Biggest tire size on stock suspension?

[Phimosis]

255/65r17

255/65r17 (30.1” diameter) does not rub with stock suspension when traversing washes off-road, or backing up at full lock on a hillside. I tried a bunch of things and got zero rubbing.

265/65R17 (30.6” diameter) is reported by some to have mild rubbing, where others deny that any rubbing happens.

245/70R17 (30.8” diameter) is reported to have mild rubbing. I haven’t seen anyone that says 30.8” won’t rub. This is the diameter where people start removing their fender liners or heating the plastic to reshape it, and they start doing some grinding on the pinch welds or install a lift kit.

If you want the largest tire possible, I’m guessing you mean for off-roading? If yes, you should stick with 17” wheels for more tire sidewall, which improves traction and decreases damage to your wheels.

There’s a few comments in this thread that recommend 245/65r17, which is 29.5”. If you want to go big without rubbing, 29.5 is not the max. There’s 3 or 4 sizes larger than that, which will not rub. But it depends on your use case. If you’re going to be hauling firewood in the winter with suspension sagging from the payload and tires heavily caked in mud, then yeah, go smaller because the mud will rub and tear up your fender liners.

Heres the summary:
235/75R17 = 30.9” diameter = rub + mods.
245/70r17= 30.8” = rub.
265/65r17 = 30.6” = borderline rub.
225/75r17 = 30.2” = no rub.
255/65r17 = 30.1” = no rub.
235/70r17 = 30.0” = no rub.
245/65r17 = 29.5” = no rub.
225/65r17 = 28.5” =stock size.

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[thev8man]

255/65r17 (30.1” diameter) does not rub with stock suspension when traversing washes off-road, or backup up at full lock on a hillside. I tried a bunch of things and got zero rubbing.

265/65R17 (30.6” diameter) is reported by many to have no rubbing, but a few have said slight rubbing.

245/70R17 (30.8” diameter) is reported to have mild rubbing. I haven’t seen anyone that says 30.8” won’t rub.

The 245/65r17 (29.5” diameter) is definitely not the largest tire you can fit.

if you want the largest tire, I’m guessing you mean for off-roading? If so, you should consider getting 17” wheels, like you get on the tremor and fx4 package because it gives you more sidewall for more sidewall

Booyah

 

[Master Blaster]

The diameter of the tire is almost irrelevant. You need to check the "squareness" of the tire instead, and since I don't know of a tire manufacturer that will give you the important numbers, you're just going to have to try them and see if there is interference in hard cornering at full compression. Square edges as commonly seen on offroad tires are mostly going to interfere, while rounded SUV tires of the same size are not. Then there is the problem of putting oversize tires on the factory 7" rim width causing early wear because they need a bigger rim to seat on the road correctly...

 

[Phimosis]

The diameter of the tire is almost irrelevant. You need to check the "squareness" of the tire instead, and since I don't know of a tire manufacturer that will give you the important numbers, you're just going to have to try them and see if there is interference in hard cornering at full compression. Square edges as commonly seen on offroad tires are mostly going to interfere, while rounded SUV tires of the same size are not. Then there is the problem of putting oversize tires on the factory 7" rim width causing early wear because they need a bigger rim to seat on the road correctly...

I run 255 width wildpeak AT4W’s, which have very square shoulders and large sidewall lugs and they don’t rub anywhere, under any conditions. I chose 255 because no one, literally no one, says they get any rubbing.

And there are forum members that run 265 width Wildpeaks that swear up and down that they get no rubbing either.

However, if you run a 235/75r17, the same width as the stock tremor tires, but 2” larger diameter, you will 100% for sure get rubbing.

And when it comes to wheel size, it is common in the off-road community to use a wheel that is 1/2” narrower than the tire companies recommend because 1) the wide tire bashes into rocks before the narrow wheel does and 2) wide tires on skinny wheels can tolerate lower air pressure before losing the bead.

The recommended width range for a 265/65r17 is 7.5-9.5”. If you spend all of your miles on the freeway, then yes, that is a good plan. But, if you want to air down and go off-roading, the stock, 7” wide wheel is perfect for a 265 tire.

Here’s the opposite, where you put a skinny tire on a wide wheel. You need to run max pressure to make sure the bead stays seated. You lower the pressure to something like 30 psi and when you hit big bumps, it’s going to belch air out of the bead. And it will keep doing that more as the pressure drops lower and lower, until pffffft and it’s flat.

 

[Prawn]

255/65r17

255/65r17 (30.1” diameter) does not rub with stock suspension when traversing washes off-road, or backing up at full lock on a hillside. I tried a bunch of things and got zero rubbing.

265/65R17 (30.6” diameter) is reported by some to have mild rubbing, where others deny that any rubbing happens.

245/70R17 (30.8” diameter) is reported to have mild rubbing. I haven’t seen anyone that says 30.8” won’t rub. This is the diameter where people start removing their fender liners or heating the plastic to reshape it, and they start doing some grinding on the pinch welds or install a lift kit.

If you want the largest tire possible, I’m guessing you mean for off-roading? If yes, you should stick with 17” wheels for more tire sidewall, which improves traction and decreases damage to your wheels.

There’s a few comments in this thread that recommend 245/65r17, which is 29.5”. If you want to go big without rubbing, 29.5 is not the max. There’s 3 or 4 sizes larger than that, which will not rub. But it depends on your use case. If you’re going to be hauling firewood in the winter with suspension sagging from the payload and tires heavily caked in mud, then yeah, go smaller because the mud will rub and tear up your fender liners.

Heres the summary:
235/75R17 = 30.9” diameter = rub + mods.
245/70r17= 30.8” = rub.
265/65r17 = 30.6” = borderline rub.
225/75r17 = 30.2” = no rub.
255/65r17 = 30.1” = no rub.
235/70r17 = 30.0” = no rub.
245/65r17 = 29.5” = no rub.
225/65r17 = 28.5” =stock size.

when you say “If you’re going to be hauling firewood in the winter with suspension sagging from the payload and tires heavily caked in mud, then yeah, go smaller” are you recommending smaller than a 245/65r17? I don’t intend to be doing any crazy hauling on the regular, but it has had to happen

 

[Calmate']

My XL is on Bronco sport 18” wheels - I just put Michelin defender 2s tires
235/65/18 no rub issues , previously had 225/60/18 - the little increase in tire height greatly improved the ride quality (noticeably !) and I love the way the truck looks a bit tougher - filled the wheel wells in nice also - but the ride ! Such improvement !

 

[Calmate']

Couple more including Mav vs F150

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