Upgraded tires good on suspension?

[RadioSousSol]

Hi folks,

I have upgraded Falken Wilpeak AT 3W on my Mav. The ride is stiff because of their sidewall being rated 104h vs 102h with stock Continental tires. I understand that the Wilpeaks are 7 pounds heavier (29%) which is a considerable increase in unsprung weight. Believe me, I can feel it everytime the road as potholes or bad pavement.

Now, CAN THIS PREMATURELY WORN suspension components or parts related to it ?

When I hit road imperfections, it always seems like the little truck suffer from it. Those upgraded AT tires looks good, but if the price to pay is premature damage on the suspension parts for keeping them on the Maverick, I will switch for 102H.

What do you think ?

Sponsored

 

[pa-outdoorsman]

Hi folks,

I have upgraded Falken Wilpeak AT 3W on my Mav. The ride is stiff because of their sidewall being rated 104h vs 102h with stock Continental tires. I understand that the Wilpeaks are 7 pounds heavier (29%) which is a considerable increase in unsprung weight. Believe me, I can feel it everytime the road as potholes or bad pavement.

Now, CAN THIS PREMATURELY WORN suspension components or parts related to it ?

When I hit road imperfections, it always seems like the little truck suffer from it. Those upgraded AT tires looks good, but if the price to pay is premature damage on the suspension parts for keeping them on the Maverick, I will switch for 102H.

What do you think ?

Well, Ford offers the Falken Wildpeak as an optional tire upgrade from the factory. So, I highly doubt they are going to cause any premature suspension failure. Just because you can feel a bit more road feedback doesn't mean your suspension is getting pounded beyond its designed tolerances.

You also did not mention what size Wildpeaks you installed. An increase of 7 pounds per tire seems pretty extreme over stock. For example, I replaced the stock 225/65/17 Pirelli tires that came on my FX4 with 245/65/17 Cooper Discoverer ATs. The difference in weight, per tire, only increased 1 pound, even though I went up two sizes. The Pirellis were 31 pounds, and the Coopers are 32 pounds.

I will say that tire weight ought to be a consideration when selecting tires, as the more additional weight you add, the more it will impact fuel economy.

 

[RadioSousSol]

Well, Ford offers the Falken Wildpeak as an optional tire upgrade from the factory. So, I highly doubt they are going to cause any premature suspension failure. Just because you can feel a bit more road feedback doesn't mean your suspension is getting pounded beyond its designed tolerances.

You also did not mention what size Wildpeaks you installed. An increase of 7 pounds per tire seems pretty extreme over stock. For example, I replaced the stock 225/65/17 Pirelli tires that came on my FX4 with 245/65/17 Cooper Discoverer ATs. The difference in weight, per tire, only increased 1 pound, even though I went up two sizes. The Pirellis were 31 pounds, and the Coopers are 32 pounds.

I will say that tire weight ought to be a consideration when selecting tires, as the more additional weight you add, the more it will impact fuel economy.

Hi, thanks for feedback,

I have order from Ford the Mav with the upgraded Falken Wildpeaks AT 3W (235/65r17).

Here what I got for the weight difference between stock Continentals 225/65r17 vs the upgrades Falkens.

31 pounds for the Falkens

24 pounds for the Continentals


I believe your jugement that Ford is aware of that big difference. If they give the option for Falken AT tires, I also think that it's ok for the suspension and all the other parts around it.

But, the drive quality is very different and noticeably more stiff than with the usual Continentals on my first test drive at the dealer.

I still hope that it won't prematurely damage anything...

 

[bgn]

Well, Ford offers the Falken Wildpeak as an optional tire upgrade from the factory. So, I highly doubt they are going to cause any premature suspension failure. Just because you can feel a bit more road feedback doesn't mean your suspension is getting pounded beyond its designed tolerances.

You also did not mention what size Wildpeaks you installed. An increase of 7 pounds per tire seems pretty extreme over stock. For example, I replaced the stock 225/65/17 Pirelli tires that came on my FX4 with 245/65/17 Cooper Discoverer ATs. The difference in weight, per tire, only increased 1 pound, even though I went up two sizes. The Pirellis were 31 pounds, and the Coopers are 32 pounds.

I will say that tire weight ought to be a consideration when selecting tires, as the more additional weight you add, the more it will impact fuel economy.

The Pirellis are 25 pounds. That's still a significant weight increase, but I'm running even heavier tires (Toyo Open Country III). There's some folks even running running KO2s...which are over 40 pounds a pop.

 

[1fifty]

Simple first question I have is if you have a decent tire pressure gauge?
Heavier, stiffer tires will ride rougher but the increase you made shouldn’t cause problems. The front springs may be too soft to handle just about any changes made to the stock setup.

 

[Maverick2022XL]

If you wanted to stick with 225 65/R17 tires these could be a possible option
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ARMSTRON...2H-BSW-ALL-SEASON-TIRE/412876531?athbdg=L1600

$119 a tire and weight of 19 lbs. How good they actually are I have no idea. Unless the tires are total turds these are what I plan to put on my truck to upgrade the stock Continental A/S tires.

 

[pa-outdoorsman]

The Pirellis are 25 pounds. That's still a significant weight increase, but I'm running even heavier tires (Toyo Open Country III). There's some folks even running running KO2s...which are over 40 pounds a pop.

I see Tire Rack does list the Pirelli at 25 pounds. I had found somewhere listed at 31 pounds. Who knows? Guess I can weigh one with my luggage scale and find out!

 

[fossil]

I think some may be confused about the different Falken Wildpeaks, they make 5 versions.

From the Falken web site, 225/65/17
Wildpeak A/T3W 33.7# recommended for lite trucks AKA Tacoma
Wildpeak A/T Trail 30.0# recommended for small SUVs aka Rav4

https://www.falkentire.com/wildpeak

 

[Scooter66]

New Year New Rubber!

 

[realshelby]

Owning a Jeep Rubicon Recon you tend to learn about how tires effect.....about everything! I have had as many as 3 ready to bolt on sets (5) of tires for it at one time.
The little extra weight mentioned here would not hurt the suspension enough to matter. But it won't help either. Really good shocks ( meaning stock shocks are rarely that) can help handle the weight better. Most important is tire pressure. Rating on door jamb is to cover factory's butt. I run 25 psi in my 285/75/17's with a "C" load rating. 36 psi in a set of more or less all season tires. 32 in my 285/70/17 SL load rating tires. All are wearing correctly. So learn about tire pressure and how to find what works ( google chalk test for instance).
Tire diameter has a big effect on not only ride but how your transmission shifts, how your brakes work too.
Tires are a compromise. The factory won't always put the perfect tire on, but they will work well in the conditions they are meant for. Staying in the same size is a safe bet. But as I said, it is a compromise. Just be prepared to deal with it.

 

[RadioSousSol]

104 vs 102 mean’s a more stiff quality ride because their is better reinforce sidewalls for towing heavier.

But (in physics law) what in the world does the tire weight changes to the ride quality (example : when you hit a pothole) ???

 

[KSC Grey Ghost]

I have the same tires on my Hybrid as you do 8000 miles on them 32 PSI cold been all across the USA I love them . Trash truck spun out on my road side ways . Up hill , Curve with a. Very steep slant to the side of the road . My Maverick on ICE and SNOW at about 5 MPH went thru all the cones ,across the road off the road then back on the road NEVER lost Traction . (. Love my Maverick Love those Tires ) My big old Chevy Silverado Z71 would not done that .

 

[1fifty]

…what in the world does the tire weight changes to the ride quality (example : when you hit a pothole) ???

The springs and dampers need to deal with the additional mass, vertical acceleration and force. Tire pressure adjustment is the easy/free tool you have at your disposal to help you out with your problem. Do you know what tire pressures you are running with right now?

Sponsored