Switched From 285/75/17 to 285/75/18 -- Tire Fitment Guide (34's to 35's)

[ImChris]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a few visuals and fit details as I've gone through a couple sets of wheels and tires in the last few months trying to figure out where to land. I'll share my thought process and breakdown below!

Vehicle: 2022 F150 Powerboost SuperCrew w/ the 6.5ft bed
Suspension: Ford Performance Bilstein kit set at 2.5 up front (if you don't know it's similar to the 5162 / 6112 Bilstein kit)

Overall Build Outline:
I'm a commercial photographer and marketing consultant in the outdoor lifestyle world (overland, bikes, motorsports, etc) so I spend a lot of time on trails, doing remote shoots, and generally just have a passion for getting away from it all. I bought the PowerBoost to use as my on-site generator for photo/video shoots, camping needs, etc., but the gas mileage around town was an added bonus. With that, I didn't want to totally negate MPG, but it also wasn't the sole purpose for buying the PB. I did chose skinny tires, kept my front active airdam, and tried to keep 'poke' to a minimum for MPG reasons.

With that said, I wanted something comfortable for daily driving, but also something that would handle trails and the occasional challenging offroad route. I mostly stick to forest roads or mild two-track to keep things safe, but have taken the truck to Moab and will air down so IMO the factory 20's were not going to fit my build. I also didn't want to do any heavy modifications to the truck to make things work. Now...onto my findings.

Here is my truck in stock form on the factory 20's: I weighed these with my cheap Amazon scale and they came out to 78lbs btw (I've seen other post a tad less).

My First Wheel AFTER suspension: KMC Impact, 17x9" +18 w/ Toyo Open Country ATIII in a 285/75/17 (84lbs)

I decided to go with the 285/75/17 due to weight as the 285s are lighter than their 34x12.5 counterparts and 17's are also very light. I also wanted a 'skinny' tire because I live in WI for snow and because of efficiency. Being transparent, one of my clients is WheelPros and they own KMC which is how I got these wheels. There ARE lighter wheels but I like to support those who support me. I weighed these using my crappy scale too and they came in at 84lbs, 6lbs heavier per corner over stock (roughly).

The 285/75/17 with +18 fit fine with zero rubbing (I even think I could have fit these without a level) and when I first installed them, I had my front suspension set at the 2inch lift mark, rather than the 2.5 it's at now. Here are those pics.

285/75/17, 17x8.5 + 18 with suspension at 2inch mark on a PowerBoost (which is a little lower due to weight):

Here are those same wheels/tires with my front suspension set at the 2.5" lift setting (and a new grill):

Driving Impressions: I only drove my stock wheels and tires for around a month before switching to these. It was also freezing winter temps + my engine was still in break in mode, but I didn't notice any significant downgrades in MPG with this setup. Drivability was also the same and my truck is cozy and quiet just like it was new, which I wanted to keep. Electric drive mode engaged as it was and I could even still creep from a light in full electric with a light gas pedal! I average around 19MPG mixed, but around town normally see 21-23mpg (I drive the speed limits btw).

Overall I think this is probably the best mix of driveability, MPG, a little extra clearance and a good offroad look without any big mods!

But alas, I picked up a new client (Black Rhino Wheels) and the KMC's had to be swapped out!



Current Setup: 285/75/18 Falken Wildpeak AT3W w/ Black Rhino Chamber in 18x9.5 +12mm (101 lbs)

Why did I leave behind my beloved gas mileage and add over 20lbs per corner from stock in rotating mass to my hybrid!? BECAUSE 35'S, BRO!! ? In all seriousness, at the time of writing this and getting the new wheels Black Rhino didn't have any 17's with a positive offset for the F150. They did have a few options in 18's ranging from +18 to +12 which is what lead my decision to go to the 18 (word on the street is they'll have a new wheel for F150s in a +38 this fall ). I have to be on their wheels through the end of the year at least (and they are actually an incredible company to work with!) so I'll be rocking this setup for the time being. I would like to paint these though as I'm not a huge fan of black! Anyways...

There is a lot of discussion around fitting 35's on these trucks and we've all come to the conclusion that they fit no problem with a high, positive offset wheel. But what about a +12? The 285/75/18 isn't a true 35 (it is marked 35x11.5 on the sidewall though), but it's actually a 34.84" and this varies slightly based on manufacture.

What all did I have to do to make the almost 35 fit with these new +12mm wheels?

• Crash bars should probably be removed. I got away with bumping mine with a hammer a bit to widen them, but in stock form you're hitting crashbars when turning. After widening mine, I have enough clearance to drive around without rubbing BUT in the odd circumstance that I hit a large bump and am almost full lock, i'm rubbing for sure! Also note, the battery cooling lines run right behind the rear crash bar brackets. I've seen videos of people widening their bars, that could be difficult with the powerboost because you're very quickly running into these coolant lines if you do that.
• Cut your air dam! Yup, just the inner fender bottom corners, so not much, but for sure taking off a half inch or so.
• Level the front. Again, i'm at 2.5inch level setting up front and you need this extra height to give you clearance.
• POTENTIALLY shave off some plastic on the front cab mount(?). I don't know the exact term, but the wheels is dangerously close to it. I've been driving and hitting bumps hard trying to listen for rub and haven't hit it yet, but I think if I did a trail with full compression, I'd rub there too. For daily driving, so far so good.

Driving Impressions: I've only had them on for two days so I'll update when I know more!

Driver Side, front cab mount clearance

Driver front, crash bar clearance (after being pushed back an inch or so)

Driver front lower airdam clearance after trimming off 1/4to 1/2 inch (still rough, need to sand and make the cut look nicer)

Quick idea:

I'll update as I get more miles on the big tires!

Any questions feel free to ask. Hope this helps anyone curious about more meaty tire options with lower offsets. **Should be noted that poke was the same with both 17 and 18 setups!

-Chris

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[TXBJJ]

Looks so good with the Falkens. That's one of the tires I'm considering when my stock tires wear out. They are pretty heavy tired compared to other brands of similar size. What is your driving impression of the Falkens?

 

[SpaceWhiteF150]

Looks great! The BAP grille transformed the truck! I like both wheel/tire setups!

 

[GIjoe]

Why not go back to toyos? Prob weigh less than the falkens.

 

[SpaceWhiteF150]

I was wondering the same. Or possibly a Cooper AT3 XLT tire. Both very light.

 

[9663mu]

Damn that’s sweet rig! That cap looks perfect with your carboninzed color from one 157 owner to another. Well done mate

 

[ImChris]

Looks so good with the Falkens. That's one of the tires I'm considering when my stock tires wear out. They are pretty heavy tired compared to other brands of similar size. What is your driving impression of the Falkens?

This is my second set. I had them on my Tacoma a few years back. They are quiet (even a tad quieter than my Toyos), but they don't perform as well as the Toyo in snow. I'd put them on par with K02s for snow performance, but they've pushed through some heavy slushy stuff without fail so I didn't feel bad switching back to them. Pretty much the only big thing I noticed was kind of sliding out sideways easier than the Toyos in slippery snow. But held their own with breaking and accelerating. I always keep it slow in crazy conditions anyways so they are pretty close if you ask me! For off road, the Toyo and Falken are dead on for the type of driving I do. I'm not pushing to their limits.

Looks great! The BAP grille transformed the truck! I like both wheel/tire setups!

Thanks!!

Why not go back to toyos? Prob weigh less than the falkens.

See below -

I was wondering the same. Or possibly a Cooper AT3 XLT tire. Both very light.

Much like wheels, through the clients I work with I also get tires. It just so happened to lineup with a deal on the Falkens and not the Toyo this time so Falkens I went!

To give you a rough idea of weights in a 285/75/18:
Toyo Open Country ATIII - 65lbs
WildPeak AT3W - 66lbs
Discoverer AT3 - 59lbs
Nokian Outpost AT - 56lbs

Damn that’s sweet rig! That cap looks perfect with your carboninzed color from one 157 owner to another. Well done mate

Appreciate that! I look towards your threads and posts for info on my build!


-Chris

 

[HANCOCK]

Really nice truck Chris! If you don't mind me asking who did your lift on the truck? do you have Any problems with Sensors or anything?

thanks Rob

 

[Uncle_Booty]

They all look good, seriously…

but I think the 17’s look best, personally.

 

[ImChris]

Really nice truck Chris! If you don't mind me asking who did your lift on the truck? do you have Any problems with Sensors or anything?

thanks Rob

Thanks Rob, and I did it in my garage! New trucks make it nice to work on since there is no rust or corrosion to deal with. The Ford Performance kit came with really nice instructions and when following all steps, made it pretty easy.

This is an XLT, pretty low end so I don't have adaptive cruise control or auto adjusting headlights or anything like that, so I can't speak to sensors. I do have backup alert sensors and those work the same as they did before.

They all look good, seriously…

but I think the 17’s look best, personally.

Thanks! I'm keeping the 17's in my garage just incase I want to switch back. After a few days of driving, I'm getting some light cab rubbing when turning into parking lots with steep driveways.

-Chris

 

[HANCOCK]

Thanks for the info

 

[chandler]

Looks great man! Thank you for all the info

How do you like the Smartcap? Worth the money?

 

[ImChris]

Looks great man! Thank you for all the info

How do you like the Smartcap? Worth the money?

So far, yes. When I was debating which to go with I priced out a few fiberglass options to get close to the features I wanted here (mainly almost full bed access opening side panels) and that wasn't an option in non work-truck type tops. That narrowed it down to this style which made my decision easy. Go Fast Campers has a topper too, but with the cross support rails you still have a little issue pulling larger items out (like a foldable camp table in my experience) otherwise they were number 2 on my list!

Having the gullwing side doors are awesome. I just got back from a 4 day camping trip and I used them to hang towels on, easily grab camp chairs, etc., without crawling into my bed which was great.

I ended up paying around $900 more to get this than a loaded fiberglass version and feel happy about that. If you have a regular bed, the used market is pretty easy to find in the $3,300-$3800 range.

 

[Govdog]

You mwnt

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a few visuals and fit details as I've gone through a couple sets of wheels and tires in the last few months trying to figure out where to land. I'll share my thought process and breakdown below!

Vehicle: 2022 F150 Powerboost SuperCrew w/ the 6.5ft bed
Suspension: Ford Performance Bilstein kit set at 2.5 up front (if you don't know it's similar to the 5162 / 6112 Bilstein kit)

Overall Build Outline:
I'm a commercial photographer and marketing consultant in the outdoor lifestyle world (overland, bikes, motorsports, etc) so I spend a lot of time on trails, doing remote shoots, and generally just have a passion for getting away from it all. I bought the PowerBoost to use as my on-site generator for photo/video shoots, camping needs, etc., but the gas mileage around town was an added bonus. With that, I didn't want to totally negate MPG, but it also wasn't the sole purpose for buying the PB. I did chose skinny tires, kept my front active airdam, and tried to keep 'poke' to a minimum for MPG reasons.

With that said, I wanted something comfortable for daily driving, but also something that would handle trails and the occasional challenging offroad route. I mostly stick to forest roads or mild two-track to keep things safe, but have taken the truck to Moab and will air down so IMO the factory 20's were not going to fit my build. I also didn't want to do any heavy modifications to the truck to make things work. Now...onto my findings.

Here is my truck in stock form on the factory 20's: I weighed these with my cheap Amazon scale and they came out to 78lbs btw (I've seen other post a tad less).

My First Wheel AFTER suspension: KMC Impact, 17x8.5" +18 w/ Toyo Open Country ATIII in a 285/75/17 (84lbs)

I decided to go with the 285/75/17 due to weight as the 285s are lighter than their 34x12.5 counterparts and 17's are also very light. I also wanted a 'skinny' tire because I live in WI for snow and because of efficiency. Being transparent, one of my clients is WheelPros and they own KMC which is how I got these wheels. There ARE lighter wheels but I like to support those who support me. I weighed these using my crappy scale too and they came in at 84lbs, 6lbs heavier per corner over stock (roughly).

The 285/75/17 with +18 fit fine with zero rubbing (I even think I could have fit these without a level) and when I first installed them, I had my front suspension set at the 2inch lift mark, rather than the 2.5 it's at now. Here are those pics.

285/75/17, 17x8.5 + 18 with suspension at 2inch mark on a PowerBoost (which is a little lower due to weight):

Here are those same wheels/tires with my front suspension set at the 2.5" lift setting (and a new grill):

Driving Impressions: I only drove my stock wheels and tires for around a month before switching to these. It was also freezing winter temps + my engine was still in break in mode, but I didn't notice any significant downgrades in MPG with this setup. Drivability was also the same and my truck is cozy and quiet just like it was new, which I wanted to keep. Electric drive mode engaged as it was and I could even still creep from a light in full electric with a light gas pedal! I average around 19MPG mixed, but around town normally see 21-23mpg (I drive the speed limits btw).

Overall I think this is probably the best mix of driveability, MPG, a little extra clearance and a good offroad look without any big mods!

But alas, I picked up a new client (Black Rhino Wheels) and the KMC's had to be swapped out!



Current Setup: 285/75/18 Falken Wildpeak AT3W w/ Black Rhino Chamber in 18x9.5 +12mm (101 lbs)

Why did I leave behind my beloved gas mileage and add over 20lbs per corner from stock in rotating mass to my hybrid!? BECAUSE 35'S, BRO!! ? In all seriousness, at the time of writing this and getting the new wheels Black Rhino didn't have any 17's with a positive offset for the F150. They did have a few options in 18's ranging from +18 to +12 which is what lead my decision to go to the 18 (word on the street is they'll have a new wheel for F150s in a +38 this fall ). I have to be on their wheels through the end of the year at least (and they are actually an incredible company to work with!) so I'll be rocking this setup for the time being. I would like to paint these though as I'm not a huge fan of black! Anyways...

There is a lot of discussion around fitting 35's on these trucks and we've all come to the conclusion that they fit no problem with a high, positive offset wheel. But what about a +12? The 285/75/18 isn't a true 35 (it is marked 35x11.5 on the sidewall though), but it's actually a 34.84" and this varies slightly based on manufacture.

What all did I have to do to make the almost 35 fit with these new +12mm wheels?

• Crash bars should probably be removed. I got away with bumping mine with a hammer a bit to widen them, but in stock form you're hitting crashbars when turning. After widening mine, I have enough clearance to drive around without rubbing BUT in the odd circumstance that I hit a large bump and am almost full lock, i'm rubbing for sure! Also note, the battery cooling lines run right behind the rear crash bar brackets. I've seen videos of people widening their bars, that could be difficult with the powerboost because you're very quickly running into these coolant lines if you do that.
• Cut your air dam! Yup, just the inner fender bottom corners, so not much, but for sure taking off a half inch or so.
• Level the front. Again, i'm at 2.5inch level setting up front and you need this extra height to give you clearance.
• POTENTIALLY shave off some plastic on the front cab mount(?). I don't know the exact term, but the wheels is dangerously close to it. I've been driving and hitting bumps hard trying to listen for rub and haven't hit it yet, but I think if I did a trail with full compression, I'd rub there too. For daily driving, so far so good.

Driving Impressions: I've only had them on for two days so I'll update when I know more!

Driver Side, front cab mount clearance

Driver front, crash bar clearance (after being pushed back an inch or so)

Driver front lower airdam clearance after trimming off 1/4to 1/2 inch (still rough, need to sand and make the cut look nicer)

Quick idea:

I'll update as I get more miles on the big tires!

Any questions feel free to ask. Hope this helps anyone curious about more meaty tire options with lower offsets. **Should be noted that poke was the same with both 17 and 18 setups!

-Chris

are The KMC wheels a 17x18.5 or a 17x19?

 

[ImChris]

You mwnt

are The KMC wheels a 17x18.5 or a 17x19?

17x9, good catch!

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