Project F150: Part Three – Center Line Wheels and Nitto Trail Grappler Tires

Project F150: Part Three – Center Line Wheels and Nitto Trail Grappler Tires

Project F150: Part Three – Center Line Wheels and Nitto Tires

by S.Tate

 

In Part Two, we addressed concerns with our truck’s forward lighting situation. The comments section caught fire in a hurry, and we were happy to see that! Our LEDs continue to provide a big boost in headlight output, and our position remains the same regarding the poor light performance of our stock F150. For those that missed the comments, we’ll point you to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (Highway Loss Data Institute). 

“Most pickup truck headlights rate poor” – and that unfortunately, applies to our F150 (2016-2017 F150 trucks were rated “Poor”).  We got over that with our upgrade, and if you find your rig in the same boat, you know one good way to handle it!

Here in Part Three, we’ll deal with a basic but important set of decisions when selecting wheels and tires for your vehicle. We’ll freely admit that aesthetics are a big part of our choice, but we have other considerations too. We selected Center Line RT3X wheels and a set of Nitto Trail Grappler M/T tires.

 

The wheels look great in the increasingly more popular 20 inch form-factor (even OEMs have gotten into the game).  In terms of specs, these Center Line RT3X wheels are 20”x9”, 6 x 135 mm bolt pattern with an 18mm offset. On our own scales, it weighs in at 74.3 pounds per corner — a lot, but in the ballpark for a 20 inch truck wheel, especially one that is designed to take off-road abuse.  

 

Our wheels are shod with a new set of Nitto Trail Grappler M/T tires in 305/55-20. That works out to roughly being a 33 x 12 inch tire. 

This newer hybrid tire borrows from Nitto's full off-road Mud Grappler M/T lineup. So, what other considerations are there beyond looks? We’re after an all-weather fighter with our tow rig, and tires are a big consideration. No, we don’t plan on any hard core off-road events, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want the durability that comes with a typical off-road tire. 

 

The tires have three ply sidewalls for increased puncture resistance, and that’s something we have come to value on a street tire! Who wants to deal with flats caused by typical highway debris? Right, neither do we — and we figure this will give us a fighting shot at avoiding a late night tire swap on the way home from the track! Also note, these tires have a load range rating of “E”, which means that it is a heavy duty tire that is also good for towing purposes- a perfect fit for our F150 tow rig! Even though our F150 is a relatively lightweight 1/2 ton truck, these tires would be right at home on a 3/4 or 1 ton axle setup too.

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