2008 EL lift & tire questions

[heterodox1]

Hi everyone, I recently graduated from my 2000 Exp to a 2008 EL. I loved my 2000 but at 181,000 miles the AC died and I also had 100,000 miles on my tires so thought it was time... My EL has the 20" rims (w 275/55-20 tires)and factory air suspension. It seems my options for a lift kit are limited or non-existent. I would love to have a 2 -3 inch lift but is this even possible without ditching the air suspension? Also not a fan of the 20" chrome rims and would like to stuff some bigger tires in there to increase my ground clearance. Would love to get a 34 - 35 inch diameter tire in there if possible. How big a tire will fit? Thanks!

[Tylus]

you can get a 33" tire no problem. the factory 275/55/20 is a 32" tire

if you look around eBay, you can get a front/rear kit that lifts anywhere from 1.5" to 3". They are essentially Leveling Kits that the 2004-2012 F-150 uses. The 3" kit should allow at least a 34" tire, and perhaps a 35" tire depending on how wide you run. The width is the killer part for fitment

I got my wife to okay letting me do a 2" lift on my Expy. I am upsizing to a 33" tire. Not looking for too much height

There is a guy here in the forums (Long EL) with a Black EL lifted 3" on 33/12.5/18" tires. looks really mean.


edit, here is Black EL's - http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/10...ml#post9600823

[MCDavis]

IIRC I believe that the factory air suspension is a inhibitor for the lift kit. It will likely need to be ditched for actual springs.

You should be able to fit a 275/60/20 tire in there without fitment issues. It's what I run on my F150 on factory 20"s.
A 285/55/20 should also fit without further modification. BFG makes their All Terrain K/O in this size.