The tires on my '99 F250 SC/LB 4x4 have not treated me well this winter and seem very unresponsive on the highway, but that might just be that I'm too used to my car. I also realized that the tires are Load Range C instead of D or E.

Currently I have LT265/75R16 Goodyear Tracker 2's, which came on the truck when I bought it. 3 of the 4 tires look to have plenty of tread and 1 (right rear, guess my LS isn't working so well) is not as good.

2 of the reasons I bought this truck because my old 1/2-ton seemed to always be overloaded, and I wanted 4X4 in the snow. I don't do much towing though. I'm leaning toward the 235s thinking I'll get a little better gas milage and generally wider is not better for snow, but if the 265 gave me a little better feel and better performance under load, i would probably go that way. This isn't my daily driver, so noise and ride aren't major concerns for me.

What advice can you give me?

Thanks,
Kurt

 

The 235's get lost in the wheel wells. I would stick with the 265's, you're not going to get any better mileage going to the 235's.

 

265 75 16 is the factory size. 286 75 16 is the max size... but I think other have gone a bit larger with very little if any rubbing on tight turns.
Definately get the E rated tires especially if you are going to haul any loads. They have more sidewall strength for better handling under load.
If you aren't going to haul that much weight you can get away with D rated but they will be a little squishy when under load and feel odd.

235's? Now thats a scrawny tire. Must of looked odd.

 

My 04 F250 4x4 XL came stock with 235x85R16 E's and did well in snow and handling. I would not advise you to use a load range C rated tire on your truck. The 235's should give you a very small improvement in fuel mileage over the 265's too, primarily because of less rolling resistance. If it were me, based on your useage, I would use the 235's primarily because of fuel mileage, tire costs and traction in snow.

 

The 235/85R16 Es are the factory size also. My 04' came with them brand new.

The 265/75R16 and the 235/85R16 have basically identical outside diameters. The difference is the 235/85 is narrower than the 265/75. The 235/85 being narrow will give you a better chance to acheive better mpg do to the narrower contact patch, at least in theory.

To the OP. My truck came with 235/85/R16 E tires from the factory. They did ok in the snow on road, but offroad forget about it. They were horrible on the highway even with lowered air pressures. Every bump threw the truck around and jerked the steering wheel. I since went up to 285/75R16s which are little over 1" taller than the 235/85s but are a minimum 2" wider. Traction, handling and steering feedback improved dramatically in all situations. With that said between the two sizes you listed I would go with the 265/75R16 tires as they are slightly wider than the 235/85s but have a diameter almost the exact same diameter. The truck will be a little more stabill due to the wider contact patch. If you get a decent tread design on the 265s they will work very well during the winter. I just prefer 285/75R16s and am never going back to either of the 265 or 235.

 

I would get rid of the load C tires and go to an "E" rated tire. I run 265's on my '01 and they suit me well. For my next set of tires I am going to get the Hankook Dynapro ATM's.

 

I agree with billy bob, 235s do have a skinny appearance. My 2003 Ford 250 came with 285s, but i switched to 315s. I think 265s will be your best bet and you already have plenty of rubber with your 16s

 

Sure does

 

PIZZA CUTTERS!

 

Yeah lol the dealer put them on new when I bought it so they are staying for now Haha

 

Unfortunately, unless you ask specifically and work out a deal, the dealer will usually put o what will cost them the least $$. I had 265 75s on my truck when I got it but they only last about 20K. Cheap tires.

 

235s were standard equipment on F250s, 265s were standard on F350s , the 265s were optional on the F250. Of course all were load range E. The 01-02 excursion was standard with load range D and there was a recall of the D tires since the tread had separation issues due to the D rating.

 

They are load range e, general grabber trs.7k on them don't see much of any wear

 

My truck came with the same tire but it was a little different name back then. They wore good and the tread pattern gripped half decent for what they were but as I said before they were brutal on a bumpy highway.

 

Indeed, they are terrible. I get thrown around everywhere, my friends 99 f350 v10 with 265/75s rides much better