Hey everyone this is my first post here to the site, but the knowledge here looks vast. I just bought a 14 FX4 Supercrew ecoboost 4x4 after my 11 xlt 5.0 got hammered by softball size hail. At the dealership they had some nice pickups which they leveled (3" if i remember right) and put bigger wheels on and they looked really sharp, so I thought I can do that (over my head already). So my goal is to level the pickup and get a M/T tire or even an aggressive A/T. That being said I need some suggestions.

Random info

I probably drive about 30-40 percent on gravel roads. However I make yearly trips to Dallas TX and Portland OR from North Dakota, so a quieter tire is nice however inside the cab is so silent I doubt a slight hum would be noticeable.

I read that 3" leveling is a very bad idea and 2-2.5 is the route to go, are these kits relatively easy to install? I am mechanically inclined however have never worked on suspension before (apart from my grain trucks).


Here are some products I thought looked like solid buys.

Goodyear Duratracs in 275/65/18
Toyo Open country MT in same size

Suspension is 100% out of my league.

Thanks for reading and any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Yup. The general consensus is to stay at or under 2.5". You can fit 35" tires with a 2", and possibly even a 1.5". I did not install the 2" level myself, but I was prepared to until my brother-in-law, who is a mechanic, offered to do it for $40 at his shop. There are a couple of threads on this site that do a really good job of showing how to install it and there are members on here who have done it themselves.

After doing the 2" level, I decided to raise the back end by adding a 3" block. This, I did do myself and took me around 2 hours. It shouldn't have taken me that long, but I didn't exactly have the ideal spot or tools to do it. Here is a quick reference for you. The first pic is just with the 2" level up front and the second pic is after the 3" block install:





The tires you mention have some really good reviews and I don't think you could go wrong with either. Since you are considering mud tires though, I would suggest that you look at the Nitto Trail Grapplers. That's what is on my truck and I love them. They also have many great reviews. Here is a couple of closer pics:

 

And welcome to the site!

 

Hi and welcome to the site. The size you mentioned is the stock size tire when you get 18" wheels on a 4x4, it's basically a 32" tall tire. Try looking at a 275-70/18 (33") or a 275-75/18 (34"). The whole point of installing a leveling kit is gain more room for bigger tires.

 

Ahhh, good catch. I didn't even look at the size he listed.

OP, he's right. Installing a leveling kit without bigger tires just kinda looks funky. You should probably look at at least 33" tires and taller. It is a personal choice, however. To each their own.

 

Thanks for the great replies already! Ya I wasnt exactly sure how big I could go with just a 2" level. I think 275/70 or 75's will work out nicely then. Those Nitto's are sharp tires hows the road noise with them and do you have many miles on them yet?

Also any suggestions on brands for said leveling kit?

 

Not trying to discourage you from doing it at all but just want to make sure you are aware that the taller, heavier tire will lower your mpg. same with raising the truck. Also, if the tire is taller, your speedometer will be off unless the computer is reflashed with a program change. Some make the change without knowing and are shocked at the change.

 

The Nitto's are definitely noticeable in the road noise department, but not bad for a mud tire. I actually have a video that is a decent representation. I took the video to show the exhaust sound, but you can hear the tires too. You can hear the tires at about 50 MPH and in the video I reach 75 MPH before it shuts off. Also note, I don't have the radio on:



I only have about 4,000 miles on the tires, but there are plenty of stories about them holding up to 50k miles without issues.

For the level kit, Autospring is who is generally recommended on this forum and is the company that I went with. Here is the link to the website: http://autospringcorp.com/

 

Ya I realize that my mileage will suffer some but the stock tires they include are 6 ply highway tires and are a liability in my area, so i figured since Im going to upgrade to a 10 ply tire anyhow why not get something that looks great and has good functionality. This is why I was thinking of sticking with stock tire sizes to avoid having to recal some things. But my local customization shop said they can do all that as well.

I did put on some cooper discoverer A/T's 33's on my last pickup with about 2 MPG loss which i was ok with since a 36 gallon fuel capacity still nets me nearly 600 miles a fill on the long road trips.

 

MattWis
A level is a fairly easy install, here is a video of how to install our very popular quickLIFT LOADED strut. Good luck and stay away from hail.

 

Well thanks for the replies everyone they were very informative and helpful in my decision. I ended up going with a 2" leveling/lift kit from autospring and 275/70 goodyear duratracs. which should be about a 33" wheel, which was just what i was looking for. I will post some pics when I get everything on next week!

 

Got the level and tires on, looks great!

 

Looks really good.

 

Looks great! What height level did you end up going with?

 

Good choice...truck look's great!