Ok, so I have a stock '97 Ford F-150 XLT, that is currently sitting on 285/75R/16 tires (33/11.5/16). I bought some 35/12.5/17 tires, and I want to know what I need to do to make these fit. I know it is recommended that I get a 4" lift kit for these tires, but I know that is a bunch of BS and that I can go lower. Basically I want to stay as low as I can so that it is still convenient to use for work, but I don't want my tires rubbing. I don't mind cutting out the plastic part of my bumper or minor modifications like that, but I don't want to cut out my fender flares. I do have a few questions on this:

1. Can I get away with just a 2.5" leveling kit?
2. (even tho some people recommend against this) Can I just tighten my torsion bars (less than 2")?

Other details:

The tires are 35's but the tread is worn down so it is 34" in diameter.
My tires are 33's but are warn down to about 31.5 or so

Pictures:

My truck as it sits on 33's:
http://gyazo.com/11e6a88f6e762b3ea2593f003f52bc76
New tires:
http://gyazo.com/ccf0e4603160ab5fc92dc07a44024f06

 

Do you know if it's a 2wd or 4wd ? It'll have two trans axles up front if its 4wd.

 

It's a 4wd, what does "It'll have to trans axles up front" meen?

 

Trans axles are the same as half shafts.

 

I've got no idea what that means, is this tieing into my torsion bars?

 

I think jbrew is talking about these things.



Although typically, "transaxle" is used to refer to a driveline component that houses a transmission and differential in the same housing, a setup common among many FWD cars with transverse mounted engines... or high performance sports cars, go figure.

CV axle, half shaft, transaxle... same stuff.

 

Oh this is funny! but anyway You can make the 35's fit with some slight trimming. With stock rims, I don't believe it will be possible with aftermarket rims. Don't buy aftermarket keys they cause more stress then it's worth.

 

why would stock rims be any different than aftermarket rims?

 

Stock rims are narrower, and have the proper backspacing/offset to tuck the wheels in as much as possible. When generally if you go aftermarket wheels, they'll be wider or have different offset/backspacing which causes rubbing issues. You can go with aftermarket wheels, but to keep the rubbing to a minimum on just cranking the factory keys you'd need to get them with the exact same specs as the stock ones.

 

I already have the wheels, I know they are wider, but I dont know by how much, they are 17X9. I will be having a 1.5" extra backspacing to due lug issues.

 

Lug issues? And 1.5" more backspacing that what?

And stock wheels are 7 or 7.5" wide iirc. A 9" wheel will definitely cause some rubbing issues regardless of backspacing with a 35x12.50. On just cranking the torsions and with those wheels, a 33x12.50 would be a better fit.

 

As far as my lug issues, I'm an idiot and bought the wrong wheels, I knew I needed 5X135, but somehow bought a jeep 5x5 for the new wheels, so with the lug conversion kit it will push my wheel out another 1.5".

Where are the wheels going to rub? It looks like it will rub on the bumper or something, so I figure with the 2.5" leveling kit and minor trimming on the plastic of the bumper I should be good.

 

For starters, what's the backspacing on the jeep wheels you bought?

Depending on that, you will rub the frame at lock, the valence, the inner fender well (most likely both the sheet metal and the rubber liner), possibly the corner of the fender (on the door side when turning), etc..

However, a smaller tire such as a 33x12.50 would eliminate most if not all of those issues.

Also, hopefully you didn't purchase/install that leveling kit yet. Your 4x4, so you can crank the factory keys for free (plus alignment) and still be in factory spec. That leveling kit however has plenty of cons including (but not limited too) it costing money, labor to install, and throwing your front end into some pretty nasty angles which leads to a pretty high rate of wear on your ball joints, tie rod ends, and cv axles. Plus getting a decent alignment to get those tires to wear properly will be pretty hard.

 

No idea on how much backspacing I have on the jeep wheels.

I am currently on 33's, they are not as wide as the 12.5, but I'm looking for a bigger tire than the 33.

As far as the leveling kit, it is only 150 dollars, I am installing it myself, I thought about tightening the torsion bars, but after talking to several mechanics they say that on the stock torsion keys, the hole for the torsion bar to go into does not have the right angles to be cranked up too much (if that makes sense), They recommended the aftermarket keys as they have a different angle allowing the torsion bar to be cranked up more with out as much wear and tear.

 

Aftermarket keys are indexed to crank higher then stock keys. There for causing more stress on steering parts and CV shafts. Im going to guess with aftermarket rims and the wheel spacers/adapters. 35's will be just about out of the question. For $300 buy a 3inch body lift and the tire wheel combo should fit.