2011 XLT Tire/Rim “Upgrade”

[slaughterrt]

A couple years ago, I bought my wife a 2011 XLT. Beautiful car and we both like it a lot. It’s her daily driver around town and great for the kids. However, one thing I don’t care for from a functionality perspective, is the 20” rim / 255-50-20 combo on highway tires. With the NJ winter on the horizon, and a little pocket money to invest with, I would like to upgrade to a more all-terrain tire. I would like a bit more meat on the tire, a little more sidewall and more grip on the road. I’m not looking for something super aggressive as I know this generation is no longer a truck. Also not super concerned about road noise, but again, not looking for the mud tires.

From what I saw online and what I read in a few threads here, there’s not much available for the 20” that will fit underneath the XLT (not looking for lifts or anything either). I do know there is a bit more available for the 18” rim, and downsizing to the 18” would give me a little more sidewall.

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for tire/rim all terrain combo. Just looking for a set that would be plug and play with no modifications whatsoever. If I go 18”, would it be better to try to find a set of stock 18” or go aftermarket as long as the spacing is correct?

Just looking for some direction here.

Thanks guys
Rob

 

[peterk9]

If you are open to a second set of wheels, I would suggest a dedicated Winter tire. Only a Winter tire will provide the best grip in cold weather. I used the 17" steel wheels on my 2011 Limited. In hindsight, the 18" would have been better since they could be used on the model year up to and including 2019.
A 235/65R18 would be an exact match to the OEM 20" and give you more sidewall. I'm using the stock 18" Interceptor wheels and Bridgestone tires for Winter on my 2017. No issues.
There are several threads in the Forum concerning this you can look up using the 'Search' feature.

Peter