Our 2016 has 37k miles on the original Goodyear tires, still decent tread. We bought it in May with about 33k miles on it. Our 2 complaints are the tires often chirp when making a turn from a stop, and it seems to sway a lot on the highway. It's an XLT with the 18" wheels. I'm thinking get 20" or 22" wheels when we get new tires. Maybe change sway bar. Has anyone else dealt with this, had a good response by changing any of these?

 

I've got a 16 Limited with 20" wheels and do not have this problem. The tires were replaced at 31k miles (when I bought it). They are Goodyear Eagle LS-2.

I've rented a 2016 XLT with 18" wheels and never experienced chirping or noticed excessive sway. I would definitely have it checked out.

 

The 18" tires on an Expy are still very low profile (65 aspect ratio) compared to anything historically used on trucks so I would look elsewhere. IMO, the 20's and 22's are for bling only and will give a bit less sidewall flex but a stiffer ride, and you could duplicate much of that effect by increasing your tire pressure with the 18's. If you really want stiffer tires, go with something in an LT 6 or 8-ply rated truck tire instead of a P rated tire but you will lose ride quality. But the Expy would then skitter around bumpy corners somewhat more.

You might have a faulty set of tires, or your alignment could need some touchup. If the sway bar bushings are not worn and there is no other suspension damage, I don't know where you would look. Are your tire pressures OK? Has the vehicle ever been in a wreck?

If you think about how sway bars work, larger bars will make a vehicle corner flatter but would reduce the weight on the inside tires so chirping around a corner would become worse.

Good luck,
George

 

is the vehicle in 2 wheel drive?

 

It's 2 wheel drive. It has a clean CarFax, but I've found evidence of paint/body work on the passenger side. So something happened, but wasn't reported.

 

Sounds like you need a 4-wheel alignment rack and a full inspection of all suspension parts and attachment points as a first stop. Good luck--hopefully it doesn't have a twanged frame.

 

1st thing I'd try is air the tires up to their max pressure, my 15" XLT came with the 18" Goodyears and they are barely enough tire for this vehicle in my opinion. It stiffened it up quite a bit on mine and then I put 10 ply load range E Michelins on it and she's stiff and straight now.

And the pressure Ford recommends on the door sticker (I think 36) is way too low, they were wearing the inside and outside edges of all 4 tires. I've got 42K miles on my Michelins now at 50psi the whole time and all 4 are flat and even.

 

We have a 2016 and from new it felt squirrely I finally put 20" take offs from a platinum with stock Hancock tires on it. MUCH better! the side walls on the 18" were too soft. Made a huge difference

Good luck

 

Were your 18" the original Goodyears?

 

Tire pressures are good, 37-38 psi, door sticker says 37. I studied the tire tread a bit more. The shoulders, inner and outer, are worn quite a bit more than the center. I'll air them up and see how it feels.

My wife is the main driver/main complainer about the tire chirping. I'm becoming convinced it's more about aggressively pulling out, than something wrong with the truck. It has quite a bit more power than our 2003 Expy. With that said, there still seems to be more body roll than the 2003 and it has 20" wheels and a 2" Daystar lift.

I feel it sways a lot on the highway and think the larger rim would help with that. Larger rims aren't all about bling in my opinion. I had a Neon with stock 14" steel wheels, picked up a set of 18" with good sport tires for cheap on Craigslist and it completely changed the way the car handled. I ended up selling them, for more than I paid, and got a set of stock 15" aluminum wheels and new tires. Again, I could feel the difference in handling, not as good as the 18".

Our 2016 is a kid haulin, grocery gettin, soccer runnin, pavement pounder, so I'm not concerned with pinching a sidewall. Considering these are available with 20" and 22" stock, I don't think it would be obnoxious to upgrade to one of those sizes, especially if it improves the handling.

I appreciate the input guys. So far I have 1 vote each for "didn't notice a difference in wheel size" (FreeWill), "did notice a difference in wheel size" (firedaniel), and "noticed a difference with tire pressure/tire load rating" (glockholiday).

 

yes once we upgraded to the 20” Hancock tires it made all the difference

 

So it has a lift and you're surprised it has more body roll with a higher center of gravity? Assuming the alignment is ok, perhaps a geometry issue with the lift.

 

Did I miss where a lift was mentioned?

 

My fault for not being clear. There still seems to be more body roll than the 2003. The 2003 has 20" wheels and a 2" Daystar lift.

 

I can't stand the Goodyears on the Expedition! I only had the truck for a couple of months before I traded them in for some Perelli tires and haven't looked back since. It was squirly, terrible rain traction and all around made the truck feel unsafe.

BTW, Discount Tire will buy your tires at $75 maximum each.

I too was looking at sway bars and steering stabilizers to help stiffen up things, but since changing the tires it's much better. I also have the XLT 18" wheels, but mine's 4x4.

I have no doubt that switching to 20" would help; you'd be getting rid of those POS Goodyears!