I see that there is a similar thread... but sometimes adding new questions to existing threads doesn't yield the best responses(?)
Our E250 Elk/RollX conversion is ready for new tires. The original Michelins "aged out", and the cost of them scared me off back in 2013, so I went with General Grabber HTS. O.E.M. tires on this van were the LT225/75-16.
Those have held up well, and I've been pleased with with wear, noise, wet & dry handling... but - for me - they were totally useless in any snow.
I'm much more focused on the grip vs long treadlife... a lot of other people drive my wife around in this van, and sliding in the rain would be really bad news. We generally average maybe 5 to 7k miles per year.
Like "jjclkc" (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ent-tires.html), I checked a couple of sources and got totally different recommendations:
when I followed the Tire Rack's "tire decision guide", it said to get Kuhmo Crugen HT51.(#5 in their test results).
Further looking at Tire Rack test results said that the Michelin Agilis Cross Climate was #1 of 45 tires.
My "shop local" 4th generation Tire shop recommended the General Grabber HD. Tire Rack show no test results for those. They are USA-made (which I prefer).
In the other thread, I see the Michelin Agilis LTX highly recommended... apparently not available in the 225s, and they are very pricey.
Thanks to JWA for the ebay link, that may open up the Michelin choice, altho I've never bought "used tires" before.

With all of that said... it boils down to these 2 questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with those Kuhmo's or the Grabber HD?
2. What are the pros-cons to changing up to the 245s?

Any input appreciated. Thanks.

 

I see the E load rated Agilis for 213.92 on tire rack (my zip code of course). That is the LT225. I don't think I'd go to the 245 just so you have better low end grunt. Now if you do mainly highway interstate driving it would be a good consideration. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

 

What axle ratio does the truck have?
245's are about an inch taller so not a hugh difference but it will drop hwy rpms a little if you adjust the speedo to be correct or just recognize that the speedo reads a little low. This link shows all the details on the differences.. Tire Size Comparison

I have no experience with either of those tires but they are considered 3-season up here, an ATw tire would work better on snow covered roads.

 

They do have 2 different tread patterns for the agilis. 1 is like 10 or 15$ more per tire and has a noticeably more aggressive tread. Also costco in my area sells alot of Michelin tires. It was the reason we got a membership there. All of my vehicles have Michelin tires and i will now get them all from Costco.
And i agree with Spaznat above. I have the 245 size on my dd workvan. The rpms are a bit lower at highway speeds. This can make the cab quieter and provide better mpg.

 

Thanks for the input so far.
Our van has the 3.73 axle. It is the 7900 GVW version that shipped from Ford as nice up front and and an empty back (I think).
I did the math by the Tire Rack's "revolutions per mile"... looks like about 4% difference between the 225 and 245... not sure that I could feel that with the seat-of-my-pants?
I've never understood why they list both sizes of tires as "O.E.M." There are only -what - about 400 different configurations of the "E" series vans from that era? Were the axle ratios different (seems like there were not all that many listed in the book?)

I was really hoping to avoid this being a $4-figure project... but don't want to make a poor choice and live with it for years either

 

Those I linked to are NOT "used"---they're simply tires with zero highway usage removed from brand new Freightliner Sprinter vans received by the Winnebago factory for conversion into their signature RV-like vehicles. When first received by that seller there were OVER 450 individual tires available!


I have no experience with the brand you mention--once I discovered Michelin brand 12-14 years ago I've never looked at any other brands. The 245's have no real advantage over the more typical 225's for E-250, I like the wider tires on my 8,400# E-350 with extended body for their slightly higher weight handling capacity.

Weigh your van's front and rear axle and provide that info to your tire sellers---that might give you different results.

 

^^^ Thanks for the additional details..
That seems like a great option, and that link is super helpful. That could get [likely] one the best tires made and keep the price from getting to be unattractive. I requested details about date codes from the seller.
I can't quite imagine that 4% of change on the tire diameter will be very noticeable. The speedometer currently reads a tiny bit high anyway.
I understood the take-off aspect, thus had put "used tires" in quotation marks, and wondered how they had a seemingly endless supply - your reply answers that
We usually spend a couple of thousand miles per year hauling an open car trailer, so seems like a little extra tire certainly won't hurt, and with the body lift and flares it might even improve the look.

 

Seems the lighter duty passenger vans get the smaller tire and the HD cargo vans often get the larger tire, but there are probably exceptions of course.
3.55, 3.73, and 4.10 were common ratios.

 

^^^ Yes, that sorta accentuates my question. It's not like there were 12 different ratios to suit the various combinations of configurations/GVW.
A "light duty" E250 (like ours) came with a 3.73 and the 225 tires.
If a "regular duty" (8700 GVW cargo unit) had a 3.73 and the 245 tires... then wouldn't it have [seemingly?] a slightly taller effective ratio?

I suppose that "my answer" is that either size tire will be A-OK(?)
Thanks.

 

Yes, and what that means is both options are within a small enough size range to not significantly impact the vehicles rated performance, fuel economy, or towing capacity.

 

Thanks again

 

You mention snow traction as a concern. I have lived and worked in a variety of places that get snow in the winter, east and west, and have found benefits in having tires that have a mountain snow peak rating like mentioned here. They tend to be "all terrain" tires, so may be noisier. They also get great rain traction. Some of them have great wear characteristics. Something to consider. They are not a snow tire.

James

 

^^^ thanks for that extra info.
Upon further review... the Michelin Agilis Cross Climate tires DO have the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, and the 225 size are listed as Made in the USA.
They also currently have a $70 rebate for a set of 4, knocking off a portion of the price disadvantage (edited). I can also pick up at the Tire Rack's nearby facility for an additional $$ savings.
I have not ordered, but leaning this way as of today...

Is anyone running these?

 

The Agilis Cross Climate are NOT the same as the Agilis LTX's----the CC's are intended more for SUV's etc.

I've never fully embraced this on-line tire purchasing and having an arranged mount & balance----seems too much could/would go wrong along the way, warranties etc tough to negotiate.

 

Thanks. I'll keep digging into the variations.

Anyone else try the Cross Climates?