Ok I have been looking around and wonder what others have found pertaining studded tires for the 18" rims.

Copper studded tire (not sure if they are winter tires and have the studs added) run about $1250

Avalance Extreme tires with studs added and new 17" steel rims for $1250.

Well that is as far as I got. Been busy dodging puddles instead of ice but I need to get this figured out and was curious what other have done with their trucks. I was not to impressed with the Cont's last winter and I got the truck the middle of March so they did not see any real winter weather.

Thanks All.

 

What no one has gotten studded tires yet???

 

Nope, not yet. Are you worried about load rating? I think the Coopers are the only winter tires with an E-Load rating. I don't know about the Avalance Extremes.

 

Been looking for decent set of snow/ice tires that I can have studded for my 2005 F350 6.0L. My first choice was Cooper, but they do not have anything 18" rims E rated.

Am presently running a different set of rims 19.5", but still have the 18" OEM rims and conti tires. Goodyear just released two different E laoding size in their Wrangler series in 18". A LT275/70R-18 and LT325/60R-18 Rated approximately 3600# at 80 PSIG.

Does any one have any experience with Wrangler tires in a heavy snow fall / ice conditions? About 6" of fresh show is all the H rated tires I use to carry the camper can handle.

 

Cooper tire specs

The Cooper Discoverer S/T LT275/65R18 are E rated with a 3415 psi load range. If you want to go a little bigger the Cooper Discoverer S/T LT275/70R18 is E rated also with a 3640 load rating. The Discoverer S/T comes with stud holes, so easily studdable. Also, when the studs wear out you can pull them and have a great set of all terrain tires.

 

I liked the thought of 19.5" wheels and tires on my truck, but the cost was too high for me. The G or H load rating does look very good for heavy loads. I know Bridgestone and Goodyear have some aggressive tires for these wheels. Rickson Truck http://www.ricksontruck.com/ has some bolt on 19.5" wheels and tires available.

 

I'll have to take a look at the Cooper Discoverer when in Anchorage. I'm not to concern about have max load on the truck since the only thing I haul in the winter is a 4 place covered snowmachine trailer.

I also looked at getting 17" rims with tires. $1250 for 4. What are the 19.5 going for???

Still do not know which route to go.

 

The 19.5" tires run about $395 US per tire for Michelin 245/70-19.5 XDE Mud Snows + the initial investment in some good rims. I have no complaint's about their handling with 3300# of camper on the back of the truck during the summer.

BF goodrich just released some 18" E rated tires (32" - 3600#) in their All Train KO line. This is good mud tire. What I need though is studded tires for Ice. Am going check out the Cooper's for use with OEM 18" wheels.

 

Well I just purchased a set of Black Ford Steel rims and Cooper 17" E Tires. Tires were $212 each and the rims were $133. Not to many E Rated tires out there and I needed them by next week so thats the route that I went. The 18" Cooper were around $260 each but I figure this way its a one time deal and I would be done with the swapping tires on rims.

 

Ok the 17" rims were from 6-Robbles @ $610.

The Discovery 17" Tires were $910

Grand total of $1520.

Cons: 17" set up is almost 1.5 inches shorter than my 18". Spedo is 5mph off. Thye do look smaller than the 18"
Pros: Lower center of gravity. A lot better traction on ice. Yes they are Load E. They also have a wider profile. Back to the wider is better for stability.

My OOPPSSSS. I got the 265's but my 18 were 275's. Oppsss

 

Mike, how is the traction of the new Coopers? Have you had them on icy roads yet?

 

I'm not a tire guy so help me out here. I'm ordering a new truck and debating between the 17" or 18" tire. Seems like a lot more options in the 17" but I like the extra height of the 18". I also need studded tires, so here is my question: can't all tires be drilled and studded? Or can you only stud certain tires. Why can't you get the 18 BFG's and drill and stud them?

 

Sockeye, I think mike's delima is the fact that he was looking for E-rated tires in the 18" size that were already studded. There's only one or two out there that are. and any in the !8" E- rated are BIG $$$$$

 

OK

Maybe I'm getting off the topic here but this is what I think I'm going with when ever I can get this damn "08" ordered.
37X12.5OR17 studded. I just talked to Muffler City & Brake on 5th Ave. in Anchorage and they can stud them for me and they have them in stock. I'm getting a 3" leveling lift on my new truck so hopefully they will fit. They are $343 apiece. D rated but he said the rating is 3525 which is more than the rim is rated for anyway, and he said this should be plenty for anything I'm going to do with it including putting a small (3000 lb to 3500 lb) camper on. Here are some pics of these tires and rims (unstudded) from another thread. I think they look really good!
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...cs-inside.html
Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

Whoops

I was just informed by Nye Frontier Ford that I am limited to 6" lift and 35" tires to stay within there warranty.

So I'm going with a 4" lift and 35 x 12.5 OR17 BFG Mud-terrain T/A KM (studded) as recommended by him.

Still waiting to get truck ordered.