over $300 yikes!!! i talked to a sales person today and he quoted me 250 at the minimum...and of course i want to get a good quality tire that will last so im not going to cheap out for the least expensive. this may have made up my mind but ill look into it. A family friend knows people who and places to get used tires with hardly any miles on them. are these legit or should i steer toward new tires only?

 

I would say new is the best way to go, but still not fool proof. What brand and model tires have you been looking at?

If you did go with the used tires, the most important thing to keep an eye out for is dry rot. Look for cracks in the tire, especially the sidewall.

 

Jodi, I'd steer clear of used tires for a daily driver unless you are 100% sure you know what to look for in a used set. Personally I would only put a used tire(s) on a vehicle as a temp fix (just a few weeks of time) until I could dump the vehicle or get a new set.

Used and re-treads are only good for a few applications in my mind, and a daily driver is not one of those applications.

 

i dont think i will get used tires but I though I would see what your guys opinions were on them...

 

Question Jodi. Are you keeping your stock wheels and getting new tires after the lift, or are you going with aftermarket wheels as well?

It'd be less expensive if you stayed with your stock wheels and did a tire that was 295 or 305 in width, like a 295/70/18 Nitto Trail Grappler for instance. That's just under 35" tall and almost 12" wide.
http://nittotire.com/index.html#inde....trailgrappler

 

I havent been looking at any specific tires. I have been more so looking at the price differnce between sizes to see how much i really am wanting to invest. I have only had the truck for a year now, so it will be the first time buying for a truck. my last car was a coupe. i have been seeing a lot of truck owners talkiing about nitto terra grappler though. not sure if this is more of a "look at me" tire or what. i believe i have bf goodrich tires on it now, they came with it when I bought it and were fairly new. I know ill be getting all terrain.. I feel like the ones on it now could have been better in the snow and ice we got this past winter. your from here and know the weather, any suggestions?

 

I am going to stick with the stock wheels it only makes since to me, save money!! I think I need to go to the tire wearhouse (performance wheel and tire) here in littleton and take a look around and see the difference in them all. I think I will have a better understanding and idea of how things will look when its all done. I just wish i could find someone i knew with the 4inch lift so i can really make sure its what i want! do you have nitto tires on yours? i have been seeing nitto tires talked about on a lot of posts and was wondering what the deal with them is. thanks!

 

I run Michelins because I spend the majority of my time on the roadway with only limited time off road. So highway comfort and low noise was more important to me than looks or off road capability. My M/S2s are great tires, but are pavement biased.
The Nitto's are good tires. As well as the BFG K/O All Terrains. You might want to look into Toyo's as well.
There are not too many aftermarket plus sized tire makers, that's why you hear Nitto often. Plus their tires "look cool" as well as perform well, and sometimes people prefer a tire that looks better than others.

 

Hey Jodi, I'm on my phone right now, so let me get to a computer and do a little research and I will get back to you!

 

Dry rot is a good way to check it out, BUT not all tires show dry rot that are 6 years old (rare enough), but don't drive on or buy a set of tires that is even close to 6 years old (assuming you want to drive these things)

You're gonna be up in the 300 range for a 17" rim, and more for an 18". Check out discounttiredirect.com or tirerack.com for some ideas on prices. Then add tax, and a 50-100 Mount and balance fee.

That size Trail Grappler is awesome, BUT it'll fit with just a leveling kit - and look a bit small on a 6" lift. A 4" it'd look alright. (See my post on page 1 or 2... i have the Terras on just 2.5" lift on my truck).

Make sure you can use the factor wheels with whatever lift kit you're looking to run.

The M/S2s are legit. The KOs are great and the Nittos are a good cheaper alternative. They're a little bit louder IMO running down the highway but not annoyingly so. The Toyos would be high up on my list as well. Hard fought victory for the Nittos but it came down to sizing availability.

Sorry to kind of rain on your parade jjoyce but I don't want you to order these parts and find out you NEED wheels to drive away from the shop.

-rockstate

 

Something else to consider that Rockstate hinted upon...your stock wheels might not have enough clearance/offest/etc to clear the new steering knuckle that will come with the kit. You'll need to ask your shop, or the manufacturer if the use of stock wheels will work. If not, then you have no choice but to poney up the $$$ on aftermarket wheels.
Don't be affraid of that though, LOTS of places online, and many shops, run wheel & tire packages that are mounted and balanced and shipped to your door for much less than buying wheels and tires apart.

 

If you are looking at any of those tires, might I suggest looking at the cooper tires. Cooper tires are made in the US, a nice bonus for me anyway. They have a very very similar tread pattern as the toyo's if you go with the cooper discoverer STT's. If you want something a little less aggressive, then you can do the cooper discoverer ST maxx's. Keep in mind that any of these "mud" tires are not going to last you as long, and it will be very important to keep them rotated to get the most out of them.

As far as the winter traction... There is pretty much no tire that you are looking at that is going to be "good" in the winter. An all-terrain tire will do much better. At that point you are looking at something like the bfg AT/KO's as mentioned before. Bfg's are also made in the good ol' US as well. The coopers and bfg's, I believe, have a 3-ply sidewall, which is going to stand up better when you go off-road. All of these tires you are looking at, however, are quite wide. Those are naturally not going to perform as well in the snow. With smart driving, you shouldn't have any problem with any of these tires.

An upside to getting new wheels with your new tires is being able to swap them for winter or summer driving. This also makes the tires last quite a bit longer. It is an added expense though, so obviously not an option for everybody. This will also be a little more of an option with the 4" lift. The stock wheels and tires won't look "as bad" with a 4 inch, but will look really out of place with the 6 inch.

Hopefully you were able to follow most of that.

 

If you want your truck to last, you REALLY need to change the gears (at 35" you should be looking for 4.56) and buy a tuner with custom tunes.

 

Thread moved to the 04-08 F150 forum.

 

Jodi,

I have the Nitto Terra Grapplers on my truck and love them but the next time I get new tires I will be moving to the Trail Grappler just based on looks alone.

I have not seen any 6" lift kits that can keep stock wheels so might want to start looking at new wheels now too. Some 4" kits can do it but not many it is all based on the back spacing and the new geometry of the kit for the steering.

Depending on what kind of wheeling you are talking about is what I would base my decision on for the 4" or 6". 4" kits use strut extensions just like a leveling kit along with some other new equipment while most 6" kits use new struts and springs to get the lift they want. If you are going to do anything that is consider hard wheeling then I would jump to the 6" kit.

As far as 6" kits go I would recommend Fabtech or ProComp. Rough Country makes a nice kit but their 6" kit uses strut extensions which I just don't agree with for that much lift.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.