F250 18" tire upsize?

[Iraqvet05]

I'm going to replace the crappy Continental tires on my F250 before the end of winter. These OEM tires have 33k miles on them and are wearing fairly quickly and get horrible wet traction so I'll probably go with an AT tire from another manufacturer.

Anyway, I was looking at going with a larger tire over the factory 275/65/18s. There is plenty of space to go up to a 35" tire but I just want a 33-34" tire that will not kill my towing ability with my 3.73 gears. The 275/70/18 might be the next logical step up but are there other options? Some sizes (i.e. 285/70/18) are out there but seem to be off-size unicorns at much higher prices.

[oldmanAZ]

If you put on a larger diameter/circumference tire, it will have an impact on your overall 'gear ratio'. The more you increase the size, the bigger the hit on towing ability.


I made the mistake on a class B motorhome of putting on tires that looked better by filling more of the wheel well. We didn't tow, but we suffered for years at every hill.


Off topic, but... I've had the BEST mileage, wear, etc. with Continental ContiTrac TR tires (load range 'E' 80psi rear 75psi front).

[2nOZ]

I have virtually the same truck. Mine came with Michelin LT275/65R20E OWL all terrain tires. So far they have done a great job.

[TCNashville]

Iraqvet05 I wish I could help you. My '17 F-250 came with the Goodyear kevlars and the tread pattern is aggressive. I've only got 12K on the truck but I'm very pleased on how they ride. I've got the 3.73 rear end as well and I think if you went to the 70's it shouldn't hurt the trucks overall performance to much while towing.

[Magnolia Tom]

There are some calculators on line that you can use to find out what your effective gear ratio would be after a tire change. You input your old tire size, new tire size and rear end ratio and it’ll tell you the effective gear ratio.

Here’s one
http://www.4lo.com/calc/geartire.php