Hey everyone I'm new to the forum! I recently bought a 2003 f150 lariat edition 4x4, and was planning on getting a leveling kit put on. I'm 16 years old with a minimum wage job and don't have the money for wheels AND tires at the moment. My truck currently has the stock rims with 265x70r17 tires, the tires are pretty new, could I buy new aftermarket 17x9 wheels then put the tires that are on it now onto the new wheels? Then come Christmas get new tires? What's the biggest tire I could go without any rubbing at all on 17x9 wheels? Thanks!

 

You can put those wheels on your current tire.

As far as rubbing with tires, it depends on the offset of the wheel. You could trim the valences and fit a 35 under there with minimal rubbing if you want a big tire.

I personally wouldn't buy new aftermarket wheels though. These are the only vehicles with the 5x135 lug pattern (97-03 F-150 / Expedition). You will sink 800+ in new wheels, you will probably want to keep the wheels if you sell the truck but are you going to want to stay with this body style? Honestly the FX4 wheels look really good (if that is what you have).

I am 17 and I did all this crap, I spent my 1k on tires and another 1k on 35" tires, another 1k on the lift, and the list keeps going on and on until you look at the bottom number- 10k (15k if you add the price of the truck). If I could, I would go back to a barebones stock truck and pocket that 10k.

If there is one thing I have learned about putting aftermarket things on a vehicle is people don't tell you the list of other things you need. Bigger tires put more strain on the front end so you may go through tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. a lot faster.

 

Yeah that's true. I've never thought of it like that, I think I'll just do the level kit and new tires down the road. My truck does have the fx4 wheels but they're beat up with scrapes in between the lugs, I think I will maybe just powder coat them. So you say I can get a 33 inch tire on them? So would that be 285×70r17?? Thanks for trying to save me money!

 

Dont wast your time with a leveling kit. Crank the factory torsion bars to 24.25" from the center of the hub to the edge of the fender flare. Then get a new alignment.

 

Yep, just crank the keys and you will be good (that is what the leveling kit has you do anyway but they give you new keys that let you crank them too much). You can absolutly do a 33, I had a 35 on before my lift. You can check out my build thread for when I had the 285's (roughly 33's) on.

 

Thanks guys! Torsion bars seem the way to go, did the 35 inch tires you had rub at all before the lift?

 

Oh heck yeah lol, I trimmed the valence and still rubbed if I hit bumps. Here is a couple pics of the clearance I had (after trimming):








Honestly, I would just crank the T-bars a little bit and put a nice set of 33's on. 35's give you a REALLY stuffed fender. Here is my truck before the lift on 35's:

 

Great looking truck, thanks for all the info man, 33s seem the way to go

 

Thanks, I should have stayed with my old 33's haha. They are pretty much the perfect size for these trucks in my opinion, it's big but too big, yet not too small. Digging WAY back, here is my truck on the old 33's: