I am going to help my son on a truck improvement project this summer. We want to do a body lift and put new tires on his 1998 F150 4.2 litre V6. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the maximum non suspension lift and what are the biggest tires we can put on the factory rims. Does anyone know the standard size of the factory rims?

 

1) I believe a company called Whiplash is now making 4" body lift kits for 97+ F150's but Ive heard that anything over 3" in some states is illegal. Id be content on a 3" which probably over 100 people on this site (including me have.)

2) The factory wheels are 7.5" wide. That goes for the 16's or 17's. I wouldnt recommend putting a tire over 11" wide on a stock wheel, but there are plenty of people who have 12.5" tires on stock wheels and run them with no problems that Ive heard of.

3) With the truck being a 4x4 and having a 3" body lift, you could stick some 35" tires under there with some minor trimming of the valence.

If ya have any other questions ask away!

 

performance accesories has a good 3 inch lift. i have 35's on my 97 on 16x8 wheels

 

go with the 3" body lift kit from performance accessories. 99% of thepeople on this board with body lifts have a kit from them and there seem to be little to no complaints. i have the kit and i love it, easy to install and it did everything it was supposed to.

 

ditto on the performance accessories lift...its been good for me...i've had it for about 3 years now, and i've been in one pretty bad wreck and it held up very well. I'd say if your truck is a 4x2 that 33's on 16x8s would be good...i have a 3" and 35s with the 4x4 and i wouldnt go back to 33s for anything...but on a 2wd they would look good i'm sure...good luck!

 

That sounds good. Now with the factory wheels, how big of tires can we put on. Another question which comes up about the big tires. How will that affect the odometer and speedometer readings?

 

You can put up to 315/75R16s on a stock rim. HOWEVER, this causes the tire to bulge more on the outside and might cause more rubbing to occur. A good tire to run on the stock rim is a 285/75R16 or maybe even a 305/70R16...that with a 3" body lift on a 2wd would look good if you ask me...but really rims and 305/70R16 or 315/75R16s (depending on what you can fit) is the best way to go.
Bigger tires make your speedometer slow down...essentially, it takes more time to rotate that little **** in the tranny and therefore the speedometer and odometer will read slower or less than actual...with 315/75R16s mine are approx. 17-18% off...
hope this helps