Ok, I put on the AAL and cranked the torsion bars... Love it!
Now, I am also needing new tires.
More than likely I will change to an aluminum rims to help out with power and weight issues. So my question is:
295/75R16 or 315/75r16?
Keep in mind I do have a 4.6 V8 and now a 2" lift!!
I will be going back with BFG AT KO's, I just don't know what size...

 

I'd go with a 305/70-16 (33x12.50). The sizes you mentioned are approximately 34 and 35 inches tall and will hurt your performance.

 

Going up a size, and switching to lighter rims? Doesn't that cancel each other out?
If I were keeping the stock rims, yes... Do you really think I would still have performsnce drops?

 

The wheels wont necessarily make up the weight difference of the tires, not to mention the farther out the rotating mass is, the more work the engine has to do to move it, so lighter wheels help some, but the heavier AND taller tires will kill you the most for performance.

I think the 305s will look better anyway, the other tires are too big for just a torsion bar crank IMO, would be rather stuffed in there.

 

Ok, I looked it up. 295 vs. 305 is a whopping difference of .5" tire height... That will be 1/4" diff. top to bottom...Check it out:
http://www.ntwonline.com/natltire/images/AllTerrKO.gif
Now, is this still the going sensous? 305's?
Has anyone out there ran 295's with a 4.6 V8?

Plus, the 305's are wider... 295's are taller... I'm thinking 6 in one, half a dozen in the other! I'm just trying to cover all grounds before I shuck out the bens... Any more thoughts

 

I went from 285/70/16

http://webpages.charter.net/fastford...s/image009.jpg

to 315/75/16

http://webpages.charter.net/fastford...s/image021.jpg

and only noticed alittle bit of a difference in performance.

 

Hey Fast Ford!
what size lift do you have?
Are those 16" or 17" rims?
Do you have a 5.4 or 4.6?

 

Going with the 315s will kill any performance you have, especially with a 4.6L. It's not a weight issue anywhere near as much as a tire height issue. As the revs/mile go down, so do your engine RPMs. You'll push it right out of the powerband so it'll be lugging all the time.

The biggest thing I noticed with going to 315s (5.4L and 3.55 gears) was the extended time the torque converter would stay unlocked. It was especially bad on the highway with cruise on - any slight incline and it would unlock. Aggravating.

With a manual (guessing that's what your XL has), you'll notice you have to stay in each gear an extended time to accelerate. You may even lose some OD capability at highway speeds.

This being said, you can survive with 315s on a stock setup. I ran mine for almost 2 years and I have heard of folks who haven't had any problems at all. Just don't expect to tow anything or win any drag races

As others have mentioned, 315s will look too stuffed under a 2" lift. Plus, with an aftermarket rim, I don't think you'll be able to fit anything bigger than a 305 under there. I think 285s on an 8" wheel with 4" backspacing would fill out very nicely.

Good luck!

Mike

 

They are 16 in wheels and i have a 5.4. stock with a K&N. Didnt tell much of a difference in power loss. just alittle.



this is the biggest thing i notice

 

ok. I went with 16x8 Eagle 589's and 295/75/16 BFG AT's... Looking at the charts, they are a whopping 1/2 inch taller than the 305's but they are a 1/2" narrower. They will be on the "Mule" tommorrow.

I just didn't see enough difference in the height to make it worriesome. Is there anyone out there that is running this set up, or am I the "ginnie pig"!

I will let ya'll know how it goes...