[Gryffindor101]

Looking to purchase this 1.6" lift kit for my escape and I'm trying to find out the biggest tire size (overall diameter) I will be able to run with out big rubbing issues. I don't mind a minor trimming if I have to do it but nothing major.

This is the lift kit:

Lift Kit for Ford Escape 13-19 Focus 2, C-Max, Kuga 1,6" 40mm Leveling | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lift Kit for Ford Escape 13-19 Focus 2, C-Max, Kuga 1,6" 40mm Leveling at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I know I have seen people with the lift kits on here and bigger tires but having trouble finding them put together. Once I can figure out the overall tire size I can start my search for the A/T tire options.

I also am not concerned with going over that 3% rule.I am aware of it and the disclaimer that comes with it.

I would love to hear about people experiences with these things and pictures if they can share.

I merged your thread with this existing thread. Have a look at some of the other posts for some suggestions. There is also a good thread on lift kits. A quick search will find it.

 

[Tazmaniman]

That's the kit I ordered. It is due towards the end of the month or early july. The problem is, it isn't so much up and down clearance as it is front to back. My 245/60r18 measures 29.57 inches so I really think I'm maxed out. I just want the additional ground clearance for winter. I did have to modify the front edge of the front wheel inner fender and moved it forward about 1/2-3/4 of an inch. Also a slight tie strap pull on the inner again only on the front of the front wheels, and with those mods it is perfect. Zero rubs and the ride is amazing compared to what it was! The lift will be installed with all new Monroe struts and shocks so it should ride even better then since current suspension has 162000 miles on it!

 

[Tazmaniman]

I just had to put the tire on a little early lol

 

[Tazmaniman]

Knowing what I know now with my mod I saw these, and know they would fit, since I'm running 245/60r18 it should be very easy now to run 235/60r18 which opens up a huge amount of choices

4 New Atturo Trail Blade X/t - 235x60r18 Tires 2356018 235 60 18 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 4 New Atturo Trail Blade X/t - 235x60r18 Tires 2356018 235 60 18 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[ScreamingPassenger]

I hope it's okay to continue this old thread:

I see Falken Wildpeak is available in 235/50r18 which seems right for my 18" wheels, but so many posters here say they swap to a larger size profile. This may be a dumb question to many of you, but google doesn't give me a good answer. Are there clear, noticeable benefits with a 55 profile over the stock 50 profile on an 18inch wheel?

 

[murcod]

If you don't need the small increase in ground clearance then stick with the stock size. Going up in sidewall height will put your speedo out, changes the vehicle's gearing (slower acceleration) and also puts more strain on the brakes.

 

[Tazmaniman]

Mine rides way smoother on the bumps with the size increase. Barely noticeable as far as Speedo and gearing go. Fwiw

 

[murcod]

Yes, the extra sidewall height should give a lot more cushioning over bumps. (Noting that will also vary greatly depending on the tyre choice.) The trade off will be poorer handling and steering response. Swings and roundabouts.

 

[Tazmaniman]

I drove it before and after and I will respectfully disagree, sure on paper you may be correct but I find the way it drives now just as sharp and predictable and actually smoother response where it almost felt jerky with the smaller tires.

 

[murcod]

As I mentioned tyre choice will play a huge part in those characteristics (even swapping brands/ models in the same size tyre can give massive variations in ride and handling.)

 

[needliftnow]

I have just about at 40,000 miles on my slightly larger P235/60R17 Cooper Discoverer AT3 and time for a change. I just missed the Cooper rebate so I will either wait for a deal or might entertain those Falkans. The Falkans now have the same tread wear warranty as the Coopers and are less money. I just know the factory Falkans on a Jeep in the family did not last very long at all...but it seems no factory tires do. The Falkans are quite a bit cheaper and might be worth a try, but you can't get then in an outlined white letter like the coopers.

Regarding AT tires, there are many different varieties within the all terrain tire segment that really do change driving dynamics...but the reality is that most are not even available in tire sizes that will fit on an Escape. An MT (mud terrain) tire will be loud, ride rough and generally handle poorly on road. The Coopers and Falkans that will fit an Escape will not change the driving dynamics much. So maybe you can't take a 45 MPH curve at 70 MPH anymore (not that most of us could but the Escape does have good handling), but you can still take a 45 MPH turn at 64 comfortably (and I have a lift kit as well). The one down side of slightly larger tires (that is for the most part a requirement to get an all terrain tire size that will fit the Escape) is the speedometer is 2-3 MPH slower than reality. I have not noticed anything else that is an issue. The ride is a little better from the extra cushion. Tire noise with the Coopers was comparable to all season tires. If someone is on the fence about putting on slightly larger AT tires because they will never even see a dirt road, they probably should stick with all season tires. If you venture onto dirt occasionally or regularly or if you live in a snowy area, you will love the better traction and improved puncture resistance an all terrain tire will give you. Weigh the options and make the best decision for yourself.

 

[TBlack13SE]

I just know the factory Falkans on a Jeep in the family did not last very long at all...but it seems no factory tires do. The Falkans are quite a bit cheaper and might be worth a try, but you can't get then in an outlined white letter like the coopers.

I put Falken Wildpeak AT3s on our 4Runner about 12k miles ago. They've only gone down 1/32 of an inch from new. Tread life seems good. I'll probably be getting the Falken Wildpeak Trails for the Escape next time it needs tires because if my experience with the AT3s

Edit: I also seem to recall reading that OEM tires are softer than what consumers can buy so that the car rides smoothy when test driving which helps the dealership in selling it. That is to say that an OEM Falken AT3 is not the same as a consumer bought Falken AT3

 

[CauseReasons]

I want to size up my tires for more ground clearance, but I'm worried about snow chain fitting after. Driving in SoCal so we're not likely to need chains, but I've been required to use them before so I want to make sure that I still can.

2016 Escape.

I'm currently on the stock 235/45R19 on 8Jx19 ET52.5. Super Z6 Z143 cables which were low clearance and fit well.

I want to go to Falken Wildpeak A/T Trails 235/60R17 on 7.5Jx17 ET38 wheels.

Going through forums, I saw most people comfortably ran 235/60R17 without rubbing, but couldn't find anyone mentioning chain use after. Also considering getting the 40mm lift kit that seems to be pretty common here if that helps.

 

[needliftnow]

@TBlack13SE, after you had your Falken Wildpeak tires installed, did you notice that the steering was a bit more vague or "floating". Coming off the Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires that did not have any of that I am wondering if:
1) Maybe although the Falkens have a less aggressive tread, their sidewall is rather rugged looking (almost for rock crawling) and maybe that is affecting steering feel, or
2) More worrying, the guy at the tire shop that did the alignment was in training and could have messed things up instead of fixing them...meaning I would go to a regular service garage ASAP for a professional alignment. I've had many warnings about the tire shop messing up people's alignments before, but they did they did OK with my old Coopers.

I don't want to spend another $100 on an alignment if I don't have to, but I don't want my new tires to wear funny or have this vague steering feel cause a loss of control in the snow. Any ideas? Did you experience this on your 4Runner?

I will say one good thing about the tire shop: at least they knew their tire stuff. The compound on the Falkans is a little softer and therefore should be more responsive for snow traction. He said customers said the Coopers were a bit more firm and were not as good in the snow as the Falkens (even though the Coopers had more aggressive tread). I just drove them in th snow and the tread itself felt soft and pliable. Time will tell on the winter snow traction. They should be just as good on the dirt as the Coopers, just a little less aggressive (except the tread edges that are rugged-looking).

 

[needliftnow]

@CauseReasons: from this or other threads of this form, there was discussion of tire chains not being recommended by Ford (it might even state such on the owners manual). Because of the tight fitment of the stock tire size, adding tire chains probably is not the wisest thing. Larger size tires with tire chains make things more likely to be problematic. If you ever ride next to a plow truck or other vehicle with chains, you will notice that the center of the crain (in the middle of the tire) likes to extend away from the tire through centrifugal force. That can/will make that chain hit the inside of the wheelwells where a one size larger tire would not.
Have you seen if studded winter wires would meet the local regulations where you drive?
Have you checked Youtube for snow chain alternatives? There are some pretty wild inventions out there. I just don't know if they will work either. Take a look, you might be surprised.
If you do add one of those alternatives, I suspect you must stick to the stock tire size to reduce risk of damage as the wheelwells are still tight. Good luck.

 

[TBlack13SE]

@TBlack13SE, after you had your Falken Wildpeak tires installed, did you notice that the steering was a bit more vague or "floating". Coming off the Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires that did not have any of that I am wondering if:
1) Maybe although the Falkens have a less aggressive tread, their sidewall is rather rugged looking (almost for rock crawling) and maybe that is affecting steering feel, or
2) More worrying, the guy at the tire shop that did the alignment was in training and could have messed things up instead of fixing them...meaning I would go to a regular service garage ASAP for a professional alignment. I've had many warnings about the tire shop messing up people's alignments before, but they did they did OK with my old Coopers.

I don't want to spend another $100 on an alignment if I don't have to, but I don't want my new tires to wear funny or have this vague steering feel cause a loss of control in the snow. Any ideas? Did you experience this on your 4Runner?

I will say one good thing about the tire shop: at least they knew their tire stuff. The compound on the Falkans is a little softer and therefore should be more responsive for snow traction. He said customers said the Coopers were a bit more firm and were not as good in the snow as the Falkens (even though the Coopers had more aggressive tread). I just drove them in th snow and the tread itself felt soft and pliable. Time will tell on the winter snow traction. They should be just as good on the dirt as the Coopers, just a little less aggressive (except the tread edges that are rugged-looking).

There was quite a bit that changed when I got the Wildpeaks. Went from the stock 245/60/R20 Yokohama Geolander G96B at 41PSI to 265/70/R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3W at 35PSI. The 4Runner felt more planted but less responsive to steering input. It doesn't feel like a boat but definitely doesn't match the crispness of the original tires. Comparing them to the stock Dunlop Grandtreks in the same 265/70/R17 size (only test drove), there isn't any noticeable loss in steering input. No steering wheel shake at high speeds. No alignment issues. No complaints.

With all that said, I was on the 4Runner forums the other day and where your particular Falkens come from seems to play a huge role in how well they balance and feel on the vehicle. The people that have issues seem to get them from the "B tire" places and IIRC they are made in Thailand usually. The ones made in USA and Japan seem to be fine.

 

[CauseReasons]

@CauseReasons: from this or other threads of this form, there was discussion of tire chains not being recommended by Ford (it might even state such on the owners manual). Because of the tight fitment of the stock tire size, adding tire chains probably is not the wisest thing. Larger size tires with tire chains make things more likely to be problematic. If you ever ride next to a plow truck or other vehicle with chains, you will notice that the center of the crain (in the middle of the tire) likes to extend away from the tire through centrifugal force. That can/will make that chain hit the inside of the wheelwells where a one size larger tire would not.

I looked back through the manual and I suspect the reason chains aren't recommended are due to potential damage to Alloys.

Using Snow Chains - Ford Escape Owner's Manual [Page 268]

Ford Escape Manual Online: Using Snow Chains. WARNING Snow tires must be the same size, load index, speed rating as those originally provided by Ford. Use of any tire or wheel not recommended by Ford can affect the safety and performance of your vehicle, which could result in an...

www.manualslib.com

"If you need to use cables, it is recommended that steel wheels (of the same size and specifications) be used, as cables may chip aluminum wheels.
"Use 10 mm cables or chains ONLY on front axle with 235/55R17 tires. Not all S-class snow chains or cables meet these restrictions. Chains of this size restriction will include a tensioning device.
The snow chains or cables must be mounted in pairs on the front axle.
Do not use chains or cables on 235/50R18 and 235/45R19 tires"

Considering that 235/55/R17 are the same size as 235/45R19 I don't think the OEM recommendation against chains is due to fitment issues.

That being said, what I want to do is:
Same tire width, so theoretically same clearance.
Bigger wheel offset to give some additional clearance to suspension components.
Bigger tire size to 235/60/R17, this is where the issue comes in. Losing wheel well clearance in front/back and potential steering which I hear is the biggest issue sizing up. Compounding on adding even more width on chains is where I'm worried about rubbing, but I have also seen some guys size up twice to 235/65/R17 with minimal trimming which I think could be similar to a chain setup.
High potential for 30 or 40mm lift kit because I'm trying to keep up with friends in real trucks overlanding which should give additional overall clearance to wheel well. (Trying to decide between 30mm Tema or 40mm Rising Tuning I've seen in the Lift Kits thread)

@CauseReasons:
Have you seen if studded winter wires would meet the local regulations where you drive?
Have you checked Youtube for snow chain alternatives? There are some pretty wild inventions out there. I just don't know if they will work either. Take a look, you might be surprised.
If you do add one of those alternatives, I suspect you must stick to the stock tire size to reduce risk of damage as the wheelwells are still tight. Good luck.

Studded tires aren't really practical since I'll maybe go up to the mountains a couple times a year.
The most reasonable alternative I've seen is the AutoSock but those are prone to lasting a single drive, and if it's storming enough that they're forcing everyone to put chains on then I wouldn't really trust them for the drive anyway.

Other than that I've seen a lot of the cool alternatives but they end up being like $400+ or $800+ from what I remember. Again, not the most practical for going up a couple times a year.

I appreciate the suggestions a lot! I'm trying to see if I can justify sizing up tires for an extra 1/2" lift while still being SoCal snow ready.
I haven't looked at alternatives since a few years ago, so maybe they have some newer options that'll make sense for me. I'll look into that too.

 

[needliftnow]

There was quite a bit that changed when I got the Wildpeaks. Went from the stock 245/60/R20 Yokohama Geolander G96B at 41PSI to 265/70/R17 Falken Wildpeak AT3W at 35PSI. The 4Runner felt more planted but less responsive to steering input. It doesn't feel like a boat but definitely doesn't match the crispness of the original tires. Comparing them to the stock Dunlap Grandtreks in the same 265/70/R17 size (only test drove), there isn't any noticeable loss in steering input. No steering wheel shake at high speeds. No alignment issues. No complaints.

With all that said, I was on the 4Runner forums the other day and where your particular Falkens come from seems to play a huge role in how well they balance and feel on the vehicle. The people that have issues seem to get them from the "B tire" places and IIRC they are made in Thailand usually. The ones made in USA and Japan seem to be fine.

Interesting. Thanks. I guess they call them "trail" tires (Falken Wildpeak Trail) because they are more for the road and light off roading. The tread is more "civilized" with the one exception of those rock crawler sidewalls. My guess is as the sidewalls slowly wear the steering will feel less vague/wandering then. So long as that vagueness doesn't translate into loss of control in the snow I guess I am OK. The tires are supposed to hook up better in the snow than the Coopers and feel softer. Time will tell. They are also supposed to better on the gas than the Coopers. Time will tell on that as well. If they worked well for you, they should work well for the rest of us. One disappointment is that they Wildpeaks are RBL instead of RWL or OWL. I am contemplating painting the raised letters white for a more proper all terrain tire look in the Spring...but I have no experience at that. I wish I could get a set of Mickey Thompson Deegan tires for the Escape! They have even better tread traction than the Coopers and have nice raised white letters too.

 

[needliftnow]

@CauseReasons I know that "sock" thing you are talking about too. Yeah, sad it has such a short life expectancy. At least you know of some alternatives. In Maine by me, snow tires are something lots of people have...but what I don't have is the space to store them in the off season or money for a second set of rims! Even basic steel rims are almost $100 a piece and finding a junkyard deal for rims that actually fit the Escape is about as likely as winning the lotto! I get what you mean about the few snowfalls in SoCal. You really don't need to fill your garage or house with extra tires!

As far as lifting the Escape, at least there are more options now than when I did mine. Phat Matts will sell you a DIY kit to weld together yourself from all the pre-designed parts. TEMA from Russia (through Ebay) seems to be resulting in some success stories. I did deal with them first and they did have good customer service response times. It looks like now they finally have the correct parts packaged together to avoid issues. The front needs the lift more than the read, but I would still put a small lift in the back to raise the center rear of the vehicle. If helps when driving down a dirt road or path with deep tire ruts or roads that have a heavy crown shape to them, and prevents you from ripping up the underneath of the vehicle...something that happens all too often with today's low vehicles. The lift difference is subtle when looking at the vehicle up close, but you can see the difference in clearance when you step back. The front lift especially will prevent you from ripping the underside up. If you get a lift or some AT tires, please post some pictures or a video on the respective thread. As I mentioned in the other post, P235/60R17 Wildpeak Trail tires do fit (and do not rub) as does the Cooper Discoverer AT3. So far the Coopers had a much more precise steering feel. Time will tell. I might need a professional alignment instead of "trainee alignment"! It could be the tires but nearby mechanics have waned me of the alignments that are done out of the place I got the tires! By the way, as soon as there is a Bronco Sport Badlands at the local dealership, I will try to get to park alongside to compare clearance and look. It is always tempting to have the newest and coolest vehicle, but a lift and new tires are always a cheaper alternative...espectially if you life the vehicle and everything works well (which has been the case with me so far). Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[murcod]

Considering that 235/55/R17 are the same size as 235/45R19 I don't think the OEM recommendation against chains is due to fitment issues.

Something else to consider is I think you'll find the wheel width is 7.5" for the 235/55R17 vs 8" for the 235/45R19. (It is with the Spanish built Kuga/ Escape.) That could affect clearance between the strut and tyre/ wheel.