Tire and stock 20's on 2014 F350

Michael McNeese

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I am wanting to put larger tires on my SD, I am keeping the factory wheels and am wondering what the largest Tire I can put on safely. Rep at Discount tires is telling me I can't do a 35 or 325, any suggestions would be great. I also put a bullet 2 inch leveling spacer on the front.
Thanks
Michael
 

BobTN

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Michael -
I needed to go to wider tires to improve traction in muddy fields. Let me tell you my experience and you can draw conclusion as to how it applies in your situation. My stock '09 F350 crew cab long bed 4x4 diesel is very heavy on the front end and the wheels and would sink in very soft soil with the stock LT275/65R20 Goodyear DuraTrac's. Got good wear from them though. Tires had about 5K of miles left when left front had a pretty bad ply separation that compelled me to quickly purchase the new tires. There isn't much info available about which larger tires will fit, I suppose due to all the various combinations of wheel widths, offsets, tire widths and tire outer diameters along with body lifts or chassis lifts. Lots of variables. I wanted to stay with stock rims to avoid extra expense and I like the stock rims. I also wanted a more aggressive tread pattern to help with traction in soft soil and also wanted to keep the same load rating (3,750 Lbs) so as not to reduce truck's cargo carrying capacity. I looked up tire sizes and tried to measure clearance inside the fender well by imagining the location of the proposed tire based on size. I concluded larger diameter and greater width wouldn't fit. I think the limiting factors were the fender liner in multiple locations might be hit by taller tires during suspension compression and I think the sway bar was also a likely interference with wider tires. I ended up going with Nitto Trail Grappler LT295/60R20 which were the same diameter and an inch wider in tread width. This tire had a rim width recommendation that accommodated my 8 inch wide rim. The tires look nice on the truck - of course they do - they are so aggressive looking! These tires have a noticeable low frequency but not overbearing road hum. I think they are the same or a little quieter than the BFG All Terrains (33-12.50x16.5's on wider than stock wheels) I had many years ago on an otherwise stock F250. The BFG's weren't too noisy but their whine was a little higher pitched and got louder as the tires wore down. I suspect the Nitto's will get louder as they wear as well. I haven't had a panic stop on the highway yet but I suspect I've sacrificed some highway traction and will need to allow for increased stopping distance to pick up the off-road traction I need. I've noticed that the outboard edge of the tread has a few small grooves which tells me that the tread must be rubbing a fender liner screw or the inner edge of the fender when the steering is turned to full lock and suspension on the left front is compressed. I don't like having an interference but it seems minor and since I don't often get the truck into this configuration I can live with it. Years ago a guy could easily go up one or two sizes of tires on a Ford truck without making modifications to avoid interferences. It doesn't seem that the extra clearance is there anymore. I'm reasonably happy with my situation and I'm glad I didn't go to larger diameter tires along with wider width. I'd have hated to put $1700 into taller and wider tires and be gouging the tires at every bump and have reduced steering angle requiring 2 acres to turn around instead of 1. My two cents. Hope it helps you!
-BobTN
 

Michael McNeese

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Bob thank you very much and yes this does help me... I am going to go with BF KO2 I like the pattern and look of the sidewall, I live in the desert and interact seldom with mud. I want to thank you again for your response, have a great week.
 

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