I'd like to squeeze a little better mileage out of my '93 F250 (351, E4OD, 4.10), and what I've decided is that rather than change out the rear gears, I could go with a slightly larger tire. I have stock 235/85R16E's on there now, which are 31.7" in diameter. Are there 33"ers available to fit the stock 16" rims? Can I put them on without lifting the truck? (Shimming out the front bumper a little wouldn't be a big deal.) I'd like a tire with a little off-road tread to it, too. Unfortunately, I bought the truck about a year ago, and it had brand new street tires on it--as much traction as grease on ice...I can't afford to waste the money, so I'll just have to wait until these wear out. $120/tire or less would be good, too.

Thanks,

Jason

 

You should be able to run 285/75-16's (approx. 33" x 11.25") on the truck, assuming this is a 4wd, by shimming out the front bumper. Not sure on 2wd's.

The wheel width may be a problem though. 285's are pretty wide for stock wheels that came with 235's on them. I run 33 x 12.50's on my F350 4x4 with stock suspension but I run them with 16.5 x 10" wheels. Another choice that would probably fit the wheel width better would be 255/85-16's (approx. 33" x 10"). The 235's are about 9.25" wide, so 10 inches shouldn't be stretching it too far. I have run 265/75-16's (approx. 31.5 x 10.5) on stock dually wheels designed for 235's and they did fit. 255's being a little narrower would fit better, plus your non-dually wheels may be a little wider than my old dually wheels were. For reference, a stock 235/85-16 tire about 31.5" tall and 9.25" wide.

The gearing difference between 31.5" and 33" tires isn't real big but it does make a small difference and would change the effective axle ratio from 4.10 to about 3.90, which should be worth about 100 rpms decrease in engine speed at the same vehicle speed.

As far as the tire brand/tread goes, I'm very happy with my BFG All Terrains. The tread works great on most off road surfaces and does fine on the street as well. Wet pavement and ice they do fine, which most of the more aggressive tread 'mud' tires dont do so hot on. Of course mud is one thing the all terrains dont do so great with. The treads pack up quickly and dont clean out easily like the more open-spaced mud treads. The BFG's wear nice and seem to be long-lasting too and are not noisey on the street and have no balancing issues. I'll definitely be buying them again for my truck! I'll probably try the BFG Mud Terrains on my Bronco in the future too.

 

I agree,would go with 255/85r16.

 

Actually, it's a 2wd (see sig)--which is why I wanted something just a bit more aggressive than a street tire, I occasionally have to drive into a construction site w/o gravel or sod or anything, but I don't get too crazy. So far, it sounds like a 255/85R16 is the way to go. I guess I should also ask, is that available in an 'E' load rating? M+S?

Thanks again!

Jason

 

Yes,readily available in most every name brand tire,though some tread patterns may not be.

 

I went asking about the 255/85's a while back at local tire shops and it seems they don't keep that size in stock very much, but they can order it no problem. They are available in load range E.

Since it's a skinnier tire than most 33's, I'm thinking it should fit on your 2wd truck. Expect to shim out the bumper though.