Rims & Tires for 1984 Ford E350

[LSC9901]

Now that we have a lot of the projects done on our "New (to us) motor home" I am considering new rubber all around. Currently I have 8.75 x 16.5 on it. The 16.5 tires are obtainable but a bit expensive and not real easy to get. I found some 16" rims for $200. which seems fair for 6 of them. My questions are .... what size tire should be run on a 27" Ford E350 chassis and hat is the year range that I can use on this vehicle? Range meaning for example 1980 - 1990 would fit a 1984. I suspect the range isn't that great but hopefully someone will have the answer before I buy the wrong rims.

[Kurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

My questions are .... what size tire should be run on a 27" Ford E350 chassis and hat is the year range that I can use on this vehicle? Range meaning for example 1980 - 1990 would fit a 1984. I suspect the range isn't that great but hopefully someone will have the answer before I buy the wrong rims.

The range of years really has nothing to do with it prior to 1999. You need wheels that have the correct center hole size. Ford used a 4.88 inch center hole, GM is 4.56 and I believe Dodge is somewhere in between, and they all used 8 on 6.5" bolt pattern. Before you spend $200 make sure they are the correct wheels for your chassis.

As for tires, a tire shop can tell you what current tire size would be equivalent to the 8.75X16.5 tires. An LT225/75R16 should be very close.

The questions you're asking here can be answered at any good tire store.

[RedneckExpress]

Originally Posted by Kurmudgeon

The range of years really has nothing to do with it prior to 1999. You need wheels that have the correct center hole size. Ford used a 4.88 inch center hole, GM is 4.56 and I believe Dodge is somewhere in between, and they all used 8 on 6.5" bolt pattern. Before you spend $200 make sure they are the correct wheels for your chassis.

As for tires, a tire shop can tell you what current tire size would be equivalent to the 8.75X16.5 tires. An LT225/75R16 should be very close.

The questions you're asking here can be answered at any good tire store.

I believe Dodge was around 4.6 something. You'll also need to see if your rims use conical lug holes or flush holes. Ford has used both over the years.

Another thing to check will be the offset depth on the rims, Dodge Rims are closer together than Ford Rims, limiting their tire size to a max of around 235/86/16 (What I put in place of the old 8.75x16.5" rims and tires that came with the old D70 I swapped onto my truck (Truck used a 235/85 vs a 225/75, so 235/85 was the route to go for me, factory original diameter wasn't a need to match).

[Wallaby Dan]

Check in with a speedometer shop to make sure the speedo is showing correct speed. Thats the biggest issues when switching.

[pwf16129]

did this back first of year i bought rims from salvage and $200 is a good deal i had to give $360 for 6 wheels , then the tire issue my speedometer was slightly slow, 215-75 16 would make it slower so went with 235-85-16 kumo's' there are taller and narrowish very close to 9.5 -16.5 this puts them in the 10 ply range
they give more weight capacity , there is no clearance issue between my duals plenty of room and i have a safe amount of clearance with my air bags down ,in just in case of a failure.
they slowed my engine revs slightly and speedo is off two mph to the fast side, my rig is similar to yours it is an 1984 26 ft ford econoline 350.
on the rims is yours an early 84 or late 84 the is a difference they told me the later model runs 85 style wheels and the earlier 84's run 83 and back wheels harder to find. ford has always loved midyear changes makes life interesting some times so be careful some salvages won't return parts.
have put just over 2000 miles on this combo so far only learning curve was i only need to run 65 psi started with 80 psi made coach too stiff, wind and big rigs pushed around more. still make measurements to double ck on yours but is working great for me
hope this helps happy travels