TourPros

Ok So I have been in and out of the forums till I can't see straight and I have learned so much. But I need some advice on a couple of points.

First my truck is a

2006 F150 Screw 4x4 Lariat.

I want to put bigger tires on my truck and do a leveling kit. I am not looking for giant tires or a huge lift. I am more practical in my thinking. I live in Hood River, OR where I do a fair bit of highway driving, it snows every year and I am an adventure rider so it will see dirt. That being said I want wider than stock but not too wide if you know what i mean (having to get flares if I have to is ok). I want bigger but don't want to rub or need a ladder to get in. So with all that what size tire do you guys recommend and is the leveling kit enough for what I am looking for. I guess I Should also say that I will be towing things on occasion as well. This is the first move I am making and ready to do it this month. I have been looking at 285/70R-10/10 can I go a tad bigger on factory rims?

Next dilemma I have is grill guard or bull bar. While I know this is more of a personal taste thing but just curious what most think. I am also very torn between black or chrome since I only have a small amount of chrome on my side step bars (truck is the two tone "Gold" and Blue). I will be adding lights to whichever I choose and a which is not completely out of the question either.

Cheers

flowhandy

I say do a level and 33-12.50's. Dont put a bull bar on your truck, I think they just look tacky. Put a light bar instead. IMO it would look a lot cleaner. I also have a 06 lariat screw, I went with a 6" lift & 35-12.50x20's on black/machined XD addicts. My truck is the two tone smoke-stone /Arizona beige, that's why I didn't go with a full black wheel. I don't care for chrome at all so a full chrome wheel was outta the question. Here's a few pics of my truck as it sits now.

joe mcmillan

For the height and level just put on a set of Bilstein 5100's. These will raise the front end to level and then you can get the bigger tires.

fatedstranger

You mentioned you were looking at "285/70R-10/10", I have never seen a tire size in that format before so I'm not sure what size rim you have. Lariats usually have an 18" rim so a 285/70R18 tire is 33.7x11.22. To fit that size tire you would definitely need to install a level.

285/70R17 is a fairly common tire size so if you have a 17 in rim a 285/70R17 tire is only 32.7x11.22. From everything I have read on this forum, you can fit a 33x12.5 tire on a stock 4x4 so you wouldn't "need" to level to fit those tires. I have no direct experience with this size tire on a non-leveled 4x4 but everyone says it should fit.

I have 285/70R17 tires on stock rims but I have a 2.5" leveling kit installed on the front of my truck. I plan to go up to a 295/70R18 when I save enough money which is why I went with a 2.5" level up front. I looked at plenty of pictures of leveled trucks and always thought a 285/70R17 was too small but pictures really don't do it justice, it really looks quite good. If you aren't looking for as big a tire as you can stuff in the fender, you will probably be happy with 285/70R17 and a level, it will make your truck look and feel more like what a 4x4 truck should!

If I were staying with a 285/70R17 I would probably have installed a 2" front level instead of a 2.5", I think it would look perfect with that size tire (I'm also 1/2" higher in the nose so need to raise the rear a little bit).

If you have the budget I would recommend going the route [MENTION=130512]joe mcmillan[/MENTION] mentioned. Bilstein 5100's on the 2" setting with 285/70R17 would be a very nice, practical, set up.

Check my profile for some before and after pictures.

If you have an 18" rim I think the 285/70R18 size will probably be bigger than what you are looking for, based on the description of what you want.

As far as chrome vs black? It's a no brainer to me, I don't like chrome so black would be my only choice

The machined + black wheels are really nice too, the XD Addicts that [MENTION=159679]flowhandy[/MENTION] has are particularly nice!

PNW EFFONEFIFTY

I've been to Hood River, OR many times. You get pretty much the same weather we get in Spokane, WA. You get the wind, rain, ice, snow and hard packed snow. I suggest if you have 17" or 18" to get Goodyear Duratracs, Cooper ST Maxx's or the Cooper AT/3 tires. All those will do very well with road manners while hooking up in snow and ice without having dedicated winter tires.

I have the Billy 5100's and wouldn't recommend anything but these shocks to do a level lift. I'm not a fan of spacers because they limit your suspension travel.

As far as chrome or black or cosmetic upgrades, who gives a rats F**k what we think. It's your truck, your money and you should do what YOU like. There are plenty of pictures of what people have done to their truck (good and bad) to help you with your decisions cosmetically.

Good luck and post some pics when your done!

TourPros

Thans for the responses. I do have 18 inch stock rims. I have been doing some looking at rim/tire packages as well. I will look into the shock level more so than the spacers as I dont want to lose any suspension and I am not a fan of the rigid feel a truck can have with blocks. I would like to keep as much comfort as I can. I have decided on black. I was asking opinions as I could see it going either way with the color of my truck but I am not about standing out and want more function then I do look. Ill leave the rest to my clients.

As for the bull bar/light bar/brush guard I just can't make up my mind. I have looked at hundreds of pictures on this site at a lot of very well done trucks and yet just can't make up my mind. I will be using led bar lights as well as some single led cube lights, not that it should make a difference. I don't get to drive my truck as much as I would ike since i am always on tour but part of my NYE Resolution sis to change that and get out for me a lot more this coming year. So I decided I need to get the truck done and ready for that,

Thanks for the comments and please if there are more and if I am missing anything please let me know. I will pst pics from start to finish as I go.

Cheers
Chris
TourPros.net

PNW EFFONEFIFTY

The stock suspension IMO is squishy and rides too much like a Cadillac. I like a truck to be firm but not stiff. The Bilsteins will firm up your ride. My truck feels more stable while doing turns since most of the body roll/leaning has been eliminated. I have the 5100's on all 4 corners and my fronts are at set for the 2" lift/level which leveled my truck near perfectly. My front only measures .25" less than the rear.

My truck with 275/60/20 Cooper AT/3 tires (33")

fatedstranger

The 275/60R20 tires that [MENTION=141810]PNW EFFONEFIFTY[/MENTION] has on his truck are 33x10.83. 285/70R17 is 32.7x11.22 so they are very close in size. The picture above would be a very good representation of what your truck would look like levelled with Bilsteins and 285/70R17 tires.

TourPros

So how much difference is there since mine are 18's? will they fit without rubbing?

fatedstranger

Whoops, I swore I read you had 17" rims, sorry about that. 285/70R18 tires are 33.7x11.22 so they are about an inch bigger in diameter compared to the 285/70R17 (32.7x11.22) I have. An inch might not sound like much but it will make a pretty big difference when it comes to tires.

285/70R18 (33.7x11.22) is not a common tire size, I don't recall seeing anyone with this combination so I'm not sure how well it would work. The next size up, 295/70R18 (34.26x11.61), is *very* common and I know some people have reported rubbing on the upper control arm when using stock 18" lariat wheels with those tires. You might be safe with the 285 since it isn't quite as wide, but I couldn't say for sure. Hopefully someone else with direct experience can chime in.

Keep in mind that the converted tire sizes I am giving you are based off the metric value of the tire. A 285/70R17 converts to 32.7x11.61 but actual physical dimension do vary, it might actually be 33.1x12.2 (totally made up values). A 285 from one manufacturer may be just as wide as a 295 from another. Aggressive mud terrains tend to be wider and taller than advertised.

For what it's worth, I plan to go with a 295/70R18 (34.26x11.61) Nitto Trail Grapper at some point in the future. That is a very common tire used by many on this forum and I think it looks perfect on a levelled F150. Most have to trim a little bit of material off the lower valance and rear side of the inner fender to eliminate rubbing. I went with a 2.5" level to give me a little more clearance for when I get these tires.

The equivalent tire size to mine, 285/70R17 (32.7x11.22) on an 18" wheel would be 285/65R18 (32.58x11.22). My stock tires were 245/70R17 (30.5x9.65) and the difference between the stock and the 285/70R17 (32.7x11.22) is pretty significant. I believe the stock tire size on the Lariat is 275/65R18 (32.08x10.83) so going up to a 285/65R18 (32.58x11.22) is just slightly wider and a little taller. If you are looking for something more significant 285/70R18 (33.7x11.22) might be your best bet, the tires aren't huge, but some may not consider them to be "practical" either.