tires

[FORDMAN300]

im looking into getting some new bridgstone a/t tires for my 79-f250 , right now i have a 265/75/16 which is a 31 inch tire and im looking into buying some 285/75/16 = a 33 inch tire will a non factory highboy truck hold a 33 inch tire? it looks like it would but , i need some advise thanks guys!

 

[fatherdoug]

33's will fit with no problem. I have 33's on the truck in my sig.

 

[Evan's f250]

yes will fit with ease

 

[LEB Ben]

I got 33's on a 250 2by before, didn't have pretty fenders afterward, but it worked. With the proper backspacing, you can fit a 35" tire with no issues on your truck...but the wheel wells will sure look stuffed.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

Ahhh... there's my answer to my tire question in the other thread. LOL

You know that particular tire change (without a gear axle ratio change) will
cut into your "felt power" quite a bit, right? Not just the diameter but wind
and weight add to the effect. (learned-ed that on FSB fullsizebronco.com

It's hardly ever talked about and you're not going to get the truth from a
tire salesmen unless you ask and then it's only going to be said to you if
you happen to be talking to an unusual tire salesman that actually knows
something about wheel width -and- cares about wheel width. :/

Problem is many of the dangged tire-manufacturers fudge on the range of
wheel widths their tires will "fit"! ...to make buying their tires a little less
painless?

Matching the tire size to the wheel width is important.

Were you planning on buying new wheels anyway?
If not, what size wheels you got?
8" or 9" or what?

Now, if all you care about is "they'll look cool" then please ignore this post.

Alvin in AZ

 

[Evan's f250]

you may even like 305/70/16's better, they are still a 33, but a little wider than the 285's. You would need atleast an 8 inch wheel for 305's.

I have 33x12.5x16.5 tires on mine, no rub what so ever. Theres no way you'd have any probs with these.

 

[Jolly Green]

im looking into getting some new bridgstone a/t tires for my 79-f250 , right now i have a 265/75/16 which is a 31 inch tire and im looking into buying some 285/75/16 = a 33 inch tire will a non factory highboy truck hold a 33 inch tire? it looks like it would but , i need some advise thanks guys!

Are we talking 4x4 here? If so, I think the tire sieze you're looking at is just right. That's what I have on my 79 F250 4x4.

Take a look in my gallery. Most of my pics in there are pretty old but I think there's at least one in there with the 285-75-16 BFG's on it.

 

[fatherdoug]

Ahhh... there's my answer to my tire question in the other thread. LOL

You know that particular tire change (without a gear axle ratio change) will
cut into your "felt power" quite a bit, right? Not just the diameter but wind
and weight add to the effect. (learned-ed that on FSB fullsizebronco.com

It's hardly ever talked about and you're not going to get the truth from a
tire salesmen unless you ask and then it's only going to be said to you if
you happen to be talking to an unusual tire salesman that actually knows
something about wheel width -and- cares about wheel width. :/

Problem is many of the dangged tire-manufacturers fudge on the range of
wheel widths their tires will "fit"! ...to make buying their tires a little less
painless?

Matching the tire size to the wheel width is important.

Were you planning on buying new wheels anyway?
If not, what size wheels you got?
8" or 9" or what?

Now, if all you care about is "they'll look cool" then please ignore this post.

Alvin in AZ

Agreed. If you have the standard 3.50 axle ratio, it will be dropped to a 3.20 just by adding 33" tires, assuming you still have the stock-size tires.

 

[bowhunter]

Hmm ive been looking at new tires as well, i am not sure what my gearing is but, i was looking at 31x1050x15's as compared to the stock 235?x75x15's on it currently. My only worries is how much power i will loose due to the fact i got a L6 300. Anyone got any ideas? its slow as hell going up big hills already

 

[LEB Ben]

You'll be going taller by and inch and wider by an inch...probably drop you a hundred rpm at cruising speeds, but I'd say darn near non-existent off the line.

 

[Evan's f250]

You probably have 3.55 gears, considering its a half ton. I believe 3.50/3.55 were pretty basic gears for 1/2 tons. The 31/10.50's would sure look better. They would cut power a lil, it would take your 3.55/3.50 gears to around a 3.25 gear or so like above.It honestly wouldnt make that much difference. I would think that the small size tire you have now is arond 27.5 or 28 inches tall.

My 3/4 ton has 4.10 gears, so bigger tires aint a prob. I do have a V8 too though.

 

[bowhunter]

You probably have 3.55 gears, considering its a half ton. I believe 3.50/3.55 were pretty basic gears for 1/2 tons. The 31/10.50's would sure look better. They would cut power a lil, it would take your 3.55/3.50 gears to around a 3.25 gear or so like above.It honestly wouldnt make that much difference. I would think that the small size tire you have now is arond 27.5 or 28 inches tall.

My 3/4 ton has 4.10 gears, so bigger tires aint a prob. I do have a V8 too though.

the current tires are about 28 inches tall, so i wouldnt mind going 31's for the heck of it caue it will raise it up a substancial amount as well as lower cruising speeds, keeping up with traffic im going about 3-3.2krpm and i dont like that at all, so i figured lets go bigger tires and crawl up hills, ill put up with slow driving for massive torque in 4wd off road

 

[m78]

the current tires are about 28 inches tall, so i wouldnt mind going 31's for the heck of it caue it will raise it up a substancial amount as well as lower cruising speeds, keeping up with traffic im going about 3-3.2krpm and i dont like that at all, so i figured lets go bigger tires and crawl up hills, ill put up with slow driving for massive torque in 4wd off road

31" tire will raise it 1 1/2" from a 28" tire

 

[Evan's f250]

31" tire will raise it 1 1/2" from a 28" tire

Yep, because half of the height goes up(towards the fender wells) and the other half of the height on the ground.

Most people dnt know that, the majority of ppl would belive that when going from a 28 in to a 31 in, it would raise it 3 inches, but its actually only half of what the tire height difference is.

example

if you have 31's and move up to 35's, then you are raising the truck up 2 inches, not 4 inches

 

[Evan's f250]

the current tires are about 28 inches tall, so i wouldnt mind going 31's for the heck of it caue it will raise it up a substancial amount as well as lower cruising speeds, keeping up with traffic im going about 3-3.2krpm and i dont like that at all, so i figured lets go bigger tires and crawl up hills, ill put up with slow driving for massive torque in 4wd off road

Yep and it will sure look better. you could even put 33/12.5's on there if you wanted to. But it may drop your gearing a little too much for ya.

 

[m78]

I have 235-85 r16 ( Damn metric crap) which converts to 31.7 "

 

[bowhunter]

Well, ive made my tire choice, going with the goodyear hummer tires, can be had for around 75$ each at 90% life. Friend gave me 3/4 ton axles to swap in with a stupid low gear ratio, and 16.5in wheels, gonna be a project truck for hear on out and something ill just drive 2 miles to work, no further lol. Working on a engine swap this winter. Ill post a build thread later on. All i gotta buy right now is the lift kit which is cheap compared to other things!

 

[LEB Ben]

^^^I've had a set or two of those Hummer tires...and the 37" radials can't be beat for street tires...and are competent in moderate offroad scenarios. The tires ride smooth as glass and pretty good wear out of them.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

I have 235-85 r16 ( Damn metric crap) which converts to 31.7 "

Heck, call 'em 7.50-16's then.

And for BowFinger...
16.5 inch wheels? :/
Ick.
(or any of the .5 's for that matter)
YMMV?

Butthead in AZ

 

[Evan's f250]

Well, ive made my tire choice, going with the goodyear hummer tires, can be had for around 75$ each at 90% life. Friend gave me 3/4 ton axles to swap in with a stupid low gear ratio, and 16.5in wheels, gonna be a project truck for hear on out and something ill just drive 2 miles to work, no further lol. Working on a engine swap this winter. Ill post a build thread later on. All i gotta buy right now is the lift kit which is cheap compared to other things!

Sounds cool. You do realize that most hummer wheels are 36's or 37's, right? Which means a 4 inch lift on top of all that.