Hi all! I've just searched the forums about putting 285/75/R16 tires on stock Ford wheels. From what I got it can be done. I have 265's on there now, but want to move up to the 285's. They're not that much higher from where I'm getting them. I have Firestone Steeltex's now. They're a good wearing tire, but they don't give me much traction in snow or mud. I'm currently looking at either a Dean tire Mud Terrain Radial SXT's or sticking with Firestone and getting Destination M/T's. We sell the Dean tires here where I work (ag coop, not a tire store!!!) and have had good luck with them. My question I guess is for those of you running 285's on stock rims, do they wear evenly? Do they balloon out and wear out the middle of the tire or do they wear pretty evenly? TIA!
Eric

 

I have 285/75R16 Ds on my truck now and they are the perfect size for me. Look, ride, handle and grip much better than the 235/85s that were on. I really like the look of the Firestone Destination M/T, i'd go for them. The next tires on my truck will be 285s also.

285s will wear perfect with the proper rotation and inflation pressure. I have the V10 in my SC SD and I run 59-60lbs in the front and around 52lbs in the rear unloaded. When I add more than 1000lbs to the rear I will bump the pressure up to 64 or so. You'll want to set the tire pressure in the rear tires so you get a full contact patch across the tread. You can check by writing a line across the tread with a marker, chalk and etc and going for a drive. Can also spray armor all across the tread to see the contact patch and adjust pressure accordingly.

 

I'm running 285/75/16Ds on my stock 1999 F-250 rims right now. Only had them on there for ~1,000 miles. So far I love them, and I'm never going back! I'm running the BFG T/A KOs.

See my gallery for a pic.

I don't notice any 'balloning' and they seem to contact the ground evenly. I'm still playing with tire pressure. Plan to do a 'chalk test' as soon as the ground dries up around here.

Stone

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I never thought about the chalk test I guess! Do it all the time with rear radial tractor tires. I currently run 80lbs of pressure in my rears and 60 in the fronts. I've noticed I drop 1 mpg if I run 50 in the rears. The ride is a bit rougher, but I like having better mpg's too. I'll probably go the 285 route. I had an f-150 with aftermarket wheels. It had 285's on it, but they ballooned out and would wear in the middle really bad. That's why I asked about it.
Eric

 

I switched to 285's when I got my first set of tires @ 30k. I have had absolutely zero problems with them. As an added benefit, it made my speedo more accurate My stockers were 265 Firestone Steeltek. I now run Cooper Discoverer ST's and I love them! I do have to adjust my pressures though. Unloaded I run 50 front and 45 rear, and have very even tread wear. Loaded, depending on what i'm hauling, is usually 55 front and 55-70 rear.

 

Do the STs grip good? My FC-2s are being warrentied, I think I'm going to go with the ST-C which is the same as the ST just with a more chip resistant compound.

 

I've been running 285 BFG's on a 02 and 99 before that for a combined total of 260K with no problems. Both were work trucks with at least a 1,000 lbs in the bed running front and rear at 50lbs and wore very even. If anything the rears wore at a little over inflated? Speedo is a little off even though both trucks were ordered with 265's

 

285/75/16 BFG AT's on my 99 with stock wheels. They are wearing a little funny but I think it's just because they want to be rotated more frequently.

 

Yeah, the one thing I hear about BFGs T/A KOs is ROTATE, ROTATE, ROTATE!!!!

That's easy for everyone else to say, huh?

 

It's true... I was trying to go 5K rotation intervals but they aren't having it. I'm going to try 3K and see if they change their act a little.

 

The fronts tend to wear stupid because of turning. The backs (if inflated to proper psi) wear even and will straighten out the fronts when rotated. For the type of driving I do (winding backroads mostly) I should rotate every 5k but have been going every inspection which is around 7k-8k miles.

 

The problem I'm having is cupping/feathering on the inside edge of the tires. I had the alignment checked and its good. I've been running 50 psi in all 4 corners.

 

The ST's grip great. They is not much road noise, have an aggressive look, wear very well (45k on my last set) and do great in the snow, rain, mud and sand. They seem to clean out pretty well too.

 

Ball joints?

 

Nope ball joints are good (driver's side was hosed when I bought the truck but have been replaced).