Smaller Wheels for Softer Ride

[5280tunage]

anyone know the factory part numbers for the limited 20" wheels that properly fit these? I tried several ford parts stores and the ford factory accessories sites and can't find wheels anywhere. i.e. even tasca doens't want to show wheels for these at all, weird. I believe the F150 wheels aren't direct fits and you have to modify the hubs or something right?

 

[GixxerJasen]

F150 wheels will direct fit, but the centercaps won't. It only takes 10 minutes with a sawzall to fix that. I wouldn't shy away from it, I'm happy with my results and you'll have a lot more options.

 

[Mr Big]

My 22" Michelin Defenders are very smooth. I always use them when changing tires on my vehicles.

 

[StealthyBulldog]

For those of you that went 22" to 18".........

Are you interested in selling any of the 22" rims/tires?

I have my set of 22" Stealth rims and tires, tires have probably 30k kms, but I'm up in Canada, so probably not much help to you!

 

[5280tunage]

Anyone have any feedback on these. Particularly in a 22 for now, don't really have an appetite for dropping 3k on new rubber and wheels.

Pirelli scorpion as plus 3
Bridgestone dueler l
Michelin defender ltx Ms/2

I also just saw these on the Michelin site, curious if anyone has them. Michelin X LT AS2? I dont see them on the discount tire site yet.

Also, I did finally find this part number on eBay - ML341007GA. Any one know of there is a similar 20" wheel, gray, already setup for the expy without cutting the ends of the axles? My issue is that I have the 125k mile warranty, and let's pretend a hub goes out. If I cut the ends off, I could see them denying the warranty service, so I'm trying not to modify that part.

 

[aksarben]

Anyone have any feedback on these. Particularly in a 22 for now, don't really have an appetite for dropping 3k on new rubber and wheels.

Pirelli scorpion as plus 3
Bridgestone dueler l
Michelin defender ltx Ms/2

I also just saw these on the Michelin site, curious if anyone has them. Michelin X LT AS2? I dont see them on the discount tire site yet.

Also, I did finally find this part number on eBay - ML341007GA. Any one know of there is a similar 20" wheel, gray, already setup for the expy without cutting the ends of the axles? My issue is that I have the 125k mile warranty, and let's pretend a hub goes out. If I cut the ends off, I could see them denying the warranty service, so I'm trying not to modify that part.

I used Detroit Wheel and tire to get 20s that fit an EXPY and no worries with the axle lengths. They clearly state what part numbers work for EXPYs. I got these in black but they come in silver too. They also have a price match policy you can read about, I used it and ended up getting the wheels for $1,140 all in for a set 4 of freshly powder coated wheels.

On my 20s I have a new set of Michelin Defender LTX MS2. Awesome tires, ran the first LTX version on 4Runner and Jeep GC 12-15 years ago. Had the Pirellis as stock on the 22s that came on the vehicle and Michelin is better all around tire and has a 70K warranty. Got them at Discount Tire.

 

[Mr Big]

I used Detroit Wheel and tire to get 20s that fit an EXPY and no worries with the axle lengths. They clearly state what part numbers work for EXPYs. I got these in black but they come in silver too. They also have a price match policy you can read about, I used it and ended up getting the wheels for $1,140 all in for a set 4 of freshly powder coated wheels.

On my 20s I have a new set of Michelin Defender LTX MS2. Awesome tires, ran the first LTX version on 4Runner and Jeep GC 12-15 years ago. Had the Pirellis as stock on the 22s that came on the vehicle and Michelin is better all around tire and has a 70K warranty. Got them at Discount Tire.

You would have gotten the same smooth ride with Michelin Defender 22s. They have to be the smoothest, longest lasting, best tracking tire I have ever purchased. And I've owned Pirelli, Dunlop, Yokohama, Goodyear, Toyo and more.

 

[aksarben]

You would have gotten the same smooth ride with Michelin Defender 22s. They have to be the smoothest, longest lasting, best tracking tire I have ever purchased. And I've owned Pirelli, Dunlop, Yokohama, Goodyear, Toyo and more.

Yes 22s are smooth on smooth roads even with the Pirellis that were on them. Over harsh bumps, 20s absorb more of the jolt, 18s probably even more. My goal was less harshness to those bumps, lower cost per replacement tires, and aesthetics. Not a fan of anything larger than 20s.

 

[SLPR]

Instead of going down in wheel size, has anyone tried going up in sidewall size? Perhaps with a 1" lift to prevent rubbing?

 

[Mr Big]

One problem with bigger is wear pattern and balance. I went to 305/45 r22 tires. They didn't last long, threw belts and vibrated at 65 to 70mph

 

[Left Coast Geek]

I too went from the 22's that came with my '19 Stealth to some F150 take-off 18's, and am totally happy with them. yes, I had to slice 1/4" or so off the ends of the rear axles.

the original 22's...


18's


18's deep in Mexico (at a beach campground near Teacapan), 8000 miles into a 10000 mile 4 month camping trip.

 

[SLPR]

I'm considering asking my local Ford dealers whom have new XLT's in stock with the oem 20" black 6-spoke wheels if they would do a straight trade for my oem 22" black 6-spoke wheels...I think there will be some XLT shoppers who would appreciate the "upgrade" to the Stealth package wheels. The only part of this plan I don't like is going down from my current 9.5" width to the 8.5" width of that wheel. I want smaller diameter but not a smaller contact patch. I might just get the Vossen HF6-4 in 20x9.5; other than the +15 offset they seem like they should fit the car similar to an oem wheel.

Vossen HF6-4 20x9.5 / 6x135 / ET15 / Deep Face / 87.1 - Satin Black Wheel

Advancing the traditional casting process, the Hybrid Forged Series utilizes flow forming to cut down on weight and increase strength. Flow forming also allows for a great range of wheel widths within each design.

dv8dz9.com

 

[GaryH]

How do you re-calibrate the speedometer after changing tire sizes?

 

[bb37]

How do you re-calibrate the speedometer after changing tire sizes?

Shouldn't need to if you buy the correct tire size.

A Limited Stealth comes with 285/45R22 tires which should have a revs/mile of about 629. Switch to the standard Limited size of 275/55R20 and the revs/mile should be about 632 which is about 0.5% greater. Switch to the standard XLT size of 275/65R18 and the revs/mile should be about, oh, wait, 629. No difference from the Stealth size.

 

[fordperfaddict]

I'm considering asking my local Ford dealers whom have new XLT's in stock with the oem 20" black 6-spoke wheels if they would do a straight trade for my oem 22" black 6-spoke wheels...I think there will be some XLT shoppers who would appreciate the "upgrade" to the Stealth package wheels. The only part of this plan I don't like is going down from my current 9.5" width to the 8.5" width of that wheel. I want smaller diameter but not a smaller contact patch. I might just get the Vossen HF6-4 in 20x9.5; other than the +15 offset they seem like they should fit the car similar to an oem wheel.

Vossen HF6-4 20x9.5 / 6x135 / ET15 / Deep Face / 87.1 - Satin Black Wheel

Advancing the traditional casting process, the Hybrid Forged Series utilizes flow forming to cut down on weight and increase strength. Flow forming also allows for a great range of wheel widths within each design.

dv8dz9.com

did you end up making this move? i would love to see it

 

[fordperfaddict]

Shouldn't need to if you buy the correct tire size.

A Limited Stealth comes with 285/45R22 tires which should have a revs/mile of about 629. Switch to the standard Limited size of 275/55R20 and the revs/mile should be about 632 which is about 0.5% greater. Switch to the standard XLT size of 275/65R18 and the revs/mile should be about, oh, wait, 629. No difference from the Stealth size.

is anyone going to 285/55/20
its the same width as the 22R

275/55R20 is about a half inch narrower

 

[SLPR]

did you end up making this move? i would love to see it

I did not. Every friend I mentioned this to said despite the ride, the 22's look great and/or borderline too small already, and that I should keep them no matter the ride quality. So I was persuaded to just keep them and get used to how they ride. Will probably get new tires soon; something known for comfort.

 

[fordperfaddict]

I did not. Every friend I mentioned this to said despite the ride, the 22's look great and/or borderline too small already, and that I should keep them no matter the ride quality. So I was persuaded to just keep them and get used to how they ride. Will probably get new tires soon; something known for comfort

Did you get very far on checking out decent wheel brands that arent $2500 a set? I have been looking into the Vossen hybrid forged but dont think i want to spend that much when the time comes. i know offroad wheels a lot better and this type of wheel isnt in my realm.
Seems hard to find them used in a 20. For me its difficult to find a "luxury" wheel brand that could come off as oem or oem+

 

[Mr Big]

Did you get very far on checking out decent wheel brands that arent $2500 a set? I have been looking into the Vossen hybrid forged but dont think i want to spend that much when the time comes. i know offroad wheels a lot better and this type of wheel isnt in my realm.
Seems hard to find them used in a 20. For me its difficult to find a "luxury" wheel brand that could come off as oem or oem+

Check junk yards and marketplace. There's a cool set of bling 22" wheels for $800 for the pair.

 

[Mr Big]

I did not. Every friend I mentioned this to said despite the ride, the 22's look great and/or borderline too small already, and that I should keep them no matter the ride quality. So I was persuaded to just keep them and get used to how they ride. Will probably get new tires soon; something known for comfort.

My vote is for Michelin Defender. My Ex with 285/45 R22s on it ride better than my friend's 18" Hankook's.