I may be interested in putting 17" wheels on a '97 F-150 rather than buying one with the off-road package. Can I just swap them in for the standard wheels with making any modifications? How do I adjust the speedo afterwards? Basically, I'd like to turn a standard 4X4 into an off-road package 4X4. I believe (according to info. on another thread) that the tires and skid plates are the only difference. Are there any lifts, etc. that I have to do in order to make this work? I'd like a little bit of clearance between the tires and the body when it's all said and done. Thanks.

John

 

Wheel Size has no bearing on speedo. Overall diameter of tire does. If you're jumpng from a 29" to a 31" it will be a little off. If you need More clearance, a couple turns of the torsion bars should do.

 

the 17's will fit fine with lots of room to spare there is no diferance in ride hight with the off road package and regular 4x4 your speedo will be off a bit and depending on your rear end gear ratio you may lose a little low end power I have heard you can take the truck to the dealer and they can reprogram the computer for the 17" tires and that will fix your speedo I had the stock 17" tires I thought they looked small so I went with 285/70/17 bfg's they are 33" tall and I still have lots of room

 

I put 17's on my 97 and I dont have the ORP. It screws the speedo up incrimentaly. @30 it is 1 or 2 off and @70 it is about 5 off. I like the look and I like the ride height. I didnt have to cut anything or lift anything. I did lose quite a bit of low end power but the engine runs slower at highway speeds so it is easier on the engine this way. BTW i have those exact same tires that are above my post, man I like those.

 

If you have 16" rims.. KEEP THEM.. most people that have the ORP are wishing that ford put the 16's on them as there is a much larger choice of tires for the 16" rim.. just my $.02

 

Yeah you could add the skid plates.

The 17" (17x7.5") don't buy you anything unless you want to only get "285/70/17 bfg's they are 33" tall".

If you keep the stock 16" rims (16x7") you can get 265/75R16 which have the same width and diameter as the 17" off road package (ORP, 265/70R17). On a 97 you can swap the little $8 tranny gear to correct the speedometer.

If you still plan on getting different rims/wheels, get 16x8". They will give you the biggest choice of tires and sizes to fit your needs. JMHO

 

I've got Pro Comp At's 33/12.50R17 on my stock 17's under my 1998 Expy. It's got a three inch body lift, but they would have fit either way. No rubbing, no scraping