Hi All,

I am a relatively new user here with a long list of maintenance / improvements to a van I purchased. Regarding the topics in this forum:

Suspension - it feels rattley.
I have driven the Ford front ends before. Still not sure how much is 180K miles, how much of it is 1ton suspension. Upon inspection I suspect the some strategic bushings and may be struts will be called for. Currently it has Bilstein struts on it. While I know the bushings and tie rod ends will be needed, its hard to isolate other factors. I have read the steering stabilizer improvement thread and while I intend to try one on my vehicle when I get to it, it will be after other suspension parts, and I think mainly because I have an E-350 with E rated tires.

Harmonics - for lack of a better term.
In a frame this long (15 pass XLT), especially if driving with a lot unsprung weight there are some real interesting suspension patterns. Simply adjusting the door latches on the rear doors stopped an intermittent window down/helicopter wobble at 75mph that wanted to numb your ears. That said there is still something not right. From what I read, balancing the E-Rated tires can be pretty rough. Additionally in my case, it could a wheel bearing or oscillation in the steering box/Pitman arm/drag link bushings. Again, hard to pick what to target.

Wheels - I know I want nicer wheels and I have a missing hubcap.
The previous owner put Kenda tires on, and not even in a 0 or +1 size (235/85). So I thought I would start there, since I know I am also doing bushing and tierod ends.

I really like the look of American Racing Outlaw II wheels. They come in 16x7 and 16x8. Most of my previous experience is in the metric world with et. offsets, not backspacing although the concepts seem similar. I believe I read somewhere that stock back spacing for my van is 4"+, but now I cannot find the link.

Question 1: What is stock backspacing on a 1999 E-350 Diesel with steelies and hubcaps?

The American Outlaw II wheels are as follows:
16x7: 3.62" backspacing
16x8: 4.50" backspacing
Here

Question 2: Any reason not to use these wheels? And if not, what width/backspacing combination should I settle for?

Question 3: Part of why I ask: why does Sportmobile say 16x8 (and/or custom wheels?) aren't available on diesel vans?
Here
I have looked and can't see where the intercooler would matter to the wheel wells. Torque?

I am really leaning toward Michelin LTX A/T2 tires.
Question 4: Any experience that would indicate that I need to use M/S2s instead for noise, or that 245s will seek too much?

Most of my 'offroading' will be motocross trailering and drive-in semi primative camping. I also use the van for shuttling kids and family roadtrips. I don't want to add more harmonic problems from tires. That said, I am tired of looking like a church bus. Currently the much cheaper Kendas are 235/85, so I would increase section width a bit, but drop some height and be back to an offered stock size (cleaning up the speedo reading).

The tires are new enough I am hoping to sell the whole sets of wheels and tires to one of those used wheel places.
Thanks for any help.

 

If you don't get too many answers there is a van specific forum here---wheels are almost always in discussion there: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum128/

 

Thanks. I have been reading there heavily. I was just trying to honor the specific forum categories.

 

Some of our issues do cross into other areas covered by another forum so its usually not a bad thing to post elsewhere.

 

I just learned that American Racing Outlaw II wheels have a load rating of 2450.

Close, but no cigar?
Front GAWR is 3800lb - I would be 1100 under
Rear GAWR is 6084lb - I would be 1000 over

Currently I run very light (3 kids and gear). This is my first experience with truck wheels, is it a wash?

Maybe all these variables are why everyone runs pre 99 super duty wheels?