I just purchased an F-150 with factory installed 20" wheels. I love the truck, but the ride isn't as good as I thought it would be. How do I improve the ride? I have the Pirelli ATR tires.

sryan423, on Dec 26 2007, 01:47 PM, said:

Get 18" wheels!

A lot more give in sidewalls than there is in steel.

Actually, I have no useful information for you, but someone else here does, probably.

Keeping some weight over the rear axle will help the rear from some harshness. The tires may make a difference. You might try a tire like the Goodyear LS-2 if its 2WD. Actually, I'm rather surprised to hear that the Ford with 20s isn't riding that great. You're either doing a lot of off-pavement driving or apparently your roads are not that great. My Dodge with 20s (and the LS-2s) rides fine to me, except for over broken pavement where it will get a little choppy. On the highway, its very smooth, controlled ride.

Give it a little time and you'll probably get used to it. If not, yeah, go back to 18s and you'll get a better ride. You probably won't have that hard a time selling the 20s. Also, keep tabs on your air pressure. That will affect the ride and with short sidewalls, its often hard to see a >5 psi drop.

Traveler, on Dec 26 2007, 03:15 PM, said:

What do you use for weight over the rear axle? Do you have a suggested tire for 4 wheel drive?
The ride seems rougher than with 18" (I test drove both) on pavement with small bumps. On larger bumps, the ride was the same. I got the 20" because they looked nicer to me--now I'm wondering if the ride is more important. Hopefully I'll get used to the stiffness. Please give me any other information you have that may help improve the ride.

Not certain of the weight distribution aspect but I can tell you that 20" wheels are going to handle much differently than the 18" set up. Wait until you try the 22" wheels they are releasing next month. Like you said, you like the look-that is the trade off.

I would not switch out the tires-they are only going to last 18k or so-no way will you get close to 30k-the 22" will last even less.

And trust me, if you don't like the way the 20" wheels drive, can you imagine what it would feel like with a cheap pair of tires?

I've got an 06 F150 Lariat 4x4 with the 20" rims. I specifically searched for the 20's when I purchased it just because of the looks. Given a good rotation schedule, I've heard that these tires wear very well.

The only time I notice a rough ride is when the truck sits overnight and the factory Pirelli's "flaten out" a bit. It takes a couple miles to sort itself out and then everything is fine. I actually find the truck a dream to drive on the highway, its a very nice cruiser.

What wheel base do have? A short wheelbase could make for a rougher ride. But short of changing the wheel/tire combo you probably don't have very many options.

-Shannon

Isn't the F-150 a...what is it called............a truck?

P71_CrownVic, on Dec 26 2007, 07:33 PM, said:

Uh, yeah. Well there's that too.

-Shannon

Just for the heck of it, how much air are you running in your tires? Those Pirelli's are a fairly soft tire, try running 34-36 #'s of air in the fronts and 32#,s in the rears. It unbelieveable just how many peole run 40+ or more in a truck tire. Now if your hauling something, that 40+ lbs is needed.

sryan423, on Dec 26 2007, 08:45 PM, said:

As you pointed out the larger wheels will always trade-off ride for better looks. Often times, I have work-related material in my bed, but I suppose you could get a couple of bags of gravel at Lowes or Home Depot. Even unloaded, I really don't think that much about the ride. I just simply accept it as part of the truck. I wouldn't think that there should be any other problems with the truck as a result. Often, people think that its going to cause more squeeks or rattles. My truck has 70,000 miles on it and doesn't squeek or rattle. If the truck is built solid (which a Ford certainly should be) the only adversity will be a slightly stiffer ride.

As for the 4x4 wheels, no I can't really offer anything that isn't found online like at www.tirerack.com. My truck is a 2WD and came with Goodyear LSs. I replaced them at 35,000 miles with Goodyear LS-2s and they are again due for a replacement. So, I am getting about 35,000 miles out of my 275/55/20 tires.

I'd say give it awhile longer and you'll probably get used to it. If not, I'd say try another tire from Goodyear or Michelin and see if there is a ride improvement. It could be the Pirelli has a stiffer sidewall. I cannot imagine that the Ford with 20s rides worse than the Dodge with 20s, but I can tell you I don't even give my truck's ride a second thought unless going over a serious bump in the road.

sryan423, on Dec 26 2007, 02:47 PM, said:

That all depends on what how much you are whiling to spend and how radical you are whiling to go, Ford does not make a dime off of aftermarket parts in this arena, but do you want only better ride quality or are you looking to tuck you 20"s wil getting better ride quality. Air-ride is the way to go all the way around with what you have to start with. You can get bolt-on replacements for your factory hardware of notch your frame and tuck you 20"s while riding in the weeds! Tucking requires frame notching but a bolt on kit just for ride quality costs allot less! Mild Suspention Modification LINK! Bolt- ON Load Leveler LINK! F-150 Tuck'n 20"s link! First you have to decide what you need/want it for because there are countless mods for the F-150! Work'n/Hual'n/Pimp'n

What is it with these 20" ghetto gang bangin' rims as a standard size on some of these new vehicles? No wonder why vehicles cost so much and let alone the tires to boot! This is absolutely ridiculous and getting out of hand!

Misconception that 20" tires costs a lot of money. Granted, when the 20" wheel was first introduced, they were more expensive. Actually, the first factory truck that I know of running 20s was the Harley Davidson SuperCrews, but it was Dodge that brought it mainstream.

The idea of 20s on a 4x4 are a bit silly but, I don't see anything wrong with them on a street-driven 2WD truck...especially those intended to be sporty. That said, however, the 22+ sizes are a bit much on anything.

Bored of Pisteon, on Dec 30 2007, 03:44 PM, said:

That is subjective and there is apperantly a significant % of the market that wants them or ford would not have them offered as an option! Like it or not the black/Hip Hop culture buys enough to drive the future designs. I grew up in the ghetto and refuse to leave, I love the new offerings but realize they are only for image and not for functionality! If Ford had balls they would offer what they really want 24" on a stock F-150 so that everytime they shatter a rim working their landscaping business they can pay out the nose for a replacement, or run a 24" steel donut. If you haven't been watching the Hip Hop culture is the ones who "made Toyota", and our lean towards what they want will bring us back in their favor. It is not a black thing it is an urban thing, this is what we want! I rolled through my hood the other day and watched heads turn in my wifes Edge! I even read the lips of a man watching, "That's a bad mother" is what I saw. That's right, it's a Ford and it's mine get your own! He was first looking at the rims. It is an old ghetto saying "You can take an old piece of junk and and put rims on it and make a good looking car" even if it has rust! Superficial, but it does sell! In order to sell the market you first have to know what they want! Ford is doing well by not trying to alienate anyone, what you like is your "option" it is their job to get it to you. Not everyone likes everything, the important thing is that you get what you want and talk about the Ford opffering that you don't so that your rebelious children will buy it!

My Cousin traded his 2006 F-150 in for a Dodge Ram and is much happier with the Dodge partly because it appearance and the 20" rims. Unfortunately he found the F-150 to be too dull to drive compared to the muscular Dodge.

Traveler, on Dec 31 2007, 01:13 AM, said:

The 20" rims that Ford puts on their pickups are an OK width for a 2WD truck, but if your truck is a 4X4 and you want a wider, more agressive off-road tire, the rims are just too narrow. As someone said earlier in the thread, an 18" rim in an 8" to 9.5" width will accommodate a huge variety of tire options in the same overall diameter as the stock tires.

Something for everyone! http://i185.photobuc...uto/Tuscany.jpg

Dealer sold conversions LINK

To me, using 20" wheels on a 2wd half-ton truck is about like using 17 or 18" wheels on a car. Wheels should accentuate the body lines of the vehicle, but shouldn't overpower the rest of the car or truck. Even with the 20s, I haven't seen any adversity to having them such as increased risk of damage to either tire or rim and the replacement costs hasn't been that great. If you do a search of tirerack.com, you'll find that the standardized 20 inch truck tire used by most manufacturers is not that expensive and only marginally so over a comparable 18 inch tire.

Traveler, on Dec 30 2007, 11:45 PM, said:

Dude people acctually will pay big money for after market rims that are as big as 24" on a full size truck. 20" is the best Ford can do without absorbing 10's of thousand in warranty costs to fix rims bought by those who lack enough common sense not to curb them and destroy the rim! It is better than all other manufacturers will give you from the factory!

There is an old saying: "Form follows function."
20 or 22 inch wheels/tires on a 4-Wheel drive pickup truck are not a good idea.
The standard 17 or 18 inch wheels with a good all-terrain tire will function much better. Besides, you can't see them while driving but you can feel every bump.

F250, on Dec 31 2007, 01:20 AM, said:

They will not offer knobbies on an oversized rim, and deffinatly not on a 4 wheel drive. They run the tallest they can without sacrificing funtionality. In the aftermarket world people who buy 24" rims (which will fit on our full sized trucks) know that not only can they not take them off-road but they have to be aware of every pot hole or it will cost them money to replace their rims if they hit one!

Oh Man !! I just ordered a 08 with 20" rims standard ... .. 2008 60 th year edtion.

Traveler, on Dec 26 2007, 09:31 PM, said:

If you can stand something a little more aggressive, check out the Goodyear Wrangler AT/S. While I do not sell Goodyears, these are a terrific tire for trucks. I have had 3 sets on my personal vehicle and have gotten close to 60,000 miles. In fact, I have replaced them because once they get 75% worn, they get squirrelly in the rain. Squirrelly as in hit the passing gear at 40mph and fishtail. They do not cup bad at all either and are fairly quiet. Drawback is that they are expensive...but you get what you pay for. They make them from like 16" to 22" I believe.

Bored of Pisteon, on Dec 30 2007, 08:44 PM, said:

Amen ! I agree 100%

Customers don't know what those puppy are cost up front. Wait until they bend/break one of them ! Ouch !