Which model is the better off-roader?

[GordoJay]

Another reason why Scabs are better for Starbucks, tighter turning radius to keep the tire shine from rubbing off on the curbs.

Tire shine? Here's my tire shine.

 

[Sid-X]

In my opinion it comes down to driving style. Coming from an autocross background I prefer the more nimble set up of the 35s. Any additional rotational mass doesn't do you any favors in the accelerate, break, stop, turn department. I'm sure the 37's have their own benefits in certain scenarios. Flatting out terrain a little more and the ground clearance obviously. Most people are not going to be driving the truck hard enough to appreciate either tires subtle nuances. I'm the geek adjusting tire pressures to get the truck to rotate more in a corner ... I like the look of the 37s better.

 

[FordPerf Addict]

im very curious to see what Ford has to say about it, i have heard they have said the different things about each package. id like to see if someone has some more 'inside' info on this. and i eventually want to get the best truck for what im doing. which is high speed offroading. maybe after some time we will get more reviews from the journalists on which one is best, or some of the aftermarket companies who make parts for them. As ive said i really am not sure if an extra couple inches of tire is better then an inch of suspension. but when its aired down i guess it acts as some extra cushion. time will tell

 

[FordPerf Addict]

any new updates on this for the gen3 35 vs gen3 37? it seems no one has thought to do a true offroad comparison

 

[catinthehat85]

Since this thread has been revived I'll recap a thought I had a while back when deciding between 35 and 37 packages. Long story short I think Ford's marketing is BS when they claim 35 and 37 are better for different offroading situations. I think the 37 package is better in every way compared to the 35s.

Before I upgraded to a gen2 raptor I had a f150 lariat. I believe the stock tire is around 32 inches, with an 18 inch rim. I love anything related to speed so at some point I just had to take the truck out on some dirt roads and see what she had. I was disappointed for every reason we already know here. I bought the truck because I needed to haul stuff regularly so no problem. I ended up caving and bought some cheap spacers to get a 2 inch level, and I threw on raptor takeoffs, they fit perfect.

Again I went to try some high speed dirt runs, and the truck didn't even feel like the same truck. Relatively speaking, it felt like an offroad beast. The magic of larger tires with more sidewall makes such a huge difference on dirt trails, I read countless times people stating this but it didn't really drive home until I experienced it.

By this point I had the offroad bug so I went ahead and upgraded to mutistage internal bypass shocks with reservoirs front and rear with softer leafs in the back. To my surprise the ride did not change nearly as significantly as the wheel upgrade. One thing the truck did do significantly better was handling landings after catching small amounts of air or hitting dips at high speed where the truck just drops. The ability to dampen a fall and keep the truck composed let's you do things a big tire on its own won't let you.

If you've read this far, in summary I am absolutely convinced that large tires with a suspension that offers great damping performance and bump control is the ticket to a fun high speed offroader. I am well aware there are more factors to it than that, but give me a truck with those attributes and I will be all over it. I fully admit I have never driven a 37 inch tire, but I can only imagine the advantages it has over a 35. That combined with better shock dampening of the 37 package, I will take those two features any day if it means all I have to do is sacrifice 1 inch of travel.

 

[jondle]

Since this thread has been revived I'll recap a thought I had a while back when deciding between 35 and 37 packages. Long story short I think Ford's marketing is BS when they claim 35 and 37 are better for different offroading situations. I think the 37 package is better in every way compared to the 35s.

Before I upgraded to a gen2 raptor I had a f150 lariat. I believe the stock tire is around 32 inches, with an 18 inch rim. I love anything related to speed so at some point I just had to take the truck out on some dirt roads and see what she had. I was disappointed for every reason we already know here. I bought the truck because I needed to haul stuff regularly so no problem. I ended up caving and bought some cheap spacers to get a 2 inch level, and I threw on raptor takeoffs, they fit perfect.

Again I went to try some high speed dirt runs, and the truck didn't even feel like the same truck. Relatively speaking, it felt like an offroad beast. The magic of larger tires with more sidewall makes such a huge difference on dirt trails, I read countless times people stating this but it didn't really drive home until I experienced it.

By this point I had the offroad bug so I went ahead and upgraded to mutistage internal bypass shocks with reservoirs front and rear with softer leafs in the back. To my surprise the ride did not change nearly as significantly as the wheel upgrade. One thing the truck did do significantly better was handling landings after catching small amounts of air or hitting dips at high speed where the truck just drops. The ability to dampen a fall and keep the truck composed let's you do things a big tire on its own won't let you.

If you've read this far, in summary I am absolutely convinced that large tires with a suspension that offers great damping performance and bump control is the ticket to a fun high speed offroader. I am well aware there are more factors to it than that, but give me a truck with those attributes and I will be all over it. I fully admit I have never driven a 37 inch tire, but I can only imagine the advantages it has over a 35. That combined with better shock dampening of the 37 package, I will take those two features any day if it means all I have to do is sacrifice 1 inch of travel.

Your claims and assumptions are correct, but the mistake in thought process is equating the package offerings from Ford with the actual tire size. The 37" tires are better for off-road. The 35 package from ford with 37" tires (which we now know fit) is better for off-road since you get the additional suspension travel of the 35 package and 37" tires.

I could be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but I don't think the 37 package has better dampening. I can't be bothered to look it up, but I seem to remember it having some marketing term like Sport Dampening or something. What I am confident about is the 37 package limits travel though, so my assumption is slightly different dampening is required to manage the wheel's shorter travel.

 

[DFS]

Since this thread has been revived I'll recap a thought I had a while back when deciding between 35 and 37 packages. Long story short I think Ford's marketing is BS when they claim 35 and 37 are better for different offroading situations. I think the 37 package is better in every way compared to the 35s.

Before I upgraded to a gen2 raptor I had a f150 lariat. I believe the stock tire is around 32 inches, with an 18 inch rim. I love anything related to speed so at some point I just had to take the truck out on some dirt roads and see what she had. I was disappointed for every reason we already know here. I bought the truck because I needed to haul stuff regularly so no problem. I ended up caving and bought some cheap spacers to get a 2 inch level, and I threw on raptor takeoffs, they fit perfect.

Again I went to try some high speed dirt runs, and the truck didn't even feel like the same truck. Relatively speaking, it felt like an offroad beast. The magic of larger tires with more sidewall makes such a huge difference on dirt trails, I read countless times people stating this but it didn't really drive home until I experienced it.

By this point I had the offroad bug so I went ahead and upgraded to mutistage internal bypass shocks with reservoirs front and rear with softer leafs in the back. To my surprise the ride did not change nearly as significantly as the wheel upgrade. One thing the truck did do significantly better was handling landings after catching small amounts of air or hitting dips at high speed where the truck just drops. The ability to dampen a fall and keep the truck composed let's you do things a big tire on its own won't let you.

If you've read this far, in summary I am absolutely convinced that large tires with a suspension that offers great damping performance and bump control is the ticket to a fun high speed offroader. I am well aware there are more factors to it than that, but give me a truck with those attributes and I will be all over it. I fully admit I have never driven a 37 inch tire, but I can only imagine the advantages it has over a 35. That combined with better shock dampening of the 37 package, I will take those two features any day if it means all I have to do is sacrifice 1 inch of travel.

Where are you seeing that the 37PP gets "better dampening" than the 35's? There are differences to accommodate different geometry of a 37" tire and small weight differences, but that is all I am aware of. Maybe point me in the right direction? Also, there comes a point of diminishing returns. Is a 40" tire inherently better than a 37" just because it's bigger?

 

[jondle]

Is a 40" tire automatically better than a 37" just because it's bigger?

Yes

I'm mostly kidding. Your point is correct. 40s are better than 37s if a lot of conditions are met (power and torque to turn them, etc.), but not just because they are 40s. Trophy trucks run 40s, so I think that is as big as you get without diminished returns (assuming power, torque, and suspension conditions are met). I assume pro race teams run them for a reason???

 

[DFS]

Yes

I'm mostly kidding. Your point is correct. 40s are better than 37s if a lot of conditions are met (power and torque to turn them, etc.), but not just because they are 40s. Trophy trucks run 40s, so I think that is as big as you get without diminished returns (assuming power, torque, and suspension conditions are met). I assume pro race teams run them for a reason???

For desert racing I'm sure they are more beneficial than detrimental (talk about a specific scope of use). For a daily driver however, I think 37's is the reasonable limit given fuel range, running fiberglass fenders, etc. For a dedicated high speed off-road rig I'm sure a modified 37PP truck would be fantastic. For mixed driving, I think it's much more up in the air not that there's a significant difference in the actual tire size of K02 315/70R17 and K02 37"x 12.5 x 17. I believe we are on the same page, I just didn't want the OP to fall under the impression bigger is better just because it's bigger. Especially when it's based on the (misinformed I believe) fallacy that the 37PP Raptor's have upgraded shocks over the 35s.

 

[catinthehat85]

Where are you seeing that the 37PP gets "better dampening" than the 35's? There are differences to accommodate different geometry of a 37" tire and small weight differences, but that is all I am aware of. Maybe point me in the right direction? Also, there comes a point of diminishing returns. Is a 40" tire inherently better than a 37" just because it's bigger?

Please correct me if I am wrong, it's been a few months since I looked up this info, but I believe the 37pp has larger shafts in the front with higher tuned shock pressures in the live valve system. Also the 37pp has an improved bump stop design. "Improved" is my word, from what I recall they are definitely different.

Your claims and assumptions are correct, but the mistake in thought process is equating the package offerings from Ford with the actual tire size. The 37" tires are better for off-road. The 35 package from ford with 37" tires (which we now know fit) is better for off-road since you get the additional suspension travel of the 35 package and 37" tires.

I could be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but I don't think the 37 package has better dampening. I can't be bothered to look it up, but I seem to remember it having some marketing term like Sport Dampening or something. What I am confident about is the 37 package limits travel though, so my assumption is slightly different dampening is required to manage the wheel's shorter travel.

I've read that as well, and would be great if true. Seems like there is a good chance it's true. I'm getting too old, these days I just want a truck that works out of the gate. I can't tell you how many times the internet gurus claimed a certain wheel/tire combo worked without rubbing and it wasn't remotely true the minute I touched dirt. I mean to this day you'll find people on these forums in the gen2 section swearing on their grave that 37s will fit without issue with only a few minor upgrades. Not calling anyone a liar, I'm just over it. I applaud anyone who can extract more from the stock configuration with minimal cost/effort/risk.