The factory’s largest tire in this segment is the 37-inch one.
The new Ford F-150 Raptor has arrived and features at least one of the best-in-class features. These massive optional 37-inch offroad tires are the biggest ever factory-installed on a light-duty truck. These tires may reduce suspension travel to 14.1 inches in the front and 13.0 inches back, but they provide incredible ground clearance for a stock truck.
The chunky tires are so large that Ford could not just add the 2021 Raptor to the F-150 production line. The hardcore truck was too big to fit in the factory. It took 15 months for Ford to find a solution.
In a recent interview, Tony Greco, the new Raptor program manager told Road and Track that “Getting it in the plant, that took on for 15 months to figure out the solution,” he said. “Every station, every piece of equipment… We would run a 2020 Raptor through the factory with foam blocks on the top to simulate the height. Continuous digital reviews with the manufacturing staff… They were there for every down week during the summer and Christmas, trying to adjust the cycle to prepare for the future. We came up with a clever way to do it.
To accommodate the new 37s, significant modifications were also made to the truck. Ford completely overhauled the suspension of the Raptor, adding coil springs to the truck for the first time in F-150’s history. Also, the front and rear shock absorbers were upgraded. To allow room for the full-size spare tire of 37 inches, the truck’s frame had to be altered.
Greco stated that the most important thing is the storage of the spare 37-inch. Greco stated that the frame that comes with the 37 inch configuration is unique to the 37 inch truck. “A 35-inch-equipped guy decides to add 37s to his truck, but he won’t be able to find a spare 37 inches underneath.”