I apologize first, because I know this has probalby been covered 100s of times in this very forum. I was sent here by a friend from thumpertalk.com (a motorcycle site I'm a member of) regarding several questions that I had about my truck.

First, I have a 2002 F150 XLT 2WD (6 Banger). It has 42K miles on it and the piece of crap Ameritrac tires while having life left in them have finally become totally unbearable.

They've always been terrible (especially in rain/snow), but they're getting worse-- one has a slow leak and I figure instead of patching it's time to pony up for some decent tires.

I've gotten a couple of good recommendations (I think) regarding what tires I should be looking at, but I have a couple of other supporting questions.

1) I have 16" rims- the stock tires are P255/70R16. Can I go with a larger rim without having to worry about my odometer or anything else like that?

2) Assuming that I can go with a larger rim, what's the largest I could fit under my body without suspension or wheel-well problems?

3) Some have suggested that sticking with the 16" rims (while not looking as purty) is probably the best way to get decent performance and longer tire wear.

4) I'd also like to hear tire recommendations from you guys, too. So far I've been looking at a couple Michelins (the Cross Terrain SUV and the LTX M/S) and one set of GoodYears (can't remember the name, but I think they retail for $125/piece).

I live in NJ so I get all 4 seasons. Rain is common and we certainly get snow in the winter. But it's not as if I'm riding on snow all winter long-- but you never know. As of now, I don't tow anything-- I load my motorcycles in the bed when transporting. I'm usually on blacktop unless I'm transporting my bikes-- where I tend to end up on dirt roads-- but nothing where off-road tires need to be considered. I don't mind spending good $$$ for tires that will improve performance for what I need, but I'm not into throwing money away for features that mean nothing to me.

If anyone is willing to provide insight, I'd really appreciate it. And if I can help you out with any bike stuff, just let me know.

 

I can't answer all the questions, considering I live in Georgia, where we rarely get rain and never snow. And I'm not sure what kind of tire, considering I switched up to a bigger rim.

I think the biggest thing you can get is about a 33 inch tire without any major problems. You will probabley rub the top of the wheel well and big bumps and that's about it. Depending on the width you may have to worry about rubbing the frame when the wheel is turned all the way (I've got 305/45/22, so it's wide). That's about as much as you could run into.

I'm not sure about the odometer, but I moved up about 3 inches in overall diameter, and (according to those "Youre going this fast" sign) I'm perfect, so I think they may show a little faster than they actually are, but don't take that as fact. Also, if you do a search on this forum, you could probabley find tires people have good impressions of.

 

Wow.. we have much in common.. I have a '00 F150 XLT that I just purchased.. After many, many posts.. I have determined that I am going to go w/ 265/75/16's on my stock rims (16x8)..I am still agonizing between Bridgestone Revo's and BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO.. both have rave's.. currently leaning towards the Revo's. I have stock 235's right now, and, like you, my offroading is limited to pulling into a few fields with my daughter during Indian Princess camps.. last one I was embarressed in that I actually got stuck in the grass (on a hill that was a tad larger than an ant-hill).. given that folks have commented on the quietness and smoothness of both of the above all-terrains.. I feel that I can go for these..

I was going to buy new wheels.. but also decided that I was not going to put the additional $$'s into them at this point.. I would really like to have some custom wheels, but they are going to have to come later since I have just bought new tank, fenders, side covers, etc, etc, etc, for the bike..

I also have a '02 Kawasaki Mean Streak.. what bike you ridin?

Wayne

 

You can go with a larger rim without affecting your odometer, its only when you change tire size that it starts to affect your odo. Larger tires will give you a false speed reading and also your actual mileage and the mileage on the odo will not be the same.

The size of your rims is not going to have any affect on the tire wear. As long as the tires and rims fit well together and your tires aren't ballooning out the sides or some silly thing. Some brands and tread designs wear better than others and some don't. Also finding out the optimal PSI for the tires you have will improve their life, don't rely on your door sticker because that applies to the tires that were original on the truck and other manufacturers and load ranges have different specs.

I have the BFG TA/KO 265 70R 17's on my truck and I love them. They perform well in the rain, although they do break loose if your too lead footed during take off , they're great in snow and ice. They ride decently and don't have a lot of road noise on the highway.

Oh, and, Welcome to the site!!

 

Thanks, gang. A couple more Qs:

So RIM makes no difference but tire size does. Interesting. What if I was looking at a 185/75R16 (right now, remember, I'm 155/70R16)-- does this mean I would get a bad odometer/speed reading?

Which direction would it be bad-- would I be actually going FASTER or SLOWER than the speedo reads?

Also, is this easy to correct?

Are bigger tires better (all other thins being equal)?

Crap-- I know there's another question I'm forgetting. I was hoping to do this today. Lemme see if I can remember what the last one was and get back. But answers to the above would be great.

PS
Currently, I've got a Bandit 600 (wife's) and a WR250 (my dirtbike). I recently sold my Yamaha FZ1. I usually have 3 bikes at any given time-- I've had an R6 and 3 HDs, my last one being a 2001 Road King which was stolen. Before that a Dyna WG and a Sportster. I love my truck but nothing compares to my love for bikes.

 

I guessing you meant you have a 255 and want to step up to a 285, right? Anyway, when you go to a larger size tire, your speedo will be reading slower than you are actually going, in your case it will probably be about 5mph. This can easily be corrected by having your dealer recalibrate your speedometer. Or you can buy a microtuner and correct your speedo yourself plus gain a few extra horses under the hood.

 

I put the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV's on my '99 SuperCab, V6, automatic.

I went with 265/70/16 over the stock General 255/70/16 rim protectors. The Michelins are 5% taller than my stock tires and the speedo reads 5% slower. The website calculators show there should only be a 2% difference between 265/70 and 255/70.

With the automatic tranny, I noticed my truck feels even more sluggish with the taller tires. After correcting for speedo error, I also get worse mileage with the taller, heavier, stickier tires. While the bigger tires look better, I wish I had gone with a 255/70/16 replacement.

The Cross Terrain SUV is a 'P' Passenger tire, but it has more than enough load carrying capability for my little V6. My stock tires were HORRIBLE in the wet, but wore like iron. The Michelins also are wearing well (I've got about 30,000 miles on them). are MUCH quieter on the highway, MUCH better in the wet. I sometimes drive dirt roads into campgrounds; good traction there.

The Cross Terrain has a very soft sidewall - it seems to flex some on hard cornering. If you offroad in rocky areas, I would worry about the Cross Terrain's ability to withstand rocks.

Bottom line: For a street driven truck with very limited offroading, the SUV is an excellent tire, but you will notice a performance loss if you go with bigger tires on a automatic tranny V6. If you insist on 285's on your V6, you should consider changing your gear ratio to regain some performance.