I have searched and looked for all relavant posts

Basically my issue is drivability while towing my 22' travel trailer.

The truck is lifted, has worn out 315-75R-16 Micky Tompson Baha Claw tires, 4.10 rear end, automatic.

Truck needs new tires, not sure what way i should go.

I can't seem to hold 60-65mph in OD, and am constantly downshifting into 3rd to gain speed back. I am not sure if my truck would do this with stock tires, or if the 35's are just slightly hurting me (or majorly hurting me)

Gas mileage sucks, but it seems every 5.4L SD sucks.

So now faced with having to replace the tires, i am not sure if i should downsize them and gain performance? but give up some in the looks department.

The tires I am looking at are Kumho Road Venture MT KL71. They look cool, and are reasonably priced. Reviews seem to say they are pretty good on the highway. (My Baha Claws are horrible)

http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT...re-MT-KL71.htm

I am now looking into spending a bit of money power adders (intake and exhaust) since I can't afford to sell the truck and buy something else.

Does anybody have any suggestions for me?

here is a pic of my truck

 

You may want to look into the Cooper ST line.

They make a 285/75/16 which would be like running a 33 (or pretty close) or they make a 305/75/16 which is basically a 34 inch tire.

You can get the 285's around $155 per tire, and the 305's are closer to $200 per.

I personally was running a set of 285's on 17" rims on the F150 i just got rid of in the Mastercraft Courser C/T line......it is the same tire as the cooper and is probably a little cheaper.

Here is a link
http://www.mastercrafttires.com/html...suv_courser_CT

They are better than your average AT tire off-road, and they are great on the highway. I got about 50K+ out of my last set.

If they made a 20" version they would already be on my SuperDuty!

EDIT:
After the link finally came up, you may be more interested in the Cooper STT

http://www.coopertires.com/Flash/index.aspx

 

OK You said power adders and then said Exhaust and Intake. IF I am correct, a larger exhaust will hurt you because it will take away from torque, and an intake wont help you all that much. I would suggest getting a tuner and using a low yield tune which would provide a little more power to the vehicle, but not rip up the transmission. I do not know how much you want to spend or what your maximum budget would be, but I would suggest getting a tuner and some head studs and just putting a little more juicy into the engine with the tuner.

 

if u really wanna keep the same size tires and not have ur truck strugglin turning them ur only real answer at this point is a gear swap...

its the best option to restore power to the wheels...plus its actualy easier on ur driveline front to rear then most other forms of adding power..

 

I had 285/70R17 Cooper STT's on my 06. My 06 had the 5.4 with 3:73 gears. It did suck down some suds especially when towing, Good tire though.

 

Thanks for the input on tires jrab01, i appreciate it!



ford12508, i figured intake and exhaust was always the first basic step to freeing up some power

Why do you suggest head studs with a tuner? are the oe bolts known to stretch?



Fordfanatic4life, do you have any suggestions on what ratio might help me out? (i thought 4.10 was already pretty low)



senix, do you think it would have been better with 4.10 gears?

 

I'd get a slightly smaller tire, maybe the BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain KM
285/75/16 - 33x11.5x16 in E load range.

 

not sure what he'd need new head studs for? a tuner on the gassers only going to bring you an extra 10-15hp tops. not worth the money, ive got one and noticed for from my intake than that stupid thing. gears are the answer for your situation, or stock tire size which is a 265/75/16. the 5.4 is only a v8, but its more than capable. gears will net you around 2grand for a 4wd swap.

 

2k for gears yikes!

 

Gears would help.

 

I have my 06... it is the 3v 5.4 torqueshift tranny and 4:10 17 inch tires.

I can haul 12500 in overdrive no problem. No searching for gears.

I drive it stock and get 13.86 mpg per tank. I check it at fill up, then devide miles. When I tow my Airstream 6000 lbs, I hang around 12.5 mpg.

My race trailer is the heavy one I get about 10 or 11.

I recomend for tires BFG's rugged trail, or long trail. The rubber is hard enought to get great MPG and aggressive enough that I have yet to get stuck, but dont mud bog this truck either. I am on dirt, mud, snow, ice, wet grass ect and towing, never a problem. I think your power issue is norelated, other then the wider tires with more drag.

I really like your rims, and your truck has a certain class about it. I like it

 

4:56's....

even steeper such as 4:88's if u really wanna gain back power.. but you'll pay for it with more fuel..but its nothing drastic...

i wouldnt look into any form of bolt on power adder till u do gears.. but thats just my opinion...

 

Thanks a ton for all the helpful info guys, i really do appreciate it.

I guess i will start looking into everything thats involved with changing the gears. It should be something i can diy, so hopefully the parts arn't 2k~!

 

If doing tires try Firestone Destination M/T or At both are Long Lasting as long as you maintatin them. Definately go with non directional tread pattern so you can cross rotate to keep tread even.

 

keep in mind setting up a set of gear properly isnt really DIY, unless u have the correct tools/guages and knowhow...

its easy to set the gears up wrong and ruin the parts in short order...

but GL if u decide to do it urself...