I am getting ready to purchase a new F250 4X4. The last decision is whether to get the 17" or 18" wheels. I prefer the look of the 18" wheels and tires but in my area there are no trucks equiped the way I want with the 18" wheels. Also I see there are a few people who have expressed dislike over the contential tires that come with the 18" wheels. I havn't driven a truck with 18 inch wheels. I don't want to have to order the truck, wait 8 weeks to get the truck, then be disaponted with the tires and have to spend more money on new tires. I am thinking I should just go with the 17" tires and wheels and then upgrade the tires as soon as I can.

Any body have any comments???

Also does anyone know how wide the factory 17" and 18" wheels are???

What size tires can I get for the 17" wheels that will fit the 2005 F250 whith out a lift???

Thanks for your comments.

 

i personally like the 18" wheels.
im going to be getting tires over 36" eventually, and i think the 17's are a tad too small. they are steel right? arent the aluminums 18's? theyre only $185.00 more on the site.

i imagine the 18's are p265's and the 17's are p235's?
more surface area one the road= better handling and more traction for that crazy power.

 

My 05 came with 17" alum rims.. the tires are 265's .. I am putting on 285 70 17 BF goodrich MT's

 

When looking for a larger tire to put on that 18" rim your choices are extremely limited. Load range E forget it. I prefer the look of the 18s and they are 8 inches wide. The largest tire that I have seen mounted on these is a 35x13-18 made by toyo (325/65-18). I think with even a lift anything over the 35s will rub because of the factory back spacing. For 185 dollars I would get the alloys.

Hopefully this 18 inch tire market will start booming!

 

I recommend doing a tire search on Tire Rack or similar site. As Customz indicated, the choices are very limited in 18's... However, that should change in due time (Maybe a year).
The question is whether you are willing to run the stock 18's until decent replacements come available? Either way, a great truck!!!

 

Another thing you may want to consider is the width of the factory rims and your future desire to have larger tires. I believe they are all 7 inches? The largest tire recommended for that width...I believe is 285's...after that you start having balancing and ballooning issues...at least I did with 305's which led to vibrations that started at 55mph and progressivley got worse. So if you want to go larger with a leveling kit in the future...I would get the cheapest factory 16" rim setup and purchase after market hub centric rims to allow for proper tire fitment. You will then have no problem selling your factory tires.