Hi, I am the original owner of a 1999 F-250 SD 4X4. I need new tires but I would like E rated for my stock 16X8 aluminum rims. The original Firestone Steeltex AT LT 265 75 R16 are fine tire all around but are no longer made. I don't want to change anything else on the truck but tires. No lift kits, no larger rims. My research is based on info from The Tire Rack web site. My first idea was to buy Firestone Destination M/T 265/75 R16--no brainer. Overall diameter is 31.9 and fits 7.5 inch rim. Speed rating is ok but load rating is D. Section width is 10.5 inches. Next choice, Please note different type of tire-AT. Firestone Destination A/T off road Size 305/70 R 16-Overall diameter 32.8 inches; Section width is 12.2 and rim size is 8-9.5. It does state something which I don't under stand - measure rim width 9" . Remember I measure my stock rim at 8". Important last point both sizes are 655 revs per mile and 659 . revs per mile. Will the larger size fit safely? Will it rub? Will I have to make modifications to my stock helper camper spring suspension with 4.33 gear ratio V10 engine regular cab? Am I nuts? Thanks!

 

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Well, I'm a long way from an expert, but I was under the impression all the stock rims were 16x7. So while the height of the 305/70 should be fine, it may be wide for the rim.

I've been looking at 285/75's (about 33x11.25) and a 295/75's (33.5x11.6)

I think the 295 is probably pushing the 7" rim, so like I said, the 305 might be a bit much...

Maybe you'll get lucky and somebody with more actual experience will chime in...

Robert

 

I think 7pt3 is correct. My stock rims were 16x7.

I ran 295/75/16's BF All Terrains on my truck w/ no rubbing. I also towed a 5th wheel w/ no issues. There are pics in my gallery.

 

Welcome to the site!

I wouldn't go larger than 285/75R16 on the stock rims. Which, as 7pt3 says, are 16x7 not 16x8. Make sure the tire you choose has the appropriate load limits for your towing/hauling needs.

 

I am running 285 75 16 on a 03' f250 WITH the plow X front springs with no rubbing or wear issues. The rims being 16X7 and 285's not even being rated for that narrow of a rim, 285's with out the X springs and 295's with the X springs. There are many on this site that have run 305's but is is difinately a stretch and I think some trimming of fender wells were needed so no rubbing issues. I have Bridgestone Revo's 285 75 16 with no problems and I think they look just right on the truck. I have seen 305's on a stock truck and they look too big and out of purportion IMO. The revo's are D load range and I had now issues with them at all with them not being strong enough. I think a 8 ply tire is good for towing and hauling. If you were offroading with a load or towing on a job site the 10 ply E's might be the way to go. On thing I have done is to run the tires 5-10psi lower that the door states to keep them from cupping do to the narrow rim wanting to pinch them......pics in the gallery along with the 265 pics to camapre the difference in look.

 

Most tire manufacturers websites list the correct rim size range to suit a given tire size.

If you crash and there is even a remote chance that a tire was a contributing factor, than you will wish you followed the tire makers recommendations. (legaly and insurance speaking that is)

 

The steeltex AT is still produced i just called and got a price on some for mine.But then i started reading about how bad they suck...So i may go to something else.

 

What nobody relizes is that 295's and 305's are less then a 1\4in. wider then each other, I like 285's on stock rimes, looks right, I got my 295's on 16x8's and it looks good, wouldn't do anymore then 12in. wide tires on the 8in. wide rims.


Your truck has 4.30's not 4.33's Is it tire rack that has the tire rating from people that have bought tires from them? The Firestones arn't that good, the Bridgestone Revo's are the best, do some looking around you will see.

 

SMiller wrote "What nobody relizes is that 295's and 305's are less then a 1\4in. wider then each other "

I am confused by this. Understanding the metric tire sizing is crutial.
The way I have read metric sizing goes is as follows.
i.e. 265/75R16
265 this is the tread width in millimeters = 10.43 inches
Second number, 75 is the aspect ratio as a percent of the tread width. This is the distance from the outer diameter of the wheel to the edge of the tread. In this case 75% or 7.82".
R - Radial tire
16 wheel size in inches.

To get the tire height you take your aspect ratio, 7.82" multiply by 2, because the value is only one side of the wheel to edge of tire dimension you need for the diameter and add your wheel dia, or 16".
Or a 265/75R16 is approximately 31.6" high and 10.4 inches wide.

So a 295/75R16 is approx 33.4" high and 11.6" wide.
and so on. A 305 tire width would be approximately 12" wide.

Back to the original question of what will fit on your wheel. I used to run 35X12.5X15's on my CJ-7, with a 10" wheel. The tire manufacture, BF Goodrich, recommended an 8" to 10" wheel. I wanted the tire to be flatter so I chose the wider wheel, 10". A narrower wheel will cause the tire to crown across the tread. So putting a 12.5 tire on a 6" wheel would be a bad idea. This can cause two different problems, strange wear of the center only depending on just how crowned it is, kind of like over inflating your tires. Alsoit may cause poor handling due to running on a very localized portion of the tire.

What I am getting at is the wheel manufature recommened a wheel up to 4 1/2 inches narrower than the tread witdth. So putting 295's or an 11.6" on a 7" wheel would be comparable. So even going to a 315 or a 12.4" tire I do not think you would see any trouble with it fitting or being a problem on the wheel, hey may just be crowned. You will propably have no trouble with the width it will be the back spacing with a 315 rubbing the innerfender and maybe even spring.

What I would never recommend is placing a tire that have the same tread width as the wheel you plan to put it on. Even worse putting a tire that has a narroweer treatd width than the wheel. i.e. a 10" wide tire on a 12" wheel would speel real trouble, in my opinion.

Rambled on enough. Hope this helps.
I have 295/75R16 BFG All Terrains on my '04 Supercab. No lift, and it is not an FX4. They fit fine.

 

I have the firestone 265/75/16 and have got 58,000 miles out of them with no problems, but because of firestone's bad rep, i am probably about to put bfg 295/75/16's on there. I have heard mixed remarks about the max tire size for these trucks.Mine is an 03 f350 fx4. Most people say not to go over 285-295 on the stock rims. The bfg a/t in the 295/75/16 is fairly expensive and is a D rating but if you look at the max load rating it is 3415 lbs. which is what the factory firestone 265/75/16 is. I personally wouldn't go any wider than 295 on stock rims because you would have to lower your air pressure down to an unsafe level(in my opinion) to get it to wear evenly all across the tread. Hope this helps.

 

They still show the 265/75/R16E Steeltex AT on TireRack.

 

And Belle tire and discount tire still has them or can get them.

 

The measured rim width is just that. The width rim on which all the other measurments were taken.

 

I looked at the tire specs for my tire before I bought it and the 295 and 305 were almost the same, looked around at some others and it seemed a lot of them were that way, do some looking around, differn't tire companys tires are differn't sizes...