ICE & Lightning wheels - compatible / swappable? Weight rating?

[tls]

Coming from a 2020 STX, where I run Blizzaks on 18" wheels (found 'em at the junkyard with stylee King Ranch lug covers, who knew some year of the King Ranch had 18" rims?) in the snowy months.

I'd heard ICE F150 wheels would not fit my new Lightning. Then I heard they might bolt up but the Lightning would require a wheel with a higher load rating like some of the max payload packages or the F250.

But I'm seeing conversations here that make me think ICE F150 wheels are in fact interchangeable. What's the real deal, can I just keep my current spare set with the snow tires on them, or do I need to find a set of 18" Lightning wheels off a Pro?

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[sotek2345]

Coming from a 2020 STX, where I run Blizzaks on 18" wheels (found 'em at the junkyard with stylee King Ranch lug covers, who knew some year of the King Ranch had 18" rims?) in the snowy months.

I'd heard ICE F150 wheels would not fit my new Lightning. Then I heard they might bolt up but the Lightning would require a wheel with a higher load rating like some of the max payload packages or the F250.

But I'm seeing conversations here that make me think ICE F150 wheels are in fact interchangeable. What's the real deal, can I just keep my current spare set with the snow tires on them, or do I need to find a set of 18" Lightning wheels off a Pro?

I would recommend trying the Lightning in the winter first before worrying about winter wheels / tires. Our Mach-e GT massively outperformed my expectations in the snow even on the stock all seasons. In snow or wintery mix less than about 4", the Mach-e was more confidence inspiring than even my Raptor on BFG KO2s.

 

[VTbuckeye]

I'd rather have the capability and not need it, than need it and not have it. All of our cars get snows on rims. The accident that you don't have pays for it, though you don't always know that you didn't have it. I am inclined to get stock f150 wheels and not fully load the truck in the winter.

 

[Mr. Flibble]

I was looking at getting used F150 rims for the Lightning and putting Blizzak's on them. I think that the only difference is that the Lightning's rims are designed for better Aero. In my case, I think worrying about load isn't too big of a deal, because we won't be towing/hauling during Blizzak season - only going skiing - so exceeding any possible load isn't a worry.

If you are hauling, then it might be an issue.

 

[tls]

I would recommend trying the Lightning in the winter first before worrying about winter wheels / tires. Our Mach-e GT massively outperformed my expectations in the snow even on the stock all seasons. In snow or wintery mix less than about 4", the Mach-e was more confidence inspiring than even my Raptor on BFG KO2s.

I coach a ski team, so not getting there in bad weather isn't an option. We have an F150 with Blizzaks and a Tesla Y with Hakkapellitas (studless) - in the worst conditions, they're about even. Neither is really all too good without snow tires - noting my standard is that I drive a couple hundred miles a lot of weekend mornings, often before the roads are cleared, in the mountains, usualy ending with a steep uphill climb on local roads at each end of the trip.

The Y maintains traction slightly better, but in compound low, with the diff locked the F150 will tractor over things the Y can't clear. Just on clearance, the F150 I can pull into my driveway with a foot of snow on the ground if the plow hasn't got there yet; with the Y, I have to shovel. Before we had the Y we had an S. If you got out on the highway before the plows, the S with Hakkas was hands down the best car I've ever driven in the snow, better than the Ford or the Model Y and better than my old Outback. I have very high hopes for the Lightning - but I'm going to run snow tires!

 

[sotek2345]

I coach a ski team, so not getting there in bad weather isn't an option. We have an F150 with Blizzaks and a Tesla Y with Hakkapellitas (studless) - in the worst conditions, they're about even. Neither is really all too good without snow tires - noting my standard is that I drive a couple hundred miles a lot of weekend mornings, often before the roads are cleared, in the mountains, usualy ending with a steep uphill climb on local roads at each end of the trip.

The Y maintains traction slightly better, but in compound low, with the diff locked the F150 will tractor over things the Y can't clear. Just on clearance, the F150 I can pull into my driveway with a foot of snow on the ground if the plow hasn't got there yet; with the Y, I have to shovel. Before we had the Y we had an S. If you got out on the highway before the plows, the S with Hakkas was hands down the best car I've ever driven in the snow, better than the Ford or the Model Y and better than my old Outback. I have very high hopes for the Lightning - but I'm going to run snow tires!

Fair enough, in those conditions I would use dedicated snows as well!

 

[tls]

Just to confirm, since it sounds like some of you here know - the 18" wheels I have will in fact bolt up?

Is what I heard about load ratings really true, or is that not so either? I don't even know where to look up the load ratings of Ford wheels.

 

[p52Ranch]

The tire load ratings for the Lightning are identical to the ICE tires. In fact I think the 18” Michelin Primacy XC 275/65r18 tires are identical between both. I’ve seen tons of complaints on the Michelin website about the crummy snow performance of the primacy tires.
Consequently I think ICE rims would be fine for load ratings. They may give less range though.

 

[tls]

I see a few sources online that say F150 6-lug wheels are rated at 2,050 or 2,100lb and the 7-lug wheels are rated at 2,400. Lightning GVWR is 8,250, right? Seems fine. Are the stock wheels the same 6-lug pattern as most ICE F150s? 7 lug wheels are not so easy to come by.

 

[tls]

After consulting a lot of old forum threads and build guides, here is what I figured out and what I did:

• Many 18" F150 wheels are rated as low as 1850lb in the front-axle application. My current snow tire wheels off an older King Ranch are some of these. I don't know why Ford's wheel load ratings are consistently 100-200lb lower for the same wheel on the front axle but they are.
• I could not confirm that any 18" OEM wheel except the "64H" wheel from the F150 HDPP was rated for the loaded weight of the Lightning, and I do move pallets of firewood sometimes when the snow tires are on (though not far) so I don't really want to take any chances.
• I asked the general manager at my dealer, who is handling my purchase, to look into pricing for a set of 18" Lightning wheels. He evidently had a lot of back and forth with Ford and eventually could not even obtain a part number. Good luck to the first Pro owner who bends an 18" rim... ugh! List price *per wheel* for new 64H wheels is $942 -- $4000 per set!
• The Enkei Blackhawk looks like the most suitable aftermarket choice at about $260 each including shipping - they are 30mm offset instead of 44 on the stock wheels but that's much less of a difference than most aftermarket wheels. They're also available in matte black to match the stock wheels, and look a little nicer than the 64H wheels in dull silver, to me at least.

Was about to pull the trigger on the Blackhawks when a set of 4 like-new 64H wheels came up on eBay for $200 each, so I bought those instead. I'd been watching for these on eBay for about 2 weeks with no luck, so if like me you are looking for a second set of wheels for snowtires, the Blackhawks may be your best bet.

 

[VTbuckeye]

After consulting a lot of old forum threads and build guides, here is what I figured out and what I did:

• Many 18" F150 wheels are rated as low as 1850lb in the front-axle application. My current snow tire wheels off an older King Ranch are some of these. I don't know why Ford's wheel load ratings are consistently 100-200lb lower for the same wheel on the front axle but they are.
• I could not confirm that any 18" OEM wheel except the "64H" wheel from the F150 HDPP was rated for the loaded weight of the Lightning, and I do move pallets of firewood sometimes when the snow tires are on (though not far) so I don't really want to take any chances.
• I asked the general manager at my dealer, who is handling my purchase, to look into pricing for a set of 18" Lightning wheels. He evidently had a lot of back and forth with Ford and eventually could not even obtain a part number. Good luck to the first Pro owner who bends an 18" rim... ugh! List price *per wheel* for new 64H wheels is $942 -- $4000 per set!
• The Enkei Blackhawk looks like the most suitable aftermarket choice at about $260 each including shipping - they are 30mm offset instead of 44 on the stock wheels but that's much less of a difference than most aftermarket wheels. They're also available in matte black to match the stock wheels, and look a little nicer than the 64H wheels in dull silver, to me at least.

Was about to pull the trigger on the Blackhawks when a set of 4 like-new 64H wheels came up on eBay for $200 each, so I bought those instead. I'd been watching for these on eBay for about 2 weeks with no luck, so if like me you are looking for a second set of wheels for snowtires, the Blackhawks may be your best bet.

My truck is not due to be built until late August. I like to be prepared for winter, but without actually having possession of the truck I am reluctant to order any accessories, particularly if the $1000 variety. On my xc90 phev I have winter wheels from the lighter non hybrid model and have had no issues. I wonder if the regular Ford wheels are really less strong than the cast aftermarket wheels as their load ratings would indicate, or if ford's testing/standards are higher or did they simply not test beyond their capacity requirements.

 

[Mark Fox]

After consulting a lot of old forum threads and build guides, here is what I figured out and what I did:

• Many 18" F150 wheels are rated as low as 1850lb in the front-axle application. My current snow tire wheels off an older King Ranch are some of these. I don't know why Ford's wheel load ratings are consistently 100-200lb lower for the same wheel on the front axle but they are.
• I could not confirm that any 18" OEM wheel except the "64H" wheel from the F150 HDPP was rated for the loaded weight of the Lightning, and I do move pallets of firewood sometimes when the snow tires are on (though not far) so I don't really want to take any chances.
• I asked the general manager at my dealer, who is handling my purchase, to look into pricing for a set of 18" Lightning wheels. He evidently had a lot of back and forth with Ford and eventually could not even obtain a part number. Good luck to the first Pro owner who bends an 18" rim... ugh! List price *per wheel* for new 64H wheels is $942 -- $4000 per set!
• The Enkei Blackhawk looks like the most suitable aftermarket choice at about $260 each including shipping - they are 30mm offset instead of 44 on the stock wheels but that's much less of a difference than most aftermarket wheels. They're also available in matte black to match the stock wheels, and look a little nicer than the 64H wheels in dull silver, to me at least.

Was about to pull the trigger on the Blackhawks when a set of 4 like-new 64H wheels came up on eBay for $200 each, so I bought those instead. I'd been watching for these on eBay for about 2 weeks with no luck, so if like me you are looking for a second set of wheels for snowtires, the Blackhawks may be your best bet.

Do you have a pic of the 64H wheels on your lighning I could see. Thanks

 

[Rob G]

Is the factory offset for Lightning 18" wheels 44?

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