Do I need Bigger Tires?

[KahrMan]

I bought a new F150 a couple of months ago.  I absolutely love my truck.  What I can not decide is if the tires need to be bigger.  It came with 20's.  

 

This is my daily driver and will probably never go off road.  Would going with larger wheels and tires effect the way it rides and drives?

 

What say you, larger or leave 'em alone.

 

Edited February 12, 2016 by KahrMan

[E4 No More]

I have 20's on my RAM 2500 4x4 and I have a lot of space with the truck just leveled. I plan on getting wider/larger tires, but not larger wheels. I, like you, will not be off-roading in the truck.

[CommsNBombs]

I say leave them. 20s are pretty big, my F250 only has 18s and work plenty fine for me.

Bigger the tires just means more weight to spin. Plus why drop money on rubber when you can buy a 10mm

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[joe4vol]

if you don't like the look then I would suggest bigger tires. i don't think that the big wheels look good. i still like 16s and more tire.

[hipower]

Personally, I do think the wheel wells do seem a bit under filled. But going up to 22s and a wider taller, wider tire may change your mileage a bit. And I don't know how much, if it will affect the readouts on distance and speed changing the diameter of wheels and tires on the truck. It used too...don't know if new computer systems can compensate for that or not.

 

Then there's the cost of new rims and tires added in to it.

 

Having said all that, I went with the factor 20 on my Traverse(yeah, give me crap over comparing it to a big truck) and as much as I like the look, I do wish now that I'd gone with the 18 inch instead. The added height does make a less smooth transition in and out of it.

 

Add in that my wife doesn't like it either. She has to use the grab handle to get in.

 

So I guess I'd say see if you can get a wider and taller tire on it.

 

But at the end, it's your opinion that counts.

[peejman]

I say leave them. 20s are pretty big, my F250 only has 18s and work plenty fine for me.

Bigger the tires just means more weight to spin. Plus why drop money on rubber when you can buy a 10mm

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Agreed.  Bigger just means heavier and more weight for the shocks to control.  Adding unsprung mass is never a good thing as far as suspension performance.  Personally, I like smaller wheels and more side-wall on trucks.  Dropping back to 18's with the same diameter tire will make them look bigger without actually being bigger.  ...  a trick we wish could be applied to other things...

Edited February 12, 2016 by peejman

[tennesseetiger]

I would do taller tires and leave the wheels alone unless you want to dive in to that side of it...taller tire will make all the difference in the world. It will sit a little higher, fill out the wheel wells, and look better over all. 

BUT...

Bigger and better tires are heavier so you will see a MPG drop. Tires from the factor are usually paper thin and super light in order to get the highest MPG rating possible. 

Edited February 12, 2016 by tennesseetiger

[Lumber_Jack]

The biggest I think you can go without rubbing in 305/55/20 which will affect the look somewhat but without lifting the front end I doubt it will be dramatic. You can buy leveling kits that will lift the front end 2" or so. Either way I doubt with that little change you will see any performance differences. Speedometer might read off a few mph Edited February 12, 2016 by Lumber_Jack

[Lumber_Jack]

Let the purse strings loose and get this full Icon suspension 

 

 

http://iconvehicledynamics.com/shop/f150-suspension-systems/877-2015-up-ford-f150-2wd-0-3-suspension-system-stage2.html

[KahrMan]

Let the purse strings loose and get this full Icon suspension 

 

 

http://iconvehicledynamics.com/shop/f150-suspension-systems/877-2015-up-ford-f150-2wd-0-3-suspension-system-stage2.html

 

 

For $2600 I think it is fine just the way it is...  :rofl:

[Lumber_Jack]

For $2600 I think it is fine just the way it is...  :rofl:

 

 

In all seriousness I like the looks a lot better with the front end lifted a small amount.  But I would avoid spacer leveling kits at all costs.  Its basically a metal spacer that fits on top of the strut and lifts the truck by that amount. This can ultimately lead to strut failure due to over-compression of the strut.  If you decide to pick the front end up some go with a good quality coilover strut from Fox, Icon, or similar. 

 

The Fox cost about $850

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lumber_Jack]

FYI Discount Tire will test fit tires to see if you like the way they look

[Caster]

About a 305/55/20 would do well.  Bigger but not stupid big.  

 

 

Don't mean to insult your ride but those tires....well, you look like a monkey humpin' a football on those little things.  

 

 

*edit*  Oops, just saw Lumberjack said that already.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you find yourself in Fairview, I got a set of used ones if you wanna see what they look like.  You can stand one up next to the truck and get a feel for it.  

Edited February 12, 2016 by Caster

[Trekbike]

Bigger tires will make your butt look bigger if that's the look you're after. :)

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[nightrunner]

My personal opinion, level it out to where the front is the same exact heighg(within a half inch or so). Then fit as big of a tire as you can fit without it rubbing. Most times you can fit a bigger tire with factory offset wheels than aftermarket wheels. You likely can't fit a smaller wheel due to brake clearances.

A nice A/T like a Nitto Terra Grappler would look great on there.

If you have much of an overall tire diameter change, your speedometer and odometer will be off a little. A programmer can fix that as well as give you more performance and better mileage. They can be removed for warranty work as well.

[runco]

If you are under 40, enjoy and modify and do what you want, its only money and have fun.  If you are over 40, keep it OEM, use the money for other purposes.  OEM to me is the only way to go.  I modified too many things when I was young, its no longer a draw card to me.  The art of getting old. 

[bersaguy]

As I have aged I have developed a totally new Philosophy on many things. The main one is "If it ain't broke don't fix it!!!  You truck don't look broke so you know my thoughts............. :shrug: :shrug: 

[KahrMan]

If you are under 40, enjoy and modify and do what you want, its only money and have fun.  If you are over 40, keep it OEM, use the money for other purposes.  OEM to me is the only way to go.  I modified too many things when I was young, its no longer a draw card to me.  The art of getting old. 

 

 

I think that is the way I am leaning.

 

I will just use the money I would have spent on the truck and buy more bourbon and guns.  :up:

[hipower]

I think that is the way I am leaning.

 

I will just use the money I would have spent on the truck and buy more bourbon and guns.   :up:

 

WINNER!

[Lumber_Jack]

No no no. The answer to "do I need bigger tires" is always YES!

[glowdotGlock]

It depends on many factors. I don't believe you meant go much bigger but if you do change the tire size/circumference you will need to recalibrate the speedo. And depending on what gearing you have plays a big roll and if you tow often. For instance, if tyour truck came from the factory with "economy" gearing like a 3.08 or so then I wouldn't go much taller, maybe an inch but if you have lower gears like 3.88 or 4.10 then you wouldn't notice much of a loss of torque and so on when accelerating or towing. And remember a 1" taller tire means a 1/2" vehicle lift.

[FUJIMO]

Just for kicks I'd jump on some big box wheel & tire websites and see what it looks like. They usually have a very realistic looking "build your own" page where you enter the vehicle and choose the wheel and tire combo and it shows them on that vehicle.

[Johnny Rotten]

Lift it, big tires, you only live once and you cant take it with you...enjoy life because it's too short.

[Monkeyman2500]

It's all up to what you really want. If it was me I'd have it about like the red one Lumberjack posted. Bersa also makes a good point with if it ain't broke don't fix it. I have to have a tire that's more aggressive where we live even though most of the time is spent on paved roads. Just put on some Toyo RTs in a 295/70/17 and so far it's the best ones I've ever had. Really have only run Nitto, Mickey Tompson, and BF Goodrich with zero issues. If you go a little bigger and nothing too crazy it shouldn't make to much of a difference. A Toyo AT or Nitto Terra Grappler G2 would look good. If you want a high mileage tire the Michelin LTX is very hard to beat. Wife just put on Michelin LTX-AT2 and they are really nice. It's just really about what makes you happy, but it sounds like you need some tires. :)
By the way treaddepot.com had the best prices online and free shipping on select brands. That's where I got the Toyos.

[Johnny Rotten]

Okay, I change my mine, just leave it stock...lol...just kidding....

Edited February 13, 2016 by Johnny Rotten