Can I put 295/50/15's on a 4WD 94 F-150?

[h34choctaw]

Hello, I bought a 94 F-150 Supercab in 4WD, with 300 I-6 and 5-speed manual. I blasted and painted over Thanksgiving some 15x10 wagon wheel and put some 31" white outline Michelin's on them. They look great-unfortunately I just discovered that I have a 3.08 front and rear axle. Nothing like running the VIN through a decoder site AFTER I buy it!!!

So I don't want to spend money regearing the front and back axles. I have a chance to trade my wheeland tires for some 295/50/15's. I like the idea of the fatter tires and the smaller diameter tires to help out my final gear ratio. Since I'm pretty much will only use 4WD in inclement weather down here in Georgia I really won't need the bigger tires anyway.

Question is what effect and what might the pitfalls be in putting a tire of that width on the front and back?. Interestingly they came off a guy's 96 F-150. Will I get some wearing of front-end components and should maybe look for 275/60/15's on some 15x8's? I can always use my factory steel rims I guess. What do ya'll think?

 

[slick]

Call these folks. They know everything about tire and wheels.
https://www.tirerack.com/content/tirerack/desktop/en/research_advice.html

 

[roundhouse]

31s should be ok with 3.08 axles

I’m running 35s with 3.73 axles and it’s fine

Don’t get to use fifth gear as much as before but other than that there’s no difference

Fifth still works fine on flat interstate
Have to drop to fourth on a hill


You truck will look really dorky with anything smaller than 31


AlsoThe axles May have been changed

Only way to verify axle ratio is jack up both wheels and spin the driveshaft and carefully count the revolutions of the tire and driveshaft

 

[Kahrnut]

Increase horsepower and torque, with minor engine mods, free flow exhaust, K&N air intake, maybe a power programmer, new spark plugs, etc.

 

[CliffB]

295/50R15's were extremely popular in the late 90's early 00's for the short fat stance that was so popular in the lowrider scene. The F150 and Silverado/Cheyenne guys ran them because it had the same lowrider look while still putting the power to the ground. Check the date code on those tires. They haven't been popular in years and I can't imagine there are many manufacturer's producing them still. Odd's are those tires are fairly old. Stick with the 31's. That is not that big of a tire at all for that truck and should serve you fine. If you do decide to downsize the 255/70R15 was the most popular appropriate tire for those trucks after removing the 235/75R15 oem tires.

 

[h34choctaw]

Yeah I think I'm going to pass on the 295/50's. I didn't want to put a whole lot of money into the truck-it's just a weekend Home Depot cruiser. I will occasionally want to tow my 5x10 trailer with ATV's and go-carts though. Since I would like to increase my gear ratio a little I think I will take it back to the 28" factory diameter of the 235/75/15 but go to a little wider 275/60/15. It does have a 3.08-I physically checked the gearing. Those steel 15x10 wagon wheels with the 31" were heavy too. I'm sure going back to a 15x8 with the 275/60's will be a little easier on the brakes. Thanks for the heads-up on the date code. I'll be sure to look at that since I plan on buying used tires.

 

[Kahrnut]

www.discounttire.com