bolt GM 16" will fit, but its the offset you need to watch. Check with the dealer or a tire shop to see if they have the spec on the offset.....you dont want the face of the tires to be outside the fenders
Dodge wheel may also fit, but Fords have a diff bolt pattern..(metric)

Chevrolet Express - Specs of wheel sizes, tires, PCD, Offset and Rims - Wheel-Size.com

klockw243

Thanks! I finally found a set of non-Chevy rims, but they were 170 spacing and after researching it, I realize the Chevy Express spacing is 165. (For what it's worth, the site where I found the spacing says that my '09 Chevy Express has a positive offset of 7.)
So I guess my next step is actually finding a set of 16" 8 lugs (they seem harder to find than I assumed). I am seeing way more 17" and 18" takeoffs from other Chevy's, which means I couldn't reuse my tires... and I've been told the passenger van needs specially rated tires.

canucklehead

You won't find any decent take offs. You need to look at aftermarket mags.....Since you have a 1 ton, you need the load range e 10 plies, so passenger tires won't do. Only the half ton vans have the passenger type. If you switch to 17 or 18 you will need to buy new 10 plies, so I would just go for some 16's.
Car To Wheel Search

Darrell Robertson

Finding good tires for this van (Passenger) is difficult. 8Ply tires with a speed rating of "S".

Finding a set that rides good and are not noisy and have a long tread life is complicated. You might look at the Goodyear Wanglers with Kelvar rated "S" and 60,000 mile tread warranty. Very good wet traction also.

bjbranyo

Replaced mine rusty piece of sh.... factory with these 16 inch, kept all factory set up and tires size just cheaper and aluminum ))))))))) they look really nice

klockw243

Those Dick Cepec rims are nice.
I found a set of Ford polished alloys that I almost picked-up; they already had Wrangler E-rated tires installed, but then I remembered I would have to get my air pressure sensors removed and reinstalled on the new wheels; with the cost of the replacements, and remounting eight tires, it got too expensive.