265x75r16 or 245x75r16 on Tow Rig | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

265x75r16 or 245x75r16 on Tow Rig

Since wheeling season is coming up fast (for the southwest) its time to take care of the tires on the tow rig..

I tried running Hercules E range tires and I won't do that again. Out of the 4 tires, 3 of them threw a belt and the 4th one crowns pretty bad on the top when I have enough air in them to carry the weight (even at 60psi)..

Some of the Truckhaven people from last October saw the mess those tires became..

What I can't decide on is tire size.. Do I keep the 265x75r16 or do I drop down to 245x75r16. My Rims are 8" wide so I can get away with either tire on the rims I have..

If I got with 265's I really only need 3 tires as I have 1 tire that is good (that I'll keep as a main tire) and I can buy matching size/brand/style.. Those would be Falkens and are somewhat wide for 265 tires.. It would run me just under $500 for those 3 tires and I would still have a pair of spares..

If I switch to 245's I would need to buy 4 tires which would run me from $520 to $580. I would then also need to pick up a couple used ones for spares BUT I could sell the 2 good 265 tires I have left so the spares wouldn't cost me anything..

Here is where I'm stuck.. Wider 265x75r16 tires can rub/hit the back of the front fender if I have the wheels turned and I hit a bump somewhat hard. Thinner (think Michelin street style) seem to fit fine. The Falken 265 sized tires are wider style so I do run the change of them hitting.. Its not the end of the world, just anoying..

I'm afraid the 245 tires may be somewhat thin and short and may not look right. On top of that I'm worried about gas mileage. I know.. what mileage..

With the 265 tires I get about 8mpg loaded (Van/Trailer/Explorer).. With the 245 tires I'm going to raise my RPMs AND I'm already driving at 60mph (actual speed) using the 265's. With the 245 being 1" shorter than the 265's I'm going to bring the RPMs up some.

With the 265x75r16 I'm @ 2350 RPMs at 60
With the 245x75r16 I'll be @ 2450 RPMs at 60.

Question:Will going up that 100 rpms actully change my mileage any? I'm leaning towards no, but I figure I'd ask..

Here are a few pics of the Van running 265 tires.
Question:What is your opinion on running a 1" shorter tire (and .75" narrower)

Wider 265's.
2437154583_f76b924c54_z.jpg

IMG_2565 by maniak_az, on Flickr

Narrow hercules 265's. These look more like 245 to me.. But the hercules tires seem to run narrow.
4020482711_6a01ab42cb_z.jpg

New-tires-on-the-van 009 by maniak_az, on Flickr

What it looks like with 265's when loaded for towing..
8068069127_45837608a2_z.jpg

van with explorer & trailer - pre-tow1-10-2012 by maniak_az, on Flickr

I'd really appreciate some opinions. I'm thinking the 245's won't negativly affect the already non-existant gas mileage and will be big enough for the Van (won't hit but won't look too small).. The 245's may cost me a little more "now".. replacements over time will be cheaper..

BTW.. I'm trying to keep this cheap.. as I need to spend money on some upgrades for the X AND @ 8mpg loaded its not cheap heading to truckhaven.. At least I can carry enough fuel to get into CA, wheel and come back without buying fuel in Ca.

~Mark

Edit: It just occured to me.. the 245x75r16 tires will be lighter than the 265s (10lbs or so each is my best guess). I don't know if that will make a difference when I'm already 14k lbs total weight and running a 7.5L motor :)
 






:hammer: Bump for the Morning crowd, or anyone...


Is this thing on?:D


I'm "leaning" towards sticking with 265's since I only need 3 AND I know how they look.

~Mark
 






You might actually improve mileage and drivability with the shorter tires if it gets the engine closer to it's ideal operating range. You might be able to be more consistent with the gas pedal as you go up hills if that's the case. 2450 rpms are not a lot under towing conditions.
 






I had that idea too but a 7.5 liter motor turning at 2300 rpms probably still has plenty of power :)

I was thinking about it more last night and I can't see the extra 100 rpms messing with mileage on something with this big of a motor.. Its just not a big enough change..

So, While I was taking care of the A/C on the honda and the broken window motor on the Explorer I threw a 245x75r16 tire onto one of my Rims. The tire had full tread but has a screw driver stuck in it but it still holds air. Anyway, I just tossed it on to compare it to the 265 tires..

Well, the 245x75r16 Firestone I put on is just as wide as the Hercules 265x75r16 tires were. It is narrowerthan the Hancook or Falcon 265 tires I have. As far as height though, it really is .75 inches shorter...

This morning I double checked the dates on the 3 265 tires I have on the Van that "look" good and was disapointed.. One (was the spare) is from 2002 and the Falken is 2004 :eek:. The Hancook is 2009 BUT I did see some cracking (tiny). I'm not sold on keeping the Hancook now..

So, now I'm down to 4 245's or 4 265's.. I would just have spares with the 265's but the 245's "should" have less rolling resistance.

I'll think about it more today but would appreciate anyone elses opinions on this..

I'm pretty sure I'm fighting the "I want bigger" syndrome..

The Tow Rig is 4wd and looks good with big tires but I don't drive it often and when I do its usually pulling a load. Heck, I only put 5000 miles on it last year AND I'm still have fuel in it from January (it holds 54 gallons).

~Mark
 






I had to have a tire repaired several months ago at a locally owned shop. My tires have numerous little cracks between the tread so I asked the guy repairing the tire if I needed to be concerned. (I was hoping he'd say that I should replace them. Can't turn or stop my Sport Trac when it's slick. They have too much tread to just toss.) He said small cracks between the tread aren't a worry, but cracks in the sidewall are, due to the sidewalls flexing more. He suggested I buy a set of stock wheels and buy a set of tires for winter, which is what I've done.

I relate to the "I want bigger". I ordered a new '74 Ranchero with a 302 in the fall of '73. In the spring of '78, the 302 was replaced by a .060 over 460 (472). This was before the 500+ cu in combos were available. In fact, few were building 460s at the time. Ran a single 4bbl for a year or 2, then a tunnel ram with 2 4 barrels for a year. The tunnel ram was replaced by a rare 429 CJ 3x2 intake. The rear tires were N50s, then 305/50/15s. The 460 ran almost 30 years until the timing chain broke.
 






Back
Top