Welcome to the F150forum.

If you're going to be towing, you're going to be hanging a few hundred pounds of trailer tongue weight on your hitch, so, you do not want a level truck unloaded.. unless you also invest in a good air bag/compressor setup for over the rear axle. AirLift is one such brand.

As for tire diameter, unless you re-gear your 2.7 driveline, I'd limit your overall diameter to 33".




It all depends on the weight over your front axle, and that depends on how your truck is optioned. You have one of the lighter engines (presumably, although it has been said the 3.5 EcoBoost is heavier than the 5.0 Coyote V8 [no turbos, no related plumbing, no faux manifold vacuum system]).

You should shoot for 1.5" to no higher than a 2" front lift, then adjust the rear accordingly. You may add spacer blocks between the rear axle and the leaf springs for an inch or so additional rear static ride height, you can use an air bag system and/or you can use a supplemental suspension spring arrangement; either an add-a-leaf, or something I like called Roadmaster Active Suspension, a simple mechanical enhancement for the rear leaf springs. Works well.




You're fighting an uphill battle, here. Any additional tire diameter will effectively change your final drive ratio and influenced against what it is you want to do (bigger tires, towing). You want to *shorten* your axle gearing, or take the minimum 2 MPG hit just driving across town. You can work around this issue while towing on the highway by becoming more involved with shifting your truck's transmission. There are different ways to do this. One is to select M on the column or lever, then select Tow/Haul or Sport with a button, then shift manually using the +/- toggle. Too, you can "lock out" your gears in descending order, starting with locking out 10th, 9th, 8th and so on until you're cruising at an efficient rpm for towing economy (perhaps with that 2.7, that would be in the neighborhood of 1800-2100 rpm).

Hope this helps. I'm sure others more knowledgeable than myself will be along to tidy up the mess I've just made. Good luck.

 

If he has at least 3.55 with the 2.7, he shouldn't suffer anything drastic with a 34/35 inch tire, just a small loss on the low end. But factor in the towing and I'll agree on the 33" limit.

 

I posted this elsewhere, but here's a speed calculator I made when building my car and trying to pick a transmission and rear (and still wasn't 100% happy!) where you can compare tires, gears, and the effect of two different tire sizes with a single gear on wheel force, which is the actual force the tire exerts on the ground based off the wheel torque and tire size. Should be self explanatory and the torque math is simplified without loss/slip/etc just for comparison purposes. These turbo engines and 10 speeds are great because the flat torque curve and peak torque so early mitigate a lot...just run one gear lower on the trans and a few more RPM! Love the 3.5L in mine.
You can download here -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cmq...ew?usp=sharing

 

I don't know a thing about whatever you just said, but damn, that's a beefy lookin' truck!

 

I'd agree with "Apples and the other guys comments".

My two cents after having added a 2" leveling kit. I didn't want to go any higher than 2", but a 2.5" level would have been acceptable looking back on the situation, especially if looking to put a larger 33" tire which is probably the best choice for your 2.7 and drivetrain. I've heard that 2.7 weighs less and the front end sits a little higher following level that with a 3.5L or 5.0L. If true, you'd a 2" level would probably be perfect.

I have no rub issues with 285x60x20 Cooper XLT tires (love these tires btw... quiet/ride & wear great). I did take a 2.5 - 3 mpg hit on fuel economy with my 3.5EB and 3.55 gears after adding these tires and lift.

Be aware that after you add a leveling kit, the rear end will sit lower than the front when towing your utility trailer, or your camper, and maybe even your light pontoon boat. Mine did the same, so to keep my truck level at under any condition, I added a set of 2000lb air bags from AirLift + an onboard air compressor to easily fill & empty the bags depending load conditions. No effect on ride when empty, but keeps my truck level and handles better @ 90psi when towing my 8500lb travel trailer, or 50psi when towing my 6000lb boat.

Looking forward to seeing your before/after photos!

 

Thanks for all the replies. I went ahead and ordered blistien 5100's for all 4 corners. I like the fact that, they are supposed to give a better ride than factory and that they are height adjustable if needed. I love my truck, but it didnt ride nearly as well as the bone stock 2012 titan pro-4x it replaced (factory Rancho 9000's). Hopefully the blistiens will help get me back to that kind of ride!

 

The Bilsteins will transform your F150.

 

Installed the Stage 1 today on my 2019 F-150 2WD. Added a 1 inch Eibach block in the rear. Went with BFG T/A KO2 305/65/18 on stock rims. Was hesitant to go this wide, but after reading about others pulling it off I thought I would go for it. No rubbing, trimming or spacers needed.

 

I’d go this way as well with stock wheels. So many are going with 275 width tires on aftermarket 9 inch wide wheels and they just look too narrow to me. On the stock 7.5 wide wheels the sidewall bulge looks good with 275s but you lose that swell as the wheels gets wider. Personally in this case I think the 305s look awesome especially with that tall of a sidewall.

 

I am running the same wheel with 275/70s... I’d like to see some more views of this truck! Looks great!