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Newbie winter tire & wheel combination question

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Buck Nutz

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Hey all.... I have a stock w/ no mods 21 ST w/ street pack and looking for new wheel/winter tire combo to shelf the stock 21" rims and Pirelli 275/45 R21 for the winter
They were ok in Northern Ohio winter for 1st year, but thinking about something new.
A friend recommended Tire Rack.com & found their website as a great resource for picking the right combo

Any issues using the 20" Yokohama Iceguard 265/50 R20 w/ Platinum Atonement 20" x 8.5 Offset +40mm I may decide down the road to go to the 20" summer tires when the Pirelli's need to be replaced as the 21's are hard to find & expensive.

I am new to all this & would appreciate any feedback before I pull the trigger on the deal

Cheers!
 

I Bleed Ford Blue

I Bleed Ford Blue

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I'm on the west side and I run the factory 20's for winter. They are a michelin A/S tire and are good enough for Cleveland winters, at least for a west sider. With you being near the snow belt, they might not be good enough for you.
 

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Buck Nutz

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Ah, nice! I am in Lake County & we got hammered at times last year. I just throw it in "slippery" mode and car did better than expected. I could not get into my shop on on occasion, had close to 20" on the ground and I needed a Western to plow my way in. We have experience, I just can't see for shit at night! I will probably go to 20" summer tires when Pirelli's crap the bed. The car really does have a awesome ride
 

Doug

Doug

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East sider here. Nervous with the 21” Pirelli tread pattern, doesn‘t look grippy for snow at all. Did I read that Ford made changes on 6th gen that makes it more RWD dominant? Would think that makes things worse in the snow, so now I’m wondering - does the car go into AWD automatically when it notices bad roads?
 

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Buck Nutz

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My Pirelli did ok last winter in NE Ohio, but car only had couple thousand miles - but just ordered new wheel / snow tires from Tire Rack
When the highways last winter were very slushy, I would dial up slippery mode and worked well. I was not going to take the chance this year
 

PlatinumST

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Doug said:
East sider here. Nervous with the 21” Pirelli tread pattern, doesn‘t look grippy for snow at all. Did I read that Ford made changes on 6th gen that makes it more RWD dominant? Would think that makes things worse in the snow, so now I’m wondering - does the car go into AWD automatically when it notices bad roads?
Click to expand...
This may shed some light on things:
https://www.conwayfordinc.com/blogs... beyond that,to improve traction and handling.
 

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TMac

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If you're really concerned about winter driving, it's simple. Buy some good snow tires. They make more difference than anything else you can do. Depending on your budget, ideally pick up a set of cheap wheels and mount the snows on them to save your good (summer) wheels and tires. Selecting the right mode will also help as it limits throttle response and increases the AWD duty cycle.
 

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gwlry

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I just ordered a 2023 Explorer ST.
Was originally planning on ordering it with the standard 20", purely due to prices of 20" tires being much more affordable than 21", but the 2023 version is coming with standard 21" wheels.

If I want to put 20" winter wheels and tires on, has anyone ran into any issues with that? What size tire would I order? (sorry.. not well versed in any of this..) Thank you in advance!
 

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Cdubya

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gwlry said:
If I want to put 20" winter wheels and tires on, has anyone ran into any issues with that? What size tire would I order? (sorry.. not well versed in any of this..) Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
There's no problem at all with 20" wheels... all the way down to 18", as long as the specs are OK. Stock 20" rims have 255/55R20

I have 18" rims for my winter set and have 255/65R18
 

Danny9489rs

Danny9489rs

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What is the offset of your 18's? I want to do something similar but concerned about clearing calipers.
 

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Big Turk

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Danny9489rs said:
What is the offset of your 18's? I want to do something similar but concerned about clearing calipers.
Click to expand...
My aluminum 18" Explorer rims have a 37.5 offset, if that helps.
 

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gkmunch

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Tony Z

Tony Z

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Doug said:
East sider here. Nervous with the 21” Pirelli tread pattern, doesn‘t look grippy for snow at all. Did I read that Ford made changes on 6th gen that makes it more RWD dominant? Would think that makes things worse in the snow, so now I’m wondering - does the car go into AWD automatically when it notices bad roads?
Click to expand...
The AWD is rear dominant, but front drive balance changes with any slippage. Also, there is a setting for slippery/icey roads.
My 2022 ST has worked rather well thus far, this winter, but I have a Tahoe work truck if the snow gets too deep.
Cheers,
Tony
 

Tony Z

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Cdubya said:
There's no problem at all with 20" wheels... all the way down to 18", as long as the specs are OK. Stock 20" rims have 255/55R20

I have 18" rims for my winter set and have 255/65R18
Click to expand...
The Police Interceptors run 255/60R18s, working to find the balance between high speed stability and being able to jump curbs.
Cheers,
Tony
 

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Cdubya

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I have 255/65/18 with Michelin X-Ice xi2 which are only 1.3% off from the stock 21s. They have been great and have already saved me from one near collision during Winter storm Elliott last month.
 

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