Any F-250 or SRW F-350 Super Duty rim from '99 through the end of '04 will be a direct match for our Excursions. Nearly all of them will be the same 16" size as the factory EX rims, most will be aluminum but there some steel rims in both painted and chrome too.

Later year trucks ('05+) have a different back spacing which locates the wheel & tire too far inboard on our wagons without the proper spacers being used.

There are some factory 18" wheels that will fit too. See below for that information.

The above linked to rims are '05+ and would need spacers to fit our EXs.

Some of this was already covered but here goes anyway....

18" rims are considered an upgrade (by some or most....) because they let you either reduce the tire side wall height (if keeping the same height tires) or retaining similar side wall height as stock (if mounting taller tires). Taller tire side walls can lead to more sideways deflection and poorer handling, conversely shorter side walls typically reduce deflection and provide for better handling. In a case like my setup I wanted to run 35" tires (I feel they are just the "right" size for the scale of the body) but with my heavy towing duties I did not want to increase the sidewall height very much (like a 35" tire on a 16" rims would have) to maintain good road manners with the high rear axle weights and trailer induced sideward movements. So going with the OEM '04 18" Lariat rims allowed me to keep almost the same side wall height (+.89" in my case) as stock and still get the full 35" tire height I wanted.

When Ford changed the pickup trucks 4X4 suspensions over to coil springs instead of leaves like all EXs have in '05 they also changes the wheel mating surfaces to a wider stance. The sheet metal didn't change so to keep the tires in the same place under the trucks as pre-change the new rim back spacing was changed. All Super Duty trucks from '05 on run the new back spacing, all SDs and EX prior to then use the "old" spec backspacing. There is approximately 1.75" difference between the two. Mounting the "newer" rims on an "older" EX (or pickup) will have the tires sitting that same 1.75" farther in towards the center of the truck and make front spring rub more of an problem. The best way to make these newer rims work is with the use of 2" hubcentric spacers, they can cost more than a decent set of late model take-off rims and tires. The little extra spacer thickness makes it so you don't have to trim the stock lug studs down, like you would if the spacers were only the needed 1.75" thick.

Just before the SD suspension change in '05 Ford made a series of 18" rims for the pickups, since these trucks have the same suspension geometry as our EXs those rims fit our wagons perfectly without the need for spacers. This series of 18" was the ONLY plus sized (over 16") rim offered by Ford and all 4 versions share the same basic wide 5 spoke design with some finish and detail differences.

• Harley Davidson: the most common as they were standard on all '04 H-D F-250/F-350 trucks for the entire model year. Highly polished with the H-D shield logo on one spoke and small ridges milled into the rim inside the spoke pockets. These rims also used unique to them special chrome closed end lug nuts and special center caps that left the nuts exposed.
  
• King Ranch: Next most common as they became standard on KR trucks at mid-year '04 but could be optioned out of for the 16"s. These are polished with tan or gold painted spoke pockets. Center caps look just like the standard caps with the KR logo script.
  
• Lariat: Only available as an option on Lariat trucks starting mid-year '04 in place of the standard 16" rims. These look just like the KR version except the spoke pockets are painted silver that closely matches the polished aluminum finish. Used the standard center caps.
  
• SVT: Very rare, these were only available over the counter from Ford Performance dealers parts departments, they did not come on any trucks from the factory. Polished finish with blocky details on the rim inside the spoke pockets and milled slots on the rim end of the spokes. Used a special smooth round cap with no markings.

All the versions can be used with the standard chrome or black center caps and regular SD lug nuts.
All of these rims are 18x8, which makes them 1" wider than our factory aluminum 16x7's.

 

The above post was copied from the CL thread in order to create its own thread for conversation and to make it easier to link to the tech folder.

Stewart

Edit: The above post was edited to include 16" OEM F250/350 wheel info.

 

Thanks Stewart!


To help with identifying these various '04 SD 18" rims here is a shot of one of my Lariat rims.


And here is one of Mecdac's Harley Davidson rims next to one of my Lariats for comparison, the H-D one looks bigger due to being closer to the camera, they are identical in all dimensions. The special chrome closed end lug nuts used on the H-D rims are not shown here but the difference in center caps can be seen.


If anyone has a good picture of either a King Ranch or SVT '04 18" rim could you please add it to this thread to make it more complete for anyone searching a set of these rare rims out?

 

As you requested...

Harley-Davidson Edition




With H-D caps and acorn lug nuts

 

SVT

 

King ranch wheel

 

My custom lariats

 

18 inch SVT wheels

 

My HD Wheels with the Limited Caps




HD 18"

 

So I have been diligently checking Craigslist on a daily basis, I've been looking at all auto parts, and wheels and tires posted in the last 24 hours. This week it paid off. Posted as 4 8 Lug Ford wheels. Purchased the set of 4 for $350, and spent all day driving the 4 hour's each way to pick them up. No Center Caps, but I think the Limited Caps I have may actually look okay.

 

SVT's! Great find for 350 bucks. Nice work.

 

That was a good deal and heck of a find.

 

Excellent find, excellent price too. I cringe every time I see where a tire shop has fixed the wheel weight to the outside of a clear coated wheel though. Makes me crazy lol

 

2015 Super Duty Wheels

 

In my personal opinion:

HD caps look nice but I don't like them. I have a set of HD 18" rims with lugs and HD caps. The front caps make a 4x4 look like a 2wd and if one of your locking hubs fail you have to pop off the cap to get access to the auto/lock selector.

If you have a 2wd I guess it would not matter. But I will be using my "regular" caps with my HD wheels....I think they will look and function better.

I would like to know the part number for the course thread f150 lug nuts though. The 04 HD wheels came with the fine thread lugs and I may use the HD caps in the summer to help keep dust out of the ESOF locking hubs.