35's??? - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts "Serious Explorations"®

kevinj · 04-16-2001, 09:51 PM

I have a 92 XLT and i have a 3" lift, shackes and coils spacers. I got 15x8" rims and was going to get 33's to put on them, but was wondering if 35's would possiby fit, and if not, what could make em' fit without spending too much cash. Thanx

Oknut · 04-16-2001, 10:02 PM

With a total of under 4 inches of lift there is no way your gonna fit 35 inch tires on there. let alone 33's.. You need a bigger lift. Even with a 6 inch superlift you won't be able to fit 35's.. there are people on this board who are complaning about rubbing on the rear front bumper with 9 inches of lift and 35's..

It's just not a matter of buying the tires and make em fit. you wanna lift your truck and get the tires to match.

Hope this helps,
Oknut

Kyle K. · 04-16-2001, 10:06 PM

well it's liek this, with only 4" some have gotten away with 33's but 35's are a bit different. you are gonna need either an actual suspension lift like springs, brackets... or serious fender cutting, and even then i don't know... not a lot of room to stuff 35's on the factory susp, even if you make room in the body. good luck let us know what you do.

dodgerr

kevinj · 04-17-2001, 08:28 AM

thanks for the advice

*Goober* · 04-17-2001, 09:48 AM

Colin (Fenderguy) has a 4" Trailmaster suspension lift and runs 35's, but he runs the fiberglass pre-runner fenders so the front tires will clear. For the rear, he just had a little trimming to do. Just so you can see how it would look:

Kyle K. · 04-17-2001, 09:47 PM

Now that's true, i forgot about the 'glass fenders. Does Fenderguy have much room to flex? When i think 35's i always think about the set of 35-14.50-15 thornbirds out back, i got them for free, (3) only have a little tread but hey it'll get me up there till i get the new ones.

keep us informed

dodgerr

cableguy · 04-18-2001, 01:27 PM

I had 6" lift and 3" body with 35's. They rubbed just turning into a parking space. However, they were 14.5" wide. I went off road once and they rubbed all over the place. There is a guy on here that claims to run 6" of lift with 35's and has no problem. I find it hard to believe but he swears. (without the fiberglass front!)

Once you put 35's you have to consider what kind of stress you are going to put on your drivetrain. You will most definately need bigger gears. Mine was a dog with the 35's on it and 3.73 gears. I have since removed the body lift and put 33's on it and have no problem so far. I am going to the Attica event this weekend so we'll just see how it turns out. Hope this helped. John

Oknut · 04-19-2001, 03:11 AM

Cable guy,

You said there was a guy running 35's with 6 inches of lift. Well it could very well be true, because he might be running narrow rims with no offset and he's tires could have been narrow also. And maybe a little bit of fender trimming.

All I know is Explorer front fenders suck. I have been thinking about putting a chevy tahoe two door body on my frame. But that will be down the road.

All I can say is lose the IFS and go bigger.

-Oknut

cableguy · 04-19-2001, 08:09 AM

Trust me, a straight axle is in the NEAR future.

I will try to find the thread and see what kind of tires and rims he is running to clear 35's. I just find it hard to believe you could do any serious wheeling with that big of meats on there without getting all bound up. I will stick with my 33's and leave plenty of clearance.

tdavis · 04-19-2001, 07:56 PM

I'm running 35's on a 5.5" superlift kit. I'm also running 15x8 rims, with a 3" offset/backspacing.

I had to remove parts of the front fender to make them fit. Sawzalls rules!

I also had to fiddle with the rear fenders to make them fit. Big hammers rules!

The navajo's body is also shot (been rolled on it's side three times, labor+parts to fix are more than the value of the truck.)

I've also just replaced my rear leafs, with OME's for the additional 2 inches of lift (already ate about 1" because of the weight of the rear tire carrier). Sport rear springs have only 3 leafs - 4doors have 4 leafs. My rear springs went flat, and then started to pretzel.

The fender wells are barely big enough for 33's, let alone 35's.

Oknut · 04-19-2001, 09:07 PM

Well cableguy,

The guy might not do any offroading at all. Even though I have moved my front axle forward almost 4 inches I still rub on the back of the front fender. But that's mainly because it flexes like crazy. So i'm gonna get the fiber glass fenders.

If you get a straight axle, make sure to get one that's an HP, you will have better driveline angles.

Take care,
Oknut

04-16-2001, 09:51 PM	#1
kevinj Wannabe Elite Explorer Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 00 Sport Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 48 Vehicle Specs	I have a 92 XLT and i have a 3" lift, shackes and coils spacers. I got 15x8" rims and was going to get 33's to put on them, but was wondering if 35's would possiby fit, and if not, what could make em' fit without spending too much cash. Thanx __________________ 00 Explorer Sport Kenwood Excelon CD/MP3 Deck, Alpine Amp, 2-12 inch Alpine Type R subs

04-16-2001, 10:02 PM	#2
Oknut Wannabe Elite Explorer Sequim, WA '91 xl Join Date: Nov 1999 Posts: 259 Vehicle Specs	With a total of under 4 inches of lift there is no way your gonna fit 35 inch tires on there. let alone 33's.. You need a bigger lift. Even with a 6 inch superlift you won't be able to fit 35's.. there are people on this board who are complaning about rubbing on the rear front bumper with 9 inches of lift and 35's.. It's just not a matter of buying the tires and make em fit. you wanna lift your truck and get the tires to match. Hope this helps, Oknut __________________ 1969,70,77,79,86 and 91 EXPO Slightly modified v8 conversion - built 306 Straight axle convert, leaf sprung Dana 60 rear, locked up 16" lift with 42" swampers 115" wheelbase Rocking sound system

04-16-2001, 10:06 PM	#3
Kyle K. Wannabe Elite Explorer New Bern, NC '91 XLT Join Date: Mar 1999 Posts: 227 Vehicle Specs	35's well it's liek this, with only 4" some have gotten away with 33's but 35's are a bit different. you are gonna need either an actual suspension lift like springs, brackets... or serious fender cutting, and even then i don't know... not a lot of room to stuff 35's on the factory susp, even if you make room in the body. good luck let us know what you do. dodgerr __________________ if ya ain't bleedin' ya ain't workin! keep spinnin' the wrench boy.

04-17-2001, 08:28 AM	#4
kevinj Wannabe Elite Explorer Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 00 Sport Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 48 Vehicle Specs	thanks for the advice __________________ 00 Explorer Sport Kenwood Excelon CD/MP3 Deck, Alpine Amp, 2-12 inch Alpine Type R subs

04-17-2001, 09:48 AM	#5
Goober Elite Explorer ECX Member Lexington, SC '91XLT4x4 Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 1,407 Vehicle Specs	Colin (Fenderguy) has a 4" Trailmaster suspension lift and runs 35's, but he runs the fiberglass pre-runner fenders so the front tires will clear. For the rear, he just had a little trimming to do. Just so you can see how it would look: __________________ Jeff Nelson, Lexington, SC Jeff's Truck @ Imagestation "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?-G.Carlin "Goober... It's Not Just a Name, It's a Way of Life" Last edited by Goober; 04-17-2001 at 09:55 AM.

04-17-2001, 09:47 PM	#6
Kyle K. Wannabe Elite Explorer New Bern, NC '91 XLT Join Date: Mar 1999 Posts: 227 Vehicle Specs	35's Now that's true, i forgot about the 'glass fenders. Does Fenderguy have much room to flex? When i think 35's i always think about the set of 35-14.50-15 thornbirds out back, i got them for free, (3) only have a little tread but hey it'll get me up there till i get the new ones. keep us informed dodgerr __________________ if ya ain't bleedin' ya ain't workin! keep spinnin' the wrench boy.

04-18-2001, 01:27 PM	#7
cableguy Wannabe Elite Explorer Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 432 Vehicle Specs	YO! I had 6" lift and 3" body with 35's. They rubbed just turning into a parking space. However, they were 14.5" wide. I went off road once and they rubbed all over the place. There is a guy on here that claims to run 6" of lift with 35's and has no problem. I find it hard to believe but he swears. (without the fiberglass front!) Once you put 35's you have to consider what kind of stress you are going to put on your drivetrain. You will most definately need bigger gears. Mine was a dog with the 35's on it and 3.73 gears. I have since removed the body lift and put 33's on it and have no problem so far. I am going to the Attica event this weekend so we'll just see how it turns out. Hope this helped. John

04-19-2001, 03:11 AM	#8
Oknut Wannabe Elite Explorer Sequim, WA '91 xl Join Date: Nov 1999 Posts: 259 Vehicle Specs	Cable guy, You said there was a guy running 35's with 6 inches of lift. Well it could very well be true, because he might be running narrow rims with no offset and he's tires could have been narrow also. And maybe a little bit of fender trimming. All I know is Explorer front fenders suck. I have been thinking about putting a chevy tahoe two door body on my frame. But that will be down the road. All I can say is lose the IFS and go bigger. -Oknut __________________ 1969,70,77,79,86 and 91 EXPO Slightly modified v8 conversion - built 306 Straight axle convert, leaf sprung Dana 60 rear, locked up 16" lift with 42" swampers 115" wheelbase Rocking sound system

04-19-2001, 08:09 AM	#9
cableguy Wannabe Elite Explorer Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 432 Vehicle Specs	Trust me, a straight axle is in the NEAR future. I will try to find the thread and see what kind of tires and rims he is running to clear 35's. I just find it hard to believe you could do any serious wheeling with that big of meats on there without getting all bound up. I will stick with my 33's and leave plenty of clearance.

04-19-2001, 07:56 PM	#10
tdavis Linux Guru Jack of All Trades Pinole, CA 2001 F250/XLT Superduty Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5,267 Vehicle Specs	I'm running 35's on a 5.5" superlift kit. I'm also running 15x8 rims, with a 3" offset/backspacing. I had to remove parts of the front fender to make them fit. Sawzalls rules! I also had to fiddle with the rear fenders to make them fit. Big hammers rules! The navajo's body is also shot (been rolled on it's side three times, labor+parts to fix are more than the value of the truck.) I've also just replaced my rear leafs, with OME's for the additional 2 inches of lift (already ate about 1" because of the weight of the rear tire carrier). Sport rear springs have only 3 leafs - 4doors have 4 leafs. My rear springs went flat, and then started to pretzel. The fender wells are barely big enough for 33's, let alone 35's. __________________ Thomas Davis Chased vehicle -> Honda VFR800 Tow vehicle -> Ford F250 Superduty Frankenstein Rock Crawler - > Suzuki Samurai (sold, onto the next project..)

04-19-2001, 09:07 PM	#11
Oknut Wannabe Elite Explorer Sequim, WA '91 xl Join Date: Nov 1999 Posts: 259 Vehicle Specs	Well cableguy, The guy might not do any offroading at all. Even though I have moved my front axle forward almost 4 inches I still rub on the back of the front fender. But that's mainly because it flexes like crazy. So i'm gonna get the fiber glass fenders. If you get a straight axle, make sure to get one that's an HP, you will have better driveline angles. Take care, Oknut __________________ 1969,70,77,79,86 and 91 EXPO Slightly modified v8 conversion - built 306 Straight axle convert, leaf sprung Dana 60 rear, locked up 16" lift with 42" swampers 115" wheelbase Rocking sound system