hi,

would appreciate your advice on whether to run 17" or 18" wheels on my 2000 E-150. the tires max load is 1819lbs for the 17" tire and is 1709lbs for the 18" tires. The GVWR is 7000lbs. Does this really make a big difference? Should I even care? Just trying to be safe.

thanks!

 

should not care
with these wheels and tires you must have a sharp van
not a work van that could get any where near overloaded

 

4 1709 lb rated tires is 6,836 pounds of weight rating. Go with the tire/whell combo you like, either will be OK, Ken

 

What size are the tires for the 17 and 18 " combos?

The stock tire size for that year was a P235/75R15XL. Max load rating of 2183 lbs at 41 psi. Even though you may never be close to the GVWR of the van, I would recommend getting tires that are at or above the max load for the stock tire size.

You may never haul enough load to get close to the GVWR of the vehicle (curb load + cargo including passengers). But there will be that one time when you are 200 miles from your destination almost fully loaded with people and cargo and it is 90 + degrees outside and you are coming close to or over the GVWR and you will be thinking to yourself... will my tires make it? This especially gets hairy if you are down a few psi on inflation.

For example, for the stock size if you are down to 35 psi, you lose approx 150 lbs of load carrying capability.

I would suggest getting a 17 or 18 that can carry the load. Maybe an LT type tire that can be inflated to higher inflations and therefore carry more load if necessary. Just my 2c.

Or simpler, think of a road trip with 6 of your best buds, my 91 E-150 weighs in around 5000lbs. Add 7 people at 200 pounds a piece and their luggage and you are coming real close to the GVWR of 7k.

 

right now I think I will be going with 18" wheels and either a 255/55/18 which has a Max load rating of 2271 lbs at 50 psi and a 29" overall diameter, or a 255/50/18 which has a Max load rating of 2094 lbs at 50 psi and a 28" overall diameter.... Now I'm worried about tire clearance too. Anyone know how big and wide you can go without rubbing?

thanx!

 

The widest that I've seen on the stock wheels was a P255/70R15. No rubbing. I think that you will be most limited on clearance between the sidewall and the radius arms (tire width), as a result the rim offset / backspacing will determine if your tires rub or not. My guess is that the overall height shouldn't be much of a problem as long as you keep it below 29".