2B1Ask1

My 2016 2WD SCREW came with the 265/60R18 Hankook tires. I tow trailers that range from 5000-7500 lbs. (I have the 3.73 gears and tow package, and am knowledgeable of the concepts of trailer weight, tongue weight, payload, etc....and my payload is not exceeded when towing). One of my trailers is approximately 25 feet long and can act as a "sail" in relatively high wind conditions. I will be replacing my tires soon and was thinking of going with the Falken Wildpeak AT3w tires in the 275/70R18 size. I was wondering what impact (hopefully positive) this may have on towing. I would think that an increased amount of "rubber on the road" would have a positive impact. The Falken's are 10-ply and rated with a E load range and 125 load rating index...and a 122S speed rating.

Does anyone have any experience towing with these tires, or any similar? Thanks in advance for your input.

jp360cj

Without looking the exact specs on those tire & just going by the listed sizes...You'll be going from a ~30.5" tire to a ~33.2" tire. Your effective gear ratio will drop from 3.73 to 3.41, without consideration of the larger tires. Neither the extra width nor height will be a benefit when towing,

I went from the stock P275/65/18's Goodyear SRAs to 285/70/17 Duratracs. The Duratracs are a D load range, 121 index IIRC. With 3.55s, my new effective ratio is 3.48 and I haven't really noticed any difference in towing performance. With the stock tires I would bump up the pressure to the max of 44psi and with the Duratracs I bump up to 50 for towing (40 psi normally). I did take a couple MPG hit unloaded, but towing is still 10-11 MPG. Your change is going to be bigger, but I would look for towing reports from 3.31 geared trucks. You should be at least as well off as them from a gearing standpoint.

Also, I believe the speed rating is going be "S" and "122" is the load index when used as a dually.

Justin Thorson

schmenke

Yep. In general a small diameter tire is better for towing, at the expense of fuel economy.

marshallr

The truck has 3.73 gears. Going to a larger than stock tire will effectively change the gear ratio to about 3.41. Assuming the previous post is correct. I didn't confirm, but that seems about right.

Depending on the engine and your trucks tow rating that may, or may not make a difference. I'm assuming you have the 5.0. If so that much of a gear ratio change may make a difference. I'd look at the towing specs for a 3.31 gear ratio instead of 3.73 for the engine you have. While your truck may be rated for 8000+ lbs with 3.73's, it might be closer to 5000 lbs with 3.31's. You'll just have to look at the specs on your truck. If they say that 3.31 gears with your engine will tow anything you tow then they will work. If not they are too big. You MIGHT take a small fraction of 1 mpg hit in fuel mileage with the larger tires.

The 3.5 EB engine has a lot more torque and would be able to overcome the larger tires with less loss of power. If that is the engine you have then all is fine.

The tires you have are rated to carry more weight than your trucks payload. If you inflate the tires you have to near max pressure when towing they will work pretty well. The stiffer E rated tires might be somewhat better.

FWIW I went to that size in my 4X4 truck to get a taller tire and more ground clearance. The loss of power isn't noticeable in normal driving and while the practical tow rating is a little lower, I can still pull anything I will ever pull. But since you tow heavier loads than I do it may be a problem for you.

Gene K

275/65R18 + 3.73 is what came on the 5.0 HDPP.
You will lose a little gear but based on Ford OEM specs it should handle it. That's the size I would look at