16" or 18" tires and how do I match rims

drillagent wrote:
I currently have LT265/70R17 BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A tires with a max load of 3195lbs on my 2012 F250. I know it has the same axle as the F350 with 18" tires, so I can increase the payload capacity with higher max load tires. Not trying to overload the truck, just would like a little more buffer.

So which Cooper Discoverer HT3 tire should I replace them with, the 275/70R18 with max load 3640lbs at $180ea or 285/75R16 with max load 3750lbs at $162ea. I've used the Tire Size Comparison website, and the 285 is about 1/2" shorter than the 275, but it's also about 1/2" wider too. Both are almost a full inch taller than my current tires.

Either way, I'm going to have to replace the rim as well. How do I match the rim with the tire? Whenever I look up rims, I can match the diameter, but none of them give the width? Does it matter?

Thanks.

"If it were me" I would replace them with the OE size available which is the 275/70s. With the 1" difference your speedo will be off. For an hours labour charge, you can go onto Ford and have them reprogram the PCM to the correct size.