What is everyone's opinion on the best upgrade for a new F250? Engine performance upgrade, tires/wheels, exterior stuff or whatever??

My first and so far only thing I've done is to sell my factory LT235/85 tires and put on a new set of BFG ATs in LT285/75. I'm pretty happy with them. Not only are they better quality tires, but they are a little taller, alot wider, better load rating and look alot better. Also I'm sure the offroad capabilites will be better which is nice for deer season and the occcasional trip to a few favorite fishing spots. Here's some before and after photos:

Before:


After:

 

Nice rig!

My first mod was a Retrax bedcover (ordered before I even took delivery of the truck)! The first mod actually installed was the same as yours: picked the truck up and drove straight to the tire shop for a swap. Other than that, my mods have been mainly convenience/appearance/handling. Other than a drop-in K&N, I haven't done anything from a performance standpoint - although I am sure that is only a matter of time.

 

Hi Hill

Congrats. on new ride. I cant say on upgrades...as im just in process of pricing out a new F250...something like you have.

Ford lists upgrades on tires...of course they cost more.

Did you buy off dealer lot or just didnt like upgrades? Do you have any opinion on the upgrades they do offer? Pros/Cons

Mine will be a 4X4..very little off roading(nothing serious/hard)...so dont think i need a real aggressive (thread) tire like BFG ATs.

Thanks....Good luck...OT

BTW...if you dont know..maybe someone here does. Tks!

 

When I ordered mine (2000), I ordered fog lights (They were NOT standard or even an option in 2000), a grille guard, bug shield, wood grained dash, power sliding rear window. Those were the first mods. Then, I got a daws Better Built toolbox and matching diamond plate tonneau. I got rid of the stock flat running baords for GoRhino! wheel to wheel SS tubular running boards! I LOVE them; it makes it easier access to my tool box. Next was graphics. Then I got Edlebrock IAS shocks, and the latest thing was taking out the Ford drop in bed liner, and putting a gray Rhino Linings spray in liner. The next is wheels and tires, headers and exhaust.

You have one sweeeeeeeeeeeeet Super duty there! Did you have to recalibrate your speedo after changing tire size? They look great! Are they E load rated? I might get those for my SD, only if the are E load rated.

CONGRATULATIONS on a new rig!

 

OT - I'll take a shot at your tire question and let you know how I worked mine. First, I talked to the dealer to see what kind of deal they could work me on tires if they swapped the stock Generals out for something a little more agressive. [I don't need the BFG AT KOs (wanted them, but couldn't justify the $$) ] They are a dealership in a small town, so didn't really have much to offer, but they referred me to a couple of shops that they did a lot of business with locally. I called a couple of places locally to me, who were willing to do a swap with me (my stock tires + cash) for some new tires, as long as the stock tires had less than a couple hundred miles (this varied by shop 200-500 mi) on them. Then I called the places that the dealership referred me to to see what they had to offer. Once I had some tire makes/models in hand, with pricing to go with it, I did some research here and other places to see what I thought would work best for me. I ended up going with one of the places local to the dealership, so I picked up the truck, drove 23 miles and had new tires put on it. I had all five swapped out for less than $200.

Oh yeah - had the standard issue all terrains (Steeltex AT) on my '00, and wasn't impressed at all with them, so this truck was purchased with the bottom of the line (read no additional $$)General Grabbers knowing that I was going to swap tires.

 

Thanks for the compliments guys !

Bought my truck off the lot after a dealer let me know he was expecting a shipment of 2003s. This one had everything I wanted except a tow hitch, CD player and bedliner. The dealer upgraded/installed all of that for me except I put the hitch on myself. The stock tires were General Ameritrac 235/85R16s and they were lousy for driving on grass, especially wet grass which I do often. Also have to tow a short distance on some slightly washed out dirt road so I sold these to a neigbor with a 97 PSD who tows a livestock trailer on the interstate mostly. Got $300 for the set (only had 600 miles on them) so that helped offset the price of the new set.

The 265 ATs from Ford are good tires-expecially if you get Goodyears. I've just had good luck with the last set of BFG ATs I owned so I spent the extra $$ for them. Also liked the extra width and height. They are load rated "D", but the max load per tire is 3305lbs which is higher than the "E" rated stock Generals which had a load rating of 3042lbs. So I gained a few hundred lbs per tire. I think this is due to the extra ply in the sidewall.

As far as the speedometer, I checked it with a Garmin GPS and it is only 1.8mph slow at 70mph so I not going to bother with it. At speeds down around 35mph the difference is so slight you can't even tell the difference.

Here's some more photos I loaded. Close up shot of the tires. The new front one was aired down about 20psi here but the rear one is at 65psi which is the max for this tire:


Shot of the F250 with my little JD diesel tractor and trailer. You can see the width of the tire good here:

 

Hi HH

Thanks for the info. Interesting that the ATs are D rated with higher load capacity and lower air pressure than the stock E rated OEM tires. Yes, i would agree those BF ATs, nice tire.

Also tks. for posting the pics. Neat tractor!

Hi JDM

Tks. for input. Ive never done that before with tires, now i have a better understanding of whats involved. Will take another look at site where i priced out truck forddirect.com Gives me something to work with...then pretty soon off to the dealer.

BTW....i was born in Helena...over on the Mississippi...still have relatives there...one distant relative lives in Benton...connected to jones family...name Robert. Anyhow...great state.

Tks again....Good luck...OT

 

My first modification was for performance. I installed a Banks Powerpack system and then got the Superchip. Now my 99 5.4 runs (and sounds) great!

I am about to replace my OEM 235/85 Generals and want the same tires you purchased. My only concern is something that a Ford technician mentioned to me about the ABS not working properly. Anybody know what could be the issue?

Great truck, I love the color. Mine's black which only looks good when it is clean.

Jeff

 

Yes I know what you mean about black paint-looks awesome when it's cleaned up and awful when it gets a little bit dirty.

As far as the anti-lock brakes I'm not sure. Mine still seem to work normally. They went off a few days ago when I hit the brakes hard on a wet road. If I understand right, a Ford dealer can re-program the computer to compensate the speedo and odo for the larger tires and I would assume it would fix the ABS too. Anyone know?

 

Hillhound,

You should definitly think about getting a SuperChip. I got mine right here from Mike T. in the computer chip forum. This has to be the "BEST UPGRADE" I have done. Adds 28HP at the rear wheels.
You don't just think it helps, like other performance mods, you can feel the difference in throtle response, Shifting, and 0-60.

Oh Yeah, Did the Tires and wheels thing too, Along with countless other Mods.

See Sig

Go for the SuperChip, You won't be disappointed.

 

Phil,

I have heard alot of good things about the SuperChip. I'm sure I'll have one in due time ! I like to get a few miles on the odometer before I start engine upgrades so I'll hhold off a few months I think.

I have looked at your truck photos before and your SD looks great. One of the best I've seen-I especially like the front bar and light setup you put on.

 

Hi Hillhound I would just like to know if that is the new sonic blue color for 03 on your truck. I just got off the phone with my dealer. I think I'am trading in my 02 lightning for an 03 f250 v10. I really like the look of your truck. I'am thinking of getting the xlt sport package that makes the grill,bumpers. door handles all the same color as the truck. have you or anybody else that reads this seen one of those yet. hows the v10 on power. I have been spoiled by the lightning. thanks Dennis........

 

SVT 2002 -

The V10 is good on power - of course not as much as an L! As far as the XLT Sport package goes - I have pics of black, red, white and grey ones in my gallery here. I love the package in some colors, but some just doesn't seem to look right, IMO.

 

Thanks JDMnAR for the pics. Have you seen the sonic blue on a superduty. Also what color looked the best on the xlt sport. Black sure looked good what about shadow gray. Dennis........

 

Personally, I think black looks the best, but I was surprised how good the shadow grey looks. Sounds funny coming from a guy driving a shadow grey truck, huh? I just thought that the bumpers and grill might not look right in grey, but they look good. I do know firsthand that the grey will show dirt a lot less than the black will!

And no - I haven't seen the sonic blue in person yet.