Maverick replacement tires

[mdl20813]

All these A/T "lite" tires are pretty solid choices for what you describe @Frenchy and perform similarly: Nomad Grappler, BFG Trail Terrain, Falken Wildpeak Trail, Nokian APT . Biggest considerations for most people are probably going to be which one has the best deal when you're ready to buy, availability and maybe weight. I went with the Nittos bc the weight allowed me to upsize the tire with a net reduction in weight over the wheel/tire combo I had been using (Stock FX4 rim w/ Open Country AT3 235/65 vs Reika Drifter w/ Nitto Nomad 245/65) and Discount Tire gave me a great price match on them at the time. The Falken Trails in particular seem oddly heavy for their class but are still nice. My dad has them on his Crosstrek and likes them but he did drop 2-3 MPGs, even though they're the same size as OEM.

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[oysterville]

Consumer Reports on tires .

 

[FHFR3Maverick]

I like the way the B F Goodrich K02's fill in my fenders. LT245/65-17

 

[Frenchy]

I like the way the B F Goodrich K02's fill in my fenders. LT245/65-17

Thank you guys.

 

[Phimosis]

What is the tallest tires that can fit in a MAV without modifications and/or rubbing?
Thank you

When I came to this forum, the consensus I found was that 255/65R17 (30.1” x 10.2”)was the largest tire you can fit on an all stock vehicle without rubbing. That is the size I installed, and I can verify, it works without rubbing. There may be an off-road articulation scenario where it would rub, but I haven’t found it yet. The size you mentioned, 235/70R17 (30.0” x 9.4”) will definitely fit without rubbing, since it is both smaller diameter and narrower width than the 255/65R17. However, that is an uncommon size and the options for all terrain tires are limited. You won’t find the usual suspects, like falken wildpeak, nitto trail grappler, BFG T/A KO2, Toyo open country A/T, etc. in that size.

 

[Decayed]

Why do you want to replace the tires? Which ones are already installed? I had the pirellis on mine and liked them better than I thought. FWIW My new car has yoko geolandar a/t go15's and I really like those. They are 3 peak rated.

 

[Jah.]

Happy with Pirellis so far . probably age out before wear out ( currently 3 years and 9 k miles ) . I like michlein tires . don't do much sand / off roading . Got fx4 for suspension and other upgrades .

 

[Frenchy]

When I came to this forum, the consensus I found was that 255/65R17 (30.1” x 10.2”)was the largest tire you can fit on an all stock vehicle without rubbing. That is the size I installed, and I can verify, it works without rubbing. There may be an off-road articulation scenario where it would rub, but I haven’t found it yet. The size you mentioned, 235/70R17 (30.0” x 9.4”) will definitely fit without rubbing, since it is both smaller diameter and narrower width than the 255/65R17. However, that is an uncommon size and the options for all terrain tires are limited. You won’t find the usual suspects, like fallen wildpeak, nitro trail grappler, BFG T/A KO2, Toyo open country A/T, etc. in that size.

Thank you for reply. I am not familiar with tires sizes. I am not looking for a wider tire but for a taller tire to increase the ground clearance. Which size should I choose?
thank you again.

 

[Phimosis]

Thank you for reply. I am not familiar with tires sizes. I am not looking for a wider tire but for a taller tire to increase the ground clearance. Which size should I choose?
thank you again.

The tallest tire you can fit at the stock width, without rubbing, is 225/75R17 (30.2” x 8.4”). That is 1.7” larger diameter than stock and will yield 0.85” of additional ground clearance over the stock tires. But it is also an unpopular size and you can’t get the mainstream all-terrain tires in that size.

A 245/70R17 is a popular size(for other vehicles) with all the major AT tires for sale at that size spec. However, it is 30.8” x 9.8” and that larger diameter will most likely rub the fender liners without a lift kit.

The stock 225/65R17 tires measure 28.5” x 8.4”, for reference.

The most popular size aftermarket AT tires for Maverick forum users are 235/65R17 (29.1” x 9.4”, 0.3” additional ride height), 245/65R17 (29.5” x 9.8”, 0.5” additional ride height and 255/65R17 (30.1” x 10.2”, 0.8” additional ground clearance). Those all fit without rubbing and they are all available in the most popular brands of AT tires.

With all of that said, the most effective way to get additional ground clearance is to put a 2” lift kit on it. That will raise the front by 2 inches and the rear by 1.5 inches and your underbody measurements will show roughly 1.5” more ground clearance in the front and in the rear.

 

[tom_tucker]

Why do you want to replace the tires? Which ones are already installed? I had the pirellis on mine and liked them better than I thought. FWIW My new car has yoko geolandar a/t go15's and I really like those. They are 3 peak rated.

Exactly, why? MSRP, tax, tag, title, inspection and accessories. It's more $$$ than you think. Last thing I want to do is rip the new tires off. I'm gonna keep the original tires as long as possible. Instead, I got a 2nd set of cheap steelies and snow tires. The original tires are now going to last even longer. When I get to gravel in summer, I just slow down.

 

[Frenchy]

The tallest tire you can fit at the stock width, without rubbing, is 225/75R17 (30.2” x 8.4”). That is 1.7” larger diameter than stock and will yield 0.85” of additional ground clearance over the stock tires. But it is also an unpopular size and you can’t get the mainstream all-terrain tires in that size.

A 245/70R17 is a popular size(for other vehicles) with all the major AT tires for sale at that size spec. However, it is 30.8” x 9.8” and that larger diameter will most likely rub the fender liners without a lift kit.

The stock 225/65R17 tires measure 28.5” x 8.4”, for reference.

The most popular size aftermarket AT tires for Maverick forum users are 235/65R17 (29.1” x 9.4”, 0.3” additional ride height), 245/65R17 (29.5” x 9.8”, 0.5” additional ride height and 255/65R17 (30.1” x 10.2”, 0.8” additional ground clearance). Those all fit without rubbing and they are all available in the most popular brands of AT tires.

With all of that said, the most effective way to get additional ground clearance is to put a 2” lift kit on it. That will raise the front by 2 inches and the rear by 1.5 inches and your underbody measurements will show roughly 1.5” more ground clearance in the front and in the rear.

A lift kit does not accomplish what I want: more ground clearance under the differentials and I understand destroy the cv joints.
Thank you so much for all your valuable information and help.
Tonight I watched the very informative video:

 

[Derwood]

I am sure that they already are tons of posts about best replacement tires for the maverick but I cannot find them.
I ma going to have a 2025 XLT AWD Hybrid at the beginning of next year.
One of the first thing I want to do it to replace the tires.
I shall be driving mostly on pavement but I live in Utah so we get snow and I plan to drive on dirt and gravel roads to go visit the state of Utah.
I have been looking at tires and videos on YouTube. I like the maxis and falken but I think that they are overkill for what I need. For year s I have been using general snow tires which are very good.
Low road noise is important for me as well as punctures resistance especially side walls.
What do you recommend.
Thank you.

The stock tires are decent. I drove last winter with them. Even in slippery conditions they handled good albeit in city driving. I recommend a full set of winter tires with steelie rims if you do a lot of winter driving in snow on the highway

 

[Phimosis]

A lift kit does not accomplish what I want: more ground clearance under the differentials and I understand destroy the cv joints.
Thank you so much for all your valuable information and help.
Tonight I watched the very informative video:

1) The lift kit does give more ground clearance under the differentials. These are not solid axles. The lift kit raises the differential and it increases the CV angle.

2)What destroys the CV joints faster than the increased angle of a lift kit is additional load, such as towing a trailer, driving at very high speeds or frequently using full throttle to accelerate. And one of the biggest loads you can put on an axle is a larger diameter diameter tire because it is heavier and the larger radius increases the moment of inertia, which means it takes a lot more torque on the axle to get the tire to rotate. This is why you rarely see stock 4x4’s break axles, but they brake axles all the time when they put 35”+ tires on them.
3) The vast majority of CV failures in mavericks are stock ride height 2wd maverick hybrids with stock tires. What is causing the maverick CV’s to fail is a manufacturer design flaw.

 

[tom_tucker]

The Maverick Hybrid is notatruck, in terms of off road modifications for larger tires, lifts, etc. It's not made for that and the axles and suspension can't handle it. The issues with mods have been well documented in MTC. There's a reason Utah is riddled with tacomas and frontiers. Keep the Hybrid stock or get a tremor and keep that stock too.

 

[Frenchy]

1) The lift kit does give more ground clearance under the differentials. These are not solid axles. The lift kit raises the differential and it increases the CV angle.

2)What destroys the CV joints faster than the increased angle of a lift kit is additional load, such as towing a trailer, driving at very high speeds or frequently using full throttle to accelerate. And one of the biggest loads you can put on an axle is a larger diameter diameter tire because it is heavier and the larger radius increases the moment of inertia, which means it takes a lot more torque on the axle to get the tire to rotate. This is why you rarely see stock 4x4’s break axles, but they brake axles all the time when they put 35”+ tires on them.
3) The vast majority of CV failures in mavericks are stock ride height 2wd maverick hybrids with stock tires. What is causing the maverick CV’s to fail is a manufacturer design flaw.

Again, thank you for your reply. I fully agree with you. So what is my best solution? Stay with original tire size? I was going to install a lift but after reading all the horror stories, I decide not to.

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