The 01 Navigator 2wd has 275/60-17's. Can't find this size with a LT rating so I am looking at 245/70-17. About 0.5 inches taller according to specs. The stock wheel width is 7.5 inches. Ok or too wide for the 245's? Is going to LT's on this vehicle a very bad idea?

 

Rim width will be ok. It looks to me from the specs that the 245-70 will look smaller, but it may not be that noticable.

LT tires will ride rougher, but are a lot tougher. Check the tread wear and traction. Some are hard and slippery.

Looking at Tire Rack, I don't see LT in either size, but I didn't spend a lot of time looking.

Tire Search Results

 

Thanks, thought there might be something else to beware of besides the ride and maybe the speedometer. I'll take rougher ride over flats any day.

 

Really for a 2wd Navigator I would recommend just sticking with a P-tire. Just make sure you get a heavy duty build 44 psi tire like the Michellin LTX2 or similar, and not a light duty 35 psi tire. Many times places like Costco or Sams will push a 35 psi tire onto a big SUV or truck because that's what they stock to meet a certain price point their customers look for. Just be careful when selecting your tires, make sure they are the 44 psi spec.



-Mike

 

+1. Unless you do some serious offroading I don't see the need. LT tires also cost a considerably more. They have tougher sidewalls but it doesn't matter if you get a puncture in a sidewall- tire has to be replaced either way. If you run over a nail with either they're both going to go flat. I've been looking at Firestone Destination a/t's and the Bridgestone Revo 2's. Even the P rated tire for mine supports 2800 lbs each. Should be adequate

 

Okay, why would anyone spend the extra money for the HD 44 PSI tires when their needs are met with the LD 35 PSI tires?

 

I'm not sure how many plies the HD 44 psi are but on our crushed limestone roads hear in IA LT tires are a must. I had several flats and ruined one tire with in weeks of getting my expedition with good car tires I bit the bullet and spent more money on LT tires, one year later have had only one flat and that was from a piece of someones car on I80 and haven't seen any loss of ride or mpg.

 

Thanks for all the info, especially the psi rating. The old tires were 35 psi rated. Did a little research at Tirerack and decided to stay with the stock size. Bought a set of Yokohama Geolander AT/S that are rated at 51 psi. Way too soon to report on them but will try to remember to later. But really like them so far.

 

I've heard they are a very good tire from several different people. I suspect you'll be happy with them.

 

FWIW, I've put both of those on the wife's '03 and was/am disappointed with the mileage wear. The Revo's (not the newer Revo 2) were a 50k mile tire and lasted 21k. We have the Firestones right now with 17k miles, also a 50k mile tire, and I'm planning to replace them this week. Both sets rode nice and wore evenly all the way down to the wear bars, no complaints there. I'll also add that the wife is an aggressive city driver and the tires were a size up 285/70R17, stock is 265/70R17. We never do any off-road, just like the look of the larger chunky tire. This time I plan on going back to a stock size high mile touring tire and see how that works out, looking at the Dueler H/L Alenza.

 

Well I hope the Destination a/t's work out since I bought a set lol. They are the same size as yours- 285/70/17's. I got them put on the day before I went on vacation. Very happy with them so far. No road noise and great in heavy rain. I wanted the P rated tires and the local Firestone dealer told me that's what they had on sale @ $162 each. Went to get them and they were the LT tires but they gave them to me at the same price. Not bad since Tire Rack's price was $225 IIRC. They are heavy and mpg took a little hit as well. Done a little offroading and no complaints there so far. Seems like in all the reviews that people complain that they pick up rocks but I would expect that lol. Where we were staying in Tennessee had a mile long gravel driveway so I'd just grab a screwdriver and pop the rocks out. I hope they hang in because since they're LT tires there's no mileage warranty. The LT tires have a little deeper tread (3/32's I think) than the P tires so hopefully they'll last just as long or a little longer. I'm running about 40 lbs in them right now. Going to check them with the tread depth gauge and adjust from there.

 

You got a nice deal on the LT's. Hopefully they last longer than the P's. I also ran 40 psi. Rotate, balance and alignment every 5k. I have no complaints about wet/dry performance, ride, road noise or uneven wear for the Revo or the Dest AT. They both just wore out way too fast.

 

Already had a flat. Wife picked up a nail. But I shouldn't be surprised. By the time these are ready to be replace every tire will probably be patched or plugged. If there is a sharp object in the road, she will collect it. 3, maybe all 4, don't remember, of the last set of tires were plugged.

 

I got the Alenzas installed on 8/11, $494 with lifetime balance and road hazard. They definitely took care of me after only getting 17k miles out of the last set. The service manager was shocked to see the mileage out of the last 2 sets of tires and asked what we tow, he was thinking about putting LTs on it. I told him I just wanted a high mile touring tire. All I can say about the tires so far is they ride like a new set of tires.