weird tire fitting question

[Michigander]

ok... from what i've read, this is not a common fitting. I have a TT, add-a-leaf and shackle lift. Over the holiday weekend I am installing a PA 2" lift. After that, what is the biggest tire I can fit? 33", 34" 35" ?? If I get a 35, I will run it deflated to about a 34. would that work? What about width??

Please help. I need to know by 1 week when I buy tires.

If anyone has any used tires that would fit, I would be interested in buying them

 

[jimbo74]

personally, i would do 33s.... that isnt a whole lot of lift..... and since it is newer, you wouldnt want to stress out the cv joints and the like.....

 

[Robert]

Check with Gage. He has 35s on his, but I think he has a lot more lift. There is no way to fit 35s on my '97 Sport without major cutting, even with my 3" PA lift and TT/Shackel lift. The most that I would go would be 33s. As it is now, my 32s rub on my sway-bar at full lock. Anything wider will rub even more. The clearance problem isn't going to be the height of your inner fenders above your tires. The problem will be on a horizontal plane which won't move up much with regards to the horizontal edges of the tires. It will still move up the 3"-4" that you lift it, however it will go from being an inch or two below the wheel centerline to being an inch or two above the centerline. It will still be the same distance away from the tire. Make sense? Also, if you try running a 35" tire deflated to make it a 34" tire you would have to run about 15 PSI in it. Way to low for the street. I measured the height difference of my 32s with 32 PSI in them versus 15 PSI in them. 15 PSI only dropped me down .75" but made for one cushy, floaty ride.

 

[Spectre]

If I recall correctly, it took Gage 4 inches of susp. and 4 inches of body lift to get 35s on. Even guys with 4 inches of suspension lift and 2 inches of body lift can't fit 35s. I would imagine that 33s would be pushing the limits of TT/2 inch body lift.

 

[Michigander]

33's it is... does this sound like a good deal?

for sale

4 33x12.50x15 Super Swamper TSL's with approx 40-50% tread.
no rims.. $250obo

I could prolly talk him down to 215

 

[GRNMACHINE]

i have a 2" PA lift and torsion twist/shackles and 33's wont fit without major trimming. im running 32's on 15x8.5 wheels and they will still rub slightly at full turn (and that is with alot of trimming to the wheel well trim). the only way i can see 33's fitting is if u used the stock wheel and went with a 285/75/15 over a 33x12.50x15. many guys in the norhtern illinois explorer club have a 3" PA lift and torsion twist/shackles and they still had to do alot of trimming to fit 33x12.50x15's (but they do look awesome!).
Rick H.

 

[Michigander]

what width rim do I need if I go with a 33 x 12.5"?

9"?
10"?

 

[Heath]

I did exactly what you're doing and I was only able to fit 31X10.50's...

 

[Michigander]

Originally posted by Heath
I did exactly what you're doing and I was only able to fit 31X10.50's...

That's weird.... I don't have the PA 2" lift and already have 32" tires with absolutlely no rubbing at all, and I haven't trimmed anything.

 

[Heath]

By all means you may be able to fit them then... I only turned my TT up about one inch because I don't want my CV's to wear as fast as they would at 2"...

I'd use an 8" wheel though...

 

[2001ExpSport]

Michigander,

Tire fitment is going to depend on brand and tread width. With your set up you'll have a total of 3.5" lift. Your 32's fit because they have an 8" tread width and an overall size of 31.6". Running those on stock rims will be fine, but anything bigger will give you problems on stock rims. With my experience, I suggest you stay with a 32 unless you go with the 3" body kit. Even then it'll be slim pickings on what size 33 you can fit. Most guys here run the 3" body kit and shackles/TT with 33's that have a 10" tread and every single one we had to trim. I run the TSL 33/12.5 and I had to trim a little before I got rid of my rockers. The TSL has a 9" tread.

So, it all depends on the tire you buy. If you bought 32" BGF KO's, they would rub because they have close to a 9" tread width. That would be with stock rims.

If you get new rims, you'll need either an 8" or a 10", again, depending on the tire. Swamper TSL's run small so the 12.5 will work on an 8" rim, but some wider tires do much better on a 10" rim. You could basically get away with using an 8" rim on any tire with a max 33/12.5 rating. It basically boils down to tire wear. If the rim is too thin, the tire won't wear correctly.

Another aspect to which you need to think about is backspacing. If you get some aftermarket wheels make sure they have around 3.25" backspacing. If I remember correctly stock rims have a 4.25 spacing. With the smaller spacing, the rim sticks out more which brings the tire away from the frame and sway bars. This also helps clear fenders in some instances.

With the setup you are going with, I'd stay with 32's. If you want bigger tires, you need more lift.

What gears are you running?

 

[Michigander]

I am running 3.73 with the rear LS, but plan on swapping those out soon too. I think I am going to go with those tires I mentioned above and try to get a 10" rim with a smaller backspacing.

Even if they do rub at full turn, it is not a big deal. These tires would be for off road only and would only be on my vehicle every other weekend or so. Any I don't mind trimming, it just adds to the character of the X