Thanks KMACO...yes, I am still leaning towards the Boosts with MTs (probably Nittos once again since I am on their website as one of their wallpapers...lol). And yes, I keep thinking of maybe going custom like two-piece wheels that I can have some Sterling Grey incorporated into them.

If I was still in my last house with the 12-ft. garage door and 36 ft. long bay, I could have that 16-inch lift....lol.

 

Well if you ever do get custom wheels done, definitely show everybody. But I'm sure you will. I think it would look really cool to have sterling grey on the wheels.

Sounds like you shouldn't have moved, buddy! Haha but why can't you just park the truck in the driveway? Against HOA or something? Cause you certainly don't keep them long enough for the sun to do any damage.

 

x2
I have seen a truck around here with custom rims that where PTM and man it was sexy! ill see if I can get a pic of it he hangs at local dealer on Mondays and Thursdays, he is the dent guy.

 

hehe...I will miss my old garage even though my current one is much bigger (over 1600 sq. ft. and 4 bays) but not tall enough. I moved back into my previous Santa Fe styled home which is in a very nice area, but even so we have had some issues so I like to keep my truck secure at night. Anyway, if the truck doesn't fit I may have to reconfigure one of the bay doors.

Yeah, I am really toying with the idea of the custom wheels. I did that with my Platinum; while not everyone liked the Moto Metals, they really turned out great with the subtle paint to match inserts I did.

My bother photoshopped some 2-Piece Fuel Driller Dark Tint wheels in for me just to see how they would look; have to imagine them with Sterling Grey center face and more positive offset (+1mm or maybe +14mm) as I won't go that deep:

 

That would be cool if you could catch a pic....always great to see something new! Thanks!

 

I think those wheels look good. So many cool things you can do . . .

Now I understand the need to park inside the garage! I'm paranoid about getting burglarized while my truck is parked at work or other places that are too close to the city. I'd get over the height thing right quick in exchange for 1600 square feet of garage/man cave space!

 

sure let me know what you decide to do.

 

Would that sweet Platinum of yours fit in a regular garage? Maybe without the rack on the cap. I'm looking at the same setup when I get back to the southwest and being able to secure my stuff is a major concern. I spend a lot of time in Albuquerque myself.

 

Dawg, yer killin' me! Someone else mentioned it, and I agree...I'd like to have yer "issues".

In my humble opinion, there's something to be said for a tastefully modded/slightly lifted truck. I love the look, myself. It's enough to have a more aggressive stance than factory but is still functional, close to factory ride, doesn't destroy fuel economy, and not so over-the-top. So having said that, I really like it the way it sits!

But if yer dead-set on lifting it, I think you're on the right track thinking about a 4" lift. It will be quite a bit more aggressive, but as you know, you'd have to do considerable further mods to pull it off. You'd need bigger meats, wheels with more offset, etc.

Which brings me to my next thought:

^^ Those wheels are damn sexy!! I believe our ol' pal hydro hit the nail on the head with that suggestion. In fact if I were you, I think I'd get a set of those either way. LOVE those wheels! Also, just changing to a wheel with say a +18 or +20 offset will make a pretty dramatic difference in appearance and stance compared to the more conservative look you get from the factory wheels.

Or you could just keep her as she is fer a while, save the money you'd have spent on mods, and wait fer the 2015 and go all out then! That's the direction I'm leaning and the main reason I have put the mods on hold fer the last few months.

Either way, I know what you'll end up with will be amazing. You have THE BEST taste!

 

Despite all the room, our garage is full of "stuff" that we need to get rid of; barely squeeked my wife's GTI and my truck in there...lol.


Will do! I'll PM you if I decide to let go of the wheels/tires.


Hi Bmax; yes, the Platinum would fit without any issues if it didn't have the topper. I was living in my other home at the time with a 12 ft. tall garage bay, so never had to worry about the topper. But now I am back in my other home with the standard height door, and it's going to a nail biter because despite all my calculations and assumptions, I won't really know until everything is together. Very cool you get to come to ABQ too!

 

Thanks Dewser! Yeah, you know me long enough on here to know I never keep anything too long, including my mods, without changing. Actually, I decided not to rush out for the 2015 model until it is out for at least a year, and I also have my sights on helping my kid with his first car, as well as finally getting another Corvette or muscle car for myself. So I am really going to be keeping this truck for a while (yes, famous last words) and decided that I should just mod it the way I reallly like.

I agree about the 4-inch systems looking really good on our F150s and keeping a slightly conservative but still very aggressive look. No offense to all the other lifted trucks out there, but I think the 4-inch lift with 35s is a tighter looking setup (with a few exceptions on this Forum with guys that have 6-inch lifts and their trucks are drop dead gorgeous).

I agree on those Series 531 wheels but they only come in a 10-inch width. I also like their new Hard Rock Series. Been looking at all of them:

Series 14-



Series 16 (18 inch only) -



Series 18 (matte black only) -



I really stress a little too much but I like to make my trucks a tad different from anyone else's despite having the same mods; so really like everything to tie in. The wheels above remind of the BMFs with the high gloss paint, so trying to decide to go that route versus a more subtle grey paint or machined. But I am pretty sure I don't want a 10-inch wide and/or high negative offset wheel that will stick out a lot, so probably limited to 0mm offset at worst and more likely go back to a +14mm to +18mm offset.

 

That Series 18 is my favorite. WOW!! Dawg, ya gotta get those, man. The matte black would look fantastic on the Sterling, and the design is nice and aggressive. IMHO, they're perfect! You could get those in a +18 20" and keep your current tires and level for a while just to see how you like it. You could always add the lift.

If you do add the lift, a slightly bigger fender flare may be in order. Nothing too wild because of the +18 offset but just enough to set it off. Ya feelin' me on that?

Damn. The new Toyo tires came out just after I got my Cooper ST Maxx, and now these AE wheels are out after I got the Fuel Kranks. I guess that's the way it goes with mods, though. You always second-guess yourself when something new comes out.

 

By the way, do you remember the bit from the ol' Looney Tunes cartoons with a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other fighting each other all the time? I'm NOT the angel on yer shoulder so you might not wanna listen to me.

 

Yeah, still on the fence with the matte black but they sure look good in the doctored advertisement for sure! I had +18mm on my lifted Plat and thought that looked pretty good, and I didn't flares. But on my white Eco, I had +14mm wheels with the Nittos, and that combo threw muck all over the truck so could have used flares then. But I am thinking about going with a flat black 1.5-inch Bushwacker (without the faux rivets) but probably see how the whole package looks before I pull the trigger on flares.

Are you talking about the AT II's? I think they are a great all around tire to have but not decided if they are aggressive looking enough until I see them in person. The Duratracs spoiled me; if I am going with another AT, they have to look at least as aggressive as what I have on now which is why I am looking at MTs again. I also want to keep my 35s under 12.5 inches in width once mounted which limits my selection (and I don't want too narrow like a 275) so the larger Duratracs won't work either. Nitto and Cooper seem to be my best choices so far.

How do you like the Cooper STTs so far? I have seen them in person and they look pretty darn aggressive, but seen them mounted yet.

 

I was talking about the AT IIs. I think they look great for a true AT tire, but you're right in that they're not as aggressive as our "hybrid" tires or a true MT. I've heard really great things about them so far, and apparently they do extremely well in most off-road environments.

Don't get me wrong. I do still really, really like the Cooper ST Maxx. It's just that I'm always second-guessing myself. That character flaw has made the already expensive hobby of truck modding even more expensive for me over the years.

Anyway, the ST Maxx do quite well for me. Of course, there are negatives. They're only available in 275/70 in the 18" diameter (not sure what Cooper is thinking there). Also, they're not the smoothest riding tire. Then again, they ARE a VERY heavy duty, E rated tire, and of the 5 different E rated tires I've had, these are as smooth or smoother than the rest. I just couldn't call them "smooth". Make sense?

The positives are that they're the biggest overall 275/70/18 tire in actual measured dimensions that I could find when I was shopping for tires. They're lighter than most of the other tires in the same size/class. They do look great (very unique sidewall design, etc). Believe it or not, they're way more quiet than the Duratracs I had for a short period of time, too. In fact, they're about as loud as the Terra Grapplers I had. Lastly, so far they seem to be wearing like freakin' iron! I have about 20K miles on them, and at this rate, I'll get 50K out of them easily!

Anyway, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent there. Back on track!