Hello folks. I picked up a 2003 F150 FX4 screw a few months back. Not too long afterwards, I found a used set of 18x9 XD spy wheels and mounted new BFG 285/65/18. To minimize any rubbing, I leveled the truck by cranking the t-bars; the hub centerline was approximately 23.25" from the highest point on the fender. I decided I wanted a little broader stance so purchased a set of hub/wheel centric aluminum spacers online. I installed them and realized the tires would rub on the front valance piece and at the rear of the fender well. I cranked the t-bars again to gain another 1" in height but the tires still rub quite abit, so, i've removed the spacers.

As this truck is my daily driver and I expect to tow with it from time to time, I want to stick with this tire size (or possibly go to a 33"). However, I'd sure like to use them spacers i bought. I am considering buying a 2" or 3" bodylift from PA or Zone to get some needed heighth but feel if i do these tires may look undersized. So, i'm looking for opinions and/or pics from anyone that can help me come to a decision. Thanks in advance, James.

 

Here's my ex's 2002 SCrew leveled, and nothing else, with 33" (295/70/17) tires. No rubbing. Ever.

 

He's rubbing from the spacers. So it doesn't matter if you never rubbed because his setup is pretty different than yours with spacers.

To the OP, to obtain that extra wide stance using spacers you'll have to deal with the tires looking a little small if you don't want it to rub. On my old truck (98 2wd) I ran 6.5" of lift with 33x12.50's and didn't mind the look of it, which would be similar to you having around 4.5" of lift.

The only thing that might hurt the look is your tires being somewhat narrow at around 11-11.5" wide.

 

DMP/Pizzaman, thanks for your responses. My son has an '02SC and running 20" wheels with Cooper 295's (33") and still rubs abit; however, a full half-turn on the t-bars should eliminate this. The funny thing is, we measured our tires and my BFG was approximately 1/8" taller than his Cooper; we're both running 9" wide wheels.

Without the spacers on my truck, the tire side wall is just inside the fenders; with the spacers installed, I have about a 1" projection which is exactly what i was looking for.

As i understand it, PA's 2" bodylift doesn't include the rear bumper bracket, but does include it in the 3" kit; if i'm not mistaken, Zone's kits offer the rear bumper bracket in both 2" and 3". I'm thinking about going with the 2" Zone kit so that the tires don't look tooo undersized. Down the road when it comes time to replace these BFGs, with 295's.

 

You definitely want a kit with the rear bumper brackets. The way the bed is molded, these trucks look horrible without them. Honestly if it were me, I'd go with the 3". It's basically the same price, and when it comes time to upgrade the tires you may want to go bigger than planned.

 

Hey Buxton, regarding the 3" BL, I agree with you on the points you make. To be honest, i really do not want to go above a 33" tall tire (maybe wider though) because I plan to tow on occasion and cannot sacrifice too much power. However, i did purchase a SCT with custom tunes to combat this, just haven't loaded them yet.