I ended up going with the 275/70's Put the 285's on and there was about 1 inch clearance when turning. I wouldn't call that a perfect fit. Turning the torsion bar may give another inch, but I feel more comfortable going with a smaller tire. Thanks all.

 

I've had 285/75/16 on stock rims since new, no cranking or clearance problems.

 

Yes perfect fit !...seems like the truck was built for 285. Looks much better than the original tiny 265 tires...looks like a train with those on.

I would actually say that 1" is a pretty good clearance and I´m not sure what clearance you would classify as perfect. If it doesn´t rub or create any problems and the truck looks much better I would go with that.

I would go straight for the 285´s (don´t stop at 275). I was a little nervous first when putting those under ,mostly because the tire guy thought they wouldn´t fit, but obviously he was wrong and afterwards he, and many more, commented that the truck looked really good with this size on!!

 

I felt the same way. A freind at work put them on his S/C and had to do some trimming. While they were putting the 285's on I kept looking over the guys shoulder, he kept telling me not to worry. They definately do fill the tirewell!

 

fordman4life:
Did your truck come with FX4 and Lariat decals or did you add the FX4 ones later?

I didnt think they ever made an FX4 lariat.

 

https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=4594

just wanted to add to the joy of 285/70/17's. i had mine put on last week and love them, especially with the FX4 rims i bought also!!!

 

I guess it comes down to each owner's definition of "perfect fit" I just went out and measured the 275/70's distance to the closest part of the fender when the wheel is turned a little and I'm looking at a 2" space. The 285's when mounted were less than 1". No doubt they look awesome and "fit", but too close of a fit for comfort when driving on the beach and rattling across bumps for me at least. There was room for doubt as to whether or not I could avoid bumping the tire into the fender 100% of the time so I opted for the smaller tire. To be technical, there is about a 1.6 - 1.7 inch difference in height between the 275/70 and the 285/75 so the 285 actually had less then 0.5 inches of clearance when mounted and when I looked at it on the truck it was damn close. I also see everyone's pics show the angle of most clearance. How about some of them at the least clearance? I would safely say from what I saw, the 285 is the way to go though if you are primarily on the street and the biggest obstacle that you have to worry about is that nasty posthole on the way to work.

 

hey so how is the tire noise with the bfg's on the freeway. are you all running the all terrains or are some of you using the trail models with a less aggressive tread.

 

Ford starting putting the Off Road package sticker on Lariats in 2000. My 99 Lariat ORP did not have have the ORP sticker. My 03 Lariat FX4 did, but I pulled the FX4 stickers off an hour after I brought it home.

 

I have no problems with tire noise. I have the AT/KO's. I just had them rotated and noticed a little more noise with the windows down. As far as clearance issues, I had the bed loaded with oak firewood and had no issues whatsoever.