Looking to upgrade your Ford Transit stock tires for larger diameter to improve ground clearance and traction? We were too! Here is the data we gathered during our research.
Let’s get straight to the point. Before we took possession of the van, we upgraded immediately to BF Goodrich KO2 LT225/75/R16E All-Terrain tires.
The KO2 are all-terrain, snow approved (there is the snowflake on it) badass tires.
BF Goodrich KO2 tire. Buy online from Tire Rack.
Disclosure:
The LT225/75R16E max load (2680 pounds at 80PSI) is below the GVWR of the Transit. That means:
- Some dealers / tire installers will refuse to install them on your van.
- For heavy builds, you might exceed the tire max load and that’s a potential safety issue (a blowout could occur).
There are many people running these tires on the Transit without issues, but in the end it’s your decision to take the risk or not. You might want to look at the LT245/75R16E (max load 3042 pounds at 80 PSI) instead, but then you will have to trim the pinch weld in the front and the spare tire won’t fit in the spare tire compartment. Don’t carry a smaller tire as a spare if you have the LSD (limited slip differential), because running tires of different size will wear the clutch of the LSD prematurely.
We compared online merchants and we recommend TireRack.com as the price is right!
Buy the KO2 from TireRack.com
How is the clearance?
Note that for the front tires, minimum clearance is achieved when wheels are fully turned. The clearance shown below is for straight wheels.
Front:
Rear:
First of all, what does all those number means?
LT225/75/R16E
- 225: The first 3 digits are the tire width in millimeters (225mm tire diameter)
- 75: The second 2 digits are the tire aspect ratio in percentage (ratio of the sidewall height to its width). (75%)
- R16: The is the diameter of the wheel the tire is intended to fit. (16″ wheel diameter)
- LT: Light Truck metric size intended for vehicule capable of carrying heavy cargo or towing large trailers.
- E: Load Range / Ply Rating. (D = 8 plies, E = 10 plies). Check this article for more info.
What is the Ford Transit stock size tires?
Our 2016 Ford Transit was equipped with stock tires Continental VancoFourSeasons 235/65/R16C. They are 28″ diameter.
What is the largest tire diameter that can be installed without rubbing?
(data gathered from FordTransitUsaForum)
- Stock factory tires diameter: 28″ (235/65/R16C)
- Best compromise and enough clearance for chains: 29.2″ (LT225/75/R16E)
- Largest diameter
without rubbing(the pinch weld in the front has to be trimmed, see Morey’s in Transit How-To), probably no clearance for chains: 30.4″ (LT245/75/R16E) - We’ve seen people installed larger tires, but some has reported rubbing, some not…
Why did we choose larger, all-terrain, BF Goodrich KO2 A/T tires?
- All Terrain tread to get us to the trailheads
- Winter approved
- To increase ground clearance
- Great reviews on the Interwebs
Larger tires will affect speedometer reading
The larger tires will decrease the speedometer reading of about 3-4 mph. For example if the speedometer reads 55 mph, our true speed is 58-59 mph. We have to keep that in mind to avoid speeding tickets!
How are the KO2 in snow?
They are great. In fact, we spent last winter snow chasing all over the place: Utah, Wyoming, Washington, Montana & British Columbia (see our Fifth and Sixth month report). We went to ski resorts but also to remote places for backcountry skiing. We drove on all kinds of conditions: dry pavement, black ice, hard pack snow, fresh fluffy snow, you name it. We could go everywhere we wanted (keeping in mind we’re not a snowmobile) and we didn’t have to use the snow chains (except once where it was mandatory) or the Maxtrax. We made it!
Here is more info about living in the van during winter (4×4, snow chains, LSD, maxtrax, etc):
Conclusion
The BFGoodrich KO2 have superior traction in sand or in snow, they look great on the van and the rolling noise is very acceptable for all terrain tires. We highly recommend them!
BF Goodrich KO2 tire. Buy online from TireBuyer.
You Might Be Interested In:
WANT MORE?
Check out our Build Journal, learn everything about The Van, read our VanLife Guides, or if you’re new to this start by reading The Prologue.
STAY IN TOUCH!
Join 15,000+ followers via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or e-mail:
ABOUT US
Hello! We’re Isabelle and Antoine 🙂 In 2017 we sold our house (and everything in it), quit our engineering careers and moved into our self built campervan. We’ve been on the road since then and every day is an opportunity for a new adventure; we’re chasing our dreams and hopefully it inspires others to do the same!
CONNECT
Join our Facebook group to connect with other passionate DIY campervan builders like you!
CHEERS!
DISCLOSURE:
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click a product link and buy anything from the merchant, we will receive a commission fee. The price you pay remains the same, affiliate link or not.
Buying through our product links is the best way to say thanks if we were of any help for your conversion! Thanks for supporting us and for keeping this website alive 🙂
Alternatively, you can visit our Say Thanks! page.
50 comments
Comment by Sepehr Dijouri
Sepehr Dijouri August 29, 2018 at 8:56 am
Correct me if I am wrong, but that tire size (LT225/75R16 LRE) does not hold the same weight as the OEM tires…
The Continental tires max load is 3195lbs @ 90psi, That is what the tire is capable of. A diesel ford transit requires 52PSI in the front and 71 PSI in the rear. 3195lbs/90psi = 35.5lbs per psi is what the Conti holds. If you Multiply the front and rear psi you will get what the transit holds out of the factory.
Front @52psi will hold 1846lbs
Rear @71psi will hold 2520.5lbs
The BFG tires max load is 2680lbs @ 80psi = 33.5lbs per psi. So the new tire pressure should be Fronts 55psi, rears 75psi to hold the same weight out of the factory
So it will hold what the factory holds, but you are limited to 2680lbs @ 80psi…
Comment by Antoine
Antoine September 1, 2018 at 11:20 am
It’s true that they hold less than the factory tires.
I don’t know about your calculations (xxlbs per psi), but you could have your van weighted fully loaded (front and rear axle) to determine exactly what’s the load on each tire; then you can be sure you’re not above the tire capacity. If that’s the case, you could look into the 245/75R16 as they have a higher load rating.
Cheers!
Comment by Matt Bourlier
Matt Bourlier May 22, 2018 at 9:14 am
I kept getting stuck in the snow, so put these tires on my transit this winter. If you are in a state where you get any snow. They fit. I love them, have had them around 7 months. I put them on my Jeep also. Thanks for posting this. I know more about tires and load ratings than I want to. BF Goodrich KO2 are the best, and they look cool also.
Comment by Cat
Cat May 2, 2018 at 7:05 pm
Re: the KO2 tires- did availability of tires factor into your decision (i.e. getting a flat when out and about and being able to replace it relatively easily) Also, are you in a situation where if you have to replace one tire, you have to replace all of them? (happened with my subaru even with relatively new tires).
thank you for all the details, specs and links! your website is a trove of info nd guidance!
Comment by Antoine
Antoine May 3, 2018 at 11:11 am
Hi!
We didn’t factor availability, but the KO2 are popular and very easy to find. The KO2 can be installed on any wheel; so you can change only one tire.
Good luck!
Antoine
Comment by Sherri
Sherri April 26, 2018 at 2:53 pm
Hi, I love your website. Very informative. I just bought a 2017 ford transit van and am very excited to take delivery of it but I am sooooooo overwhelmed. I do not have any experience with this type of work plus the van took a lot of my money. I want to raise the roof and, of course, build it out inside. I will be coming back to you site over and over again for help. The cheapest fiberglass roof I’ve found is about 2K. Any other suggestions?
Comment by Antoine
Antoine April 26, 2018 at 3:13 pm
Sorry we haven’t look into roof so we’re not much help on that topic… Good luck!
Comment by Chris
Chris April 8, 2018 at 10:46 am
Thanks for all the great info. I love the idea of going with the BF Goodrich KO2 LT225/75/R16E All-Terrain tire. How well are they wearing? I find the stock tires struggle to get 50k miles.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine April 8, 2018 at 11:57 am
We’re at 32k miles and I’m pretty sure the tires will make it to 50k. The reviews we read online were positive about the wearing. We will buy the KO2 again after ours wear out!
Comment by Slavomir
Slavomir March 18, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Hi guys, we just ordered our van! Since you’ve been on the road for a while, if doing it again, would you buy the same tires? How is the road noise on them? We also want to get nice looking rims, but between Discount Tire and Les Schwab only 3 show up as options and I was wondering if there is some catch with this. Thanks for running this amazing website! We plan to use a bunch of your links once the build begins.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine March 19, 2018 at 11:15 am
Hi and congratulation for the van!!
We would buy the same tires. We don’t noticed road noise (especially since the van is insulated) and they do the job in summer/winter.
We don’t know about the rims; we just use wheel covers on the factory wheels.
Good luck and THANKS in advance for using our links 🙂
Cheers!
Comment by Slavomir
Slavomir March 19, 2018 at 7:39 pm
Thanks for the info on your experience! We’re going to go with these same tires once the van arrives.
Comment by Bruce
Bruce March 8, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Thanks for replying….already on it. Enjoy the day.
Comment by Bruce
Bruce March 8, 2018 at 3:08 pm
And also what you ended up selling the stock tires for. Thanks
Comment by Antoine
Antoine March 8, 2018 at 5:31 pm
Don’t recall either. We checked online for similar tire in our area and set our price accordingly.
Comment by Bruce
Bruce March 8, 2018 at 2:42 pm
Any chance you know what you paid the dealer for the tires/installation. I just received a price from my dealer for $967.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine March 8, 2018 at 5:29 pm
Don’t recall, sorry. You could inquire at 3-4 places and compare.
Good luck
Comment by Bruce
Bruce March 8, 2018 at 12:47 pm
The one thing that I didn’t like about the Transit was the design of the rims so to hide them I ordered the silver hubcaps but plan on painting them all black with Plasti Dip to match the black van that I just ordered.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine March 8, 2018 at 1:08 pm
We have wheelcaps too, but didn’t paint them. This will look good for sure!
Comment by Philip
Philip February 27, 2018 at 10:11 am
You know Nokian makes a tire that meets the weight specs for the transit it’s call a Hakkapeliitta C3 (with studs) or CR3 (studless).
Comment by Matthew Morey
Matthew Morey January 10, 2018 at 9:22 pm
Did you guys also replace the spare tire with the KO2 LT225/75/R16E? Does it fit the spare tire spot?
Comment by Antoine
Antoine January 11, 2018 at 9:42 am
We did, it fits in the spare tire spot.
We include the spare into tires rotation and we learned the spare doesn’t have a tire pressure sensor… the van computer is constantly showing a “Tire Pressure Sensor Error” and that’s annoying (we can’t see outside temp, MPEG, etc). Next time we change our tires, we will install a sensor in the spare!
Cheers!
Comment by Justin
Justin January 6, 2018 at 4:42 pm
Do you know of any problems or have any concerns about the larger tires affecting the shift points of the transmission due to the slight change in the speedometer?
Thank you! Your website is great!
Comment by Antoine
Antoine January 7, 2018 at 9:52 am
We have the 4.1 transmission ratio, but the Transit can also be ordered with the 3.73 ratio. With our larger tires we’re probably somewhere in between 4.1 and 3.73, so I doubt it’s a problem. Also, many people have installed larger tires with no issues.
cheers!
Comment by Two Travelin Chicas
Two Travelin Chicas December 8, 2017 at 7:32 pm
We are planning on being gone for as long as… as long as we can hike, walk and drive!
One other question for you. When building… in what order did you do insulation and wiring? What wiring did you use? It looks flat…
Perhaps we will meet up some day!
Cheers!
Comment by Antoine
Antoine December 8, 2017 at 8:33 pm
We did insulation first, then wiring. This way the wiring is more accessible for modification later (if needed…).
It looks flat because it comes with the positive wire (red) and negative wire (black) into a white protective sleeve; it’s called duplex. For example duplex AWG 14 is referred as 14/2: http://amzn.to/2B48Qau .
Hope that helps!
Comment by Two Travelin Chicas
Two Travelin Chicas November 17, 2017 at 6:16 pm
Hi Guys,
Just got our used 2015 Transit T250 HT 148. Very excited and you should be getting a huge kick back from all my purchases. I really want to put the 245s on but am a bit nervous with the rubbing possibility. Planning to hit the road for good in March. West Coast up to Alaska then next fall and from then on Central and South Americas. Do you know of anyone who did install the 245s? Thanks in advance.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine November 17, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Wow, sounds like a plan!! Solid itinerary! How long are you planning for?
I don’t know someone personally, but I’ve read on the discussion forum (here) that it can be done and there should be no rubbing.
THANKS for using our links 🙂
Have a good one!
Comment by Eric
Eric March 2, 2018 at 12:36 pm
Hi dos Chicas, I have 245/75/16 installed and I really like them. I have a 4 bike rack on the back and it the added height allows the rack to fully extend to the ground so the rear doors can open. The larger tires also look more natural than the small skateboard wheels that come stock. I do recommend eventually changing your gears from 3.31 to 3.73. Once you do this there is no change to the speedometer since the gears make up for the change in tire diameter.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine March 2, 2018 at 8:50 pm
Hi!
Thanks for the input!
`But we have the 4.10 transmission ratio because of the 3.7L engine and the extended-length.
Cheers 🙂
Comment by Max Feldman
Max Feldman November 5, 2017 at 10:33 pm
Hey there!,
First off your website is the bomb.com! Second off and the point of this reply to your post is I’m nearly finished with my van build and winter is a comin! Sooo I need new tires (rear wheel drive is fun until you have to drive in a straight line) for ski season. I live in the front range of Colorado and plan to drive about 15k miles this winter with a big trip up to Banff/Revelstoke for several weeks, a Montana trip, Wyoming, Utah, okay you get the picture LOTS OF STOKE CHASING, gas burning, coffee drinking road trips are in my near future. *Insert snow dance here*
So, originally I was planning to go with your idea and buy K02’s with chains for when I have to hit the ‘oh sh*t’ button. Annddd then I read the post from Lifeakimbo that you have a link to in this page.. So in your opinion should I stick with the K02 idea with chains or go with studs and no chains?
Your opinion is much appreciated!
Comment by Antoine
Antoine November 5, 2017 at 10:48 pm
Hi!
We got the KO2 because we’re travelling full time and we didn’t want having to swap the tires for winter/summer during our trip. If we were weekend warriors (with a house as a home base), we would probably install studded winter tires during winter, then swap for A/T tire during summer. It’s probably the best thing to do!
Hope that helps!
Comment by Yann
Yann October 27, 2017 at 2:27 pm
Bonjour,
Pourquoi avez-vous choisi LT225/75/R16E?
Ford me dit que le Transit 250 est offset de 4% avec ctte taille et peut endommager les suspensions.
Ils recommendent LT215/70/R16C
Comment by Antoine
Antoine October 28, 2017 at 1:03 pm
Des pneus plus gros donne une meilleure traction et un plus grand dégagement avec le sol (pour le hors-route).
En effet, nous avons observé que l’odomètre est environ 4% offset, mais ça ne nous dérange pas vraiment…
Pour la suspension, j’en doute. Plusieurs personnes installent même des LT245 (et même 265). Évidemment le concessionnaire Ford ne vous conseillera pas autre chose que ce qui est “standard”.
Voilà!
Au plaisir, antoine
Comment by Dan
Dan October 3, 2017 at 12:57 pm
Great thank you
Comment by Dan
Dan October 2, 2017 at 3:29 pm
Hi do you have any troubles with rubbing on any part of the vehicle, with the tyres. And did you have to have any modifications to fit them
Comment by Antoine
Antoine October 2, 2017 at 9:47 pm
No rubbing, no modification. The tires are mounted on the stock rims. Some folks installed bigger tires (245) without rubbing.
Cheers!
Comment by James
James September 17, 2017 at 11:15 pm
We JUST got our van on Friday and I asked about bigger tires but we were so excited, my wife and I both forgot to follow up before driving off…
Did Ford do the tire swap or did you have to do it elsewhere? Were you able to exchange or did you have to sell the tires?
Thanks for a great blog.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine September 18, 2017 at 12:36 pm
Ford did it before we took possession of the van, but didn’t exchange them (we had to pay for tire install). We then sold the old tires on Craiglist (as new tires since they have no mileage on them).
Good day!
Comment by Alex Evangelista
Alex Evangelista September 16, 2017 at 11:12 am
Awesome! I want this for our transit van that we just got at the beginning of the year. We got this van because we are a family of 7! 5kids! This van is awesome!
Comment by Antoine
Antoine September 16, 2017 at 1:15 pm
5 kids! Wow, keep it up!
Comment by Terry
Terry August 9, 2017 at 8:45 pm
Are the tire chains in your link (KONIG 12mm XG12 Pro Deluxe SUV/Crossover Snow Chain, Size 245) the correct size (245s) for the BF Goodrich (LT245/75/R16E) that you purchased?
I have studded ice tires on my Fiesta ST for winter fun – virtually like on rails – I couldn’t be happier!!! The BF G T/A’s are certainly top choice for my van. Another blogger said he lost about 1 mpg with the T/A”s from his stock tires on his van.
Comment by Antoine
Antoine August 9, 2017 at 9:41 pm
We installed the KO2 right from the beginning, so we haven’t measured the actual MPG loss; 1 mpg sounds about right.
Here is the link for the Konig fitting chart:
https://konigchain.com/fitguide-consumer/
(hint: click on “I can’t find my car” to go by tire size). Using this guide, i got König XG-12 PRO 255 for the 245/75R16 tires.
Cheers!
Comment by Justin
Justin July 7, 2017 at 5:05 pm
Did the BFG AT reduce your MPG?
Comment by Antoine
Antoine July 7, 2017 at 5:17 pm
We installed them from the very beginning, so we can’t tell. That being said, i’m sure badass AT tires reduce the MPG…
With the conversion 95% finished, high-roof, extended-length, 4.10 Transmission ratio, 3.7 engine, our MPG is at about 15.
Pingback: Ordered My New Van - Page 3 - Ford Transit USA Forum
Comment by Chip
Chip March 9, 2017 at 12:03 pm
Can the speedo be recalibrated for the larger tires?
Comment by Antoine
Antoine March 9, 2017 at 12:06 pm
We heard of many people who tried at their Ford dealer, but I don’t think anyone had a positive response. We learnt to live with it!
Comment by Josh
Josh February 23, 2017 at 2:16 pm
When you put the larger tires on did those fit on the factory wheels?
Comment by Antoine
Antoine February 23, 2017 at 2:44 pm
Yes, we mounted the larger tires on the factory wheels!