B190 Enthusiasts

Has anyone other than the one poster installed LT265/75R16 load range E tires on their rear wheels and what were the results positive or negative?

I have Michelin M/S2 LT265/75R16 on all four wheels of my 1993 Airstream 190 (on a Ford E350 chassis).

When I purchased the vehicle it had Goodyear Wrangler LT245/75R16 tires. After one of those tires came apart (in 2004), I explored alternatives, eventually choosing Michelins in the larger size. At that time I got Michelin M/S; when it was time to replace those, I got the newer Michelin M/S2 (in both cases load range E). These are on the stock Ford steel rims.

The larger tires have a higher load rating (the old ones were 3042lbs @ 80PSI, the new ones are 3415lbs @ 80PSI). I like the extra margin of safety.

On my vehicle the LT265/75R16's fit with no problem on the rear; on the front I had to slightly trim part of the fiberglass fender extension (near the back of the front fenderwell). Though the tread diameter of the two tire sizes is slightly different, I found that my speedometer read MORE accurately with the larger tires (it was off by a few percent before; it's within 1% now).

Hi all,

I have been running a new set of Michelins in this size for a couple weeks. I heartily endorse this size and the tires. I did need to trim the back of the front fiberglass skirts a bit, but it was a small change to get the added width.

Anyone able to post pictures of the trim work needed on the front fenders?

The first shot is of the rear of the wheelwell:



The second is of ONE of the front trim pieces (attached to the bottom of the front bumper) where I had to trim 1/4 inch of the plastic off while at the tire store:



I did trims on both fiberglass skirts at the back (hat tip to Eric Z.), then did one minor trim at the tire store (one front tire was rubbing at an extreme angle). You may not need to trim ANY depending on your vehicle at the front. This was on a 1993 model.

Best of luck.

Hello,

I realize this is an old thread but, Is there anyone able to post pictures of the trim work needed on the front fenders? We have a 1993 and like the idea of larger tires for a higher load rating safety margin. We plan on pulling a small cargo trailer with kayaks and other gear.

Cheers!

Here's a photo of the trimming I did to the fiberglass fender extensions near the back of the front fenderwells (driver's side shown here). As I describe in an old post (above), I did this to fit LT265/75R16 tires (in place of the stock LT245/75R16 tires) on my 1993 Airstream 190 on a Ford E350 chassis. (The trimmed area is circled in red.)

In my case, no modification was needed for the rear tires.
Before trimming the front, it's worth testing to make sure trimming is needed on your vehicle.

Thank you EricZ.

I appreciate your reply to my request.

This is what I was looking for. May I ask have you noticed a difference between the two tire sizes in relation to handling of your B in all driving conditions?

Cheers!

I'm afraid I don't recall how the handling differed between the stock tires and the wider ones (it's been more than a decade since I switched). I believe I'd recall if it had gotten worse, but I don't think it got noticeably better either.

(I think you now have the new tires, so it might be moot, but I figured I'd answer just in case.)

EricZ wrote:I'm afraid I don't recall how the handling differed between the stock tires and the wider ones (it's been more than a decade since I switched). I believe I'd recall if it had gotten worse, but I don't think it got noticeably better either.

(I think you now have the new tires, so it might be moot, but I figured I'd answer just in case.)

Hi EricZ, I may have missed it, but did you keep the same steel rims from the 245/75/R16s, or upgrade to a wider rim for the 265s?

I installed the LT265/75R16 tires on the stock Ford E350 steel rims. My notes show those stock steel rims as 7" wide.

If you consider aftermarket rims, be sure to check their load rating. Many rims have surprisingly low ratings.

Thanks EricZ,

I had read it was fine to do that, your "OK" makes me feel more comfortable about it.

I have been running these tires on stock rims for over 28,000 miles. No problems. You just may have to cut a bit off the ends of the front bumper caps for clearance. Best of luck.

Reddeer wrote:I have been running these tires on stock rims for over 28,000 miles. No problems. You just may have to cut a bit off the ends of the front bumper caps for clearance. Best of luck.

Great, Thanks!

I've been putting some miles on my rig this year, and the front tires "cupped" a little for lack of a proper alignment. Since I am going to replace 2 tires instead of 4 this time and want a larger Load range, I am wanting to try LT265/70R16E's on the back and move the good 245/75R16's to the front. They have the same diameter at 30.5". Has anyone tried something like this before?