Stage 3's 2019 Ranger with 2" Level, 1.5" Wheel Spacers, and 285/70R17s

Jason@Stage3

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If you've been paying attention to our YouTube channel and some of the thread's we've been posting around, but we've done a couple things this week that we wanted to share. We installed a set of FactionFab 1.5" Wheel Spacers with the factory wheels and added LT285/70R17 BFG KO2s to go along with our BDS 2" Leveling Kit with NX2s (we'll have a review/install video on that after we get some more drive time). We did have to cut the front and rear crash bars to clear the tires, but the result is pretty awesome.

We took the truck up just north of Phoenix for some photos. A few simple mods made a lot of difference.

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We'll have some more videos come up in the next couple of days, and we'll get a build thread going once we're a little farther along with this thing's end game.
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I like this stance a lot, not a huge fan of all the Toyota offset wheels guys are grabbing for the 3+ inches of poke.

Hoping for more +10-20 wheels.
 
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Jason@Stage3

Jason@Stage3

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I like this stance a lot, not a huge fan of all the Toyota offset wheels guys are grabbing for the 3+ inches of poke.

Hoping for more +10-20 wheels.
We're digging the look as well.

We actually got the new wheels put on it today (while reusing the same tires) which are 17x9" with a +6 offset, so they provided roughly the same stance as the stock wheels with the spacers.

More on those at a later date.
 
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Jason@Stage3

Jason@Stage3

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Hi Jason, i was wondering if you think it would be possible to mount 285/70/17 tires with a 2.5" level and 1" spacers?
Probably not without crash bar trimming or replacement, but you'll clear the knuckles, so it's doable.

Depending on the wheels, the 1" spacers may require stud trimming, so that's also something to keep in mind.
 
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Jason@Stage3

Jason@Stage3

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I ordered bds crash bars from stage3 last week, so i'll be cutting out the factory crash bars. (Any idea when those might come in?)
Shoot me your order number, and I'll see if I can follow up with BDS. Last I heard, they were still behind from when Michigan was totally shut down and their current COVID production capacities are slowly letting them catch up.

I don't understand why the studs would need to be trimmed, i thought the spacer would effectively make the studs shorter requiring longer studs.
The issue is the size of the stock studs. The spacers are just hunks of aluminum with new studs embedded in. Since the stock studs are longer than 1" (though I'm not sure what their exact length is, and I'm not around our Ranger to measure them), they protrude through the spacers.

This may not be a problem with some wheels, since there are wheels out there with recesses on their backsides, but could potentially be an issue and is something you should be aware of.
 


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Jason@Stage3

Jason@Stage3

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Ohh ok i understand now. This explains why so many people go the 1.5" spacer route as opposed to 1" (besides the extra clearance)
Correct.

If i did trim the studs to accommodate 1" spacers, is it correct to assume this would prevent me from mounting wheels with the proper offset at a later time?
Correct again, unless you install new studs or hubs, or your wheel of choice doesn't require a ton of thread to fit on a lug nut.

Still, the safer bet (especially if you're going to jump up to aftermarket wheels eventually) is to use either 1.50" spacer or to just use a slightly narrower tire to clear your knuckles until you're ready to jump up to new wheels.
 

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Do you guys know if 1.5” spacers on their own allow you to fit a larger tire size on a Ranger?
 

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@Stage3Motorsports

Do you guys know if 1.5” spacers on their own allow you to fit a larger tire size on a Ranger?
Hi,

Depends on what scrub radius you want... You will increase tire wear and possibly steering efforts with your decision.

Good luck with your decision.
 

Aragorn

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Hi,

Depends on what scrub radius you want... You will increase tire wear and possibly steering efforts with your decision.

Good luck with your decision.
Hey, Phil. Thanks for the response. I’m actually just researching for when my Ranger first needs new tires. I.e. no decisions have been made just yet.

I plan on buying the Ford Performance leveling kit at that time, and then running the biggest tires I safely can without needing to cut or modify the crash bars. I’m mostly just poking around to figure out what that size is, post leveling kit.

Perhaps I’m misguided on this front, but I feel more comfortable adding spacers than I do modifying or removing safety equipment, like crash bars. Perhaps you can shed more light on any or all of the above.
 
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Jason@Stage3

Jason@Stage3

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@Stage3Motorsports

Do you guys know if 1.5” spacers on their own allow you to fit a larger tire size on a Ranger?
Yes and no.

You’ll be able to clear WIDER tires, since you’re moving the wheel/tire combo away from the knuckle/spindle.

However, they really won’t help you clear a taller tire, since that requires at least some lift/leveling. There’s also a threshold where wheel spacers can HURT you size-wise, since they push the apex of the tire out to where the crash bars and wheel well arch back in.
 

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Yes and no.

You’ll be able to clear WIDER tires, since you’re moving the wheel/tire combo away from the knuckle/spindle.

However, they really won’t help you clear a taller tire, since that requires at least some lift/leveling. There’s also a threshold where wheel spacers can HURT you size-wise, since they push the apex of the tire out to where the crash bars and wheel well arch back in.
Thanks for the response. Do you know what the width of tires are that become possible with spacers on the Ranger?

E.g. height issues notwithstanding:

1/4” - 265
1” - 270
1.5” - 280

Anything as quantifiable as that?
 
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Jason@Stage3

Jason@Stage3

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Thanks for the response. Do you know what the width of tires are that become possible with spacers on the Ranger?

E.g. height issues notwithstanding:

1/4” - 265
1” - 270
1.5” - 280

Anything as quantifiable as that?
The biggest problem here is that it's the overall width of the tire that effects knuckle clearance, which is often a bit larger than the stated section width.

A 285 wide just barely doesn't clear the stock knuckle on the factory wheel. A 1/4" spacer should allow most All-Terrain 285s to clear, but if you're using an M/T or hybrid that has a bigger overall width than its section width, you may need a 1" spacer or larger.

Granted, if you're jumping to a 285, you'll probably need to trim the crash bars or go aftermarket, especially if you're looking at 285/70R17. You might be able to clear a 285/65R17 without messing with the crash bars, but I can't guarantee it.

If you want to forgo and potential crash bar modification, your much better bet would be no spacer and like a 275/70R17 on the stock wheels with a leveling kit.
 

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The biggest problem here is that it's the overall width of the tire that effects knuckle clearance, which is often a bit larger than the stated section width.

A 285 wide just barely doesn't clear the stock knuckle on the factory wheel. A 1/4" spacer should allow most All-Terrain 285s to clear, but if you're using an M/T or hybrid that has a bigger overall width than its section width, you may need a 1" spacer or larger.

Granted, if you're jumping to a 285, you'll probably need to trim the crash bars or go aftermarket, especially if you're looking at 285/70R17. You might be able to clear a 285/65R17 without messing with the crash bars, but I can't guarantee it.

If you want to forgo and potential crash bar modification, your much better bet would be no spacer and like a 275/70R17 on the stock wheels with a leveling kit.
Thanks. It sounds like [the equivalent of] 275/70R17 on the stock wheels with a leveling kit is the best way to go for me personally. Then I don’t have to worry about any issues that can accompany spacers and/or crash bar modification.

I have the 18” black rims that come with the black appearance package.
 

av1978az

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Do you have any video's of you cutting your crash bars? I recently lifted mine. Im also in Phoenix. Im taking it to 4x4 parts on Thursday to have them do an alignment and perhaps cut the frame.
 
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Jason@Stage3

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Do you have any video's of you cutting your crash bars? I recently lifted mine. Im also in Phoenix. Im taking it to 4x4 parts on Thursday to have them do an alignment and perhaps cut the frame.
We have a pretty general overview video here.



Direct link to video.

It doesn't go into a ton of detail, but as long as you manage to not slice up any parts of your truck you don't intend to, you generally have a successful crash bar removal.
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