Thank you for reading my post. It's almost time to decide on suspension and wheels/tires.

I have a 2009 F150 SuperCrew shortbox 4x4. I plan on going with either a 6" suspension with 35" tires -or- 6" suspension, 3" body and 37" tires.

I'd like to know what the drawbacks besides initial investment there would be between the 35 and 37 inch tires.

MPG differences, ride differences, wear and tear, etc.

I have factory gears.. 3.55's. I don't tow more than a 2000 lbs. trailer and don't really want to change the gears if I don't have to (I will if there is a great risk of my damaging engine or trans thou).

Also, any RIM and tire tread/brand suggestions would be appreciated. I like more tire..so I would prefer going with rims smaller than 20".

Thank you,

Paul

 

go with the 6in and 35's body lifts are a pain and with 37's you would want to regear and with the 35's your millage wont go down as bad as 37's

 

your gonna have to regear either way if you would like to not be replacing your tranny 6 months from now, yes you will kill the hell outta your tranny with that big a tire and 3.55s. that would be alot more expensive than just doing it right and having your power back anyways. saying that, i'd go with 37's and 4.88s. 35's will look to small for your lift. plus, hookin with your buddys aside, its always good to have a larger tire. personally i'd go with some cooper discoverer stt's but thats more for my taste and driving habits. you might wanna go with a good allterrain. no point in havin a tire that big if its got highway tread

 

Well, you need to regear with 35's or 37's (since you tow) so you might as well go with the largest size.

 

I went with a 6" lift and 35" tires on my truck and am happy with it.

The ride and mileage will depend on your choice of tires and wheels as well as the gears. I lost about 3 mpg with my lift and tires with 3:73 gears in my truck. The weight of wheels and tires has a big impact on the ride and mileage as well. My Toyo MT's are a pretty heavy tire, but ride good and are a quiet tire as well.

IMHO, you don't have to re-gear to make your tranny live. I ran 35's on my 2003 SCrew from day one for 73,000 miles with 3:73 gears and never had a problem with it. With the 6 speed in the 09's I've got much better power on take off than my 03 had. I can actually spin the 35's pretty easily in my 09 and couldn't in my 03.

Also with a 6" and 35's you can also keep the overall height below 7' which was a consideration of mine as well.

 

I agree Geff that you can get away with 35's and stock gears. But he has 3.55 gears and said he tows a 2000 lb. trailor. That is why I suggested that he regear even with 35's. I have 35's and 3.55's but I don't tow/haul heavy loads.

 

I agree with you as well, I was afraid of running 3:55's so I opted for the 3:73's from the factory. I also feel that the new 6 speed seems to handle the bigger tires much better than the older trucks did.

Either way, re-gearing couldn't hurt as long as you look to get back close to stock.

You may want to touch base with BlackPlatBDS as he has 37's and swapped his gears out for 4:11's I believe. Before the swap with 37's, he was getting about 9-10 mpg with his truck, I get 13 - 14 with mine and 35's with 3:73 gears.

 

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Thanks for all of the replies.

Is that 13 - 14 mpg city, highway or combo -- and what highway speed to you operate at for the calculation?

Thank you,

Paul

 

Actually I normally get between 13 and 14 in town or on the road driving 70 - 75 mph. The mileage is down a little in the winter due to remote staring, but I have averaged 12.8 over the first 7500 miles. Before the winter and remote starting, I was seeing 13.2 - 13.4 mpg calculated by hand pretty regularly. I have also reprogrammed my speedometer for the larger tires and have my truck programmed for a little extra grunt with a tuner. I tried it without the tuner and the mileage actually dropped a little.

Speed will play a major factor in my mileage and down at 55 mph, I have seen 14.3 on a 200 mile trip during the winter with some remote starts.

The best I ever saw before the lift was 16.3 on a 375 mile trip. I should also tell you that I run a 10% ethanol blend as it is cheaper here in Iowa.

 

I say do the 6+3 with 38's. Just my opinion

 

I upgraded the tires from the stock 255's to 288/60/17 BF Goodrich AT's -- and my current highway mileage is always in the very high teens.

I am leaning towards the 9" of lift and the 37's (maybe I'll shoot for the middle with some Goodrich 36x13.5's.

That being said,,,, lets talk about gearing... to get it back to stock, would I have to run somewhere between 4.11 and 4.55 range for a 35-36-37" tire?

What width rim do you guys feel I should get...? I really don't want a 20" rim.. I would like to have a 17 or 18 at the most...

 

go with 4.10's

 

i'd say minimum 4.56s for 35s and 4.88s if your going to go any larger than that