i have a 2011 f150 with a 5.0 and 3.55 gears. I am looking to put 34 inch tires on it. I am worried that it will not have the power on the highway to stay in 6th gear. I dont want to put on new tires and have it hunting for gears the way my 4.6 did. obviously the 5.0 is a totally different beast, but just wanted to see what people with the setup have seen fo performanmce. also is it gonna be a dog to tow a trailer after the new rubber.

 

It won't be like it is with the stock tires..

Taller tires = different effective gear ratio.

Get some 3.73 gears or 4.10 gears and it'll all be like stock..

Mitch

 

Plus the fact that the tires have a bigger contact patch and probably weigh alittle more.

 

Mitch pretty much nailed it. You will have some opinions that it'll pull and drive just fine. The truth of the matter is those will be opinions. Facts are facts; if you go to a taller tire, you will lose effective gear ratio, regardless of how small the diameter increase is and there will be an induced change in the way the truck drives. The only way to regain that is to regear to account for it.

Now, the rest is all on you. You may get the tires and be just fine and content with the way it drives. Only you will be able to determine that. No one can tell you how their truck drives and how happy or unhappy you will be with yours. The change may be minor, may be very minor; but there will be a change.

I'll tell you this from my personal experience though…I will never buy bigger tires without budgeting for gears again. Doing a gear swap is by far, hands down, the best money I've ever spent on my truck.