Max tire size?

[doubled520]

Hey all - I looked through the forums but couldn't find a definite answer.

2024 Premium extended range here. Stock wheels are 19". I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on the 20" RTR wheels, and I'm wondering what the best tire size would be. I was initially considering the OEM 245/45/20 but curious if there's a better option that will give me a comfortable ride.

I plan on keeping the vehicle at stock height. I'm also pretty conservative in my driving habits... 500-600 miles a month, mostly short errands like shopping or taking kids to/from school. 90% of my driving is in engage mode.

pic of another Mach E with the RTR wheels for reference...

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[markboris]

Your title says MAX tire size but in your post you say BEST tire size. Those are two different things.

MAX tire size I have run was a staggered setup 275/30/20 up front and 315/35/20 in the rear. Best tire size if you want to go staggered is 255/45/20 front and 285/40/20 rear. Max tire size NOT staggered would be 275/40/20 all around. As far as best tire size all around, that is up to you. Many here have gone one size larger on their GT's OEM wheels from 245/45/20 to 255/45/20.

As far as the ride goes, don't think that changing your tires will greatly improve your ride. You can get small improvements though buy buying tires that are known for a smoother ride and ones that have a higher load rating than 103 so that you can run them at a lower tire pressure. But if you really wanted to improve the ride, you would have to modify the suspension.

And by the way, there are many many threads on tires and sizes on this forum. Many.

 

[glenthompson]

Increasing the rim diameter will likely result in a harsher ride due to the reduced sidewall height. My GT has the factory 20" rims and it has a very rough ride on bad pavement or speed bumps.

 

[markboris]

Increasing the rim diameter will likely result in a harsher ride due to the reduced sidewall height. My GT has the factory 20" rims and it has a very rough ride on bad pavement or speed bumps.

That is correct if Drew goes from his stock 19" wheels/tires to the stock 20" size wheels/tires but he doesn't have to. If he wants to go with 20" wheels/tires, to get close to the same sidewall height while staying within the 3% diameter tolerance, he can run 265/45/20 tire size (which several members here do). The sidewall would be less than 1/4" difference between those and his 19" OEM tires. He can run a much smoother tire like the Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus 3 and it will make up that barely 1/4" difference in sidewall height.

 

[ipca204]

2023 GT (non PE) went with 18's and 225/60/18. Ride is much smoother and more comfortable for me compared to the stock 20" set up.

 

[tuminatr]

I have extensive experience with sizes. The important thing is to keep tires close to the diameter of the OEM size. For most applications, you must be within 3% of the OEM size to not cause issues with ABS, Traction control, speedometer, ETC. One thing to remember is to put on wide tires you need wide wheels. Those RTR wheels look sweet and being 8.5" wide the biggest tire I would put on them is a 255/45/20 make sure to get a 105xl

There is another advantage of going with a higher load rating. The load rating represents how much weight the tire can support. So, a tire with a higher load rating can support more weight or the same amount of weight at a lower tire pressure. Effectively a 105 load rating will support the same load as a 103 (factory 19" MME load rating) at 37psi. Lowering the PSI will give you a softer ride.

The ride also depends on the class of tire you buy if you look on the tire rack try to pick from the Grand Touring category. Grand touring should have good handling but be more comfortable

if you want to experiment a bit check this out

https://tiresize.com/tiresizes/245-45R20.htm

https://tiresize.com/pressure-calculator/

On a side note Having run 225/60/18, 225/55/19, 245/50/19, 255/50/19, 245/45/20, 255/45/20. the tires where I felt the least impact and imho smoothest were the 255/45/20 105XL @ 37psi or 245/50/19 @ 37psi. These combos were all on my 2021 Premium AWD extended battery and the most comfortable tire I had installed was the Quatrac Pro. If I was in your spot and already had 19" wheels I would buy a 245/50/19 105xl install on the factory rims and run at 37psi.

 

[wmsheppa]

I switched to 18 inch tires on my 22 Premium and the ride is significantly less harsh

 

[markboris]

I switched to 18 inch tires on my 22 Premium and the ride is significantly less harsh

Absolutely. Running your 18" tires with 5"+ sidewalls will definitely soften the ride but because the sidewalls have more flex, your overall handling, cornering, steering response and traction at high speeds is reduced. I do understand that many that drive the Mach-E are not interested in the performance of their car and only use it for a DD back and forth to work (most likely in the city) and 18's would be perfect for that. However, if you want any kind of performance out of your car, especially one this heavy, starting with 20" wheels/tires with lower profile sidewalls is the way to go.

 

[wmsheppa]

Absolutely. Running your 18" tires with 5"+ sidewalls will definitely soften the ride but because the sidewalls have more flex, your overall handling, cornering, steering response and traction at high speeds is reduced. I do understand that many that drive the Mach-E are not interested in the performance of their car and only use it for a DD back and forth to work (most likely in the city) and 18's would be perfect for that. However, if you want any kind of performance out of your car, especially one this heavy, starting with 20" wheels/tires with lower profile sidewalls is the way to go.

It really depends on what type of performance you're looking for. I do a fair amount of gravel/dirt road driving and so I was looking for better grip in muddy/wet conditions. Smaller wheels and bigger, gripper tires netted me substantially better performance. For smooth, dry pavements absolutely lower profile wheels are gonna perform better but smaller wheels aren't just for a comfier daily driver ride, though they also netted that.

OP specifically asked about a smoother ride, so that's the part I was addressing.

 

[glenthompson]

It really depends on what type of performance you're looking for. I do a fair amount of gravel/dirt road driving and so I was looking for better grip in muddy/wet conditions. Smaller wheels and bigger, gripper tires netted me substantially better performance. For smooth, dry pavements absolutely lower profile wheels are gonna perform better but smaller wheels aren't just for a comfier daily driver ride, though they also netted that.

Taller thinner tires are also better in snow & ice. If I replaced my 20” rims with 18” I would still have the 20s for a high performance tire for autocross or other fun.

 

[tuminatr]

Taller thinner tires are also better in snow & ice. If I replaced my 20” rims with 18” I would still have the 20s for a high performance tire for autocross or other fun.

Thinner tires accelerate better in snow and ice but have much worse handling and braking. Not worth the trade off

 

[RadMDe]

Good morning!

pretty sure this is my first time posting and looking for some advice ??

long story short, I was looking for a smoother ride for my 2023 Mache GTPE - magnetic ride via better tire set up.

After a lot of research, I decided to take a chance with the Michelin Cross Climate 2’s and the ride and grip was zero to instant awesomeness lols.

The Problem: the discount tire technician tested 2 sizes and I went with the latter and chose this set up:
255/50 R20
- unfortunately, the tech was wrong and front rubs on the inner side walls.

I have legitimately been stubborn and trying to live with it because the ride is amazing, Mache sits up way higher, and I did not want to have to change the rim sizes…

Possible solution: 20 mm hubcentric spacers from EiBach.

What I really want to do to fix the issue is the EiBach lifting kit, but unfortunately, the magnetic ride system has me in some weird pseudo jail cell situation because no vendor can legitimately state if I replace the springs and shocks, the car won’t throw some weird error codes that they’ve hard coded into the software somehow…??

I know I unloading a lot here… looking for some advice on possible solutions. Returning the tires isn’t going to go so well. I purchased over a month ago and left for the Holidays and returned. Pretty sure I’m outside the return coverage period.
I want to thank everyone that takes the time to read and respond, appreciate the input.

 

[RadMDe]

Good morning!

pretty sure this is my first time posting and looking for some advice ??

long story short, I was looking for a smoother ride for my 2023 Mache GTPE - magnetic ride via better tire set up.

After a lot of research, I decided to take a chance with the Michelin Cross Climate 2’s and the ride and grip was zero to instant awesomeness lols.

The Problem: the discount tire technician tested 2 sizes and I went with the latter and chose this set up:
255/50 R20
- unfortunately, the tech was wrong and front rubs on the inner side walls.

I have legitimately been stubborn and trying to live with it because the ride is amazing, Mache sits up way higher, and I did not want to have to change the rim sizes…

Possible solution: 20 mm hubcentric spacers from EiBach.

What I really want to do to fix the issue is the EiBach lifting kit, but unfortunately, the magnetic ride system has me in some weird pseudo jail cell situation because no vendor can legitimately state if I replace the springs and shocks, the car won’t throw some weird error codes that they’ve hard coded into the software somehow…??

I know I unloading a lot here… looking for some advice on possible solutions. Returning the tires isn’t going to go so well. I purchased over a month ago and left for the Holidays and returned. Pretty sure I’m outside the return coverage period.
I want to thank everyone that takes the time to read and respond, appreciate the input.

 

[tuminatr]

Good morning!

pretty sure this is my first time posting and looking for some advice ??

long story short, I was looking for a smoother ride for my 2023 Mache GTPE - magnetic ride via better tire set up.

After a lot of research, I decided to take a chance with the Michelin Cross Climate 2’s and the ride and grip was zero to instant awesomeness lols.

The Problem: the discount tire technician tested 2 sizes and I went with the latter and chose this set up:
255/50 R20
- unfortunately, the tech was wrong and front rubs on the inner side walls.

I have legitimately been stubborn and trying to live with it because the ride is amazing, Mache sits up way higher, and I did not want to have to change the rim sizes…

Possible solution: 20 mm hubcentric spacers from EiBach.

What I really want to do to fix the issue is the EiBach lifting kit, but unfortunately, the magnetic ride system has me in some weird pseudo jail cell situation because no vendor can legitimately state if I replace the springs and shocks, the car won’t throw some weird error codes that they’ve hard coded into the software somehow…??

I know I unloading a lot here… looking for some advice on possible solutions. Returning the tires isn’t going to go so well. I purchased over a month ago and left for the Holidays and returned. Pretty sure I’m outside the return coverage period.
I want to thank everyone that takes the time to read and respond, appreciate the input.

I don't think you want to do a lifting kit on a GTPE, if it were me I would take advantage of michelin's promise plan exchange those with proper size on that vehicle or the 255/45/20 which should not rub and would give you a similar ride

The forks at discount should know better than to recommend that size. Automobile manufacturers usually will allow for a 3% variance in size that 255 50 20 is just shy of 5% difference That's too much

 

[CherryBomb]

long story short, I was looking for a smoother ride for my 2023 Mache GTPE - magnetic ride via better tire set up.

After a lot of research, I decided to take a chance with the Michelin Cross Climate 2’s and the ride and grip was zero to instant awesomeness lols.

This is the tire I'm thinking about going to on my GT. Have you noticed any impact on the range?

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