Which tires and wheels?

[Puma]

I'm pretty frustrated at shopping for tires. I've got an 88 F150 with aftermarket steel wheels and it's time for new tires. I'd like to start the process of lightening my truck and turning her into a bit of a hot rod but I've no idea what tire sizes will work? Currently there's 31x10.5r15 mud tires on the rear and 30x9.5xr15 radials on the front. I like this look and would like to make it a bit more extreme by having lower profile tires on the front and eventually upgrading to torque thrust wheels when finances permit.

What tires will fit the front 15 inch steel wheels? I can't measure the rim width but it fits a 9.5 and appears to be the same in the rear with the 10.5. I called three places today and they just acted like idiots. I've surfed all over the internet to no avail. Maybe I've had too much coffee today but this feels way more complicated than it should be.

My vision for my truck is to lighten it up as much as possible, revamp the suspension for optimal handling and ultimately create a relatively agile street vehicle that's capable of hauling at least a little cargo. I've spent the last year repairing mechanicals and suspension and she's getting healthier.

Thanks for your help.

 

[blacksnapon]

First off, welcome to the site. Is your truck 4x4? Its not wise to have different sized tires on a 4x4.

 

[Puma]

Oops, I should've said 2X4.

Thanks for the welcome. I should've joined a long time ago but I was busy working on my truck. I bought this truck for $700 last year with the express purpose of using it to haul lots of lumber and eventually building a hot rod. You know, that dream you have of new truck when you were sixteen? Yeah, that one.

 

[Bruners4]

The rubber in the tires is very heavy. So putting taller/wider tires on will increase the tire weight. The weight of the tire acts like a flywheel that resists changes in speed. So to ‘lighten’ the truck up, putting on tires that have shorter sidewalls will help. Also shorter sidewalls have less flex and will help with steering response. You also have to watch tire diameter as this will effect the speedometer reading. I suggest that larger lighter wheels with tires that have shorter sidewalls would be the hot ticket.

 

[Puma]

I learned today that there's no torq thrust currently made in a 5/5.5 bolt pattern. So unless I spend even more money the possibility of lightening my wheels is out unless I spring for adapters, which add weight.

The smallest tires I can get for the front is 235/75R15 which isn't much smaller than I have now. My whole plan is getting exponentially more complex. I fail to see why tire manufactures don't use the imperial system of measurement? I don't think in metric and it makes no sense to me. I'm at a loss since sidewalls are expressed in ratios to figure the new tire and rim sizes.

So, does anyone else run low profile tires? What are your sizes? Rims? Experience with wheel adapters?

 

[O'Rattlecan]

If you really want to go to the expense of tires and wheels to affect performance, you might have better luck with some stock aluminum wheels that they put on the later Generation 9 trucks. They look spiffy, they're lighter, and you know they'll fit. No wheel has quality like an original Ford wheel.

You should probably pick your tires AFTER you get your wheels picked out. Standard 235/75/15 are fine, but if you want a little taller tire you can fit on some 265/70/15. Here is a link to a tire size calculator that might help you in the planning stages.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Ryan

 

[F 150Cobra]

dont let ppl tell u a brick nose will not look good lowered and lo profile tires