2015 - 2020 F-150

Largest Tire W/ 20 Inch Wheels

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Old 06-02-2015, 06:36 PM
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Largest Tire W/ 20 Inch Wheels

As I am waiting for my truck to come in an the Borla Exhaust sits in the carton, along with the K&N CAI and the Craven Speed Stubby Antenna, I was wondering what the largest size tire I can put on my truck with the 20 inch wheel? I am partial to the white outlined letters. The truck was ordered with the 3.73 rear. Thanks, any help would be great!
 
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Old 06-08-2015, 05:40 PM
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leveled or not?
 
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Old 06-08-2015, 06:27 PM
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Please forgive the ignorance in advance. I am not really sure what you mean by that.
 
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Old 06-10-2015, 09:44 AM
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There are two types of suspension "lift" kits. Lifting raises the wheel well height from the ground and creates more clearance for larger tires to avoid rubbing on spring compression (e.g. bottoming out the chassis on your tires). The default diameter on 2015s with either 18" (275/65R/18) or 20" wheels is 32.01 inches.

The basic/cheaper type is called a "levelling kit" and it uses spacers to force the front and rear suspension to be level (the stock is not because the rear suspension is deliberately higher to accommodate a drop from a load in the bed). Again, you see them up to 3.0", but folks on the forums have recommended to me you stop at 2.5" with this type of modification because of the stress it can put on the suspension parts. The largest I've seen recommended for levelling kits is 35". I wonder what Muliefever thinks about that or if you can go larger on 2.5" lift.

The more expensive type is a "full lift kit" and you typically see these start around 6.0". You REALLY notice these types of lifts and can start considering 37" tires that look quite manly. . They're also much more expensive because they upgrade numerous parts of the suspension to reinforce or replace parts that weren't meant to be at the angles this height increases creates.

Four more considerations:
1. Rubbing also happens when you turn your wheel. Hate to put on a nice, big wide tire and then bam, it gets stuck on the inside of the well. So there are horizontal spacers that make your tires stick out

2. Lifting is going to raise the height of your vehicle, potentially above the clearance of garages in your area. Know your city building codes. Mine is 6.5' and 7.0', but outside of my immediate metro area, I've seen them as low as 5.5'. This is my primary issue given I live outside the city and work inside it.

3. Larger tires and wheels change your rotational mass, rotational travel distance, and will affect speedometer calibration + gas mileage.

4. Larger tires and wheels also change your towing profile/put stress on your transmission. Can't have the front of your trailer up in the air, so have to make adjustments there and the total weight/balance of towing changes in ways I haven't researched yet, but see mentions of here on the forums. Also want to make sure that the tires you put on are matched to your gear ratios.
 

Last edited by FlyingSquirrel; 06-10-2015 at 09:48 AM.



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