Need tire advice for a 2003 diesel F250 with Mickey Thompsons

[mtbikerTi]

I've put several hundred thousand miles on Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors, 99% of that was towing, and they were good tires. I don't know if they make them in the size you want, but if they do you might take a look at them. They're pretty quiet and well mannered on the road, handle well in the wet, and are pretty decent off road (more of an AT tread design).

We would get around 40k out of a set, but they were never rotated and there was always a trailer on the back. At that point the rears were getting worn out but the fronts still had quite a few miles left in them, I would estimate that you should be able to hit 60k miles with proper rotation.

This was on a 6.0 Diesel Excursion, '04 F-350 Diesel, '08 F-250 Diesel, and an '08 GM 3500 Duramax. We had a few sliced sidewalls (but never through the entire sidewall), but other than that they were pretty durable and always got us where we needed to go, on or off road.

 

[drodio]

Hey guys thanks for all the responses. I'm really leaning towards the Wrangler Silent Armors. And crazily, it looks like they're available in a 35x12.5 tire! Here's a good review of them: http://www.moabjeeper.com/articles/general/listing.cfm?articleID=444

They seem like exactly what I need: Aggressive enough to not be totally useless on the trail, but well mannered enough for the mostly-highway driving the truck will be doing.

I'd probably get the E rated 275/65/R18 ones from Sam's Club: They're $275 each http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1111301&navAction= ... not sure if they'll look silly on my truck (would that be about a 33" tire? I have 35's on there now).

Anyone see any big problems with this plan?

DROdio

 

[FishAll50]

Here are my thoughts to confuse things even more now that you are almost at a decision.

1) Yes, the 33" will look funny with your lift - enough that I wouldn't do it. Actually, the 275/65/18 is closer to a 32".
2) Did you ever find out what width your wheels were? Maybe I overlooked it. If 12", that will be too wide for a 275 tire.
3) I ran several sets of Goodyear Wrangler ATS's (275/65/18 E-load) on my F250 and was very disappointed in them. Soft sidewalls, flat prone, etc. The Silent Armor is likely an improvement but I got a bit soured from the ATS's and the Silent Armor at least in appearance looks similar to the ATS. OTOH, the GY Wrangler MTR's on my Jeep have been great but more agressive than what you want.
4) If you are going to keep the lift, I still think staying with a 35ish tall tire in a non-agressive tread is the best way to go. Why not the 35/12.50 Silent Armor?

Does that help? lol


(btw, yes I did mean Terra.......not Terrain - good catch)

 

[Buliwyf]

Silent Armors absolutely Rule in factory sizes! But we're talking big tires here. The bigger non-E non-80psi Silent Armors suck. Too Squishy. Same goes for the Duratracs and Kelly Safari TSR's. No big 80psi rated sizes.

That truck needs a tire that is rated for up to 80psi.

Now I mentioned the BFG ATKO as a regular tire. It's excellent in snow and sand. It comes in larger sizes that are still 80psi E. It's mediocre offroad. It sucks in mud. It's not an aggressive tire at all. The Silent Armor is actually louder than the BFG ATKO. More good news, the ATKO is excellent at towing and twisty mountain roads. Mud tires feel washy.

Bottom line: The BFG ATKO really should do anything a decent street tire can do, but has some decent offroad manners. It deosn't have any real negatives compared to a street tire. And when you need a mud tire, get out the tire chains. Chains> Super Swamper TSL's in my neck of the woods.

 

[Buliwyf]

Something we haven't thought about. What kind of lift is it? If you're talking about campers and you've got some lame Skyjacker or Procomp lift, you might be in trouble. BIG TROUBLE. Since the truck is used, it may be due for some suspension work anyways.

It may be wise to lose the 4" stuff and put a quality ICON 2.5" spring on the front with a ICON trac bar. And stock F350 springs (that you,likely still have) and 4-5" blocks with airride airbags on the rear. Bilstein shocks.

That's the exact setup I'll put on my 2008 F250 next year when I'll likely need tires. I'm going up to 285/75r17 BFG ATKO's or KM2's. I just can't decide if I want to drive on KM2's in the snow?

This year a Detroit locker in the rear is my budget along with other assorted minor improvements.

If you keep the lift and wheels, you'll have to flush the idea of less aggressive tires. And I'd install airbags at all four corners to stiffen her up and keep her from traction rolling when towing or hauling a camper. I'd run the 80psi E rated BFG ATKO's LT325/65R18/E if you decide to keep the lift and wheels.

 

[Regcabguy]

Good call on dropping the truck down to a quality 2.5" lift with a slide in camper. This should dramatically improve your emergency handling. An E-rated 80 psi tire with a super high load capacity rules too. The last thing you want is a blowout with a cabover. Ask me how I know. Almost lost my life when my D-rated(3305# @ 65 psi) Bridgestone tire blewout on I-15. $3300 damage in seconds and me and the truck narrowly avoided going over the edge of a 100' dropoff. Tire had plenty of load capacity,just mushy sidewalls with the D rating. Toyo E-rated M-55's solved the problem.

With all that weight,I can't stress enough how a custom valved reservoir shock and a Hellwig Big Wig swaybar will further enhance the handling. All it takes is money and lots of it.

 

[drodio]

Gents thanks for the quality feedback. A few thoughts:

1) I am definitely going with E rated tires. So that point is agreed and settled.

2) I am not an expert on lifts, but friends that know lifts have told me it was done well. It has bilstein shocks. Here is a video I made for one of my friens showing the underbody so he could better evaluate the lift: http://socialcam.com/v/0375mTEC?autostart=true ... I'd love your opinions too.

3) I was able to verify that my rims are 9.5" rims... So they could take a tire down to 285 vs the 325s I have on there now. So what would be so wrong with keeping the lift and going with one of these tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...n+T/A+KO&partnum=865R8ATAKO&i1_Qty=4&i1_Qty=4

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ntArmor&partnum=865R8WSAOWL&i1_Qty=4&i1_Qty=4

(my top 2 at this point). If you thought I absolutely had to go with a wider tire I could do:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...White Letters&partnum=065R8ATAKORWL&tab=Sizes

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ite Letters&partnum=265R8ATAKORWLV2&tab=Sizes

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...lentArmor&partnum=26R8WSA10&i1_Qty=4&i1_Qty=4

But I just don't see the reason why it's so necessary due to the lift (besides it possibly looking a bit funny)... The rims fit... fuel economy would go up with a narrower tire... and the RPMs would return to closer what they were on the stock tires. What am I missing? The load capacity on 285s is 3,640 lbs., plenty.

 

[Buliwyf]

The wheels and tires balence out the 4" lift. Going with skinny tires on wide wheels is going to ride weird. 9.5" is a little wide for a 285. You won't be able to air down and risk popping beads more often. It'll feel tipsy.

With a 4" lift and tires you're stuck with the 35" BFG ATKO's air'd all the way up, air bag springs to stiffen the truck to avoid rolling over, and lighter campers, no giant campers.

$2000 will likely be a fair budget to go down to 2.5" level with airbags on just the rear and Bilsteins. Ebay the 4" lift.

 

[drodio]

OK @buliwyf, good point about risking bead breakage when airing down and thanks for your perspective about the tires balancing out the lift. I am definitely going to put airbags on the back before I put a camper on... I'm thinking about a 1600 lb camper (with all my gear, probably 2k pounds).

I think I'm going to go with the 325/60/R18 Wrangler Silent Armors then... it's an E rated tire with a 3,525lb load capacity at 65PSI. It's a 33.4" tire and the ideal rim size for that tire is 9.5", which is what I have. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...lentArmor&partnum=26R8WSA10&i1_Qty=4&i1_Qty=4

Any objectsions based on what you wrote above?

 

[Buliwyf]

OK @buliwyf, good point about risking bead breakage when airing down and thanks for your perspective about the tires balancing out the lift. I am definitely going to put airbags on the back before I put a camper on... I'm thinking about a 1600 lb camper (with all my gear, probably 2k pounds).

I think I'm going to go with the 325/60/R18 Wrangler Silent Armors then... it's an E rated tire with a 3,525lb load capacity at 65PSI. It's a 33.4" tire and the ideal rim size for that tire is 9.5", which is what I have. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...lentArmor&partnum=26R8WSA10&i1_Qty=4&i1_Qty=4

Any objectsions based on what you wrote above?

That'll work. I didn't know they had a E rated Silent Armor that big. I may need to get some steel 18x9" wheels.

I like the new Airride kit that goes inside the frame rails. Looks adjustable enough for lifted trucks as well. Worst case senerio you might need a spacer and longer bolts.

 

[drodio]

@buliwyf, can you share a link to the Airride kit you mentioned? I tried googling it but didn't find anything.

 

[redthies]

Firestone makes a great airbag kit too. I have it in my F350 to carry my 2700 lb camper.

 

[Buliwyf]

I prefer the Airride kit because it has the dishes that protect the bags at low pressures. It's a little easier to install as well. The air fittings on the firestone kits are sometimes superior, but you can order even better fittings at Napa if you feel the need. It's a new kit, probally why it was hard to find a link to.

This is the kit, read the instructions on that page before buying to make sure it deosn't conflict with any 5th wheel setups or whatever you have custom:
http://shop.airliftcompany.com/product/489398/57390/_/LOADLIFTER_5000;_LEAF_SPRING_LEVELING_KIT

I prefer not having the expensive compressor and guage setup. I just put valves in my rear bumper and fill up at the gas station. Besides I don't use air springs all the time. I remove the bags and reinstall my bumpstops when I have prolonged times without planned towing.

The airbag kits limit your flex and downtravel. A good thing when there's a camper on your back. Not so good when your unloaded on a farm or tent camping and wheeling. So I remove mine, but I haven't been in many situations where I wished for more flex or felt that the bags were limiting me. Lately I've been leaving them on all the time and only removing them for dirtbiking trips where I knew for sure I'd be doing extended offroad travel unloaded with the truck. Besides, most fullsize owners don't really need any flex at all. It's all about realistic goals.

I'd recommend the uber expensive Carli long travel airbag kit if you were hauling a gooseneck trailer. But I don't think we want long travel setups combined with a slide in camper.

The inside the frame/spring mount airbags have more travel than the ontop of the spring kits. And they won't interfer with larger tires. Depending on your lift, they may need a spacer or simple modifications. But If your using stock f350 springs and 5" blocks, you may be fine. Let us know.

 

[98roamer]

I had the Firestone Destination AT and loved them. They behave like a highway tire and were great in the snow, rain, forest road. Never did much mud in them thankfully. Leaving for a trip and I needed to quickly replace them last fall but they were out of stock in the city, so I went with Toyo Open Country,= more $$ and noise. Still like the Toyo but would have gone with the Destination AT if they had them.

 

[drodio]

Yeah the Firestones might just be my limit of "too" highway-like. To me the SilentArmors look a little more aggressive... it may be pure vanity because the Firestones were rated highest in the Tirerack survey of all terrain tires. Anyone have experience with Firestone Destination ATs vs. Wrangler SilentArmors?