Newbie Needs A Straight Answer - HELP!

[Horitexan]

Hey there y'all! I've been trying to find something out all day and can't get a straight answer from anyone; so I come to y'all hoping someone can help me with some fitment issues. I bought a 2006 F150 FX4 that came with 20" OEM wheels and these pointless Pirelli Scorpion ATR tires- why they would put street rubber on an "Off-Road" package truck is beyond me! I'm about to install a 2.5" Daystar Poly Leveling Kit in the front. Anyway, I need some good old BF Goodrich AT tires on it to get me around the ranch. Since the cost of BFGs for 20" rims is about TWICE what it costs for the same size (comparably) tire for a 17" rim, I thought I'd switch to a 17" rim. So, I went out and found a used set of 17" OEM off a 2005 F150. Now I'm having a HECK of a time finding out what tires I can, and CAN'T, put on my truck! The idiot at the dealership tried to tell e that even changing my tires to any other brand would void my warranty<- -- BS! Plus he said that the whole vehicle, "was designed for those 20" wheels and changing wheels or tires (in any way) would make having 4WD all but pointless! The guy At 4-Wheel Parts didn't know what size I could use and didn't seem interested in finding out unless I wanted to buy wheels AND tires from them! I don't make a lot of money and I need to find the least expensive way to put some BF Goodrich tires on my truck- it doesn't seem like it should be such a complicated thing. I'm hoping some of you F150 experts can tell me what's the widest and tallest tires I can put on my 2006 F150 FX4 (that has the ovesized brakes and came with 20" wheels and 285/55/R20 tires) using 17" stock rims off a 2005 F150? Somebody give me some good news! PLEASE! LOL! Nick Austin, TX

[malexander52]

Dont sweat it man. You'll get what you need. Take yourself down to discount tire. I am pretty sure there are some Austin Locations. I am here in Houston.
I ran BF goodrich for a few sets, then continentals and I am happy to say I have found the best tire ever! Yokohama Geolanders. Its about $550 for the set and last I checked they had 17" tires. Discount will tell you exactly what size you can and can't run on the rim. You MAY be able to get a 285 on there and I belive a 75 or 80 in the hieght, taller if they make it. The deal though is that you lose some side wall strength the taller you go so try and find someting that you can comprimise with. Read the reviews on the yokohamas and youw will find they truly are the best tire for our truck out performing every leading brad. I have 8k on mine and they look BRAND NEW.
I drove all the way to Virginia and Back and it was the best and quietest ride I have ever had. I will buy them again. They look tough and have a sweet tread too. You will NOT be dissapointed.

[hivoltagefx4]

Sorry to tell you, but I don't think 17" wheels will fit. I think the smallest you can do is 18" wheels due to the size of the calipers on your truck. I'm sure Wandell will chime in and give you the final answer.

[hawg_man]

yeah i believe 18 is it.....

[PawPaw]

Make sure the wheels will clear the brakes before you buy any tires. If they clear you can put on 285x70x17's BFG's or 295x70x17 Nitto's these are AT's, Maxxis makes a 305x70x17 in a mud tire. These will clear easily with a leveling kit. A 315x70x17 can be squeezed on with OEM rims, but they usually will end up rubbing somewhere. Good luck!

[Patman]

I think you can fit stock 17s and a few aftermarket 17s but not all if i remember correctly. Unless they changed something for the 06-07 trucks

[wandell]

As a general rule with a leveling kit on a new 4x4, you can fit a 35x12.50 (315/70-17) tire using the OEM wheels or 33's with aftermarket wheels. So, you can fit a 315/70-17 tire, but you will have some minor rubbing. I'd go with something smaller, like a 285/70-17 (33x11.50), 295/70-17 (34x12.00), 305/65-17 (33x12.50) or 305/70-17 (34x12.50). You can fit the OEM 17 inch wheels on your truck. Ford did change brake caliper design during the 2005 model year, which is causing fitment problems with some (but not all) aftermarket 17 inch wheels.
By the way, sounds like you need to find a new dealer because yours is completely full of BS.

[Horitexan]

Man, did y'all ever MAKE MY DAY! At least the last 3 posts, LOL! Thanks so much! I was feeling like a dumb#%$ for buying those wheels- even though the set only cost me $150- and I thought I was going to have to find a way to spring for some $350-$450 tires, which I can't afford.

Let me ask a couple more related questions:

1. Is there a shim available that'd let me run some BFG 315/70-17 without having the minor rubbing? Since I can't afford a lift kit right now, and don't really want to go up all that much anyway, I was hoping to get a little added lift from the increased tire height the 315/70-17 would give me- almost 1.75" by my calculations.

2. What is the letter (i.e. 265/70R17C or 265/70R17E)that follows the tire- what does it mean? One of the guys at 4-wheel parts said (about BF Goodrich AT KOs) that the 'C' tires are 10-ply while the 'E' tires are 3-ply; but he said that the 'C' tires are, "Hard as a brick!" I looked on the BF Goodrich website and they don't mention making different ply tires when it comes to their AT KO tires; but I, also, couldn't find an explanation for the letter. Considering that I work on a ranch with a lot of cactus and mesquite, would y'all recommend one over the other- in a 17" tire only 'C' & 'E' are available?

Sure appreciate y'all's help- PHEW! What A RELIEF!!!!

Nick

[PawPaw]

Usually a load range "D" is a 8 ply tire, a load range "E" can be a 10 ply. If you do any offroading or hauling any kind of weight or tow, I would go with the load range "D" they may ride a little rough but they last real good. Also not to have rubbing problems I would stick with a 285 or 295 tire. The 315's suck up the gas in city driving and will hurt your performance. Click on the little camera on the right hand side and look at the two sizes in my gallery. The 315's are for show the 285's are for go!

[Davy Crockett]

Nick, between the 2 of us we have 7 worthless "scorpions", a little bitty stone ripped a gash in mine at 1200 miles and thats when I found out I had to get some new shoes, LOL

url]http://www.f150online.com/galleries/mygallery.cfm?gnum=9613[/url]

[Horitexan]

Originally Posted by Davy Crockett

Nick, between the 2 of us we have 7 worthless "scorpions", a little bitty stone ripped a gash in mine at 1200 miles and thats when I found out I had to get some new shoes, LOL

url]http://www.f150online.com/galleries/mygallery.cfm?gnum=9613[/url]

Yeah, they're junk! I knew that the second I looked at them and I argued with the dealer until I was blue in the face- I tried to get him to put on SOME kind of AT tire. I asked him, "Why are you selling trucks with OFF-ROAD packages and then sticking street tires on them; much less crappy Pirellis made for low-end sport cars and soccer mom SUVs? JERK!

What a drag, huh? I thought buying a $30,000 truck would at LEAST entitle me to a decent set of tires! Yeah RIGHT!

Nick

[Horitexan]

Originally Posted by PawPaw

Usually a load range "D" is a 8 ply tire, a load range "E" can be a 10 ply. If you do any offroading or hauling any kind of weight or tow, I would go with the load range "D" they may ride a little rough but they last real good. Also not to have rubbing problems I would stick with a 285 or 295 tire. The 315's suck up the gas in city driving and will hurt your performance. Click on the little camera on the right hand side and look at the two sizes in my gallery. The 315's are for show the 285's are for go!

PawPaw-

I'm not sure if I understand. From what I can tell, BF Goodrich only makes a 'C' or 'E' in their AT KO Tire so I have to choose between those. Now, you said that 'D' is an 8-ply and an 'E' can be a 10-ply but you recommended a 'D' and said that it'd last but be a little rough. Wouldn't the tire with more plys be the more durable tire? Between the 'C' and the 'E' tires which one would be the longest lasting and which one would be rougher; and HOW MUCH rougher?

Thanks again for all the advice- it's really helping me out!

Nick

[remindersrus]

Originally Posted by Horitexan

I bought a 2006 F150 FX4 that came with 20" OEM wheels and these pointless Pirelli Scorpion ATR tires- why they would put street rubber on an "Off-Road" package truck is beyond me!

Wanna sell the factory 20's???

[Coveredi]

BFG TA KO's come in Load range D for both the 315/70/17 and 285/70/17's

Load Range E in 265/70/17 and 305/65/17.

Try the following link. Has all info on the KO's, directly from BFG.

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/specs...t-a-ko/44.html

By the way, the 265/70/17 will be dead on (Within 2 Rev's per mile) of your existing tires, so no recalibration to speedo and odometer would be required.

As far as the Pirelli's, I like them on my truck. Not expecting to take it mudding or anything, so the tread will be fine until I replace them. (Besides, they're inexpensive with a treadwear rating equal to Michelins.) Plus, for on-road driving, they handle very well in both wet and dry. I like the tread pattern because it's similar to the Bridgestone Dueller AT Revo tires I previously had on an Expedition. Those were great tires, did awesome in rain, on dry, in mud and snow. I'd put those on my truck in a heartbeat if they made them in a 20". I know I picked the 20's primarily because they had Pirelli Rubber on them rather than the BFG Long Trails on the 18's. I really dislike them.

But, everybody likes something different.

I had the KOs on a truck a few years back and loved them. I just don't like the price!

Enjoy your new tires, whichever size you get!

[Coveredi]

And BTW, the C, D or E are load ratings.

C rated in the sizes you are looking at have a rating of about 2470 pounds. The D and E sizes are 3195 pounds.