275 -> 265, anyone actually do it?

[Jonnyslim]

Has anyone actually went down from the stock 275/65/18 size to say 265/70/r18 or narrower? If you did, did you regret it?

I'm planning to swap from the OEM tires to an E rated and 3PMS tire for towing and better winter performance.

I was thinking a narrower tire would give better performance for both, they are better in the heavy slush and have less rolling mass. I'm curious though if anyone has done it and later regretted it. I'm not against the pizza cutter look.

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[Kanuck]

My "Winter" tires are 275 Duratracs and my "Summer" tires are factory 265 General Grabbers. The only difference I know of is the speedometer is out about 2 km with the 275's. Other than that, no difference.

 

[Jonnyslim]

Yeah, I noticed that too when looking at calculators, I'm fine with the taller tire and about 2mph in speedometer variance.

 

[WhiteLightningnshitshadow]

Also eventually looking at going narrower and maybe taller. Let me know what tire you pick. I have the 275/65/18s Michelin Primacy. They're just okay, but pretty bad in the snow

 

[Mtnman1]

Has anyone actually went down from the stock 275/65/18 size to say 265/70/r18 or narrower? If you did, did you regret it?

I'm planning to swap from the OEM tires to an E rated and 3PMS tire for towing and better winter performance.

I was thinking a narrower tire would give better performance for both, they are better in the heavy slush and have less rolling mass. I'm curious though if anyone has done it and later regretted it. I'm not against the pizza cutter look.

Check the actual tread width on both...i am supprissed sometimea by this.

The thinner tread width is better in snow, thats a fact. Just dont get fooled by tire size.

 

[Jonnyslim]

Also eventually looking at going narrower and maybe taller. Let me know what tire you pick. I have the 275/65/18s Michelin Primacy. They're just okay, but pretty bad in the snow

I was thinking of going in 2 directions. Falken wild peak at4w which has great reviews or Yokohama Geolander G015s.

I don't have any experience with the Falkens but have had Geolanders on my Outback which is a beast in the snow. That tire has never let me down but kind of looks like a highway tire on a truck.

 

[Jonnyslim]

I ended up ordering 265/70/18 e load Wildpeak AT4's. I'm having them fitted tomorrow. I will post pics in the next few days or so with some initial comments.

 

[HammaMan]

I don't suspect you'll find any negatives outside of the smaller tire heights physical appearance (33" tires look too small on the F150, 32.6 won't do it any favors there). EVs typically run much narrower tires. The mach-e for instance weighs in at 5200lbs with me in it sitting on 245s and can pull .99Gs on the skid pad. A 2010 mustang GT (3600lbs) with track pack wearing 255 summer pirellis could only muster .92-.95Gs. (more rubber, less mass, less performance?). Braking 60-0 between the 2 vehicles is similar at 108/109 feet. The mach-e has a 150% weight penalty on smaller tires yet bests the GT's performance in all metrics.

It's often believed that wider tires can produce more grip, but there are cases where this just simply isn't the case. Super wide sticky tires, possibly. Your run of the mill radial on the other hand can easily pick up benefits from having more mass pushing the slightly smaller size into the pavement itself. About the only benefit gained by a wider tire is when flotation is required. Even then aired down tires still run into the same realm where more mass on a smaller area = more deflection. On the hydroplaning realm the smaller width is a clear benefit. Loaded semis don't have hydroplaning issues.

 

[PaulO]

I ended up ordering 265/70/18 e load Wildpeak AT4's. I'm having them fitted tomorrow. I will post pics in the next few days or so with some initial comments.

How does the new AT4’s look? Please post some pics. Thanks.

 

[Jonnyslim]

I've had them about month and have put about 400 miles on them. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to drive them in snow yet and given how this winter has been I don't think I will until late fall.

The initial impression is that you really notice the extra weight. The 265/70/r18 at4w's weigh about 57lbs, a whopping 20lbs more than the Goodyear wrangler a/t at 37lbs. You definantly feel it in the steering and rolling resistance.

The ride is definitely firmer but not flinty. You feel the road a bit more but it's not unbearable. You have alot less cushion but I feel like these will hold up alot better on our pothole filled roads in Southern Michigan.

I like the look of them and think the added utility is a positive. So far I've lost about 1.8 mpg, but that's not really the end of the world. I did take a drive with my parents 8k gvwr 30' bumper pull and you definitely notice less porpoising. I still would not want to drive that setup anywhere further then 100 miles or so.

We will see how they wear and how well they do in the snow next winter.



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