33s on my sport, coupla ?s

[97exposport]

well im tryin to decide if im gonna actually go through with lifting my 97 sport (v6 5spd.) and put on some 33s but am not too sure if i have everything covered...i was thinking some 33x12.50s on a 15/? wheel, not sure what kind of tires i want yet but definately something thats good in the mud and exceptional in the snow without terrible wet traction and somewhat decent treadwear, any ideas? as for the lift i was gonna get the wheels and tires and try to fit them with just a TT, 4 door leafs and shackles and maybe some trimming, if they didnt fit i would just go ahead and get a 3 inch body lift...

my main question though, is what about my gearing? do i have to regear if im goin up to a 33? its a 5spd 4x4 and im not sure what gears it has in it so any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated, thanks yall.

 

[Blee1099]

well im tryin to decide if im gonna actually go through with lifting my 97 sport (v6 5spd.) and put on some 33s but am not too sure if i have everything covered...i was thinking some 33x12.50s on a 15/? wheel, not sure what kind of tires i want yet but definately something thats good in the mud and exceptional in the snow without terrible wet traction and somewhat decent treadwear, any ideas? as for the lift i was gonna get the wheels and tires and try to fit them with just a TT, 4 door leafs and shackles and maybe some trimming, if they didnt fit i would just go ahead and get a 3 inch body lift...

my main question though, is what about my gearing? do i have to regear if im goin up to a 33? its a 5spd 4x4 and im not sure what gears it has in it so any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated, thanks yall.

It all depends on your current gear ratio. If its 4.10 or 3.73 you should be fine. If it isn't, I suggest regearing. I would suggest either the Pro-Comp All Terrains or the BFG All Terrains. The All Terrain style tires are probably best suited for people who want decent tread life and use their vehicle on the roads often.

 

[hiridin]

go ahead and do the body lift and torsion twist. u'll need it. and with a manual transmission and 33's anything less than 4.56's won't work so great. i'm going to go ahead and say yes u need to regear. then u'll need lockers or limited slips if u want to play in mud. and stay away from any all terrain tires. all terrains SUCK in mud :thumbdwn: look into a siped mud terrain if u want somewhat decent wet icy traction. still won't be great but thats the trade off for mud terrains. some siped mt's might be the super swamper trxus mt's. supposed to be great in snow and ice and still work good in mud. or maybe the super swamper ssr's. they are siped. neither will give the best mileage but it won't be horrible and they are great offroad. i'd also say procomp mt's cuz they are siped but they suck balls in mud sooo..... i wouldn't really reccomend them. (just what i've heard from everyone whose bought them)

 

[97grsport]

Your most likely gonna need the lift or trim the hell out of the back of your front fenders. I just put on 31x10.5x15's on MT's with a 3.5/16 backspacing .I did the tt,aal , f-150 springs, shackles . I got a 2.25" lift all the way around.I had to take them off due to rubbing issues in the front. the back was cool.Im trying to decide between body lift or trimming.Whats the backspacing on the rims you want because ,thats something to consider IMO.
As far as the gears go I agree with the guys 4:10 or better

 

[Blee1099]

Do a 2" TT/ Shackles & 3" body lift.. You'll clear 33s without a problem. You could stick with 3.73 or 4.10 gears for 33s. I'm currently running 3.73s and at 70 mph, my truck is idling at about 2350 RPMs or so however i no longer floor it cause that eats up gas like Rosie O'Donnell at a All you can eat buffet.

 

[cold sport 01]

P285R16" are about a 1/2" shorter than a33'x15" they fit on stock wheels (on my 01) and they don't rub anywhere with the superlift kit. Super lift says the 33"s do. You need at least 411 gear ratio optimum of 420's

 

[justin146]

I say go tt and shackles/leafs- and glass front fenders.... I would choose glass over a body lift. You'll basically get the same thing accomplished(more front tire clearance), but the body lift is going to make your center of gravity higher while doing it.

the bodylift gives will give you better approach/departure angles... but you will have crooked/weak bumpers like most of the Explorers out there with body lifts.

 

[hiridin]

i'm going to restate what i already said. u want to run 33's and u have a manual tranny. it doesn't matter what stock gears u have even if they are 4.10's. its still a bad combo. :thumbdwn: 4.10's and 33's on a manual tranny (4.0 ohv motor) is like 4.56's and 35's. its a BAD combo. trust me. theres not much left of my clutch after trying to do that for a while. yer going to be burning that clutch up while trying to offroad. yer going to have to gear it lower. 4.56's are going to be yer best bet. 4.88's would work too but rpm's might be a tad high for u. but still perfectly doable. and highway speeds still wouldn't be a big deal. its about like 5.13's and 35's. which i considere to b a perfect combo. and don't worry too much about gas mileage. its a big lifted truck. its going to suck anyways. might as well be because u geared soo low rather than yer motor and tranny straining to move you. jmho

 

[cold sport 01]

The correct answer is a three speed transfer case, 4 speed manual with a granny low, or an ultra low 4WL which requires a regearing of the transfer case. This way even with 10" -12" wide tires gas mileage should be about 17MPG running synthetic oil.

 

[cold sport 01]

It is all about gearing in the world of 4WD, 5SPD, 6SPD whatever but at highway speeds if and I stress If your engine is running in the optimum power band you will have high gas mileage. For crawling you have to be locked up in ultra low many vehicles have 12 gears and these are Bronco's, Blazer's, 'Burban's, Rum Chuggers,and Land Boozer's. Go with 420's, 410's or430's change the gearing in your transfer case. Go with a double transfer case if possible

 

[97exposport]

i would love to do all of these things, but i am on a college student budget at the moment and was just trying to lift the truck and fit some 33's on it, i wouldnt be doing any "hardcore" off roading, like rock crawling or anything, just lookin for more clearance/a bigger truck...if yall really think that it is necessary to regear (do i regear in the differentials or the t-case?) then i guess i could wait off on it a little while longer..

thanks for all the replies so far, keep em coming...

 

[hiridin]

find out what gears it has stock right now. check yer axle code. or the tag on yer rear diff. if yer not really going to be offroading it stock gears might work ok. i would jus gear the diffs. i geared low enough to play in high gear without bogging down and low gear is plenty low for the rocks. regearing my transfer case would be a nice little addition i suppose but not needed. atleast in my case.

 

[BigDakota]

i would love to do all of these things, but i am on a college student budget at the moment and was just trying to lift the truck and fit some 33's on it, i wouldnt be doing any "hardcore" off roading, like rock crawling or anything, just lookin for more clearance/a bigger truck...if yall really think that it is necessary to regear (do i regear in the differentials or the t-case?) then i guess i could wait off on it a little while longer..

thanks for all the replies so far, keep em coming...

Go for it...body lift, torsion twist and longer shackles will enable you to fit 33's. You have an advantage with the 5-speed manual when it comes to having to regear.You have 5 gears to compensate for some power loss you may otherwise have with an automatic transmission.
You can still do some offroading with the stock gears..you just have to test and know your limitations..
I still have the stock 3.27's with a 5-speed manual trans. and can get around quite well..."low range and first gear can still do some serious digging" without any burned clutch smell

Some good all terrains will work just fine..heres a pic of my X after the change to 33's

 

[gavin]

I would recommend going to 4.10s if it's not already geared at that.
I noticed a huge power loss when I jumped from my 31s to 33s, and that's with a V8.
And doin 70'ish on the highway, and overdrive turned OFF, I'm running at like 2400 RPM. With 31s, it was overdrive ON and running 2500 RPM.