which tire size upgrade with 2" body lift (metric!)

[meathandst]

Sorry if this has been covered before but I couldn't find it. I see the 'max tire and lift chart' as well as the 'max tires for a stock 97 sport' as two "useful threads". What I need to know which is not covered there is this: I am putting a two inch body lift on my '97 Sport which is stock now. I have the 16x7 rims that came stock. What is the largest tire size I will be able to run (metric)? If anyone has any experience or guesses please let me know, I'll be purchasing soon! Thanks, Brian

 

[meathandst]

I'm thinking 275/75R16 (32.24x10.83x7)?

 

[sk1er17]

2" BL?

265/75/16

why dont you crank up the torsion bars and add some WAR153 shackles for another 1.5-2" of lift and go bigger? its pretty cheap

 

[meathandst]

All I have heard says that the 265/75/16 will fit many explorers with no lift at all. So I'm a little confused. Is it even worth it to get a 2" body lift?

 

[sk1er17]

265/75/16's MAY fit stock "with" trimming.

The 2" BL is pretty much a PITA to install (ive done 2)

Id recommend doing the TT up front (and get an alignment afterwards) + the warrior shackles in the rear and running 265/75/16's if you only want a little lift

the TT/Shackle lift can be done in under an hour with "common" tools

 

[meathandst]

So it seems to be a lost cause going for the larger size tire 275/75R16 (32.24x10.83x7)? Or maybe you're saying I could fit it with the BL and the TT/Shackle?

 

[sk1er17]

yea you could probably fit them by doing both lifts.. only reason im hesitant is because now you're getting your center of gravity pretty high off the ground but you're not spacing your tires out at all to compensate with a wider stance.

I put a 2" BL + TT/Shackle on my buddies 97 sport. We put on 32x11.50x15 tires and got him some black rockcrawler rims ( 15x8 with 3.75" offset) it seems like the perfect set up for stability and looks great.

 

[sk1er17]

here's my friends with that set-up. His rear sits a little higher because we also installed a single AAL ($32) to give it that raked look:

 

[meathandst]

Ok. I never thought about that. I don't even know anything about spacing my tires out. Is that a real safety issue here?

 

[sk1er17]

yea, think about it- 2" BL + 1.5+ TT + at least 1" from tires is roughly 4.5" higher center of gravity.

Look at your explorer from the rear and look how far the tires sit inside- you have plenty of room to space them out.

Going around turns you're going to notice a lot more sway than if you space out your tires.

 

[sk1er17]

not to mention- spacing them out makes it look better

 

[sk1er17]

and since the 97's and 98's are basically the same except for the rear hatch..


here's mine with 2" BL, TT/Shackles, double AAL, with the same rim/tire set-up i put on my buddies:

go outside and compare that to your current stance width..

 

[meathandst]

That spacing is something I can just throw on there myself then? Mmm, I'm sure there is lots of info around here about it.

 

[sk1er17]

ill sum it up for you quick here:

2 options:
A) wheel spacers. Good ones are expensive and people are very skeptical about putting them on

B) wider rims with 3.75" offset.

Considering you're buying tires anyways, getting 4 rims will probably be cheaper than option A- AND SAFER.

you need 15x8 rims with 3.75" offset- that'll suit your needs perfectly. Then you can fit 32x11.5x15 tires just like my buddy has on his.


Rims: check out www.4wheelparts.com , their "rock crawler" line. Im not sure what color your X is but a lot of people get black. they also have a chromed out version.

EDIT:
My buddy has 32x11.50x15 Pro Comp AT's on 15x8 Rock Crawlers with 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern and 3.75" backspacing. He got a tire/rim combo from 4wheelparts SHIPPED for $720 ... just an FYI- you always get better deals when you call them up and ask them to beat a price (even a made up price)

^^^- oh yea, they were mounted/balanced upon arrival also / with caps& lugs

 

[meathandst]

Right then. Thanks for the dialogue. You guys have done pretty similar things to what I have been dreaming. I just wonder if going down an inch in rims is necessary too. Tires cheaper that way?

 

[sk1er17]

truthfully, we went down a size in rim because any 16" rim with the offset we wanted was very expensive.

try looking for a 16x8 with 3.75" offset.. theres not a huge selection out there

however 15x8 with 3.75" offset has a large selection and are much cheaper

and for WHEN (not if) you go larger, there's more tires sizes made for the 15" rims to select from

 

[Fish Man]

personally i like 15" rims cause it makes your tires have that much more sidewall and in turn, that much bigger