cheshire

Hi all,

New here and new'ish to owning a truck (have had it for a year and half though) And very new and inexperienced with this sort of thing.

I'm sure this gets addressed a lot and I apologize ahead of time but I'm hoping to get some personalized advice from you expert (and hopefully understanding & patient truck owners!

I have a 2014 FX4 and I'm looking to put in some leveling kits (2.5" front & 3" rear) and get some new tires (hoping to get 35") I understand if I do this I may need to do some shaving to get them to fit and I'm ok with that. Someone mentioned to me today that I may have to get some spacers. So my questions are:

- Do you see any particular problem with the above set up?
- Can I get away with doing the said leveling with the said tires on my stock rims?
- Do I need spacers/adapters?
- Any recommendation on tire types? I'm looking to get a mildly aggressive all terrain (we do year round back country camping) Was looking at 35/12.5/20 BFG t/a ko2s or the toyo open counter a/t extreme. I'm not sure if the bfg's will fit as they are a bit bigger. Also need to be at least m+s for our local highways. (probably a stupid point to make since I think 95% a/t are m+s?)

Any advice or guidance you can offer would be insanely appreciated.

Thank you SO much!

jtnuge

Are you going to use factory wheels?. If so, then rubbing may not be much a issue. When you go aftermarket with wheels that's where rubbing will most likely occur. There are several people on the site who run 35's with a 2.5 level and no spacers. Take a look in the 2011-2014 forum and get some ideas of what people are running. That's how Im putting things together for my build.

cheshire

Hey there, yes just the factory wheels. I'll take a look in that forum! Thanks!

PerryB

2.5 front and 3" rear is an un-level. That would have more rake than stock. 12.50-35's are going to rub badly. If you want to run that size tire, consider a 4" lift.

berty

That would not have more rake then stock.


I'd be most worried about the 12.5 wide then 35 diameter. You can trim and cut to make the 35 fit, but 12.5 wide on stock wheels (depending on the tire) will likely rub the UCA. I can't say too much about A/T tires as I'm running Trail Grapplers but I've heard great things about KO2s.

cheshire

Thanks for the feedback so far guys. Also, I thought the 3" rear would be a good idea because I have a canopy and usually carry some pretty heavy camping gear rear round in the back.

berty

It's a good idea, I haul wood and tow boats so I did the same thing (well I stacked an extra inch block but I plan on replacing both blocks with a 3" like you)

PerryB

So if I read this right you're saying that raising the rear more than the front would give it less rake? Please elaborate!

berty

He's replacing his factory 1.75" block with a 3" block with a total gain of 1.25" in the rear with an extra 2.5" in the front. Goes from 1.75" of rake to a theoretical .5" of rake but an actual of 1" of rake cause RC 2.5" levels generally give only 2" of actual lift.

PerryB

I see (said the blind man). Thanks for the well articulated answer. When I leveled my 05 I went with a Tough Country 2 " that actually got me closer to 2.5 and nearly dead level. I liked the appearance but like you I often carry a decent load so I added a Firestone air bag kit. I guess I unwittingly did the same thing as you guys, but from a different angle.