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Alternate (larger) tires for 2015+ Transit

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#41 ·
A small report:

The drivers still like this van even with the bigger tires. We were concerned that it would bog down on a couple of the hills on it's route, but they are reporting that it does just fine.
 
#42 ·
ranchworld said:
The new tires look great.

Did you get a spare in the same size and did it fit in the storage location?

No room for chains with your setup... Maybe these for three season use and a dedicated set of snow tires in stock size if you live where that is an issue.
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No I didn't change spare tire I will keep original as a spare. Yes there is no room for chains but luckily I have no use for it since we don't have snow in the South:D.
 
#45 ·
.

"went it to Discount Tire and got me Michelin LTX M/S 2 245/75/16 and they worked! "

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That is very useful information.

I would be interested to know what differences in driving experience those tires produce, especially in regard to axle ratios.

If you already have the 3.3, RPMs must be quite low doing 75.
.
 
#46 ·
Damaskinos_of_Athens said:
.

"went it to Discount Tire and got me Michelin LTX M/S 2 245/75/16 and they worked! "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That is very useful information.

I would be interested to know what differences in driving experience those tires produce, especially in regard to axle ratios.

If you already have the 3.3, RPMs must be quite low doing 75.
.
Click to expand...
Have the 245also just took first trip from Pa to Fl keys towing18 ft boat with 3.5. No problems speedo read 65mph and my gps read 71 never looked at tach if n=it even has one LOL.
 
#47 ·
Damaskinos_of_Athens said:
.

"went it to Discount Tire and got me Michelin LTX M/S 2 245/75/16 and they worked! "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That is very useful information.

I would be interested to know what differences in driving experience those tires produce, especially in regard to axle ratios.

If you already have the 3.3, RPMs must be quite low doing 75.
.
Click to expand...
Yes. Pics please!!
 
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#51 ·
Whitedog said:
Single rear wheel or Dual? If dual, I would be careful. Our 235s actually touch on the bottom bulge. Once we run out the 235s, we will be going with a bit smaller tire.
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I am assuming you mean the DRW.

Were those 65 75 or 85?

Might that not be a problem since they are guaranteed to revolve at the same speed? It could even be a feature if they reinforce each other. ( or is that wildly wrong? ).
 
#54 ·
Seems like all the diesel transit vans I've seen in inventory run the 3.31 ratio. going from the stock 235/65R16 tire to, say, the 245/75R16 tire would increase diameter from 28 to 30.5 inches. That's a 9% increase, and gets it to the same size tire as what I think comes stock on the 4X4 Sprinter right? that's pretty tall gearing.

If I'm paying $$ to get aftermarket 4X4 on my soon-to-be-purchased diesel 130WB van, which will include a mild suspension lift (2" at most), I'd like to be able to run a 30.5 inch tire at least but maybe that's too big for a 3.31 diff even w/ a torquey diesel. Maybe I'll try a 245/70R16 tire as a compromise.
 
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#57 ·
#58 · (Edited)
Whitedog said:
A small report:

The drivers still like this van even with the bigger tires. We were concerned that it would bog down on a couple of the hills on it's route, but they are reporting that it does just fine.
Click to expand...
If I did math right, you went to a 29.3 inch tire (225/75R16) which meant a 4.4% taller ratio. So the 3.31 diff effectively is at 3.16 ratio, which isn't too low normally for a diesel torque curve.
 
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#59 ·
frorider said:
If I did math right, you went to a 29.3 inch tire (225/75R16) which meant a 4.4% taller ratio. So the 3.31 diff effectively is at 3.16 ratio, which isn't too low normally for a diesel torque curve.
Click to expand...
For the route this bus runs twice a day, it was just fine according to the drivers. On the few hills that they encounter, it would never downshift, but just keep plugging happily along.

Now I need to see how this affected fuel mileage. It was showing 19.5ish before the swap to the stock tires and now it's showing 20.5. I don't know if that is break-in, Summer fuel or calculations with the different tires. I will get fuel usage for April and take a look.
 
#60 ·
In my experience it can go either way. Depending on tire brand/actual weight, sometimes going a bit bigger ends up putting you in a sweet spot ratio for engine efficiency for the speeds you mostly drive, and mpg improves. If its staying in sixth still then this might explain your result.

When increasing rim and tire size together, often the net weight increase of this rotating mass overrules any rpm at cruising speed advantage and mpg gets worse.
 
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