Thinking about going to steelies and 285 70 17 tires

[andrew_s]

Anyone do this on a 3rd gen? Im not 100% on the steelies as I love the factory 17in alloys. But mine are in in OK shape and I want to match the spare so to make them look decent, IMHO, and get the matching spare its about on par with getting steelies if I remember correctly.

So questions has anyone done steelies on a 3rd gen and if so what brands and backspacing? Lastly has anyone gone to 285 70 17 on a reletively stock truck?

Planning on doing rancho quicklift which is ~1in or less so essentially stock. But Im wondering if I should upsize the tires while Im at it by an inch or stay stock. Thanks yall!

 

[Brett]

I will be the first person to tell you that bigger tires are awesome! However, a larger tire comes with a larger price point. I guess it all comes down to whether or not you really want or need a bigger tire. When you are only talking about an inch difference, I honestly think it is just going to be your personal preference.

As for steelies, I am not a personal fan. But I have seen some pretty sweet 3rd gens rocking steelies. Again, personal preference man!

 

[andrew_s]

I have gone oversize on jeeps and cars before. Im not doing it on the expedition for performance or pure offorad, although I do light trails for hunting and camping trips and wider tires are always nice! This truck is my family hauler and really just wondering about if the truck will look wierd with 1in (maybe a hair higher compared to the worn stock) "lift" and stock sized tires.

 

[montecarlo31]

So here is my take...I'd skip steel wheels, they are heavier and look well, cheap. I even run aluminum all around on my heavy duty trucks (IE Peterbilts and KWs) for weight savings and ascetics.

Now on to the tires. My expedition came with 275/65R18 Goodyear SR-As which are 32.1" tall and 11.2" wide mounted on an 8.5" wide rim. I'm guessing you have the 17" wheels which came in a flavor of 265/70R17, there also seem to be quite a few brands they used so I'll just guess. The 265/70R17 are a 31.7 to 31.9" tire depending on what brand. The aluminum 17" wheels from ford are / were 17x8 so measuring a 265 on a 8" wheel gives you 10.7" of tire width mounted. If you go with a 285/70R17 BFG you would have a 32.7" tire that is 11.3" wide. So you would be running a tire that is only .5" taller and .1" wider vs a stock 18" set up.

If it were me I would skip the 285s and either stay stock or go with a 295/70R17 which would be 33.31" tall, 11.57" wide. With this tire you would drop for a 3.31 to what would be an effective 3.15 ratio with the current tires or a 5% drop in gearing.

In addition to the change in gear ratio you also need to realize that going with say a 285 (59 lb tire) is going to add 19 lbs of rotational mass to EACH wheel (based on a 265/70R17 BFG Rugged Terrain). If you add steel wheels you will need to check the weight difference there as well and factor that in. You also need to remember we're talking about rotational mass NOT just weight so as speeds increase that 19lbs increases exponentially.

I also notice you have the 3.31 gears, I'm running 3.73s and have had a few rentals that were 3.31s, I hated how piggishly slow the 3.31s are even compared to 3.73s, they just never seem to have the engine in the "right" RPM. That would concern me with going to a taller tire, effectively bringing your gear ratio down even further.

Sorry for spelling and grammar issues limited time at the office to respond today but there is a lot to think about with this swap.

 

[andrew_s]

I have driven every permutation of US expeditions except for a 310hp 3.73 geared model and the 3.31 gearing in mine works perfectly fine. The power for family hauling or towing on hot days with ac is so smooth and effective that it makes me grin. It is no race car but for what it is the acceleration is great.

As for steelies I love the look of black steel wheels but i will admit I am worried about the rolling and rotational weight changes and not for performance but for hauling capabilities. I knowbits not alot but it adds up. Im probably going to get 285s and stick with aluminum.

 

[montecarlo31]

I have driven every permutation of US expeditions except for a 310hp 3.73 geared model and the 3.31 gearing in mine works perfectly fine. The power for family hauling or towing on hot days with ac is so smooth and effective that it makes me grin. It is no race car but for what it is the acceleration is great.

As for steelies I love the look of black steel wheels but i will admit I am worried about the rolling and rotational weight changes and not for performance but for hauling capabilities. I knowbits not alot but it adds up. Im probably going to get 285s and stick with aluminum.

I bet with the mileage claims you have made in the past that with these tires you will be in the 24-25 mpg range for sure with the effective ratio drop to 3.15s and still bust out 14 second 1/4 miles.

 

[andrew_s]

I bet with the mileage claims you have made in the past that with these tires you will be in the 24-25 mpg range for sure with the effective ratio drop to 3.15s and still bust out 14 second 1/4 miles.

Sombody drank a glass of ******* this morning. I guess I forgot who the REAL montecarlo was but thanks for reminding me so I can now sift through threads and its as if you dont even exist.