Mitch I started a thread b4 about what I can tow and you helped me greatly. Now I have another question for you. Remember my truck came with 20's stock. I just bought some Saleen 23'" wheels. What will this do to my towing. As far as numbers go, where am I at now? One otherthing. Below I have link of tow tires that I'm torn b/t. I would love to go with the Continentals but I would also like to go with a all season tire (even though I dont drive in the Winter). The Yokohama's are all season but the Conti's have better reviews and their also the tire that Saleen uses for the 23's.





http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...3&startIndex=0

 

I am not Mitch, but I will answer the question. The size of the wheel does not matter. It is the final diameter of the tire which will raise or lower your tow rating. Same diameter tire, same tow rating.
The other thing to look at is tire load rating. If the tires you get have a lower load rating, then you may be asking for trouble with them. Also if they are a P series tire, take the weight it is rated at at max pressure and subtract 10% to get what they are rated at on a light truck. If that is below 2000lbs, they they are not heavy enough to handle your vehicle.

PS, with smaller side walls, your ride will probable suffer some.

 

The wheels that I'm buying are the 23" Saleen wheels. I'm thinking about going with the Conitinental Cross Contact tire 305/40/23. Where does this leave me now. I'm looking for an exact number if possible. Thanks

 

What size tires are you running now?
As far as the tires, what little info I can find on the Conti site says they "should" be able to handle the load. Load capacity of 2600lbs, which on a light truck would be about 2300lbs.
That is a 33" tire. Not sure the stock 20s are quite. that large, assuming you have stock.
Also, how wide are the s Saleen wheels. The tires require a 10-12" wide wheel per the site. I am not sure you will be able to fit that wide a wheel with the large a diameter tire without some modifications. Might want to check in the aftermarket tire section to see if anyone knows if they will fit.

 

Those Continental tires are the same tires that Saleen uses on the 23" rim. My stock 20's tire size is 275/55/20. I'm trying to figure out what the new tire size will leave me with as far as towing goes. I think as of right now with my factory 20's my truck will tow up to 8200 subtract 500 (truck with 18's or 20's must subtract 500) which leaves me with 7700 with the 20's but what about the 23's. Also what would my payload number look like. Thanks a bunch.

 

Payload won't change.
Those tires are a little more than 1/2" larger in diameter, which will lower your tow capacity a bit more. Probably on the same order as if you went to the 18" or 20" tires, another 500lbs. This since it raise your final axle ratio with it spinning larger diameter tires. That will put more stress on the drive line, unless you were to go to a lower gear ratio, like 4.10.
If you want to do the math yourself, you can go here to check the differences. Your main concern for towing is the final diameter.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos

 

Thanks for all the help but I'm little lost (not on everything) when it comes to this towing stuff. I'm trying and willing to understand it. The chart was helpful but it doesnt help me with how much I'm left with for towing number wise after installing the new wheels. One other thing. Would you recommend (I do) that I have my PCM re-calibrated so that my speedo and odo isnt off a little.

 

Not sure how else to explain it, but with a larger diameter tire, your final drive ratio will be higher, meaning not as much torque and power is going to the rear wheels. Your engine and transmission have to work harder to move the same weight, putting more stress on them. This means you can't move as much. That is why Ford lowers the tow capacity with larger tires with the same rear end. I would take a guess that going from 17" wheels and tires to 18" or 20" tires and rims would be similar to you going from 20" tires and rims to 23" tires and rims. You would lose about the same towing capacity, so another 500lbs from your 7700 would take you down to about 7200lbs.
This amount is only guesswork on my part as no Ford table would show the values for aftermarket tires and rims.
As far as programming for the speedometer, you could do this, which would help with the speed indication and may help with transmission shifts, but Ford would not be able to do this. You would have to buy an aftermarket programmer. The tire sizes Ford dealers can program is limited to certain sizes, with none of them being larger the the 275/65R18 or 275/55R20. These are very close to the same size.

 

I will butt in one more time. I am the type person that likes the speedometer to be correct. I hate it being off. Nearly all Fords are off a couple of miles per hour. I like having a tuner where I can get it correct, regardless of tire size, plus the tuner gives me a towing program that takes care of any loss of power as well as more power and better shifting at all times, towing or not.

 

Thanks I understand it better now. So guessing I'm around 7200lbs now. I spoke with Saleen and the gave me the revs per mile to have my dealer set if they don't have it already and have to enter it manually. I've done a lot of research with this with my dealer and Saleen.

BlueJay I feel the same way as you. I want it to be correct

 

I think another factor, beyond wheel diameter, is the height of the sidewall of the tire. Lower profile = less impact absorbing ability. I think that WILL impact load rating; therefore towing capacities.

 

So where does this leave me? As far as numbers go

 

If you are planning on doing some heavy towing, KEEP your stock wheels and put a set of LT's on them for when you do tow. I would not even try to carry a big load and/or tow with a 40 series tire, period. Those are street queen tires.

 

As of right now this is what I tow.

Open Trailer 290lbs

Quad on the trailer 393lbs (Dry)

Quad in the bed of truck 313 (Dry)

That's a little over a 1,000 if you factor in the quads being (wet). Would you still say no knowing that this is all I'm towing? I was planning on buying a closed 7x12 trailer (1870lbs) later on. If I do, this will put me at about or let's just say 2700lbs total when I go to tow (trailer + quads). Would you still say no knowing that this is all I may tow in the future?

I call this baby towing compared to what you guys be towing. Some of you guys are probably laughing at me right now for driving this truck and towing so little, lol.

 

You will be fine for those weights, even the closed trailer. If you want to tow heavier, I would look into regearing with the larger tires.