Does rim selection affect payload in any way?

[SRMD]

Just what the title says, 18” vs 20” rims on Powerboost. I am assuming not, but just making sure. Thanks.​

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[FORDTEXAS]

Just what the title says, 18” vs 20” rims on Powerboost. I am assuming not, but just making sure. Thanks.​

very minuscule factor.. i believe

 

[SRMD]

I saw a thread somewhere, not on this forum, that indicated the 3.5L (not Powerboost) had a lower payload/tow rating with 18” rims compared to 20” and had lower axel ratings.

I know PB has upgrades, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t hurting payload with 18” rims with the SAP I ordered. I prefer 18” over 20”.
Thanks.

 

[BLoflin]

Short answer: YES, wrong rims can lower your vehicle weight rating.

Payload is determined by GVWR minus AS BUILT weight (your specific truck and options).

To maintain your ability to use the manufacturer's GVWR you need to ensure all of the parts that carry the vehicle weight meet or exceed the manufacturer's original parts.

So if you were to change an axle (front or rear) it would need to have the same weight rating (or better).

If you change the leaf springs, same.

If you change the tires or the rims, same.

Tires have max weight load per tire (so x2 is what has to meet or exceed the axle rating). Same for rims.

For instance the HDPP option (for max payload on XL and XLT) is ONLY available with the specified rims (I believe they are 18" steel rims).

 

[JEB]

Just what the title says, 18” vs 20” rims on Powerboost. I am assuming not, but just making sure. Thanks.​

Technically, yes. Payload is just the GVWR minus the weight of the unloaded truck, including options. The more your rims weigh, the more your truck weighs and the less payload it has. I’m not sure it makes much difference as a practical matter. But payload is a calculated number based on scale weight and everything in or on your truck is on the scale and reduces payload.

 

[SRMD]

Thanks. Should be all good with the order.

 

[HammaMan]

The wheel / tire weight is factored into the total weight of the truck. Big heavy wheels = less payload as payload sticker = GVWR - total mass of truck including accessories.
The wheels and tires don't have less carrying capability that matters per se; the factory 20" wheels of all flavors, combined with their factory tires, can support a 10k+ GVWR vehicle, or in excess of 2500lbs each. The 18s that come with the payload package do use LT tires as they need stiffer sidewalls as there's more flexible tire between the wheel and the road.

You can leave options off to have a higher sticker rating, but if you add the parts in aftermarket, it doesn't mean the sticker is your payload. The payload sticker is simply the delta of the as-delivered weight and the GVWR. Adding accessories like bed liners and heavier wheels do reduce your sticker payload. Any mass added or removed at any point changes the variables, but not the sticker. The sticker doesn't magically provide its blanket payload capacity. It's held up by the limiting factors like springs, axles, frame, etc... The wheels aren't the limiting component however. It's typically springs, then axle / bearing components and at some point the frame, depending on driveline.

 

[wrgrimes]

I am interested also.
For me ( and maybe the OP)- specifically weight difference 18” vs 20” aluminum machined wheels (King Ranch) and factory BSW tires.
My guesstimate about 10# per wheel + tire. I have seen 20#, but question accuracy. I have tried checking various brand tires, 20” tires seem to be 6-8# heavier (but I am no expert). I cannot find rim guide (Ford shows added weight for 20” over base XL wheel at 5.5#, but 18” as TBA).

 

[SRMD]

I ordered the factory 18” with SAP. I am ok with factory. Just wanted to make sure, since my order is only a week old.

 

[wrgrimes]

18” wheels were standard on King Ranch last year , but 20” wheels on 2023. For my dealer and my look, 18” wheels do not appear to be directly available from Ford on King Ranch. Order guides are confusing, but too late to change my order.
A review of 18” vs 20” found many supporters in both camps without a major consensus.

 

[Buyer2021]

Technically, yes. Payload is just the GVWR minus the weight of the unloaded truck, including options. The more your rims weigh, the more your truck weighs and the less payload it has. I’m not sure it makes much difference as a practical matter. But payload is a calculated number based on scale weight and everything in or on your truck is on the scale and reduces payload.

IMO ...

All above is technically true and correct, but still a bit of an oxymoron in relation to wheel and tire weight vs payload. All other things being equal (e.g. wheel & tire rated capacity) the weight of wheels & tires should not in any practical sense change the rated payload capacity because the wheels & tires are 100% unsprung weight (the weight of wheels and tires does not alter the vertical load on the axle or any other component of the vehicle). Different from OE wheel & tire weight may have other 'real-world' effects on handling and performance, but should not affect 'real-world payload' (the stated sticker payload rating) either plus or minus.

IOW, whether wheels of cast-iron or wheels of titanium, if they have the same weight capacity the vehicle should have the same sticker payload capacity (and should have a GVWR adjusted accordingly, but no manufacturer goes to the trouble to make that GVWR adjustment for the different weight of different wheel options within a broad GVWR class like "7050# GVWR"; they just use a median wheel/tire weight for all payload calculations within that GVWR class, secure in the knowledge that safety factors make that hair-splltting unnecessary).

 

[JEB]

IMO ...

All above is technically true and correct, but still a bit of an oxymoron in relation to wheel and tire weight vs payload. All other things being equal (e.g. wheel & tire rated capacity) the weight of wheels & tires should not in any practical sense change the rated payload capacity because the wheels & tires are 100% unsprung weight (the weight of wheels and tires does not alter the vertical load on the axle or any other component of the vehicle). Different from OE wheel & tire weight may have other 'real-world' effects on handling and performance, but should not affect 'real-world payload' (the stated sticker payload rating) either plus or minus.

IOW, whether wheels of cast-iron or wheels of titanium, if they have the same weight capacity the vehicle should have the same sticker payload capacity (and should have a GVWR adjusted accordingly, but no manufacturer goes to the trouble to make that GVWR adjustment for the different weight of different wheel options within a broad GVWR class like "7050# GVWR"; they just use a median wheel/tire weight for all payload calculations within that GVWR class, secure in the knowledge that safety factors make that hair-splltting unnecessary).

Lots of words that fail to answer the question. I’ll repeat what the OP asked for convenience: “Does rim selection affect payload in any way?” The answer to the question presented is, of course, yes. GVWR is fixed by the manufacturer, a fact you appear to acknowledge. It does not matter whether you add leafs to the leaf springs, air bags, non OEM wheel and tire combinations, magic beans—GVWR remains the same regardless of modifications or options that “should” increase it. The weight of the truck, however, is dynamic and can and does change. Because payload (which is not even a rating) is simply the calculated difference between the fixed GVWR and the unloaded weight of the truck, anything that changes the unloaded weight of the truck changes payload. QED

I fully recognize the silliness of the debate and the uselessness of “payload” for anything other than a shopping tool to compare competing trucks. A truck with balsa wood wheels would have a high payload but in the real world couldn’t carry anything. But there’s no denying that it would have a high calculated payload, given the limitations of GVWR that we have to live with, like it or not.

Back to the OP: It’s been awhile since I shopped for trucks but I did manage to find two that were identical in my early research—one with 18” wheels and one with 20”. The truck with 20” wheels had the lower payload by somewhere in the vicinity of 25-50 lbs if I recall correctly. Inconsequential. Get what you like.

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