Leveling Kit & Tires F150

I added a Bilstein Strut leveling kit to my son's 2017 F150, along with some Bilstein shocks in the rear. It added about 2-2.5" of lift in front. Now it's time to add tires and rims. The guy that did the lift told me to avoid mud tires at all cost. Anybody run them before? Would you do it again? Really like the Nitto Trail Grappler (left) but the Ridge Grappler (right) isn't bad, either.

We haven't leveled our '17 F150 and probably won't but I won't be putting any aggressive tires on it either.

I have seen a s lot of my buddies that have ran both of the above on their vehicles.

The Ridge Grappler is the better riding tire if that is what you are more concerned with.

Mud tires make a lot of road noise and have to be rotated a lot. I run falken wildpeaks and love em. Those tires have made it through some Gnarly mountain “roads” on several occassions. Love having a wider and taller tire with an aggressive AT tread. Those tires looks good, my only suggestion is if the vehicle will be used to tow a lot or in rocky terrain, opt for a thicker ply tire.

Pretty much every and any tire with a tread pattern similar to the Nitto Trail Grapplers will be loud and wear fast. If you want a tire with an aggressive tread pattern that aren't loud and will last then look at the Good Year Duratrac's. When I had my Super Duty I ran 325/60-20's and got over 70k miles out of them. Down side is they are a bit pricey. Switched to BFG KO2's and hated them. They were quieter but the traction sucked. Crazy thing is KO2's came on my Raptor and the traction on it seems just fine but I'll be lucky to get 50k miles out of them.

I have run many different MTs and ATs over the years from Buckshot nylon belted mudders to fairly mild ATs. The dude that did the level probably said that because MTs are heavy, wear faster, ride rougher, don't handle as well (especially on wet pavement), and off course are noisy. If you are going to be running the truck in some serious mud then get the MTs no AT comes close to performing in the mud like a MT. If some mud is in his future than look for a less aggressive MT. I currently have BFG KO2s that came with the truck. The BFGs are a tough tire and great on hill country ranches but suck in the mud. I also had BFGs on my Tacoma. When they wore out I went with Cooper ST Maxx's. The Coopers are about as aggressive an AT as you can get but they are also one of the most expensive. I ran a set of Duratracs on my 2009 Tacoma and they are better in the mud then the BFGs but have weaker sidewalls. One advantage to the Duratracs is you can get them in larger sizes and lower load ranges. I think when the BFGs I currently have wear out I am going to get the Goodyear Ultra Terrains that Discount has started to sell. When I got the Duratracs Discount installed a set of Goodyear MTRs by mistake. Dude called me the next day and told me. I never noticed. I said I would have to keep a while and he said no problem you can have at Duratrac price if you want. I ran them on my Tacoma for about a month and used on a hill county ranch for a weekend. One tough tire but you better have a dang good stereo and like it loud. I took them back and got the Duratracs. You say "strut leveleing". They are not really struts but I will ignore that. Did you use spacers? If so your son should be warned to take it easy off the road. Lots of people take spacer lifts off road and break things like shocks. Spacer lifts are for looks.

No spacers. I guess it could be a coilover shock. This is what they look like but I think I actually got the 5100 series.




https://www.bilsteinlifts.com/shop/...coil-shock-kit-2015-2017-ford-f-150-2wd/

I like the looks of those Duratracs. I may have to price those.

PS - I've threatened his life if he goes anywhere near mud, so that isn't an issue. I just like the aggressive patterns.

I have 35" ridge grapplers and 4" lift. Hardly any sound at all actually. Nitto does a great job imo at keeping road noise to a minimum. I had 34 trail grapplers before and they were also great.

The Falken Wildpeaks are close to the top of the list for tires on ours when the GY's wear out.

About 34 K on them now and they still look really good.

Good for you. I see too many dealers installed spacers. I liked my Duratracs. I put about 35k on them before j sold truck. Some people complain about noise and handling as they wear but I did not get to that point. Weak sidewalls are another complaint but mine did fine through 2 deer seasons. I really liked the Cooper ST Maxx. They have stronger sidewalls then the Duratracs but can be tough to balance. Falkens might be a decent tire but not aggressive enough for me. I have the 6112s on mine set at 1.9". I wanted to keep some rake without messing with the back. Also the top settings will make for a stiffer ride. Boat has a pretty hefty tongue weight and did not want a bro lean while trailering.

I run the hancook ATMs and they have done me well over the last 160k over 3 sets. They classed those out so the new ones were ATM2s and those have 5 or 6k on them now.

Spent thousands of dollars to lift/level the truck and put large mud tires on it... and threatened his life if he goes near mud... lol merica!

It's 2WD and he's already been pulled out of the muck once. Cracks me up that he convinced the girl he was with to let him wear HER shoes instead of his when he got out in the mud to hook up and his buddy was trying to use a ratchet strap to pull him out. Kept breaking it. Ended up calling his sister to drive 30 miles with a chain when I had a tow rope in the garage....but didn't want to tell dad. I asked why he didn't use the electric locker to get out, to which he responded, "What's that????". Yep. Merica.

295 70 17's (33 11.5's) with +2 rims. Gives a nice stance.

I have cooper discoverer at/3 on now, had nitto at in same size, 285/75/18 10 ply. coopers are doing a lot better than the nittos did for mileage, over 20 on them and still half or more tread left. 14 f150/2.5" level. with leveling the 285/75 is as big a tire as will fit (34.5") and not rub on anything.

Looks nice! I was scared to go that big on a 2wd...but thought about trying.