I have just bought a 97' F150 4x4 and am not familiar with the front end setup. I have owned several of the older style F150's and Broncos and need some clarification on what I can use on this thing. Can I put a 15" rim on there, would 5" of backspacing be ok? I assume I would get some rub at steering lock but that is avoidable with some care. I have a set of 15x10's with 33x12.5's on them I would like to use. I am planning on tweaking the torsion bars a bit to get a little more clearance. I don't want a 6" lift and there doesn't seem to be much else out there... Any thoughts or experiences...

If I have to stick with the 16" rims that are on there I will, I don't mind buying tires right now but don't want to buy another set of rims at this time.

Thanx

 

Just gathering info from some of the other threads on this board, you can't put 15's on your truck because of the brake calipers.... you'll have to stick with 16's.

I have the exact same year and truck as you do. I'm keeping my stock 16x7 rims and putting on Pro-Comp X-terrains 285/75/R16's. They recommend putting them on a 7.5" rim but most people on this board agree that the 285's or the 305's will fit safely on a 7" rim, just may wear a little quicker in the center.

I'm cranking the torsions up front which should give me another 2" of lift and I'm adding a Superlift add-a-leaf to the rear which will give me around 2" in the back.

I'm on a limited budget right now, so for under 700 bucks for good tires and a few inches of lift, I'm pretty happy.

Hell, the Pro-Comp's are buy 3 get one free right now... it's hard to beat that.

 

I have seen that add. I am leaning more toward the Truxus STS If I am buying new 16's. I have three sets of wide 15"s kills me... Thanks for the input, I am going to crank up the front but leave the rear, I just want to level it out and stick on as big as will fit in stock form. I have a 74' Bronco for offroad already. This needs to stay reasonably stock, I just want it to look a little more aggresive.

 

I have seen that ad. I am leaning more toward the Truxus STS If I am buying new 16's. I have three sets of wide 15"s kills me... Thanks for the input, I am going to crank up the front but leave the rear, I just want to level it out and stick on as big as will fit in stock form. I have a 74' Bronco for offroad already. This needs to stay reasonably stock, I just want it to look a little more aggresive.

 

What did your 15" wheels come off of? More than likely the bolt pattern is different too, since 15" wheels are (generally) too small for our trucks...

You can fit a 285/75R16 size tire on the 4x4's without any modification (you might crank the torsion bars for some extra clearance and to get the front end level), and these will fit on the stock 16" wheels.

If you want to do a lift, you can get a body lift (you can get a 2" or a 3" kit), and I have seen some 4" suspension lift kits...

check out 4wheelparts.com, they have a large selection of lifts for our trucks.

 

5 on 5.5 from 89' Bronco and 84' and 92' F150's, they also fit the 74'

 

Yeah, these trucks use a 5x135mm bolt battern...so those wheels wouldnt fit even if they were 16" diameter.

 

great, more crap to sell... So 285-305/75 R16's are as big as will fit in stock form. I'll start looking. Thanx

 

Yes. The 305/70R16 will require cranking the torsion bars a little, and maybe trimming the valence some. They are wide for the stock wheels though, so 16x8s or 16x10s would be a good idea.

285/75R16s will fit with no problems.

 

285's it is. Checked out Sam's and BJ's today. Sams has BFG AT's in 285/75 set of 4 mounted, balanced and road hazard at $700 plus tax...