Expedition for Western Colorado

[JohnnyG]

I have a 2024 Limited Expedition with the heavy-duty towing package and 2H, 4H, 4A, and 4L drive modes. It also has the Stealth package (not the performance package) with the CCD sport-tuned suspension. We bought it to tow our 2025 Polaris Xpedition, which it does very well.

We love almost everything about it—especially how well it rides on the highway. Our 4-month-old Expy already has just over 9,000 miles on it, most of which are highway. I've seen over 23 MPG on long trips.

We're spending the summer in western Colorado and plan to move out here. We are finding ourselves on a lot of unpaved roads. We have the standard 22" low profile tires and washboard roads are rough. A road that I could have done 30 in my Jeep we are slowing down to 10 MPH. Many of the dirt roads leading to trailheads (where we are trailering the Polaris) are rutted and some can be rocky and steep. I’m starting to wonder if making our Expedition more Timberline or Tremor "like" would be worth it.

For those of you that made a change like this:

I am thinking a small lift, maybe 3 inches, 33" tires and maybe some skid plates.

- Would making these changes require a CCD suspension delete?

- After making the change, how does it ride on the highway?

- Should I expect a major change to the MPG?

- We typically keep our vehicles to 10 years. Will making these changes affect reliability?

Thanks,
JG

 

[SilverStealth]

I think you'd be fine by just swapping out the 22s for some 17s or 18s and some A/T tires. MPG shouldn't drop much if you stay close to stock sized tires. You might lose a mile for the A/Ts.

I don't believe there has been an easy CCD upgrade yet, so a lift might be out of the question for now.

Skidplates... if you want them, they're out there. Doesn't really sound like you need them though, especially since your limitation will be your trailer.

We dont have CCD, but with a small lift and 34" tires, the ride is still acceptable for us on the freeway, and curbs are no longer something to be feared. MPG definitely took a hit, but we knew it going in.

 

[JohnnyG]

Rough Country has a 2" lift that works with CCD. It adds 2" to the front and 1" in the back. That might be enough to run 33" tires.

2 Inch Lift Kit | Alum Spacer | CCD | Ford Expedition 4WD (2018-2024)

2 Inch Lift Kit | Alum Spacer | CCD | Ford Expedition 4WD (2018-2024)

www.roughcountry.com

Thanks for the info.

 

[MrMcPunk]

You should be able to purchase Timberline skid plates from the Dealership as well.
Just remember anything over 2" of lift will drastically effect your towing.
Honestly your best bet would be to find some stock F150 18" wheels or a set of 17" Raptor wheels on Facebook Marketplace or offer up and do the Rough Country CCD Aluminum Spacer lift. (I'm planning on doing the same)
My 22" Platinum wheels really bug me.

 

[Shotgun76]

I have a 2024 Expedition Max HD Tow + with Stealth Performance PKG. I had RCI skid plates installed with the Ford gas tank skid plate. I'm in the same boat as I run unpaved roads while up in the U.P. of MI as well as pheasant hunting in SD. Going to get a set of 17" wheels and there is a thread in here where some installed Bilstein and a rough country lift while also addressing CCD.

 

[bb37]

I think a lift would be the last on my list of options. A lift will raise your vehicle's center of gravity and make it more difficult for the suspension to control the vehicle over rough roads.

Start with changing the tires and wheels. Go to an 18" wheel with the standard size tire (275/65R18) in an all-terrain pattern. That's a 32" tire. An all-terrain 32 should get you to the trailheads without the expense and other headaches of a lift and 33s.

 

[JohnnyG]

I think a lift would be the last on my list of options. A lift will raise your vehicle's center of gravity and make it more difficult for the suspension to control the vehicle over rough roads.

Start with changing the tires and wheels. Go to an 18" wheel with the standard size tire (275/65R18) in an all-terrain pattern. That's a 32" tire. An all-terrain 32 should get you to the trailheads without the expense and other headaches of a lift and 33s.

Thanks.

Is the CCD suspension a bad thing when it comes to riding rocky/washboard trails? I am assuming it is, because it is not an option on the Expedition Tremor.

JG

 

[Mark Buckner]

As others have said, changing the wheel/tire combo is going to help you a great deal. We go to western Colorado at least once a year and I switched to 18" wheels and 285/65 Falken Wildpeak 10-ply and that setup has worked great. I am a big believer in 10-ply tires for the Colorado trails. They don't ride quite as comfortably, but the sidewall strength on those rocky trails is worth it. I have the ReadyLift 3/2 Leveling Kit as will, but since this is an older vehicle there is no CCD. I do think the lift has had a negative impact on upper ball joints. Mine only seem to last 2-3 years. ReadyLift swears their kit has impact of factory suspension, but my experience suggests otherwise.

 

[Jerald Cook]

As others have said, changing the wheel/tire combo is going to help you a great deal. We go to western Colorado at least once a year and I switched to 18" wheels and 285/65 Falken Wildpeak 10-ply and that setup has worked great. I am a big believer in 10-ply tires for the Colorado trails. They don't ride quite as comfortably, but the sidewall strength on those rocky trails is worth it. I have the ReadyLift 3/2 Leveling Kit as will, but since this is an older vehicle there is no CCD. I do think the lift has had a negative impact on upper ball joints. Mine only seem to last 2-3 years. ReadyLift swears their kit has impact of factory suspension, but my experience suggests otherwise.

I'll echo what others have said and just switch to 18" wheels with A/T tires as a first step. If that's not enough, you can always look at doing something else with the suspension.

As for the 10-ply tires, I'd personally would not go this route if you're mostly concerned with just unpaved roads. The first year I had my Expedition I made the mistake of going a mildly rocky "road" to reach a trailhead for hiking (we go to Colorado every year, and actually there now). It wasn't very far so I didn't bother to air down the stock Michelins Primacy tires. The puncture appeared a day later while heading home on I-70. Two other tires also had damage so I replaced them with 10-ply KO2s. While they're great looking tires, they're much heavier than stock and I could definitely tell how much more lethargic the vehicle felt, not to mention the hit in MPG and harsher ride. Since I now just avoid rocky trails/roads, 10-ply tires are complete overkill for what I need not worth the disadvantages. With the stock ride height and the longer wheelbase of the Max, I'm not going to be doing any serious off-roading anyways. YMMV.

 

[chuck s]

As far as I can tell all the OEM tire/wheel sizes are all the same outside diameter. Speedometer, anti-lock brakes, etc. all use the same setting. Feel free to mix and match.

The 275/75-18" wheels on my '17 don't have any more or less ride height than the bling 22" wheels with OEM tires. What I do get is significant more sidewall height which absorbs some "dirt road" bumps and ruts. Continental "AT" tires -- they're really "dirt road" tires but no one buys DR tires! That's as far "off road" that I usually get in western and West Virginia. Can't recall grounding the frame anywhere at standard ride height.

Experimentation can be expensive. Just the AT tires I put on last summer were well in excess of $1200. These would cost you more 'cuz you would also need wheels.

I'd postpone a decision on this for the rest of the season. Are you scraping? Trouble with ruts?

-- Chuck

 

[SilverStealth]

As others have said, changing the wheel/tire combo is going to help you a great deal. We go to western Colorado at least once a year and I switched to 18" wheels and 285/65 Falken Wildpeak 10-ply and that setup has worked great. I am a big believer in 10-ply tires for the Colorado trails. They don't ride quite as comfortably, but the sidewall strength on those rocky trails is worth it. I have the ReadyLift 3/2 Leveling Kit as will, but since this is an older vehicle there is no CCD. I do think the lift has had a negative impact on upper ball joints. Mine only seem to last 2-3 years. ReadyLift swears their kit has impact of factory suspension, but my experience suggests otherwise.

Did you also change the Upper Control Arms when you installed the ReadyLift 3/2 Kit (I dont know if the kit includes arms)? Usually any changes to the front geometry would need new UCAs to help the ball joints maintain reliable angles.

 

[JohnnyG]

I'd postpone a decision on this for the rest of the season. Are you scraping? Trouble with ruts?

-- Chuck

We’re planning to move out here, and most of the land we’re looking at is 15–20 minutes down a dirt road. My main concern is the harsh ride I get from the 22" low-profile tires.

The lift was primarily to fit 33" tires, but several people—like bb37 and others (including you)—have suggested switching to an 18" wheel with a standard-size 275/65R18 all-terrain tire. That’s a 32" tire.

If that setup maintains most of the quiet, smooth highway ride I currently have but softens the harshness on rough roads, I’d be all for it.

JG

 

[duneslider]

I had the 18's with an AT tire on my 2019 expedition and liked them much more than the 22's on my current expedition. I did recently put a more aggressive AT tire on my expedition and that has helped a lot but I am keeping my eyes out for a set of 18's on the local classifieds. Hoping to find some wheels with decent tires already on them.

 

[chuck s]

These Expedition OEM size tires all have the same 32.1" OD (+- 1%). As you can see a 32-inch tire size is meaningless unless you consider the sidewall.

275/65-18 - sidewall 7"
275/55-20 - sidewall 6"
285/45-22 - sidewall 5"

The 18" will provide 40% more sidewall than the 22".

I'm running the Continental TerrainContact A/T 275/65-18 tire in P-metric, not LT (light truck) -- I don't want the Expedition to ride like a truck. On-road behavior is as good good or better than the tires that came on the SUV and the tread noise is very quiet.

Tire Rack has a good way to compare tires including some test information. Since Discount Tire owns Tire Rack the TR prices apply there too.

-- Chuck

 

[Ugh_J]

I'm sure you've already seen other threads talking about it, but lifts and big tires (if they're load range E, anyway) can make the ride notably worse. By far the easiest route is just to swap the 22's for 18's and a non-LT/non-load range E tire. My family's 2022 had the 22" bling wheels and it rode notably worse than my 2020 with 20" on it. When they swapped for 18", it now rides a bit better than mine.

 

[GixxerJasen]

You don't need a lift to run 33" tires. I moved to 275/70 R18 without a lift and then promptly went to Moab. While the move from 22's certainly improved the ride, it didn't transform the truck into a smooth offroad beast. Even aired down to 25psi, bad washboard roads still sucked with the CCD suspension. It still went everywhere I dared to take it and got a wheel off the ground a time or two, but it did pretty much everything very slowly. I'd definitely recommend the tire/wheel switch, though some here will tell you that it'll make your vehicle look like a hoopty. Just keep your expectations in check and understand that if you switch vehicles to something that does the rough road stuff better, it won't be like the Expy on the highway most likely. Gotta weigh how much you spend in either place and figure out where you are willing to sacrifice a bit.

 

[LanceExp2025]

These Expedition OEM size tires all have the same 32.1" OD (+- 1%). As you can see a 32-inch tire size is meaningless unless you consider the sidewall.

275/65-18 - sidewall 7"
275/55-20 - sidewall 6"
285/45-22 - sidewall 5"

The 18" will provide 40% more sidewall than the 22".

I'm running the Continental TerrainContact A/T 275/65-18 tire in P-metric, not LT (light truck) -- I don't want the Expedition to ride like a truck. On-road behavior is as good good or better than the tires that came on the SUV and the tread noise is very quiet.

Tire Rack has a good way to compare tires including some test information. Since Discount Tire owns Tire Rack the TR prices apply there too.

-- Chuck

Yes Chuck, your point is well taken. I'm no tire engineer but just from many years of driving experience and much towing all over the Western US and some of Western Canada, I, like most of you, can feel the road ride differences with tire differences (I assume is the reason?). We just bought our New 2024 Expy MAX Limited w/ a HD Trailer Towing package, early this year and I immediately noticed it was "slightly" more rough riding on the stock Perrelli Scorpion 22's than our 2012 Exp EL Limited w/ HD Trailer Tow package that we just sold a month after buying this 2024 Expy. When we bought our 2012 Expy new, it also came with Perelli 275/55R20 tires. It seemed to ride OK but by the time it had 28K miles, those Perelli's were 3/4 worn out.

We were planning a trip out-of-state to a NASCAR Race w/ the 2012 Expy so, I decided to put on a new set of Michelin 275/55R20 Defender LXT M/S 113T tires, on our 2012 Expy. These 4 new Michelin tires TOTALLY CHANGED the ride & handling of that 2012 Expy! My wife also immediately noticed the handling difference and how super-smooth it now rode. Our friends, that went with us, commented multiple times about the super smooth ride and decided to buy an Expy, soon after we got back.

Then, early this year when we bought the 2024 Expy MAX Limited (also w/ HD Trailer Tow Package) and it seemed to ride rougher than our 2012 Expy, I assumed it was either the taller 22" wheel size or just the Perrelli Scorpion Tires alone?. I did, however, measure the "sidewall height" of the 275/55R20 Michelins on the 2012 against the Perrelli Scorpion sidewall and the Michelins were 5-1/2" tall vs 5" tall on the 22's on our 2024 Expy. 1/2" is NOT much of a sidewall height difference, it seems to me!! We decided to just drive the 2024 Expy w/ the Perrelli Scorpions until they were 2/3 to 3/4 worn out then, CHANGE over to Michelins again.

My whole point here is that I am NOT sure these new 22" wheels and tires are all as-bad as many of you seem to think they are? Agreed and granted though, we very rarely if ever drive our Expy's on dirt roads and never intentionally on Off-Road adventures. Thus we are NOT concerned about sidewall tire-pinches which are more likely on shorter sidewall, lower profile tires.

On a previous Expedition thread discussion about these tire size effects on ride feel in our Expy's, one fellow who was some sort of tire engineer or involved in tire science, said that actually the larger 22" & now 2025's 24" Expy wheels & tires should actually ride better and smoother (according to physics) because the larger diameters would roll over road or rock imperfections more easily thus ride smoother. I surely am NOT knowledgeable enough to know or determine how all this 'science' effects the Expy ride on normal pavement. But, I do find it at least 'strange' that Ford would continue to "increase" tire diameters continually (over the years) on our Expys' if it sacrificed a smooth ride quality?

For us, we have gotten used to the "slightly" rougher ride of our 2024 Expy vs 2012's ride, in just these few, short 5 months with it so, it's NOT bothersome or annoying, by any means. (we don't have CCD either) We also love the looks of our 22" Limited Aluminum polished wheels so, other than changing to 22" Michelins, in a couple of years, we are sticking w/ 22's, I am pretty certain. Lance

 

[chuck s]

Trying to recall (guess) at the 17" tires that were on my first Expedition back in 2007. I think they were 270/70R17 which has a computed sidewall height of 7.4". The 18" tires that came on my '17 kinda surprised me being a lower profile but only 1/2" slimmer (7") sidewall. Gotta admit I've never been in an Expedition with only a 5" sidewall. Bling 22" wheels vs utility. My 'lil Honda S2000 roadster has 255/40R17 tires with only a 4" sidewall -- and I expect a firm ride, but a 5" sidewall just seems silly for a truck SUV.

-- Chuck

 

[LT-EXPO]

This calculator link may help. I have 2018 XLT, 160k miles mostly highway-20% dirt roads-heavy tow pkge-tow 7k pounds work trailer & family hauler.
I just installed Bilstein 5100’s (3 settings front & I went with mid ring=approx 3/4 inch lift) Rear shocks have 5 adjustments when you install-I will go with 3rd above stock so approximately 3/4 to 1 inch lift rear to keep it consistent with front. I have stock rims with 275/60/20 tires not stock 275/55 and even that slight change I felt a significant difference in handling on highway immediately-more floaty & more body roll. That is why I installed Bilsteins. Tires r not great but ok (Sumitomo HT) so going to try Cooper Road and Trail 275/55/20 to get closer to stock height with a slight lift. Tires r cheaper at that size and the coopers are quiet and great traction overall-main use on roads. If I transition to more off road or dirt roads I will upgrade to Raptor wheels & tires with associated suspension upgrades-when I can afford it!

Tire Size Calculator

Free calculator to find the dimensions of a tire based on its code. It also helps in choosing alternative tire sizes based on rim size or comparing two tires.

www.calculator.net

 

[LanceExp2025]

This calculator link may help. I have 2018 XLT, 160k miles mostly highway-20% dirt roads-heavy tow pkge-tow 7k pounds work trailer & family hauler.

Tire Size Calculator

Free calculator to find the dimensions of a tire based on its code. It also helps in choosing alternative tire sizes based on rim size or comparing two tires.

www.calculator.net

Thanks LT-EXPO:

Very nice and interesting Calculator that you posted! In my post above, I was trying to compare my 2012 Expy 275/55R/20" tires to our new 2024 Expy 285/45/22" tires. I put both of these tire sizes into your calculator and I was surprised to see that both these tires are almost identical in over-all height (diameter) but the 20" sidewall was shown as 6" tall and the 22" sidewall was shown as 5". Both tires were within 1/2" of tread widths. So, I was wrong about my measurements where I said the 22's were only 1/2 shorter sidewall than the 20's sidewall. The 22's actually have a 1" shorter sidewall!

I am thinking this may be the reason our new 2024 Expy seems to ride "slightly" rougher than our old 2012 Expy did?? As I said, in a couple of years, we intend to replace the 4 Perelli tires w/ 4 Michelins, also in the same 22" tires. I am interested in seeing if that changes the smoothness in 2024 Expy ride? Thanks again, Lance