Good afternoon,

I'm interested in seeing what kind of wheel modifications people have done to their van. I came across a wheel and tire thread on the sportsmobile forum but all those trucks are lifted. I doubt I can convince my wife to go along with a lift due to her height (and me telling her how the van will be of use to her at work as a way of getting her to agree with the purchase of it). So that has backfired


I did a search but didn't come across anything that is basically people showing pics of their wheels and any relative information. Hopefully i can get that started here and then it'll be a resource for those looking to explore their options. Those who have lifted their rigs are mkre than welcome to post as well. I just hope there are some here who haven't. I really like the sportmobiles but most are too hardcore for my needs so the modifications won't really apply. For those that do reply, size of the wheels, tires, offset, spacer use, fender rubbing, etc. is all useful information.

Thanks in advance

P.S. if anyone knows of a thread that already has this and I missed it, please put the link

 

I changed the stock wheels and tires on my 96 E150 conversion van to a set of aluminum slots, 15x7 front and 15x10 rear. Tires are 235/70 front, 275/60 rear. Main reason for this was to fill out the fender flares that come with the van, the stock wheels and tires came far short in this regard. Sorry but no pics, never been able to post em here.

 

The challenge I've run into is that the bolt pattern is fairly specific to this model, other than pre-98 (I think) F250/F350, which look dated and fairly plain. I would really like to change out to some of the newer Ford F250/350 OEM wheels, but they are now metric bolt pattern so don't fit. Chevy/Dodge use the same 8x6.5 bolt pattern, but the center opening is smaller so those don't fit either.

The only option really available is aftermarket. (at least for E250/E350 vans)

 

Yeah, that's what I've come to notice. My preference would have been OEM ford superduty wheels but I have no plans to use adapters to do that. I definitely don't want to compromise the strength or ability of the wheel since this will be a tow vehicle for a travel trailer primarily.

 

Is total weight load any concern for your application of your van? The sizes you picked sound like a great image. Long before there were P-metric tires I had a '64 Galaxie with E-60-14's and G-60-14's and I loved the image it projected. "Road & Track", nothing excessive.

 

Weight's not a problem, the wheels can handle it and while I don't recall the front weight ratings, the 275's out back are rated for 2150 lbs each, that's 4300 total, double that is 8700, pretty sure that's a good deal over the weight of the van. I towed a 63 Merc Monterey 500 miles up to central Oklahoma on a tandem axle car trailer ten years ago with the 95 E150 I had then with the slot and same tire sizes. These tire sizes were often used on the 70's custom vans. The 275's on the 10" wheels really filled out the rear flares, I would have liked a wider wheel up front but had tried 8.5" in front but the van handled funny. That might have gone away with a deeper offset wheel, the ones I tried had a 3.5" offset. I had 8's or 8.5's on the 95 E150 ten years ago that handled fine, so it may have had a deeper offset on those wheels.

 

The main problem with these tire sizes are finding ones that aren't out of round. I've tried Cooper Cobra's, BF Goodrich T/A's and Mastercrafts and all had problems with separation (Coopers) out of round (BFG and Mastercrafts). I think all three are made in the same plant in Mexico. These are all off my tire buying list permanently. I now have Toyo's on front (235/70/15) and Kuhmo's on the rear (275/60/15) these are made in Japan and Korea (front/rear) and run true. Also have Kuhmo's on the custom aluminum utility trailer I tow behind it ( 265/50/15's on 15x10 slots to match the van) these too, run true.

 

From what seems like a simple concept they really let a lot of 2nd's and crap out of the tire factories. Reminds me of a story a friend in the business told me. One of his customers insisted on trying the "new" Firestone 500's back in the mid 70's. My friend didn't sell Firestone so the man bought them from a company store and brought them back to be balanced and trued up for any "out of round". He takes their shuttle to work. At the end of the day he arrives to pick his car up and asks the service mgr about how it went. As he handed the owner his keys he informs him that they all balanced but to get them round, well, they'd no longer pass state safety inspection as the tread was now too thin.Why would a man buy a brand of tires that have been the butt of jokes for over 60 years?

 

Had the van at the dealer today and was advised one of the tires has a nail. I was already gonna buy new tires but wasn't in a rush. With that said, I've been looking at stock size 245/75/16 load E options. I've wanted a more aggressive look and I'm currently looking at Mastercraft ATX and MTX. If I go with either of these, would it adversely affect the van as it's set up for towing vs just a highway all season tire in the same size? Since I got it in August, it's been driven maybe 5 times. It's not a daily driver but is an option to drive depending on what we may be doing. It may be driven in the winter but only if we have a need for the space. Come next year, we'll ideally be using it to tow a travel trailer. I say all that to say that I don't expect to put more than 5k-10k miles in a year if that. Just wanted to add that tidbit for consideration in the responses.

Thanks

 

Using the same size should not affect towing, handling, or any other aspect. However, the more aggressive tread will be louder, in an already loud vehicle.

 

That's why an aftermarket stereo and speakers are on my list as well!

I picked up the van from dealer earlier and once again, I leave disappointed. They called me yesterday to say there was a nail in the sidewall and wanted to sell me a tire. I declined and said i already had some knowing i could get them cheaper and have a wider selection. after being told about the risk of a blowout (subtle sales pitch), i asked them to put the spare on in that case.

I went to pick it up this morning and when i got home, i noticed the spare wasn't on. that's in addition to the usual dirty fingerprints all over the door..... i get the van home and start looking for the nail in the tire to no avail. i call back to ask the service advisor if she can find out which tire and if they had rotated it from the rear left like they told me the day before. she apologizes for the spare not being on and puts me on hold. when she comes back, she tells me that apparently the "kid" who did the oil change service was the one that informed her about the nail. well, the foreman came behind him and said it was in the tread, didn't puncture the tire, and pulled it out. Did anyone bother to tell the service advisor? No..... Did anyone tell me....No.........

I'm glad i didn't buy a tire from them i don't need and didn't buy the set i was looking at online last night!