I am going to get a 2000 F150 in a few months. I have decided on almost all the options except the tires. I am going to lease so I need to get one of the 5 or 6 that ford offers. I want something that is big (the 235's look too small), drives good on road/highway & snow & the occasional off-road. The two I am considering most are the P265/70R17 that come with the sport package. Or the LT245/75R16's. I understand what the numbers & all mean but how does that translate to actual driving? The only F150 I have test driven had the LT245's. Any suggestions comments?
Thanks

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quzax@at-dot.com

 

I will be doing very little off roading. I am most concerned with how the tire feels on the highway & how well it handles snow, since I live in Utah. How do you like the 255's? Also what is BSW, OWL, and is ORP= Off Road Package?

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quzax@at-dot.com

 

The 3.73 gear is no longer a option 3.55 is the steepest gear you can get unless you buy the 7700# pkg. The pkg info came from someone else. but i wanted 3.73 tried three or four dealer all said same thing no longer avaiable. I got the orp pkg it come with 17's but you have to pay extra for the as/t tires instead of the rs/t the ast tire is great the other is junk according to other members here you can research that it is in a few post here. the at/s are not really noise compared to other all terrian tires .
why what gear did you get?

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2000 blk xlt f150 sc 4x4 orp pkg 5.4 3.55 ls tow pkg flowmaster muffler air box mod herculiner ,sony 10 disc cd-player A.R.E. cap remote start

 

I only have 1000 miles on my truck so its a little early to tell about the overall performance of the RT/S goodyears (255's). They are the smallest tire that looks like it fills up the wheel well. ORP=off road package, RWL=raised white lettering (solid), BSW=black side wall, OWL=outline white lettering.
If you are going to be on the road most of the time then selection between 3.31 and 3.55 gears is determined by how much torque you want to retain at the rear wheel. The lower you make the ratio the fewer revolutions the engine has to make, but the less torque applied at the wheel. This should also yield a small increase in fuel economy due to the slower spinning engine at any give speed.

I'll find out how my RT/S tires do in a few weeks. I'm heading out to your neck of the woods for a week in the backcountry in SE Utah.


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Y2K F150 SC 4wd
Trition 4.6, 5 sp manual
Tow Package, Factory CD
No mods yet!

 

I'm planning on getting the 3.55 maybe with LS & the 5.4 v8. Please let me know how your trip goes.

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quzax@at-dot.com

 

How much off roading are you going to do? More than the size of the tire, I would be concerned about the tire make and style. If you go with the 265/17's you will get the 3.73 rear end, with the 245's you can pick either the 3.31 or the 3.55 rear. The 265's come in either the Goodyear AT/S and RT/S. The AT is the better off road tire, but is noisier on road. The RT/S rolls smoother (center rib design) while still retaining some moderate off road prowess. The RT/S is infamous for being terrible in wet conditions. I have seen ORP packages with both types for the 2000 model year. With the adjustment in rear end, fuel consumption should be similar. I stayed with the 16" XLT rims but ordered the 255's to fill out the wheel wells and switched to the 3.55 LS rearend. The change in rear end keeps engine rpm almost exactly the same with the bigger tires (approx 80 rpm faster at 60 mph in 5th gear).

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Y2K F150 SC 4wd
Trition 4.6, 5 sp manual
Tow Package, Factory CD
No mods yet!

 

Don't waste your time with the RTS. The ATS are 2 times better. We had a set on my dad's Powerstroke and got 45,000 miles out of them!! We're now on our second set! Never got the truck stuck!! As a farmer I've been places where no ordinary truck could go while pulling something. They have never let me down. They handle great in every kind of situation, As far as noise, there really is none! It is an exceptional all around tire. That is why I have a set on my F-250LD.

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1999 F-250LD 4X4 XLT Supercab SB, 5.4L, AT, 3.73LS, 33"Wrangler ATS, Dual Exhaust, custom air intake, Color: Harvest Gold cc "Ready to Farm"