School me on lift, wheels, and tires for my new 2015 mud edition!

[muffy]

Hello all! I've tried to figure this out from old posts here, and I'm just confused. I'm not so much of a car girl, and the shorthand and numbers defeat me.

Here's my real question. I've just bought a 2015 Expedition four wheel drive, ther short one not the EL. 95% of its life will be spent on road and highway pavement.

AND, the other 5% will be on farm tracks and greasy clay fields trying to catch up to a pack of coyote hounds. So ground clearance and surviving quick travel over bumps, rocks, and holes is important. (Mainly I use a Jeep, but there will be times the Expedition will be getting dirty instead.)

So, here's what I THINK I want:

1. To lift and level the Expedition a bit; and

2. to put on taller/wider tires, larger diameter wheels, or some combination of both. I've been looking for a "will it rub" general thread and having no luck.

As to the lift, I'd prefer not to do anything that much changes the original geometry of the transmission and suspension.

It still has the original wheels and tires, 265 / 70 / R17. That is I think a 31 inch diameter tire. I know there are usually plenty of takeoff wheels, tires, and full sets from Expeditions and F150s out there on Craigslist and FB marketplace, so there are lots of easy choices.

I confess I like the look of a lift and bigger tires, but I want to make a practical decision, not an aesthetic or emotional one.

Have at me!

 

[bb37]

taller/wider tires, larger diameter wheels

I'm no expert, but for an off-road use vehicle, I believe you generally do not want larger diameter wheels. Increasing the tire diameter while maintaining the existing 17" wheel diameter will make for taller sidewalls on the tires. The taller sidewalls will have more flex and "give" than shorter sidewalls thus making the tires more compliant over uneven surfaces.

I had a 2015 XLT 4WD non-EL. Pretty sure it came with 18" wheels. 100k miles with no real issues. Spark plugs are a concern, I think. Ford says change them at 100k miles. Mine started failing around 70k.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

THere are separate threads on "show me your lifted *** gen trucks" in the 3rd & 4th Gen subforums...

However, it seems that most of your goals are reasonable & achievable, with the exception of "not changing the geometry" part.... lifting will change that, so if you do this, you have a good deal of research work ahead...

But as long as you don't go too extreme, you shouldn't have too many problems....

For tire/wheel combos, for on & off road use, you can normally go up to 18 or 20 inch wheels without changing the ride characteristics too much, and this will dictate how much clearance your bigger/taller/wider tires will have, especially when turning the front wheels completely to one side or the other....anything bigger & things will get real goofy real fast, and will require some reconsideration/compromises one way or the other...

Personally, I would avoid FB marketplace like a plague, as there are way too many scammers there who are only after your money and not interested in delivering the goods you paid for (fake, cheap chineesium knock-offs, or flat out wrong parts)

 

[muffy]

This is my research, any you two pretty much describe the current state of my knowledge. I don't knoe what "extreme" is, for example. I was looking for specific advice, like lift limits and tire sizes. Thank you!