i was looking around online today for some 19.5 wheels to put on the old van, and after finding nothing on previous searches that would fit a ford, i finally found some here 19.5 Single Wheels - For Single Rear Wheel 3/4 - 1TON Trucks

it looks like i'll have to run a 245-70 tire on that, overall height of 33". since the van came with 235-85r16s (31.8 height), will that extra little bit of height and width cause any issues, or does it look like i'll be good to go once i invest the money in those?

FWIW, i've been wanting these cause i'm always running near my GVWR and have a habit of killing tires in less than a year, and i expect a heavier commercial tire to last longer.

 

Hey Josh:

Even a 31" tire will rub on the front of an E150--you are sitting taller so that will help a bit but 33" is getting pretty big. You will definitely need to check the front wheel wells for clearance at the rear edge. Wheel offset may make a difference as well--deviating from the stock offset could cause the wheels to have a wider "sweep" when turning.

I am surprised you can't find a 16" tire that will hold up...I remember looking at Sprinters back in 2003 and their stock sized tires were tiny--load range E 225/70x15"(!!!) with a van GVW of 8550 lbs. I can't believe that there is no tire near your stock 16" size with a high enough load range and good quality that will hold up for you. Have you tried Michelins?

Good luck,
George

 

On another Forum this guy put those on his 350..but he converted it to a DuallyOdd E450 bus set up.... - Diesel Forum - TheDieselStop.com OK ..that is a Differnt Guy but the Guy I am refering to goes by Carring b..He has an Extended V10 350 that he personally converted to a Dually and he has those wheels .....and a Dana 80 which he installed in his Van.....Quite the Machine...

 

i haven't tried michelins yet, but i have managed to either blow up or prematurely wear out everything else i've been able to find.

when i ask tire shops about my excessive wear, the story i get is basically "you're heavy, of course they wear out fast" - well the rear end carries 4500-5000 pounds most of the time, according to the local truck scales. that puts me a little over 80% of the load rating of range E's, and apparently thats enough to shorten their life significantly.

FWIW, i have quite the track record of front tires blowing up, going out of round, and otherwise getting scary. the rear end is the one that eats the tread so fast, but hasn't yet seen a blowout.

with respect to what the tire shops tell me, the heavier tire options of the 19.5 seem to be the solution - i can put a load range H tire on there if i want to, and only load the tire to half of its weight rating - that sounds like a step in the right direction.
in doing all this, i would probably follow the example of most commercial trucks, having an aggressive drive axle tread and a smoother tread on the front end.

 

update - i got the front tires on today, 225/70r19.5 LRG, michelin xze. it required only a slight adjustment of the sheet metal with a hammer.
i'll be getting rear tires in a couple weeks, they'll be a michelin zds2 or zde m/s - the michelin catalog and les schwab don't seem to have the same info on which of those models is offered in my size, but they're similar tires anyway.
i decided to go with dynabeads, as i've heard good things about them and they cost the same as it would cost for a conventional balancing.

 

Not sure if this is helpful Josh, especially since you're already made a purchase.....

My E250's run about 7800# as daily drivers loaded with tools probably similar to you. I've had one set of Michelin LTX 245/75-R16 on the standard WB for about 62K+ miles----not a single issue. I've not determined my front>rear axle weight bias so don't know if I'm heavier at one end or somewhat equally balanced. I highly recommend Michelin's despite their price---have never found a better tire in all my years.

You wheel link shows the 19.5" wheels mostly on pick ups----is there compatibility between the F-Series and E-Series? I thought they were significantly different.

 

i've heard lots of good things about those michelins, but with the downside that they don't offer a serious drive axle tread an their 16s. and a 2wd van in snow with highway treads is a bit rough, especially when thats seattle snow - the kind thats been half melted and refrozen 6 times. last winter i got challenged a few times on nearly new highway tires because they couldn't bite.

as for fitment on the vans, i've swapped 16s back and forth between pickups and vans plenty of times over the years without problems. i believe there is supposed to be a difference in backspacing of like 1/4" or something.
for newer rigs, 97-up, the pickups went to the metric bolt pattern while the vans didn't. i'm guessing thats the significant difference you remember hearing about.

these tires are running so smooth on the front, but by doing so they're making the out-of-round condition on the rear tires more evident. thats life for a couple weeks until i can afford 2 more tires.

 

I have always done great with LTX M/S tires on my van in Michigan snow...my van does have a posi in it but in the 10 winters I've been through, I have never come close to sticking it...

I just checked Tirerack and Michelin makes the M/S 2 and A/T 2 in the 16" size, which is no longer relevant for you since you've committed to larger wheels. There is also an ATX winter tire in the 16" load range E size...looks like it has the M/S 2 tread pattern but with a winter compound.

George

 

I'll chip in about my Michelin LTX M/S----they're not intended as snow/ice tires per se but here in Columbus, Ohio I've had almost no issues with traction in snow or that crusty crap from thawing/refreezing. Mine aren't the M/S2 or A/T2 as George mentions, just the standard LTX as available in 2008.

As I've said before I won't hesitate buying Michelin LTX's again for my newest van. Soon in fact, before this winter hit in December or January.

 

Josh,
Can you post some pictures of how the new wheels/tires worked out?

 

yeah, they're working great for me. here's a couple pics from right after i put them on (just click on the links)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2titlj98fz...2000.56.58.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gdy4pjr2ru...2000.57.27.jpg
i did have problems with the valvestems that came with these wheels, every single one of them has had to be replaced already, but outside of that i'm very satisfied with them.

FWIW, i spent about $2500 on the tires at les schwab, whereas the online dealers such as the one i linked to in the first post can get a much better price.

 

Thanks for the pics.
Did you end up putting the same ones on the rear?
What was the difference in outside tire diameter before and after?
Did they change the vehicle height?
Are the new tires and wheels the same width as the old ones?
Thanks.

 

I like those. Not sure I would want to spend the money. I already have a new set of michelins.

 

Overall tire size is very similar, since it's a 225 vs a 235, it's 1 cm narrower than our stock 235/85r16. The specs on the tire say it's 1/4" taller as well, but these differences are negligible.
According to my original plan, I put a more aggressive tire on the rear, also a Michelin, and in the same size.
Note that when installing the front tires I had to slightly bend the sheet metal to prevent them from rubbing on tight corners, it just required a little hammer work and I haven't had a problem at all.

 

Thanks again for the update. This is very helpful information.