Wheel size upgrade.

Good point on the 17" Brian (I think I knew that had I thought more). Springs and chassis become the limit. 16s are much easier to come by than 17s (on the road).
Pretty sure I can get some factory wheels off a newer E350 that originally used radials. I will be researching this more. I have no intention of keeping the 16.5s. I'd wager that you can't walk into 1 in 10 tire stores and buy 16.5s in stock which is exactly (you know) what will happen with a tire failure on the road.

Alos, you can probably get a really good deal on takeoff 16 wheels with new tires from any of the 4x4 van converters like QuadVan or Quigley. They have to change wheels to a metric wheel, and go larger to clear the brakes. The new E-series still have a 8x6.5" bolt pattern with 4.88" center bore.

The coaches in our group were all built with 6*16.5 wheels and mounted 8.75*16.5 tires. A problem, that you should not have but should be aware of, is that not all 16.5 wheels can wear radial tires. The rim may actually crack. There is only one remaining us manufacturer of 8.75 *16.5 (or almost any 16.5) and that is Firestone. While I have had no trouble with the tires I bought in 2008, they were not simple to get and took some doing to get new ones. (Tires age out on the shelf or on the road and that life ends around seven years for most.)

There are 16 rims available for most things that were sold with 16.5, but you have to have the complete wheel specification. I suggest that you look up Southwest Wheel and see it they have a listing for your chassis.

Matt

Hi,

I went from 225/75R16 to 235/85R16. This required a wider offset for the rear dual wheels. I bought all new wheels. It increased the weight allowance for the tires which was a nice side benefit--and mileage is a little better (perhaps 5%)

It did give me more ground clearance by about 1 1/8 inches.

16" tires are much cheaper than 17". I have 17". I'm glad I did because by rear axle will top 10,000 pounds, but I pay every other fall when I have to get a new set.

For a coach of that year, even 16" tires will have much more capacity than the axle is rated for, so you won't really be able to take advantage of the higher tire capacity anyways.