Tire Question

[JoshKeller]

Alright guys, this is a question about tires for a '91 f150/ 302 with 235/75/15" factory tires. Currently it has 31 x 10.5x15's, and getting approx 12 mpg. I'm looking at going back to factory size tires - all terrains since I use it on the ranch which is mostly sand and loose dirt/rock. I also pull a 3000 lb boat up slippery concrete ramps. How much will going from the 31's down to 235's increase mileage? Can anyone recommend a good tires for around $120 each that will suit my needs? I REALLY dont want to find out that my tires are spinning when I'm on a near verticle ramp on Lake Amistad with a 3k lb boat pulling me down. :help:

[geolemon]

I wouldn't imagine they would save you a penny.

All it's effectively going to do is change your overall gear ratio - which might make your truck shift at different RPM points, and maybe make it a bit quicker to 60mph because of it - but if anything, the smaller wheels will make your engine run at higher RPM's at highway speeds, meaning worse gas mileage, not better.
(not to mention - with larger-than-stock tires, currently your speedometer is reading slightly lower than your actual speed - the plus side is your odometer is recording fewer miles than you are actually clocking ;) Going back to stock size would restore this)

I could see skinnier tires possibly helping - decreasing rolling resistance - but that's a "theoretical improvement", in reality I would wonder if the difference would even be noticable. Would you be able to notice 1mpg or 2mpg improvement? You'd notice better improvement by changing your driving habits. ;)

And skinnier tires probably wouldn't help you in the boat dragging you down the ramp scenario.

Realistically... the way to get better gas mileage? Drive a vehicle that gets better gas mileage. There's no way to turn a 5000 pound truck with a 10mpg V8 into a 2000 pound lightweight with a 30mpg 4 banger... or make it behave like one. :(

[cargodz]

Like Geo said you're not going to see a big difference, but going to a skinnier tire will make more of a difference than the small height difference. The biggest difference that most see in mpg is when they go from really tall and wide back to stock or visa versa (like 36x11.50's plus). I went form the stock to a 32 x 10.5 on my old s-10 blazer and it only had a 2-3 mpg difference.

[OnYrMrk]

as for worrying about a boat. My Ascender has 245/70/R17's and it pulls my 3800lb boat up a ramp with no problem. Just get SUV tires and you will be fine. Check out tirerack.com and discounttire.com
both are excellent places to find fitment for your truck.

[JoshKeller]

Well, I'm due for new tires anyways, so I think i'll go back with stock and pick up the gas mileage. every little bit helps. Thanks guys.

[cargodz]

Just make sure you get something that is HD or Off Road rated (for sidewall strength), then that extra weight of the boat won't even phase the tires and they'll last ya a lil longer (saving you in the long run);)

[JoshKeller]

yep, just called about some pirelli scorpion atr's for $108 each. Think I'll go put 'em on tomorrow.

[cargodz]

Those will do nicely:)

[lancer1978]

yeah Id say, and damn you americans(sarcasim) I wihs I could get tires cheap..

[ZeroAccess]

bah :)
My dad has a 94 F150 and I found some lug tread tires in stock size for 54 dollars each. Only benefit about working at a shop we get stuff from others at cost. There Aurora tires but heck he doesn't drive that much so they'll probally last untill they dry rot.

[JoshKeller]

My dad has a 94 F150 and I found some lug tread tires in stock size for 54 dollars each

what kind of mileage is he getting out of that truck? I'm hoping to get around 15 mpg after I replace the tires to factory size and then tune it up. cant complain about a truck that has 98k miles on it (documented by the first and only owner). Guy who owns it is a family friend and was only using it for a ranch truck since the radiator was leaking. Put a new radiator in it and he said give him $100 bill and it was mine. So if I dont make it for 15 mpg, i wont be too terribly upset, after all, I mainly bought it for a ranch/hunting truck and to pull my boat, to keep the mileage and wear and tear off my 4 banger 2001 s-10.

[geolemon]

LOL... 98K is usually where I BUY vehicles. :p
I bought my Pathfinder with 110,000 on it.
Of course, I don't put a ton of miles on my cars... I bought my Civic brand new in 1995, and it's got 75,000 on it today.

Funny, but lots of American car owners expect their cars to die with about 100,000 miles on them... I never understood that. :confused
Or rather - I don't understand how anyone would shell out $25K for one car that they EXPECT to die so young, when they could shell out $25K for another brand of car that they EXPECT to last way way longer than that. :help:
Those people should LEASE cars. :p

[JoshKeller]

yup, I run it til it blows up, then go buy a reman engine/tranny and fix it again.
I've had my 01 s-10 since it was new and have put 143k on it without doing anyhting other than plugs/wires/oil changes/and timing chain. Thats a pretty damn reliable truck!

[Team AI]

Just a little word on tires... I used to retread tires when I live in MO. my job was to find leaks and then grind them out so that we could patch them before putting the retread on...

I have cut into almost every brand tire you can imagine and from my observation some of the best tires you can buy are the cheaper ones... I don't think I ever cut into a good year that either wasn't missing at least one
ply or had about four of them going in the same direction one right after the other... I did like them though cause usually when I hit them with the grinder
a big chunk would bust out of it so they were easy to grind where as some of the cheaper tires took me longer to grind and I had to put some muscle into it.

[geolemon]

yup, I run it til it blows up, then go buy a reman engine/tranny and fix it again.
Permit me to stereotype again... there's that American car owner mentality again - that's my point. ;)

I don't expect my cars to blow up - I've never replaced a motor (I've replaced a transmission in my Civic, but that's due to autocross racing and who-needs-a-clutch-to-shift violent techniques - certainly not going to blame that on the car :p), and I've had superchargers and turbochargers on several of them, some factory, some aftermarket.

I'd be pissed if my motor actually had some critical failure that meant I had to yank it and get another one... certainly that depends on the mileage, but given regular maintenance work, I'd be upset if I didn't get 200K out of my car - and with the number of 250000 and 300000 Camry's and Accords on the road, seeing a car like a Corsica blowing smoke at 100,000 miles just seems inexcusable.

If you've got the Iron Duke in your S-10, that thing will go forever.
One good thing that GM occasionally does is let a motor remain in production forever, basically upgrading the electronics, fuel delivery, and emmissions as time goes on. That 4-banger is one for sure. You'll see Astro vans on the road with hundreds of thousands of miles on them also.
...but unfortunately, that seems to be the minority, rather than the majority. :(

[JoshKeller]

Yep. I do all the maintenece, as needed, and keep up on the work. The only car I've had blow up was a '89 blazer. I was 150 miles into the mountains of WV, with no cash, and had an oil pump go out. I actually made it home, and it was easier to just replace the entire motor. Sold the car with 215,000 on it, and it was still running great.

[ZeroAccess]

Well the F150 has some minor problems with the torque converter and a few electrical errors that won't allow the fuel to be too efficient he's still getting fairly decent though I'd say around ~15mpg. He has the stock size tires on there. Once I get everything cleaned out and replaced I'm hoping for 19mpg without a problem. He has 140k on it I think probally less since he went to the Hospital a few years ago he has probally put 10k in 4 years.....

Sorry for the late response.

[JoshKeller]

I got the new tires put on wednesday. I've already run out a tank of gas. Getting 16.5 mpg empty, 13 with the boat hooked up.

[cargodz]

I got the new tires put on wednesday. I've already run out a tank of gas. Getting 16.5 mpg empty, 13 with the boat hooked up.
Put in some synthetic oil and swap out the stock air filter for a fram air hog (not as pricey as K&N, but you could go that route too), better plugs and wires and you'll gain another 1-1.5mpg... More costs, but it costs you less in the long run when you don't have to get the oil, plugs, or filter changed as often:)