Upgrading an Outer Banks for Off Roading

You can do plenty with 33’s - more with 35’s, and 37’s are like a walk in the park.

Each tire size may require a little larger lift. The locker in the rear is great. I did plenty of off roading in a Wrangler Sport without lockers on 35’s.

Tie Rod Ends may need an upgrade, or a Bronco Buster thingy to reinforce them, as you increase tire size, this is the most common breakage point.

Eventually you may want to upgrade your gear ratio with the larger tire size.

But realistically, your OB should do perfectly fine with a small lift and 33’s. I “downgraded” my tire size from 35’s on the Jeep to 33’s on the Bronco, but upgraded capability wise with the Badlands model (front and rear lockers, sway disco). Sure, I could go 37’s, but I am also enjoying 19.5mpg when I drove to Helen, GA last weekend and tooled around the North Georgia Mountains.

Go do a few things, figure out where your limitations are and start upgrading there!

Outer banks, SAS. Wish rock rail was an option during ordering, just for extra protection, don’t plan on rock crawling. Rate it’s going maybe MY23?

It depends how crazy you want to get with this... BUT... you are looking at the following to give you a good starting point.

1. Wheels and/or tires
2. Bash plates
3. Rock rails

Wheel/Tires

If you want to stick with the factory 18" wheels to save money... you can go up to a 33" tire. Since this is also your daily driver, you should be looking at going with All-Terrain tires. There are several available options out there... my personal favorite tire All-Terrain tire that combines ride comfort, capability, price, etc. is the BFGoodrich KO2. The KO2 also happens to be the same tire that is on the Badlands trim and the Bronco Raptor in their stock configurations. 275/70R18 or 275/65R18 would be the tire sizes to look out for if you are sticking with the stock wheel.

If you want to go 35" tires (Sasquatch package size), you will need a different wheel with a different offset and a minor ~2” lift. And if you are getting different wheels, you should be looking at a 17” wheel since that is far and away the most popular size for common off-road vehicles…. thereby giving you the largest amount of tire possibilities. There are HUNDREDS of available wheels out there, and picking one is largely personal preference… but the most popular these days seem to be by Method, Icon, and KMC. (I should note that some would argue you may want new wheels even if you sticking with 33” tires since the factory wheels are a little on the narrow side.)

37” tires will make your Outer Banks a mini-monster truck, but it’s gonna kill your fuel economy and making your everyday drivability a lot lower, so… probably should pass on those.

Bash Plates

We starting to see aftermarket options available, but they are not super common as of yet. Your best bet is to see if you can order the factory bash plates them from the parts counter or the Ford accessories website.

Rock Rails

You can buy the factory rock rails from the accessories site, but they aren’t fantastic (definitely sufficient for 4-5 trails though). There are also several aftermarket versions coming down the pipe soon, but much like the bash plates, they are still in development and not widely available yet.

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Once you add those you’ll basically have a Black Diamond trim Bronco with all of the added luxuries of Outer Bank. Solid starting point for sure. Regardless of what you decide to do, I’d definitely start with the wheels and/or tires and see where that takes you. You may decide that is enough to get you where you want to go… or you may decide you want to do more.

RagnarKon

It depends how crazy you want to get with this... BUT... you are looking at the following to give you a good starting point.

1. Wheels and/or tires
2. Bash plates
3. Rock rails

Once you add those you’ll basically have a Black Diamond trim Bronco with all of the added luxuries of Outer Bank. Solid starting point for sure.

Thank You!!!

"Looking for suggestions on upgrading to make it a bit more off-road capable? I'm thinking like a 4-5 on the 1-10 scale."

Skip to the last line for the short version.

A vehicle goes through terrain when it has traction. If you have good tires, you're at least a 4-5 on a 1-10 scale. Get some good tires for the terrain you expect traversing. Lifts mean nothing if the tires don't grip. Buy the tires sized appropriately for your rig and the terrain. You don't need 37" tires unless you want to run "10" trails. If you want to be on the 4-5 of the scale, 31" - 33" tires are the way to go. You have more torque to the ground running smaller tires, so run what you "need" to run to clear the obstacles, not what looks cool but robs power.

Limited slips or lockers provide traction, as long as the tires have grip. It's next on the list. If you have a rear locker, you're already more than a 4-5 on the scale.

Next on the list is suspension that keeps the tires on the ground, while providing the clearance to clear taller obstacles. That's outside the 4-5 on the 1-10 scale though. A vehicle with good tires and at least one locker is a 6-7+ on the 1-10 scale.

What I read looks like the Outer Banks has a 32" Bridgestone tire. So, you just "need" a more aggressive tread.

Based on what you've stated is your use, you may need tires. I'd buy a BFG AT KO2 in the stock size, or a 265/70/18. /thread

AcesandEights

What I read looks like the Outer Banks has a 32" Bridgestone tire. So, you just "need" a more aggressive tread.

Based on what you've stated is your use, you may need tires. I'd buy a BFG AT KO2 in the stock size, or a 265/70/18. /thread

I appreciate the response. Really helps me.