truetexan84

I am going with 17s for a few different reasons. First is that I do not like 20s on trucks, never have. I prefer to have more sidewall. Everyone likes something different and I like sidewall, not rim. Another reason is that I have a spare set of brand new 315/70/17 sitting in my back yard right now. I bought them to put on my F250 and then decided to trade it in instead. Also, I work in the oilfield and run my truck up and down rig roads all the time. The more sidewall the better, it is a lot smoother than you would get with a 20. I am just trying to figure out a wheel combo that works with the rubber that I already have.

fordfan77

I also run down lease roads to the rig too, and that's the reason I did not get 20's, instead I put on aftermarket 18's. I prefer the more rubber than wheel look myself. I see no problem running 17's, since have a set of tires already.

Sultan, what's wrong with 17's? Raptors come stock with them, and lots of guys are here are using Raptor wheels on their Lariats or FX4's.

SultanGris

Dont get me wrong, theres nothing wrong with them, especially if you are doing serious offroading. I totally agree that everyone likes something different, and I wasnt trying to tell him what to do I was just offering the suggestion in case he didnt realize the cost of rubber, but i guess I mis-understood him, I didnt realize he already had the rubber. I personally think that anything smaller than a 20 looks out of place and kinda silly on these trucks cause the wheel wells are so huge. Im not a fan of the monster sidewall look, unless its on a mud bogging truck, but not for a daily driver. More sidewall means more squish and roll and less control/stability when cornering at speeds. A larger rubber can be put on a 20 inch rim and will perform just as good in the mud and achieve the overall tire diameter he was looking for. I drive probably 20% or less muddy dirt roads and my cooper discover m/s tires on 20s that I run in the winter and spring when its muddy perform awesomely. I run the pirellis in the summer till they wear out then Ill be looking for probably 24 inch rims and just use my stock 20s for winter/spring. Now that I know he already had the rubber and will be basically offroading every day I can totally see why he wants 17s. Most people want 18's, people wanting 17s are rare, thats why I was wondering what made him pick that size. Thanks for answering my question!

onebadcrewx4

Where are you finding that an equal tire for a 20 is LESS than for a 17? Oh, do tell.

Just an example. My 285 bfg's are around $250ea and the 20" flavor(although a 1/2" shorter) is $385. The rims are going to run you at least $400 extra as well over equal 17's. Go ahead and quote this and tell me i'm poor. BTW, nice snow plow.

SultanGris

Thanks! It actually does plow snow very well, it hangs a bit lower than the bottom of my truck so I never get stuck! Though if it is deep enough it blasts up onto my window, Ive had it happen. But like I said, I dont know about 17s for sure, never priced them, but 20s are cheaper than 18s, you can check at your local tire store! I couldnt believe it at first either, cause its always been the other way around in years past but the tire dude said its because 20s are becoming more popular and 18s contain more actual rubber so they cost more to make. So following that logic 17s have even more rubber still so I assumed they would be more expensive.

fordfan77

I think 24's would look out of place with that monster grille guard you have.

SultanGris

yea, you might be right. Might have to take it off for everyones safety, the urge to ram idiot drivers is getting stronger these days, haha! I think the 20s even look kinda small in these wheel wells, 22's might be better, 24s may be too big, ill have to do some checking before I do it.

truetexan84

I am trying to get this back on track and get some help understanding which wheel would work best for the setup that I am trying to run. Please help out so that I can make the right wheel choice the first time.

FX4ord

Right. What bogus "reality" are you supposedly offering?

Typically, the price of a tire goes up as wheel size increases. Check around.

So what if he prefers 17s, there are plenty of gap-toothed rednecks who like loud chrome and dorky-assed "grill" guards. Jus' sayin'.

Whatever buffs your stuff, Dilweed.

FX4ord

17s are cool.

315s can be trouble because of width, not diameter.

The 17x8 5.25" backspace is Ford-specific. You can run 35's on those, not so sure about 315s though.

I recently experimented with Toyo OC MT 315/70 R18s on stock 4WD (18x9 6" backspace) and it looked like new shocks or a leveling kit wouldn't be enough to clear.

I stepped down a notch to 285/75 R18 (35.1" x 11.6) and drove away.