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Been reading different threads on the site for a bit but I have not seen 17" wheels VS 18" wheels with pro's and con's. I have a 2013 F-150 XL with P235/75R 17's, bone stock !! I don't want to lift it or put a leveling kit on for now but I would like to put larger tires or maybe 18" wheels with larger tires. What does this do to my 6 speed electronic tranny ?? What about handling ?? I realize the speedo will read different, what else would have to deal with. Is it more trouble than it's worth !! I miss my '97 F-350 but welcome it's baby brother, '13 F150, LOL, please see the two pix.
MY truck came originally with P235/75r17 tires, previous owner had LT235/85r17 tires which I replaced with P265/70r17 all on the same stock 17 inch wheels you have. When these wear out I plan on going to maybe 285/70r17 tires...
When I switched to the wider 265/70 tires handling, ride and over all traction all improved greatly. OD is approx. the same as stock sizing so no effect on speedo or computer.
Been shopping for tires lately and the 265-70-17 seems to be a size that has a huge variety to choose from. And likewise, you'll get no argument from about the overall appearances of the 18's, they look very nice.
You can absolutely go to 18s. If you make up the difference with tire size there is no difference in final drive ratio. So your gearing, speedo etc will all be the same. Generally speaking, a bigger wheel has a smaller sidewall tire. The smaller the sidewall the more responsive the setup will be to direction changes. The down side is that you pay for it with a stiffer ride. If you go larger diameter than stock tires it will deffo effect the handling of your truck but there are lots of things you can do to modify your suspension. Just depends on how much money you want to spend. There are several free calculators on line to help you with sizing and tell you the speedo effect of a larger than stock tires. It is a slippery slope Have fun.
MY truck came originally with P235/75r17 tires, previous owner had LT235/85r17 tires which I replaced with P265/70r17 all on the same stock 17 inch wheels you have. When these wear out I plan on going to maybe 285/70r17 tires...
When I switched to the wider 265/70 tires handling, ride and over all traction all improved greatly. OD is approx. the same as stock sizing so no effect on speedo or computer.
So when you went to 265/75, handling got better and basically no change with tach and speedo... Why are you going to 285/70 17, do you know how the truck will react ? Handling, speedo, tach or tire roll ?? Does it make a difference if its a regular or extended cab ?? Thanks !!
You can absolutely go to 18s. If you make up the difference with tire size there is no difference in final drive ratio. So your gearing, speedo etc will all be the same. Generally speaking, a bigger wheel has a smaller sidewall tire. The smaller the sidewall the more responsive the setup will be to direction changes. The down side is that you pay for it with a stiffer ride. If you go larger diameter than stock tires it will deffo effect the handling of your truck but there are lots of things you can do to modify your suspension. Just depends on how much money you want to spend. There are several free calculators on line to help you with sizing and tell you the speedo effect of a larger than stock tires. It is a slippery slope Have fun.
I agree, it is a slippery slope !! I appreciate all the feed back, THANK YOU AGAIN !! In the future I may put a leveling kit in but that's it !! I'm sure I'm a little older than you guys ! I already have my hot rod and motorcycle, this is not gonna be a show truck, just looking to fill up the wheel wells to make this puppy look a little more aggressive without messing with the electronic tranny or gear ratio...
as long as the overall diameter of the tire is close to what you have now the speedo will be the same no matter what size the rim is. The only difference is the larger the rim the less sidewall you have, Personally I prefer a smaller rim and more sidewall. I wouldn't be afraid to go slightly larger than stock though, the little bit the tire will throw things off won't be noticeable. You won't notice things until you start getting 2"+ over stock size.
I agree, it is a slippery slope !! I appreciate all the feed back, THANK YOU AGAIN !! In the future I may put a leveling kit in but that's it !! I'm sure I'm a little older than you guys ! I already have my hot rod and motorcycle, this is not gonna be a show truck, just looking to fill up the wheel wells to make this puppy look a little more aggressive without messing with the electronic tranny or gear ratio...
TBH, I think your truck looks great as it is but it would make an outstanding project truck. BTW, I just might be older than you are
TBH, I think your truck looks great as it is but it would make an outstanding project truck. BTW, I just might be older than you are
I agree, put a leveling kit and some different wheels and tires and that truck would look very nice. Heck even some slightly larger, more aggressive tires on those stock rims would look nice.
I downsized from 20" rim to 18" rims due to anticipating tire replacement costs.
Depending on what tire & wheel size your truck was set up for and what you want to change to, the change is size can have a problem with shifting, etc.
When I went to the smaller tire/wheel, I noticed harsher shifting from 1st to 2nd and some other issues. There was a software update for the PCM/TCM and adjustment for the tire size resolved the problem.
So if you change tire/wheel size, take it to your dealer and have the computer adjusted for the wheel size change.
I downsized from 20" rim to 18" rims due to anticipating tire replacement costs.
Depending on what tire & wheel size your truck was set up for and what you want to change to, the change is size can have a problem with shifting, etc.
When I went to the smaller tire/wheel, I noticed harsher shifting from 1st to 2nd and some other issues. There was a software update for the PCM/TCM and adjustment for the tire size resolved the problem.
So if you change tire/wheel size, take it to your dealer and have the computer adjusted for the wheel size change.
In the future I may put a leveling kit in but that's it !! I'm sure I'm a little older than you guys ! I already have my hot rod and motorcycle, this is not gonna be a show truck, just looking to fill up the wheel wells to make this puppy look a little more aggressive without messing with the electronic tranny or gear ratio...
