Ford Super Duty wheel and tire setups
Ford Super Duty wheel and tire setups.
Wheel and tire combinations are the cause of the most headaches for most of Stage 3 Off-road's customers. Ford and the Super Duty performance parts industry have not made it easy to navigate the huge world of wheels and tires. The different generations of Super Dutys all had different axle widths and suspension systems. Aftermarket lift kits and other suspension upgrades add another dimension to the fray and make things even more confusing. That all being said, there's a few basic tips that you can follow to guarantee that the wheel and tire combination you choose will not only look excellent, but not cause any issues with your suspension gear or fender wells while letting you actually make a turn.
Let's start with wheels, the basis of any wheel and tire combination. All 1999 to 2012 Super Duty trucks require wheels with an 8x170mm bolt pattern for proper fitment. The two most important factors when it comes to wheels are backspacing and offset. Backspacing is the measurement from the hub mount (the point where your axle will actually connect to the wheel) and the backside of the wheel that faces your fender wells. Offset is the measurement from the hub mounting surface to the center of the wheel, or centerline. An offset can either be negative or positive. Negative offsets occur when the hub mounting is closer to the side of the wheel that faces your truck. Positive offset is simply the opposite: the hub mounting is closer the side of the wheel that faces away from your truck. In general, Super Duty pickups will require wheels with a negative offset, especially with larger diameter wheel and tire combinations.
The good news for the average Powerstroke owner is that wheels with 4'' to 5'' backspacing will fit almost perfectly on wheels that have eight inch to ten inch widths, depending on how you prefer your tires to line up with your fenders. Keeping that amount of backspacing requires a 0mm to -10mm offset for eight to ten inch wheels, respectively. Older trucks from the 1999 to 2004 model years, and anyone else who has frontal leaf springs, should stay closer to the 4'' mark, while newer 2005 and up Super Duty trucks can generally pull off a 5'' backspace. Moving beyond ten inches of rim width is where things start to get tricky, even more so when you take tires into consideration. As the wheels and tires increase in width, you need to
decrease
the amount of backspacing by
increasing
the negative offset. For instance, a wheel that's 10'' wide only requires a -12mm offset to have a 5'' backspace; however, a wheel that's 13'' wide requires a huge -50mm offset to keep a 5'' backspace. That being said, 13'' wide wheels can mount massive tires that could rub with only a 5'' backspace, meaning you'll have increase the negative offset even more for a smaller backspace that allows the tire to mount farther away from your fender well and other suspension components. The basic rule of thumb when it comes to wheels is to decrease your backspacing as your wheels and tires increase in width.
Tires are little more fun to talk about, but can cause their own headaches if you're careless when it comes to size. Stage 3 Off-Road's preferred tire is Nitto, whose series of off-road Grappler tires are some of the best in the business. Starting off with the most street-worthy of Nitto's tires is the Terra Grapplers. The Terra Grapplers are excellent all-season tires designed to give good performance on wet or dry trails without causing an insane amount of noise during standard street or highway driving. The Dune Grappler is the middle child of Nitto's off-road tires and works flawlessly on trails dominated by loose dirt and sand and also feature extra thick sidewalls that are puncture-resistant. The Dune Grapplers aren't exactly the quietest tires for the street or highway and aren't designed for wet weather, so be wary. Nitto's Mud Grappler tires are the must-have for the off-roading fanatic. Their large tread blocks and high void ratios give your Super Duty traction on just about any terrain imaginable. That being said, Mud Grapplers are one of the loudest, most obnoxious tires when used on standard highways, and are built specifically for off-road applications.
As far as tire sizes are concerned, most bone stock F250s with four wheel drive can fit up to 32 inch tires with no issues, while rear wheel drive trucks can only squeeze on up to 31 inch tires without rubbing. Pushing your tire sizes up to 35 inches and beyond requires one of Stage 3 Off-Road's many lift kits. First generation Super Duty trucks from 1999 to 2004 need at least a leveling kit in order for 33 inch tires to clear their frontal leaf springs. Trucks from the 2005 model year onward can generally get away with 33 inch tires on a bone stock setup, with various leveling kits and 4'' inch lift kits only being required for tires up to 34 inches. Truly massive wheel and tire combinations are going to require a full suspension lift kit in order to compensate for their size. Basic 6.5'' lift kits will generally clear most 35 inch tires while giving you better clearance for off-road driving. The being said, the ES9000 shocks that are included in baseline lift kits aren't really suited for aggressive off-roading, making serious bogging fanatics go for Pro Comp kits that use uprated MX-6 shocks or go all out for lift kits that contain shocks with external reservoirs that keep the shocks cooler when under heavy articulation. Most lift kit manufacturers recommend using big 8 inch lift kits for tires of 37 inches or above, unless you're willing to trim your fender wells. You can read more about lift kits in our previous article on the subject.
Hopefully this helped. Wheels and tires for Ford Powerstrokes aren't really that complicated once you have the right mindset and understand what all of the various terms and specific wheel terminology actually mean. Once that's done, you just need to figure out how you want your truck to look and what you want to do with it to find the right wheels and tires. Keep in mind that big wheels and tires require substantial upgrades, unless you don't really care about doing little things like turning and, you know, driving in general. We have a huge selection of wheels that come in a variety of sizes and styles that match any paint color or styling theme. If you're still confused or have any other questions, please contact us and we'll help you decipher the confusing world of Super Duty wheels and tires.
