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Ride quality opinions requested -- 20" SL vs 18" E rated tires on 2023 3.5 Max Tow FX4

Samson16

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Greetings from New Mexico!

Short time lurker, first time poster!

At the end of March, I purchased a new 2023 3.5EB Max Tow FX4 short-bed and generally love the truck.
What I have been less-than-enamored with, however, is the ride. On perfect pavement, at lower speeds, it is extremely smooth. However, at highway/freeway speeds, the thing is jittery as [insert colorful metaphor here]. The 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins I replaced (and am sorely missing at the moment) rode way smoother at highway/freeway speeds.

This new truck came with the 20" Hankook Dynapro AT2 tires. I first had those tires rebalanced at the dealership. Then I tried having those tires replaced with Michelin Defender LTX M/S. Then I had those road-forced and re-road forced several times. Not sure I'm welcome at that Discount Tire location anymore. :cautious: I've tried replacing the rear shocks with the Fox 2.0 and the Bilstein 5100. Both were easier to compress than the stock shocks (which goes against the stories I've read about the pre-14th gen trucks). I've also dropped the PSI in all the tires to levels most of you would probably consider irresponsible. Anyway, I've basically come to the conclusion that, barring some problem with the driveline, this truck just rides like, well, a truck. I have come to realize I basically bought the stiffest F-150 you can get.

That all said, I'm looking at sizing down the tires to 18". I ordered the Tremor wheel kit from Ford which I think will look awesome on my gray blacked-out Platinum truck. However, I'm a little concerned with what I'm finding on load ranges on tires for smaller wheels. It appears, to keep my factory circumference (going from 275/60R20 to 275/70R18) would basically require I change from SL to E rated tires.

So, after all my jabbering, here's the question for you experts out there - will 18" E rated tires give me a softer ride than the 20" SL rated tires I have now? If not, what would you recommend I do? (I realize that's actually 2 questions)

Thanks for sticking with me all this way (I know I tend to get wordy), apologies for my overuse of parenthesis, and thanks in advance for any advice and opinions! :cool:

-Dustin
Hey Dustin, your post was quite readable for me.

My PB has sort of a "motor coach" feel to it. Kind of boaty and soft bouncy. It is jittery and hard over speed bumps compared to my H3 though.

Have you tried loading the bed down to see if that helps? That might help separate the tires from the suspension regarding ride quality.
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dspa

dspa

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Hey Dustin, your post was quite readable for me.

My PB has sort of a "motor coach" feel to it. Kind of boaty and soft bouncy. It is jittery and hard over speed bumps compared to my H3 though.

Have you tried loading the bed down to see if that helps? That might help separate the tires from the suspension regarding ride quality.
Thanks, Samson! I actually have a 10-pack of very high-quality sand bags on order and am going to fill them and add them to the bed in 50 lb increments to see if it improves the ride. I already have about 100lbs in the bed between the Diamondback tonneau cover and the Tonneau Buddy. But it might just need more. The front end of the truck is definitely "jittery" too... nothing like what I expected from a double-wishbone coilover suspension. It's also very "floaty."

That said, I think the front is actually worse than the rear. I was looking at aftermarket coilovers but that's a lot of $$$ to throw at something that may or may not be the cure (says the guy who's already dropped $2K on tires, 2 different sets of shocks, and oh yeah, a sway bar - forgot to mention that one). At this point, I think I'd happily give up some of the softness to get more smoothness. I think you described the ride perfectly... boaty and bouncy (and I'd add "smooth") but also "jittery." Just not what I expected from a modern 1/2-ton, I guess.
 

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I'd go to a dealership and test drive another similar F150 and compare.

I'm not someone enamored with the oem F150 suspension, and have modified the last 4 that I have purchased. But I'm not hearing the same description that I would have given. Some similarities, but mostly very different.

I'd want to at least eliminate the chance you have a truck that doesn't have a problem.
 

Davexxxx

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I'd go to a dealership and test drive another similar F150 and compare.

I'm not someone enamored with the oem F150 suspension, and have modified the last 4 that I have purchased. But I'm not hearing the same description that I would have given. Some similarities, but mostly very different.

I'd want to at least eliminate the chance you have a truck that doesn't have a problem.
Yes.

I only test drove one, for ... 10 miles maybe? 22-23 4x4 Platinum powerboost.

Mix of interstate and secondary. Nothing rough or too curvy but there isn't a negative attribute I could use that would describe it.

It was fast, without noticeable effort, smooth, without feeling disconnected and quiet, as the finest luxury car I've ever been in.

I expect the same from my Lariat, when it gets here.

Can't blame anyone for wanting to check tires first. Maybe even getting a second opinion about it but after that ...
 

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Samson16

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It was fast, without noticeable effort, smooth, without feeling disconnected and quiet, as the finest luxury car I've ever been in.
Quiet and powerful. Smooth. Like a big Lincoln or Caddy land yacht from days past.
 

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Quiet and powerful. Smooth. Like a big Lincoln or Caddy land yacht from days past.
Depends on the year.

My Mom had a couple of town cars.

The 1st gen was boat like. Mushy. I hated it.

The 3rd gen was quite nice. Comfy, without feeling out of control. Really surprised me to the upside, handling wise. Enough so that I pushed it and it held well.
 
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Good morning, Everyone,

Thank you all again for your input and ideas - especially the idea of taking another truck on a test drive. I've got a pretty good relationship with my dealer sales rep so I'll get in touch with him to arrange something.

The descriptions above of luxury-level smoothness are making me a little sad. :LOL:

One way or another, I'll get this figured out (I hope!). Will post back here if/when I have some answers. Either way, regarding the OP, sounds like the 18" wheels are not in my future.

Dustin
 

kb2755

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Regarding the tires, you could look at the SL grabbers that come on the tremor. Might be a good option in 275/70R18. I have them on mine, which replaced the 275/65R18 OEM Wranglers.
 
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Regarding the tires, you could look at the SL grabbers that come on the tremor. Might be a good option in 275/70R18. I have them on mine, which replaced the 275/65R18 OEM Wranglers.
How do you like the Grabbers? Did they balance well (road force, spin)? How's the road noise? I realized after my OP that those are available in SL, and are apparently the only ones on the market in that size and an SL rating. I've never had General tires before, though.
 

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kb2755

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How do you like the Grabbers? Did they balance well (road force, spin)? How's the road noise? I realized after my OP that those are available in SL, and are apparently the only ones on the market in that size and an SL rating. I've never had General tires before, though.
I like them! I felt confident going with the grabbers since they were OEM for the tremors.

Road noise has increased slightly over the wranglers but still not very noticeable. Fuel economy has decreased a bit, but still getting 11 l/100km range out of my 2.7l.

I feel now like if I ever got stuck off road or in winter conditions they’d handle it a lot better than the wranglers. Though I do have a dedicated set of winters I switch to.
 

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Every truck I’ve had rode differently. A 1 ton dodge with leafs at both ends was solid, firm, yet smooth. Ditto for a ‘87 Chevy 1 ton w/454. The dodge 1/2 tons were soft with the coils, but smooth for the most part. Then theres the fords. 06, 16, 21, 22, Lariats. All half tons. The 06 had scorpion 20’’ that were garbage ad I ran 17’’ snows in the winter that were great ride and function. The 16 (eco boost) had the middle tow package, was soft on the corners and had 20’’ continentals. I put the bilstein 2’’ lift on and it was the ideal. Keep in mind, it was the aluminum body.
Presently I have a 21 and a 22 Powerboost lariats. The 21 has the mid tow package, the latter the max. The 21 has the 2’’ bilstein lift, the 22 does not, yet. The bilstein 6112 lift was almost unnoticeable as far as ride and firmness goes on the Powerboost. It has the 18’’ wheels. It’s a heavier truck and I suspect the suspension is beefed up for that. I have done nothing with the 22, it seems fine as is.
So, a lot of difference in yrs, weights, and configurations. Heavy will always ride better in these class of trucks. Yr to yr is often different between what we think should be the same. The last few yrs with component shortages may well factor in as to what goes on these trucks. One of my trucks is in Nevada one in Alaska. Roads, temps, pavement composition all drastically diff, more factors.
Best luck finding the perfect ride, I will never know why the 16 was great, and all the others ok.
 

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My truck is a "21 XLT 301A SuperCab 8' long bed HDPP with Max Tow, 3.75 diff. This config comes stock with General Grabber 265/70-18 load range C tires. I was a bit skeptical of the load range C tires initially as I was also coming from a '14 Ram 2500 and many other 3/4 ton trucks which are stock with load range E tires. As it turns out the load range C is relatively stiff, but not overly so. I would say for the most part, it does drive and feel like a "truck", and not a car. Handling is fairly precise with no real feeling of floating on the road.

I initially thought I would upgrade to a load range E, but at this point, I feel like the load range C is the sweet spot for hauling, towing, and driving with light loads. I pull a travel trailer that weighs 6,200 lbs and occasionally a dump trailer with a skid steer that comes in at about 11,000.

One of the negatives to the load range C is that there are very very few choices in that spec. It used to be load range D was available, but I think it is hard to find too. Plenty to choose from in load range E, but you'll typically run a higher psi, which should be a rougher ride.

Just another perspective.
 
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dspa

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Thanks again everyone for sharing your input, experiences, and opinions! This is all very helpful and gives me a lot to think about and a direction to move in.

I spoke with the dealership today and they're going to let me test drive a nearly-identical truck on Wednesday morning to compare with mine. My Tremor wheel kit has also arrived and I'll be picking those up as well. If for no other reason, I'll have a set of off-road wheels/tires I can slap on the truck if I ever decide to take it off the tarmac.

I'll report back here with what the test drive on Wednesday reveals.
 

fordhouston

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i asked a pretty similar question about this a few weeks ago lol..

here is my personal experience and take, i own a Ram 1500 with 33 inch SL RATED tires and my F150 is running 35 inch F RATED tires. both pickup trucks are running 20 inch wheels. if i'm being totally honest its so hard to tell the difference between the two unless i am in a controlled environment where i can really and truly tell the difference. i think from here on out i shall avoid SL RATED tires and just bite E/F RATED tires due to their larger PLY RATINGS. i hope everything i said all makes sense lol
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