Hello Huxey
Is funny as ever since I read your OP, over the past few weeks it has become a tiny bit of obsession of mine to try to find something for when I get a D5 as just like you have so well noted, sadly with the sizes the D5 comes with there are so few options for what we both are looking for. So lately I have much more been looking at the tires on trucks I run across and just happened to walk by a Ford 150 Raptor that was in the parking lot of my building where I work this past week and saw the BFG’s you had talked about and said, not that looks like a great best of all worlds tire and as well guessed Ford agrees as they put them on it from the factory, so I went to the PC to look into them.
As I was at work I didn’t have access to your post so kinda forgot you had even talked about just this tire so when I then found the smallest 20” wheel they came in of 275/55/20, I started comparing them to the two sizes via tiresize.com the D5 could come with, and it might be tight, but I agree that they might fit.
If I'm reading things there right, it’s really is only about ½” taller to the wheelwell then the taller of the two LR ones, and then just the same width as the smaller one. But perhaps when put together that’s just too much.
All in all I don't have much experience with these sites as to what they say can or cannot fit, so perhaps their right when they say it won't fit, or just being conservative and or only willing to go with factory sizes?
Anyway my next step is to bring all this to my tire contact and see what he has to say.
Btw, I had a long talk with him a couple of weeks ago about the speed rating thing and his opinion was one, they make a much bigger deal out of this in Europe as reason being they just have so many roads you are allowed to go much faster on, but as far as how safe it is to drive the car, that under just about all normal on road and even off road conditions you would be just fine.
In other words, for you personally on what might happen the risk is low, but he did agree that depending on an insurance company if you ever did get into an accident and they could somehow use that to say the lower tire rating was at fault for some or all of the reason or damaged, they could use that as a good excuses not to pay, especially if it was one where things involved another driver and their company having to pay you.
Basically he said it comes down to the fact that the last thing most insurance companies want to do it pay out, so they will try to fine anything they can to use as an excuse not to.
So essentially that is where your real risk is.
So guess the point here is, if you go with a lower rating, just be sure never to get into any kind of an accident.
Anyway, in getting back to the tires. The more I think about it I have started to consider if the BFG is really just too aggressive for street driving. Yes its looks really cool and we (or at least me) all want to do some off-roading with the D5, but really just how much of our total mileage is going to be that (?) and so in finally getting a chance this morning to look through at least what is listed on Tirerack.com for that size…I think that Yokohama tire you listed looks like the best choice.
For me I know my tire contact has recommend the brand to me a few times for my Blazer as he said it’s a really quality brand and one the company stands behind well too, but and not to sound none PC, I just could not bring myself to put them on my US truck.
But in the end if that is really the best (and really only) thing I could put on the D5, then it makes it a pretty simple choice.
Anyway, sorry for so much of another long post, but just will close by saying that if you do decide to go with these, I would be very interested to hear how you made out.
As well when I get the chance to see my tire contact over the next few weeks, I’ll give you a update as to what he says.