Subtle Lift & Stance Advice

[fuesting]

Hello fine folks,

I was hoping I could get some feedback or advice on my current plan to modify my Bronco’s stance/height/look.

I have a 4 Door Badlands Non-SAS with the standard 17" Machined Carbonized Gray-Painted Aluminum Wheels

My goal for my modification is to slightly raise and widen the Bronco’s stance while maintaining my stock fender flares. I would prefer no to little poke. I also do not want to have limited travel. Call it 3/4 of a Sasquatch setup. I will be removing the crash bars.

My idea is to replace my 285/70 R17 K02’s (stock) with 35x12.5 R17’s but keep them All-Terrain (not MT like SAS). I believe my wheels have a +55mm offset, compared to the +20mm SAS wheels. I think the new 35” tires will end up being too close to the chassis, causing turn/lock issues and maybe other rubbing issues.
To combat this issue, I was thinking of adding .25” Bora wheel spacers. Possibly .5” however I’m worried about too much poke.

I was referencing this awesome site for reference: https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/

Here’s a screen shot of a comparison between what I have and what I’m thinking of doing.

I’m hoping you guys can help me with some answers to my questions:

Would I experience any rubbing issues with this plan in your opinion?

Would wheel spacers cause any kind of negative issue with my suspension setup or are they otherwise not a good idea?

Would .5” wheel spacer be a better idea?

In addition to these changes, I plan on getting my wheels powder coated satin dark gray/black.

My goal is to keep the setup looking close to stock but with some added height.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

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[iamchewby]

Not possible within your parameters.

Speaking from experience. A 0.5" wheel spacer is 1) not enough, 2) not smart (we'll get back to that) and 3) probably not even made for this application (refer to #2)

A 35×12.5" tire is too big to fit within your parameters of having zero "poke". It's over 1" wider and adds over 1" to the radius of the stock tire. You WILL rub on the upper control arm with no "spacer".

Back to spacers. There is way too much rotational mass in a 35" tire for a 1/2" spacer to support. What you actually need is called an "adapter". A spacer just sits between the wheel and the hub and is clamped in by your lugnuts on the OEM studs through the wheel. An adapter is bolted to the hub and then the wheel bolts to the adapter. Typical minimum width on an adapter is 1".

Your only real option for little or no poke is going to be a 35×10.5, but you also mentioned not having limited travel, a 35" tire without at least a leveling kit will probably be limited by the fender... You don't want to shove a tire into your fender.

Again, speaking from experience. I have a non-sasquatch Badlands that I put 315/70r17s on, so just about, but not as big as a 35×12.5. I have a 1" level and 1.5" adapters. I ran it without adapters for a couple weeks and already had about 1/2" of "poke" and rubbed on the upper control arms before full steering lock. With the adapters I'm around 2" of poke. A 1" adapter would be sufficient to run the tires but you will still have the poke that you don't want.

Also, it's good to note that the stock sasquatch tires are 315/70r17s and not true 35"s, and the difference in offset from the stock badlands and the sasquatch wheels is around 1". So a minimum of 1" of spacing is a good rule to go by.

 

[fuesting]

Not possible within your parameters.

Speaking from experience. A 0.5" wheel spacer is 1) not enough, 2) not smart (we'll get back to that) and 3) probably not even made for this application (refer to #2)

A 35×12.5" tire is too big to fit within your parameters of having zero "poke". It's over 1" wider and adds over 1" to the radius of the stock tire. You WILL rub on the upper control arm with no "spacer".

Back to spacers. There is way too much rotational mass in a 35" tire for a 1/2" spacer to support. What you actually need is called an "adapter". A spacer just sits between the wheel and the hub and is clamped in by your lugnuts on the OEM studs through the wheel. An adapter is bolted to the hub and then the wheel bolts to the adapter. Typical minimum width on an adapter is 1".

Your only real option for little or no poke is going to be a 35×10.5, but you also mentioned not having limited travel, a 35" tire without at least a leveling kit will probably be limited by the fender... You don't want to shove a tire into your fender.

Again, speaking from experience. I have a non-sasquatch Badlands that I put 315/70r17s on, so just about, but not as big as a 35×12.5. I have a 1" level and 1.5" adapters. I ran it without adapters for a couple weeks and already had about 1/2" of "poke" and rubbed on the upper control arms before full steering lock. With the adapters I'm around 2" of poke. A 1" adapter would be sufficient to run the tires but you will still have the poke that you don't want.

Also, it's good to note that the stock sasquatch tires are 315/70r17s and not true 35"s, and the difference in offset from the stock badlands and the sasquatch wheels is around 1". So a minimum of 1" of spacing is a good rule to go by.

Thank you for the brilliant analysis Chewby. I guess I was indeed looking at spacers, not adapters, but I was thinking adapters. Maybe I should just come to the conclusion that any significant tire size change will require new fender flares, if I want to stay covered. The other thing I miscalculated was the cost of adapters. Factoring that in, I should reconsider new wheels if I want to consider 35x12.5's. I really want Fifteen52 Analog HD's but they have a 0mm offset.

That being said, would a 35x10.5 with a level lift be the way to go. I've searched the forums extensively and can't find anyone else that's done it. I have found people asking about it.

I'm fine with the look of the SAS package, however I was shooting for a slightly more modest lift/stance. Just trying to achieve that without spending crazy money.

 

[Taichi]

Hello fine folks,

I was hoping I could get some feedback or advice on my current plan to modify my Bronco’s stance/height/look.

I have a 4 Door Badlands Non-SAS with the standard 17" Machined Carbonized Gray-Painted Aluminum Wheels

My goal for my modification is to slightly raise and widen the Bronco’s stance while maintaining my stock fender flares. I would prefer no to little poke. I also do not want to have limited travel. Call it 3/4 of a Sasquatch setup. I will be removing the crash bars.

My idea is to replace my 285/70 R17 K02’s (stock) with 35x12.5 R17’s but keep them All-Terrain (not MT like SAS). I believe my wheels have a +55mm offset, compared to the +20mm SAS wheels. I think the new 35” tires will end up being too close to the chassis, causing turn/lock issues and maybe other rubbing issues.
To combat this issue, I was thinking of adding .25” Bora wheel spacers. Possibly .5” however I’m worried about too much poke.

I was referencing this awesome site for reference: https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/

Here’s a screen shot of a comparison between what I have and what I’m thinking of doing.

I’m hoping you guys can help me with some answers to my questions:

Would I experience any rubbing issues with this plan in your opinion?

Would wheel spacers cause any kind of negative issue with my suspension setup or are they otherwise not a good idea?

Would .5” wheel spacer be a better idea?

In addition to these changes, I plan on getting my wheels powder coated satin dark gray/black.

My goal is to keep the setup looking close to stock but with some added height.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Look into a 285/75 17 (iirc its 33.8" x 11.2") if you want to go just slightly higher or if you want slightly higher and slightly wider a 305/70 17 (iirc its 33.8" x 12") tire. I was looking at these sizes for mine until someone sold me their SAS takoff tires. BTW the SAS tires say MT on them but they are not a Mud Terrain tire i think it stands for Multi-terrain becuase the tread is not even close to a true MT.

 

[iamchewby]

Thank you for the brilliant analysis Chewby. I guess I was indeed looking at spacers, not adapters, but I was thinking adapters. Maybe I should just come to the conclusion that any significant tire size change will require new fender flares, if I want to stay covered. The other thing I miscalculated was the cost of adapters. Factoring that in, I should reconsider new wheels if I want to consider 35x12.5's. I really want Fifteen52 Analog HD's but they have a 0mm offset.

That being said, would a 35x10.5 with a level lift be the way to go. I've searched the forums extensively and can't find anyone else that's done it. I have found people asking about it.

I'm fine with the look of the SAS package, however I was shooting for a slightly more modest lift/stance. Just trying to achieve that without spending crazy money.

I can't say for certain that a 35×10.5 would give you the desired effect but it's worth a shot

 

[4avor8ntfair]

Not possible within your parameters.

Speaking from experience. A 0.5" wheel spacer is 1) not enough, 2) not smart (we'll get back to that) and 3) probably not even made for this application (refer to #2)

A 35×12.5" tire is too big to fit within your parameters of having zero "poke". It's over 1" wider and adds over 1" to the radius of the stock tire. You WILL rub on the upper control arm with no "spacer".

Back to spacers. There is way too much rotational mass in a 35" tire for a 1/2" spacer to support. What you actually need is called an "adapter". A spacer just sits between the wheel and the hub and is clamped in by your lugnuts on the OEM studs through the wheel. An adapter is bolted to the hub and then the wheel bolts to the adapter. Typical minimum width on an adapter is 1".

Your only real option for little or no poke is going to be a 35×10.5, but you also mentioned not having limited travel, a 35" tire without at least a leveling kit will probably be limited by the fender... You don't want to shove a tire into your fender.

Again, speaking from experience. I have a non-sasquatch Badlands that I put 315/70r17s on, so just about, but not as big as a 35×12.5. I have a 1" level and 1.5" adapters. I ran it without adapters for a couple weeks and already had about 1/2" of "poke" and rubbed on the upper control arms before full steering lock. With the adapters I'm around 2" of poke. A 1" adapter would be sufficient to run the tires but you will still have the poke that you don't want.

Also, it's good to note that the stock sasquatch tires are 315/70r17s and not true 35"s, and the difference in offset from the stock badlands and the sasquatch wheels is around 1". So a minimum of 1" of spacing is a good rule to go by.

Thoughts on the Mishimoto spacer/adapter? I was thinking about the 1” version. Any pics of your setup with the poke?
https://www.mishimoto.com/borne-off-road-wheel-spacers-6-139-7-93-1.html

 

[RhodeIslandRed]

you want to keep your stock wheels? You have to do a little research because the answers are in here. Here's a response to some similar questions.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/35s-on-optional-badlands-rims.31308/post-1053786

A couple notes. Your stock BL wheels are probably 8" wide. The Sas wheels are 8.5". That makes a difference in clearance. Also, you refer to the Sas wheels as +20mm offset. They are +30.

I'm not a fan of adapters, which I am only now finding out are not called spacers. I ran them on another vehicle without issue, but the concept sucks.

And the last question/comment is that you need to make sure that your 35x12.5 will work on 8" wheels. They might be fine, but the tire manufacturer will give the wheel width range for that fitment.

My advice is to find wheels with a little less positive offset. I like to use Ford's stock numbers as a guideline. You can be pretty confident that if the tires are pretty similar to the SAS tires, you will be ok with 8.5" wheels and +30 offset.

Ford has a practice of really tucking their shit into the wheel well while bringing the hubs way out (positive offset wheels). Their positive offset numbers make it a pain to get aftermarket wheels without a ton of poke. You won't be able to get wider tires in there without poke (or a ton of rubbing). With the stock setup, the Sas stuff pokes enough that they fattened up the flares.

Consider different wheels.

 

[PWillette]

I was looking to limit poke as well. I went with a 35 x 10.5 on the stock BL wheels and have no issues rubbing at full lock/full stuff. Crash bars removed of course.

 

[Lurker B6G]

If you really want a 3/4 sasquatch...

1) 285/75 R17 tire (I would just wait until the current ones need to be replaced, but I am cheap).
2) 3/4 inch BORA spacers/adaptors. The original wheel studs do not need to be trimmed, but will stick out 1/8" in front and 5/16" in the rear. The studs sticking out will fit into the "pockets" between the holes on the stock wheels.

The only issue might be the resulting poke, but the tread would all be under the flair. This would not be a dozer poke.

 

[406g]

I have generally the same goal with my yet-to-be-delivered Badlands non-sas. I'm planning on 285/75/r17s mounted on a 8.5in wheel in the +25mm to +35mm range with no lift.

 

[iamchewby]

Thoughts on the Mishimoto spacer/adapter? I was thinking about the 1” version. Any pics of your setup with the poke?
https://www.mishimoto.com/borne-off-road-wheel-spacers-6-139-7-93-1.html

Mishimoto usually makes decent products but I have no experience with them.

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