Narrower tires?
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2005
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From: Toledo, Ohio
Narrower tires?
Has anyone tried 235 or 245 width tires on their f-150? I have a 4.2 engine and I am figuring they'll be easier on the mileage. The weight range of the tires is still the same although I will have to go to a "75" aspect(?) instead of the stock "70" (stock tires are 255-"70"-16) in order to keep the speedometer correct. Any thoughts? Thanks, John
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Everything else being equal, you'll lose on cornering and braking ability, and probably would have to endure an increased rate of tire wear. Not worth a fuel savings that would be so small as to be virtually indetectable. Keep a good front alignment on it, buy a tonneau cover if you don't already have one, ditch the bug deflector if you do have one, and you will reap a lot more fuel economy than you would ever get from a set of bicycle tires.
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
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come on guys-- any tire bigger that 235 is just for looks. you dont really need 265 or 285. i like the looks of the big tires on my F150, but my old F250 from 1989 had 235 x85x 16 and it was a horse. Granted, the tires did no look big and mean, but thats how it came from the factory 20 years ago. Thinner, taller tires with a few pounds extra pressure should help a little on the mpg. I dont think you will notice any handling problems on normaly highway driving. It will "look" different.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 184
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From: Evansville IN
I went from P235 to P255 just for the looks plus I could still use the factory rims. Those 235s always seemed a bit puny, even on my short bed regular cab.
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2005
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From: Toledo, Ohio
That leads me to another question, what is my rim width? Factory aluminum, '99 extended cab, short bed. They seem pretty wide. Some of the tires won't go on the wide rims according to the charts. My two e-350 vans have 225 width tires (load range E) and they have no problem with cornering, braking etc.. The vans are definitely heavier than the f-150. Thanks for the replies so far. John
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Going back to my original point, I would try to optimize vehicle efficiency through other methods before fiddling with tires. When is the last time the plugs were changed? Air filter? Using the correct viscosity engine oil?
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Kynnhoj, I am not a expert on the E-series vehicles but the suspension may be set up differently for them as opposed to the F-series That would efffect the tire size. Mine had quite abit of roll if you took a turn to fast.