Hi guys I'm new to these forums, but it looks great so far! I have a bone stock 01 F150 4x4 with the stock tires and 16x8 American Racing wheels that have 5" backspacing, but I want something ALOT more beefy. I did a little search earlier and saw that alot of people are running 285/75/16s on their stock trucks.

I saw some companies that offer a 295, a little wider. So my question is with my current rims and stock truck, how would a 295 tire look? I just want something different than most others. Thanks guys any help is greatly appreciated.

-Dave

 

Hey Dave and welcome to the site. I was looking at going with around the same set-up, but I think you worded the question alot better. Let me know what you find out.

 

With those wheels, you could fit 285/75-16 (33x11.50), 295/70-16 (34x12.00) or 305/70-16 (33x12.50) tires.

 

Wow what a quick reply! Thanks Wandell. Do you think a 295 (34x12) tire would just look too big on my stock truck? I see that you have the 285 size, but with a body lift. I really don't want to cut anything if I don't have to. Thanks alot for the help, this site is a lifesaver.

 

No, I think 295's will look fine. I have pics of my truck at stock height in my gallary with the same 285 BFG's. Just click the little camera icon to go to my gallary.

 

Ok Wandell thanks for that. Your truck looked sweet with the 285s at stock height, and even better with the BL. So i guess this will be set-up:

-295/75/16 (not sure what tires yet)
-16x8 Am. Racing wheels with 5" backspace

So I should have no rubbing? How about with the suispension flexing while offroading and stuff? I guess I could always crank the t-bars a little

 

I doubt if you have any rubbing with that combo.

 

Sounds good. Could I crank the t-bars up a little to get rid of the facotry rake and give me a little more clearance up front? Just want to make sure these expensive tires aren't going to rub. Thanks.

-Dave

 

Yeah, you can crank them up to level the truck. Just don't forget to get an alignment afterwards.

 

Good deal. Hew Wandell I also saw in your gallery that you have a Daystar coil spacer. Does that increase the CV angles up front, similar to cranking the t-bars? I've heard that levling kits for the 97-03 are no good, since they just adjust the t-bar presets.

Where did you buy yours, and how much? Looks like an alternative to cranking the t-bars.

 

The Daystar spacer in that pic was on a Jeep Grand Cherokee we use to own. I just have it there to show the difference between the Daystar spacers and that crap that you wedge in between the coils.

 

Oh ok thats good to know. So is the only way to level out the 97-03 to crank the torison bars? Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the leveling kits for these trucks just increase the preload on the t-bars. Is there any other way to level out the front end?

 

Exactly. The only leveling kits for our 4x4's are re-indexed torsion bar keys. These are a bad idea because they allow you to way, way too much preload on your torsion bars which leads to increased wear and tear on suspension and steering components and destroys your ride quality.

 

Exactly what I thought Wandell thanks. I guess I will end up cranking the t-bars a couple turns for levling purposes. Based on my search, I should be fine with ride quality if I don't get carried away. Right?

 

Right.