Can anyone tell me what tires I need? :)

[Sadie08]

Hi there, I am still new at all this and I know we need better tires on our truck. We have an F 150, XLT super cab, 5.4 L V8, obviously need to be able to handle lots of miles and towing. I'm totally lost, so I wondered if someone here with experience could recommend some good tires to look at? Thanks so much!

[Aviator]

I am still using the ones which came on my 2009 F150. I have about 23,000 miles on them so far and probably 2000 is under tow loads with our 34'. Other than trailer length/weight our TV setup sounds much the same.

Everything is working well so far. I don't know what I will change to when I replace them. Possibly more of the same.

[r carl]

LT Michelins are excellent.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Sadie08

...We have an F 150, XLT super cab, 5.4 L V8, obviously need to be able to handle lots of miles and towing...

tire brands/model selection can be very personal...

think shoes and underwear and shampoo and peanut butter brands...

it appears the oem tires were sized as 255/70-17 or 235/70-17 ???

this info should be readily available to you.

IF that's correct here are a dozen choices that are sensible in either width.

(go to tirerack.com and entire make/year/model truck and a list of tires and RATINGS will appear)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...ting=S&tab=All

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...ting=S&tab=All


with prices ranging from ~100$ per tire to nearly double that.

mounting, balance, road hazard all all to the price.

consider visiting a few major tire shops like the firestone or gy shops or costco or ntb or...

some are pure highway fair weather tires and others are more OFF roadish or SNOWish...

decide what is needed and if the OEM tires have been satisfactory, why not repeat them?

cheers
2air'

[vswingfield]

It would also help to know what year and model F150 you have. I have a 2000 F150 XLT extended cab that has aluminum wheels and 21 mm nuts. The tires are 255/70R16 109S. You may have a different size depending on the year and option package. The size will be in the owner's manual and on the sidewalls of the current tires.

I went with Goodyear Fortera TripleTred tires that I order online at Walmart.com and had installed at the local WM service center. I've had them on a couple of years now and am pleased. They have much better wet traction than the originals. No tendency to hydroplane in puddles when unloaded. They make no more noise than the original tires either, which can be a consideration with more aggressive tread patterns.

[Ahab]

Originally Posted by r carl

LT Michelins are excellent.

Yes they are!

[TinLoaf]

I just put new tires on my 2005 F-150 and I made a big mistake. It had regular passenger rated Bridgestone Dueler HT which is a highway tire. When I bought the truck I was worried that the sidewall would be too flexible for good towing, but they did great. They just wore out kind of fast at 40,000 miles.

I use my truck for hunting and get off on some of the muddy, rutted forest service roads. The highway tire slipped a lot so I when the time came, I wanted to replace them with a more aggressive tread. I had Cooper Discoverer ATR on my old truck and really liked them.

The local tire shop had a sale on Coopers so I pulled the trigger and got them. They only had a Load Range E tire in my size which I thought was overkill, but the price was right.

Boy was that a mistake. I knew the more aggressive tread would probably knock off a half a mpg, but I didn't consider the weight of a 10-ply tire. They really killed my mileage. I used to average just over 11 mpg towing. Now I'm lucky if I can crack 10. I used to get a little over 16 driving to and from work. Now I get in the 13s. That's a serious hit and will cost me THOUSANDS in extra gas over the life of these tires.

Oh yeah, the heavy load rand E tire and the stiff sidewall has destroyed my ride. Every little crack causes a shock wave to shudder up through the truck.

So my advice... leave the heavy duty load range D and E tires for the F-250s. If I could do it all over again I'd have spent a little more and gotten the Michelin LTX in a passenger rating or a load range C.

[xrvr]

I would not put a passenger rated tire on any tow vehicle. This is a truck for towing, not a car. zz

[TinLoaf]

Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi

I would not put a passenger rated tire on any tow vehicle. This is a truck for towing, not a car. zz

Almost all half-ton trucks come from the dealership with passenger rated tires. They towed just great for 40,000 miles and had more than enough load rating to handle my tongue weight. My OEM passenger rated tires had a load rating of 2,640 pounds per tire. The load range E replacements have a rating of 3,472 pounds which is major overkill for a half ton truck pulling within it's GVWR.

The tradeoff just isn't worth the loss of mileage and ride.

[SteveH]

Some of the best tires for a 1/2 ton tow vehicle are the "XL" rated (eXtra Load) tire. They'll take up to 44 lbs air pressure, and in most cases carry a little more weight than a "C" rated tire of the same size, and they ride smooth when the air pressure is dropped back to 35 for normal driving. YMMV

[Farmer Dan]

I'm with r carl and ahab on the Michelin LT. After ruining a P-rated, 12,000 mi. tire in Newfoundland on a well traveled c/g entrance (and some other minor tire problems) I replaced all 5. I think there should not be P-tires on a truck w/ the max tow pkg like my 2010 F 150!!

Dan

[r carl]

I think you can get into a sway situation easier with P rated tires.