Big Tires for BS Badlands

[notabumblebee]

I think you are making a big assumption about the wheel wells being the same. The problem on the BS seems to be the weld flange at the back of the wheel well. Some have trimmed that flange but since it has welds in it, that may not be a good idea.

If you are building a mall crawler, the 255/65/17 should be fine. If you are going to go off road and will have the suspension fully articulated, then 245/65/17 seems to be the consensus of the limit with any rubbing/trimming.

When my BS arrives and I’m installing new wheels/tires and the HRG lift kit, I was hoping

I’m just going from what I have read here. People that have gone any bigger than 245/65/17 have some rub and have to mitigate it in some way. That clearance doesn’t change if you have a lift or not, unless it is a mall crawler. If the suspension is never fully articulated, you can put a really big tire on the BS.

I haven’t read through the article yet but I will.

Yeah I get it, I’m not talking about the guys on Facebook throwing 32 inch tires on the BS. There are several posts from other people on this forum going bigger than 29.5 and even a ford engineer claiming a 31 inch tire is the max size for the Badlands.

I’m looking at my BS BL in my driveway with 235/65/17 and I don’t think a 235/70 or 255/65 is out of the realm of possibility based on its wheel well clearance.

A 29.5 inch tire increases ground clearance by 0.25in, a 30 inch tires bumps that to .50inch.

We’re talking about 9.05 vs 9.3 inches of ground clearance which is a big deal for trails in my area.

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[notabumblebee]

My first thought was the same but I stuck my nose in the wheel and Tire section of the maverick forum and there are people there that claim a 255/75/17 tire will clear, with a 2" lift!!! I have speculated that the BS could fit a larger tire, if the wheels could be pushed forward a little. Maybe the Maverick has a different lower control are, that does that?

That’s a good question I bet @fordrangerlifts would know the answer.

 

[Bamsi]

Yeah I get it, I’m not talking about the guys on Facebook throwing 32 inch tires on the BS. There are several posts from other people on this forum going bigger than 29.5 and even a ford engineer claiming a 31 inch tire is the max size for the Badlands.

I’m looking at my BS BL in my driveway with 235/65/17 and I don’t think a 235/70 or 255/65 is out of the realm of possibility based on its wheel well clearance.

A 29.5 inch tire increases ground clearance by 0.25in, a 30 inch tires bumps that to .50inch.

We’re talking about 9.05 vs 9.3 inches of ground clearance which is a big deal for trails in my area.

That is part true, but who is taking into account the effective cross section gain, that will be affected by the diameter of the tire and its width? The tire will move farther inside the well. IMHO 255 with a 65 aspect ratio has a great chance tu rub at some time.

 

[Bluebaru]

That’s a good question I bet @fordrangerlifts would know the answer.

That's a good idea but maybe I'll go by the parts department, of my local Ford dealer, and look up the relevant lower suspension part numbers.

 

[Mark S.]

I don’t think a 235/70 or 255/65 is out of the realm of possibility based on its wheel well clearance.

Only way to know is to mount a set up and see for yourself. Please report result here!

 

[notabumblebee]

That's a good idea but maybe I'll go by the parts department, of my local Ford dealer, and look up the relevant lower suspension part numbers.

parts.ford.com, same suspension assembly but different knuckle with a bushing. I'm guessing that's because of the mavericks cost.

 

[Bluebaru]

parts.ford.com, same suspension assembly but different knuckle with a bushing. I'm guessing that's because of the mavericks cost.

Thanks for the suggestion. I just check and they have the same part #'s for the Front wheel knuckles and Front suspension arm assembly. Interestingly the Maverick parts are cheaper for the arm assembly ($234 vs $253) but more expensive for the Knuckles ($190ish vs $179)

 

[RiotfunK]

235/70-29.95” and 9.25” wide
255/65-30.05” and 10.04” wide
245/70-30.5” and 9.65” wide
Not a huge difference between them. I’m going 245/70.
235/70 is probs the sweet spot not lifted but there isn’t much in that size.

 

[Meanderthal]

235/70-29.95” and 9.25” wide
255/65-30.05” and 10.04” wide
245/70-30.5” and 9.65” wide
Not a huge difference between them. I’m going 245/70.
235/70 is probs the sweet spot not lifted but there isn’t much in that size.

Just one more size to add:
245/65/17 - 29.5” and 9.6” wide

It does seem from other posts here, that going from a 29.5” to 30” may require some level of modification to get full articulation without rub.

 

[RiotfunK]

I ordered 245/70/17. Gonna stuff on stock height badlands. And then lift after. Or whichever comes first. Not sure with shipping and not a ton of in stock options in that size. Didn’t want Ko2 since they only come in E rated in that size. Went with hankook dynapro at extreme.

 

[Bluebaru]

I ordered 245/70/17. Gonna stuff on stock height badlands. And then lift after. Or whichever comes first. Not sure with shipping and not a ton of in stock options in that size. Didn’t want Ko2 since they only come in E rated in that size. Went with hankook dynapro at extreme.

I look forward to hearing your feedback on the extreme's as that's a new tire but I would have made a different choice. I understand where you're coming from as to "E" Load rated tires. I'm looking at XL load rated tires but considering the "D" load rated 245/65/17 BFG's.

The best of the XL's in your size seems to be the Very acceptable (great) Falken Wild Peak AT3W. Still tall but not as tall are a few very good but possibly not great 235/70/17's like the Cooper AT3 4S, Firestone Destination A/T2 and the Sumitomo Encounter AT.

Almost as tall as those, at 29.8", for their 245/65/17, and what I'll probably get is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T, which has a $100 rebate, on a set of 4, through May 15th. It is a Hybrid design, half way between an AT and an MT but should have the road manners of a good AT tire and better in the mud than any other non MT tire.

 

[RiotfunK]

The wildpeaks in an SL were one of the worst tires I’ve ever run. They crack, chunk, cut and wear terrible. Were warranted and then they reneged on it. This was a few years ago. But bad taste still in my mouth. The E rated were awesome. Wanted toyo as my second choice. But all tires have a trial period. So I’ll Guinea pig them.

 

[Bluebaru]

The wildpeaks in an SL were one of the worst tires I’ve ever run. They crack, chunk, cut and wear terrible. Were warranted and then they reneged on it. This was a few years ago. But bad taste still in my mouth. The E rated were awesome. Wanted toyo as my second choice. But all tires have a trial period. So I’ll Guinea pig them.

Nope! The 245/70/17 Falken is available in an XL load rating! I am curious as to your experience with the Falkens? Were the ones you had a problem with AT3's and not AT3W's? At least I think the AT3 preceded the 3W.

I understand when a company reneges on a warranty, for some seeming trivial interpretation of their policy, it can leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Regarding trial periods. I know some makers will give you a credit, for your tires, if you are not happy with them, over a certain time or distance but that credit is only good toward some of their other tires and usually I'm not interested in any other model of their tires.

Do you know of any tire company that will just give you your $$ back?

 

[RiotfunK]

I put 2k miles on them and they were cracking like they were dry rotted, splitting, and were wearing really fast. They would have been at the wear bars at about 25k miles at the current wear rate. They were the at3w. I sent photos and they said they would cover because they had some bad tires ship. I still have the photos. They credited for the whole amount I paid. So I went to the E rated ones. The E rated were awesome. Then they charged back my dealer 800 bucks and said they won’t cover them. Again sent photos, talked with their higher ups and was all cool. I’ve run almost every well known off road tire over the years.

 

[RiotfunK]

I went the xl wildpeaks in 245/70/17. 6 ply so they are meaty and already knew what they’re capable of from the last ones I had. The hankooks just not enough info, even on other forums. Buy once, cry once.

225/65/17 is stockers in top photo and wildpeaks 245/70/17 xl in bottom photo. The stock badlands factory tires lasted 236 miles before I pulled them. Ride is far better, not wallowing like a carriage with the soft ass oem tires. And looks like it should now. Yes it rubs between 3/4 and full lock a little bit on the wheel liner by the pinch weld. And no I don’t care. It’s an easy fix that I’ll address when my lift comes in and then can reassess what’s rubbing. Went wheeling with the falkens right after I put them on. They worked out really well.