Pirelli XTM AT 285/70r17 E tires on Ranger Raptor

[HighDesertRanger]

Fun fact: Ford is now apparently shipping the Expedition Tremors with the Pirelli tires. This is a 2027 model that just landed at my dealership.

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[Lion77]

There's a good reason for it!

 

[OxygenMask]

Has anyone had any luck selling their KO3 takeoffs?
If so what kind of money did they fetch?

 

[John B]

Up to 500 miles now on my XTMs. Very good re dry and wet traction, as well as quiet rolling, plus good on corners, etc. And of course they look great on the truck. The only negative vs KO3s is that the higher sidewall stiffness shows up as a bit more transmission of road surface imperfections thru the steering wheel. It kinda seems like tires out of balance, happening more noticeably at 60 to 70, but varies greatly depending on the road surface. Worse surface = lower speed for steering wheel movement. Gonna keep driving then until 1k and then try a bit lower pressure. Currently using the oem 39# cold. I may also make sure the XTMs are structurally sound by going to a local race car shop that's worked on my gt500, and have them do a road force balance. Their machine seems pretty darn good at correct tire/wheel setup.

 

[Lion77]

Between the lighter weight XTM AT's and the Method 705's, one thing I'm really looking forward to is the overall total improvement in suspension performance. The Fox 2.5's are really good for stock shocks, but the significant reduction in un-sprung mass is going to optimize them even more, on top of the acceleration / braking improvements.

I'm taking more of a performance race truck approach with careful balancing of weight and allocation, it's a systems engineering view vs. the "parts cannon" approach. Each element is carefully chosen for it's overall balance and effect.

Reliability, performance, economy of use.

1. FP Pro Cal + Intercooler + TriboTEX DLC Films optimize the entire powertrain, balancing performance and durability to an OE level with changing fuel economy for more typical use cases. I would run premium fuel regardless of whether its stock cal or not because the stock cal is still optimized for premium where it makes its rated power. That's just me and how I use the truck, so for me, I would rather have the benefits of the Pro Cal with it's minimal impact on long term durability. It's still an OE calibration.

2. Method 705's + XTM AT's optimize the tire / wheel package with significant reduction in rotating mass, slightly wider off-set that increases track width only moderately thus not significantly affecting scrub radius, while lowering the overall CG without losing ground clearance and adding bead grip capability for aired down uses. The tires enhance steering precision, significantly enhance wet traction, reduce highway noise and maintain or slightly increase off-road performance over the KO3's. I'm not losing anything but a bit of "comfort" on-road from the stiffer sidewall.

3. L-track + Tonneau cover optimize the bed space for a variety of uses. Four 4ft L-track strips only weigh 10lbs with mounting hardware and are infinitely configurable + the six original bed tie downs. Tonneau cover is < 50 lbs and easily removed with two wing nuts if I need full bed utilization, but offers improvements in aero for on-road traveling + bed coverage / security. L-track allows me to strap in smaller items like duffle bags, luggage totes, boxes, stacks of 2x4's...you name it! I even ratchet strapped in a big pumpkin after an apple orchard visit with my family so it wouldn't get smashed rolling around in the bed lol. Lovin the L-rack mod I did!

4. Angled GOAT rock sliders (future mod) add maybe another 30ish lbs total sprung mass over the stock side steps but add a whopping 4" of usable side clearance and legitimate rocker protection, which is extremely useful for trail work in the woods where there are frequently obstacles on only one side of the trail that you can roll over with enough side clearance. Not into rock crawling, rarely do we have "rock steps" which is all about tire + breakover, which I personally think is boring and just beats up the truck. I'm not into driving my 455 HP truck at 1mph...I like scenic trails + high speed stuff and utilizing all 455 HP in big open spaces where the RR shines, putting the watts link + Fox 2.5's to good use. Also love touring to new places / road trips, so the handling dynamics matter more to me for on-road / high speed use than sheer ground clearance.

Nice thing is, if I ever get the itch to convert it to a more trail focused truck to maybe tackle some of the scenic rugged trails out west, I don't need to "un-mod" these mods, I only need to swap out for bigger tires / lift / crash bars, but I have a hard time justifying that when it would be maybe a once every other year thing where 99% of my uses are better suited to 33's / stock ride height + handling dynamics. This is why I'm stoke about upgrading the XTM AT's once my KO3's are worn enough (29k and counting).

Also, the XTM AT's are a bit wider, so their contact patch will be more square than rectangular, meaning you should have more lateral traction on-road and on dirt pack, so from a "rally car" use case, that will improve the truck further as a "rally truck". Until actually owning one, I would honestly never have appreciated the balance of the RR.

It can handle some pretty good and legitimate off-roading in stock or near stock form, but it drives so much better than most other trucks, especially once you put better tires / wheels on it.

 

[Pic-N-Stick]

Well, I reached out to Pirelli asking if they have plans on producing an S/L or C rated XTM in 285/70R17. Got a pretty generic message from consumer affairs, but they did say they will pass the inquiry on to both the product development and the R&D team. Feel free to do the same...it can't hurt!

 

[John B]

Between the lighter weight XTM AT's and the Method 705's, one thing I'm really looking forward to is the overall total improvement in suspension performance. The Fox 2.5's are really good for stock shocks, but the significant reduction in un-sprung mass is going to optimize them even more, on top of the acceleration / braking improvements.

I'm taking more of a performance race truck approach with careful balancing of weight and allocation, it's a systems engineering view vs. the "parts cannon" approach. Each element is carefully chosen for it's overall balance and effect.

Reliability, performance, economy of use.

1. FP Pro Cal + Intercooler + TriboTEX DLC Films optimize the entire powertrain, balancing performance and durability to an OE level with changing fuel economy for more typical use cases. I would run premium fuel regardless of whether its stock cal or not because the stock cal is still optimized for premium where it makes its rated power. That's just me and how I use the truck, so for me, I would rather have the benefits of the Pro Cal with it's minimal impact on long term durability. It's still an OE calibration.

2. Method 705's + XTM AT's optimize the tire / wheel package with significant reduction in rotating mass, slightly wider off-set that increases track width only moderately thus not significantly affecting scrub radius, while lowering the overall CG without losing ground clearance and adding bead grip capability for aired down uses. The tires enhance steering precision, significantly enhance wet traction, reduce highway noise and maintain or slightly increase off-road performance over the KO3's. I'm not losing anything but a bit of "comfort" on-road from the stiffer sidewall.

3. L-track + Tonneau cover optimize the bed space for a variety of uses. Four 4ft L-track strips only weigh 10lbs with mounting hardware and are infinitely configurable + the six original bed tie downs. Tonneau cover is < 50 lbs and easily removed with two wing nuts if I need full bed utilization, but offers improvements in aero for on-road traveling + bed coverage / security. L-track allows me to strap in smaller items like duffle bags, luggage totes, boxes, stacks of 2x4's...you name it! I even ratchet strapped in a big pumpkin after an apple orchard visit with my family so it wouldn't get smashed rolling around in the bed lol. Lovin the L-rack mod I did!

4. Angled GOAT rock sliders (future mod) add maybe another 30ish lbs total sprung mass over the stock side steps but add a whopping 4" of usable side clearance and legitimate rocker protection, which is extremely useful for trail work in the woods where there are frequently obstacles on only one side of the trail that you can roll over with enough side clearance. Not into rock crawling, rarely do we have "rock steps" which is all about tire + breakover, which I personally think is boring and just beats up the truck. I'm not into driving my 455 HP truck at 1mph...I like scenic trails + high speed stuff and utilizing all 455 HP in big open spaces where the RR shines, putting the watts link + Fox 2.5's to good use. Also love touring to new places / road trips, so the handling dynamics matter more to me for on-road / high speed use than sheer ground clearance.

Nice thing is, if I ever get the itch to convert it to a more trail focused truck to maybe tackle some of the scenic rugged trails out west, I don't need to "un-mod" these mods, I only need to swap out for bigger tires / lift / crash bars, but I have a hard time justifying that when it would be maybe a once every other year thing where 99% of my uses are better suited to 33's / stock ride height + handling dynamics. This is why I'm stoke about upgrading the XTM AT's once my KO3's are worn enough (29k and counting).

Also, the XTM AT's are a bit wider, so their contact patch will be more square than rectangular, meaning you should have more lateral traction on-road and on dirt pack, so from a "rally car" use case, that will improve the truck further as a "rally truck". Until actually owning one, I would honestly never have appreciated the balance of the RR.

It can handle some pretty good and legitimate off-roading in stock or near stock form, but it drives so much better than most other trucks, especially once you put better tires / wheels on it.

I always appreciate your detailed approach to decision-making. I'm still enjoying the XTMs. Between putting almost 1k miles on them, and dripping the ∆p by 2 psi to 37 cold, the stiffer sidewalls are not that noticeable most of the time. I'd be ok even if nothing changes from this point forward, but I'm speculating that a few thousand more miles will loosen up the sidewalks a bit more. I'll post up re this once I hit 5k total miles on them. Probably sometime in January.

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