I have a 2003 F150 XLT 4X4. My wheels are the stock polished aluminum and they came with 235/70R16 tires. I would really like to upgrade the size of the tires a little bit. I was thinking to 265/70R16. Can my stock wheels support that size of a tire? Also what tires do you recommend I put on my vehicle? I don't do a lot of off roading I am just looking for a good all-season tire.

 

I would go with at least a 285/75-16. This would be a good size if you plan on keeping the stock 16x7 rims. You could easily fit a 305/70-16, but it is a little too wide for your stock rims and would probably wear a little more in the center of the tread because of this. There are alot of good all-terrian tires out their. I'd recommend the BFG AT KO's, Nitto Terra Grapplers, Goodyear Wrangler ATS, or Bridgestone Dueler AT.

 

G of R
the 267/70r16 will fit fine on the stock rim. you will notice a change in speedo accuracy when you go to bigger tires(it will read slower than actual speed). like wandel said you can go as large as 285's on stock rims. the bigger you go the more you will change your final drive gear ratio.
the best all around tires (IMHO) are Bridgstone dueler a/t's and BFG all terain t/a's. tirerack.com has some comparisons on these.
hope this helps.

conner

 

Is it possible to adjust the speedo to read correctly after changing your tire size?

 

Yes, the aftermarket computer tuner like the ones made by Superchips and Hypertech allow you to reprogram your computerized speedometer to compensate for different tire sizes.

 

I put 265R70X16s on my stock 2wd '02 S'crew rims w/o any problems. My odometer is off by 1.8% & I am running about 61mph w/regestering 60mph. You shouldn't have any clearance problems. Mine had 255's "stock" so I went from 30.5" diameter to 31.3" diameter. Good luck

 

Well, I just phoned a tire place. I am probably going to keep the same kind of tire BF Goodrich Long Trail TA and just go to a bigger size. He said it would cost $169 per tire installed for the 265/70/16. He also said he would give me $90 a tire for my 235/70/16. That will definetly help cut the cost back. All the prices I listed are in Canadian Dollars.

Is Ford going to void my warranty for putting on the bigger tires? The only reason i ask is beause it won't read as many kilometers. Or will they just be able to calculate it. I will eventually adjust everything so that the speedo reads correctly.

 

FYI: depending on when your truck was produced in '03 you may be able to upgrade your tires "some" and be able to have your local dealer re-calibrate your shift points and speedo for you. I recentlly swapped out my 17" FX4 wheels/GY RTS tires for 16x10 Centerline Vector Wheels and 295/75/16 Nitto Terra Grapplers. My 03 was still able to be retuned...this was determined after the dealer ran my VIN against the Ford database. According to my service rep at the dealership, you can safely upgrade two(2) tire sizes(on the stock wheel) and still be able to recalibrate with the stock computer chip. Since I dropped my wheel diameter to 16" from 17", I had an extra inch to play with. The Nittos stand up at 33.27" compared to stock wheel/tires at 31.26"...for all interested, the Nittos are great in mud and sand. The clean very well and are of sufficient width that they float well in the sand as well. Will see about how the perform in the snow here shortly in Colorado...moltman

 

GoR: personally, not to dissuade your Long Trail decision, if you want a better "all around tire" I would consider the Bridgestone Dueler A/T "Revo". They sell for ~$157US, and they are the talk of the town. I am guessing here but it sounds like you dont intend on gettng into serious off-road stuff with your truck, but want to have a better tire and stance for it. If you buy the REVO, P-rated tire they come with a 50K mileage warranty. The LT series doesnt. The BFG Long Trail you mentioned may as well be a low profile street tire on a Dodge Neon with the traction/wear they will give. The BFG All Terrain K/O is a very good offroad tire, has pretty good road manners and if you rotate them regularly you might get 40K miles out of them. Also consider the Nitto Terra Grappler, available in P265/70/16...you can check them out at Nittos web page: nittotire.com.
moltman

 

Thanks for the last two comments. I will look into the the tire upgrade deal.

I would love to get the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo but they are a little out of my price range. I checked into them and they would cost me over $100 more per tire than the Long Trail.

I still havent fully decided what I am going to do. I might even keep my stock tires until there wear out. That way I can save up[ and get the better tires.

 

God,
Just to let you and Conner know--265/70 16s will fit on stock rims. I had them on my 2wd the whole time I had it. I now have 285/75 16s on my stock rims on my Screw 4X4. Good luck