Chris,

Good to hear someone is putting standard tires on their truck. I have been shopping around for a new set of tires after skiding around after hurricane Floyd.

Costco give a good fitting price as well as good tire prices. (Cheaper than web sites!)

 

I have 20,000 miles on my truck and I could not stand the poor rain performance of my stock goodyear wrangler ap's 255-70-16 any more. so I installed a set of michelin ltx m/s same size. what a difference! The truck has more traction everywhere dry or wet and it no longer shakes down the highway! the goodyears shook all the time even after balancing! the michelins are soooo smooth,I am so happy! Ford should include these tires as OEM on this truck. I got them at costco for 99 dollars each. The stock goodyears had 3/4 tread still left on them and it seemed to be a shame to remove them however here in FL the rain made it dangerous to drive on those tires. It is so nice to be able to pull away from a traffic light and not spin the tires in the wet.

Chris

 

I too am very dissatisfied with the Goodyear Wrangler P255/70R16's that my truck came with. I was planning to replace them with a set of Michelin LTX tires when these wear out. I think I'd want the tires a tad wider than the stock tires, so I was going to try the Michelin-LTX P265/70R16. I'm happy to hear that the Michelins are smoother and better handling than the Goodyears (I put a set of Michelins on my wife's Honda Accord and it made a BIG difference!). Does anyone know how much bigger the P265's will be versus the P255's that are on the truck now? I know they'll be a bit wider, but how about height?


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1998 F-150 Super Cab XLT, 4x4, SWB, StyleSide, 5.4L, E40D Automatic, Dark Toreador Red, Med Graphite Cloth Captain's Chairs, P255/70R-16 OWL AT Tires, 3.55 LS Axle, Cab Steps, Tow Pkg, Power Color-Keyed Mirrors, Fog Lights, Cast Aluminum Wheels, 6-Disc CD Changer. Aftermarket: Pendaliner SR, Keyless Entry, Delta Deep Aluminum Toolbox, Gibson Swept Side Stainless Steel, K&N, Custom CB and Amateur Radio Installation. See me and my truck at http://bluecrab.richmond.edu/crab-1.htm

 

I had some Michelins on my last truck. They were great tires. The Goodyear ATS is also a good wet tire. I was very surprised the difference between the ATS and the RTS. Maybe Goodyear got the message before the designed the ATS for '99.

As far as the difference in height Steve, that is proportional to the width on P tires. For example: a 305/70 has a height of 305 * .70. In order to get the total height you have to take that times two (one for the top of the rim and one for the bottom) and add the rim height (i.e 15", 16" or 17".)

Check out www.tirerack.com for a more indepth explanation of P size tires.

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'97 F150 Lariat, Flareside, white/sliver, SC, ORP, 5.4 (FQR), Mods: 305/70/16 GY ATS, AR Baja wheels, dual exhaust, Smittybilt Nerf Bars, Edelbrock IAS Shocks, K&N Filter and Carbon Fiber Bug Gaurd. Rigged the fog lights too.




[This message has been edited by kkirt1 (edited 10-01-1999).]

 

I have the Goodyear 255/70/16 and checked at Costco yesterday. Next week they have $40 off a set of 4 tires. The Micelin 255/70/16 is $102 and the 265/70/16 is $109. The difference in size is
width height diam
255/70/16 10" 7.0" 30.1"
265/70/16 10.4" 7.3" 30.6"

With no other changes the speedometer will
be 2 percent slow.

I was quoted $506.76 less the $40.00 for
$466.76 out the door; including mounting & balance, lifetime balance, lifetime rotation, flat repairs, road hazard coverage.


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97 F-150, 2WD, Reg Cab,Flareside,Dk Toreador Red, 4.6, 3.55 LS, EGR Bug Deflector, ******* Bed Cover, Bed Liner, XL Full Length Running Boards, Air Aid Kit, Gibson Single Out Cat Back, Superchips, TransGo Shift Kit, Hellwig Rear Sway Bar, Hellwig 2500# Overload Springs

 

Sears has a identical private label tire for about $30 less per tire. I think they call it the Michelin XCLT4.

 

I have a set of the Michelin LTX M/S LT265/75R16 on a set of Centerlines and it looks great. The tires are a good performer. No road noise and only had to drop one size on speedo gear.

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98 F150 S/B Reg cab, 4.2 V6, Auto, A/C, Centerlines with Michelin's, Alpine head unit with 6 disc changer, Phoenix Gold M44 amp, JL audio 10" Sub and still adding

 

Chas,
I was wondering if you know how many teeth were originally on the speedo gear in your truck - vs - how many are on there now. Also what was the original tire size? 235 or 255? You also wouldn't happen to have part #'s on the speedo gears?
Thanks in advance


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1998 F-150 SC Flareside 4.6 Wht/Grey Auto
Additions: Line-X 8-31-99

 

TJOHNSTON,

The truck came with P235/70R16 tires with a 3.55 rearend. The gear in the tranny was a 21 tooth gear and was about 5-7 MPH slow on the odometer. Went to the 19 tooth gear and now am about 1-2 MPH slow on the odometer. The part # that is on the box is C8SZ-17271-B. Good luck.

 

Chas,
Thanks for the reply, this has been an enormous help. I have some old 23 tooth speedo gears for a t-5 trans in a mustang (4.10 or 4.30 geared) I haven't looked at the speedo gear in truck yet but I imagine it is same style.
thanks again

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1998 F-150 SC Flareside 4.6 Wht/Grey Auto
Additions: Line-X 8-31-99

 

I had them on my last truck, they were very good, here's a pic: wish I'd kept those wheels too

 

I never had wet traction problems with the Goodyear AP P255 70 16 . From time to time the truck would shake at 30-50 mph and I had radial pull to the right since day 1. I replaced the set with Michelin LTX M/S P265 70 16 and all problems vanished. Since I opted for the larger than stock Goodyear AP tires at I believe 275 bucks more, raising hell with Goodyear got me the Michelins for the difference in price. I rarely load up my truck so if you travel weighted down pretty often go with the LT265 75 16. Goodyear #1 in customer racing , not Light truck tires.

 

Just put Michelin LTX 265/75/16 on from the original Goodyear 255/70/16 AP's. I got 42k miles out of the AP's and they were starting to scare me when it was wet. Now I feel the LTX,s and all I can say is smooooth.

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RED-ONE
Red/Silver '97 F150 4x4 SC Lariat LB, 5.4L, Auto, 3.55 LS, Grey Leather Buckets, Tow Package, 10 disk CD changer, K&N air cleaner with housing mods., True Dual Exhaust out the back with chrome tips, Nerf Bars, Extang soft top cover, color matched front bug guard, window drip guards, cranked torsion bars, custom spring pack for rear, Michelin LTX A/T LT265/75/16.