I woudl like to get new tires the stock ones are 235/70/16 id like a wider tire maybe a 265 70/16 anything i need to know?? the ones now are firestone HT sidewalls showing a little sign of wear any suggestions? thanks, and this site has helped me so much thanks

 

I used to have the same stock tires, and replaced them with LT265/75R16's. Most guys will say go with BFG AT ko's, I deviated from the flock and reciently got Michelin LTX AT's. What I liked the most was the added road feel of a LT tire. Also, the Michelin's have less road noise than my buddy's BFG's, in case you have a nice stereo. JMHO

 

My used 99' came with new P265/75/16's. They are terrible. Too much sidewall flex. In comparison, my father's P235/70/16's drive like a sports car! ha!

Does the LT rating greatly reduce sidewall flex and all the related problems of terrible cornering and handling in crosswinds?

 

Yeah, a LT tire will have a stiffer sidewall with less flex, better emergency handling ability. They are designed to carry heavy loads with higher tire pressures. But then, LT tires cost a little more than P tires too.

Load Rating....Ply(s)....Max PSI
.....C ............... 6 .......... 50
.....D ............... 8 .......... 65
.....E ............... 10 ........ 80

In turn, when running empty, you may get too stiff a ride with LT tires, depending on your preference. The actual load capacity of each single tire will vary quite a bit per tire size. All full size trucks should have LT tires, unless you want a strictly street truck. JMHO.

 

Sagittarius,

Thank you for taking the time and effort to provide such detailed info.

It looks like if I get some LT rated "E" tires in a 235 to 265/60 to 70/16's I would have very little side wall flex and have a tire short enough to put a 3/4 drop kit in.

My 99' F-150, supercab, flareside, v-8, stock height with P265/75/16's feels like it is going to tip over in the corners, wanders too much in crosswinds. It still does this even though I upgraded my front swaybar with a massive hellwig and installed a rear hellwigg antisway bar. The swaybars helped some, but not enough. Yet, as stated previously, my fathers 99' F-150, single cab, long bed, stock height, with P235/70/16's that I drove this morning, handles much better than mine. His truck has the stock front swaybar and no swaybar in the rear. This was the first time I drove his truck since I got my truck four months ago. I was amazed as too the difference in handling. His was far better than mine!

I am looking for the most control, best street handling, better cornering and as little wandering in crosswinds as possible. I don't care if I have a "bumpier" ride, I need to get as close to sports car type handling as possible. Yet, I can not afford larger rims and related lowprofile tires, nor would I want too. It appears that the larger rims with low profile tires can crack too easily on a heavy truck? Plus, I like the look of my 16's. I just need to find out what size and type of tire to put on these 16's to do what I need. Thanks.

 

thanks a lot for the info, I have looked at a few differnt tires the goodyear wrangler hp look nice but your info helped out a lot bout load cappacity and stuff thanks

 

i remember when i had my old truck 1991 Ford F-150 and i still miss it. Anyway, the original size tires were 235/75/r15 and the previous owner before me out 265/75/r15 and this thing was slower than a neon or civic, pretty sad huh??:o Before i sold it i put some 235's on it and this thing got better fuel mileage, rode and drove much nicer, and it had way more acceleration both bottom and top end. i just like to stick with orginal size tires.

 

f-150_91 ... What rear end gear ratio did your 91 have? It can make a huge difference, depending on what diameter tire you are trying to turn.