WITH PICS: 3"BL, TT, Shackles, AAL & + Need tires! Which size max for EB97? Plz help

Hi guys,
I had my truck done a few weeks ago.

They did:
-3" PA body lift with Steering extension, remounted Bumpers
-Add a leaf kit
-Torsion Bar Twist
-Warrior Shackles
-KYB AGX Shocks (Replaced Air Ride Control)
-4 corner Tow Hooks
-4 New rotors & pads
-Complete direction redone, higher ball joint with control arms, lower ball joint, tie rods ends, tie rods, sway bar links...

Just had it aligned today, they said I need a camber kit for the rear to correct a very minor negative offset -0.1. But was very straight and wasnt totally necessary. My current tires are gone. Losing air on one because it shows the metal wires on it. I am from Ottawa and winter is coming soon so I need a good tires for all year long. From what the salesman told me, the best tire I should get is BF Goodrich ALL Terrain T/A® KO. Its suppose to be good in mud, snow and ice. Its rated also a winter tire so rubber wont freeze on very low temperature. It gets as low as -45-50 degree celcius here sometimes. They said the BF Mud tires are not good on ice.

I have a 1997 Eddie Bauer, I am keeping everything as is with side steps and 16" wheels. I plan on putting my new tires on my nice Eagle 16" aluminum wheels, they are 8 or 8.5" wide.

With all the mods that I have on my truck. What is the largest tire I can install without any rubbing or trimming? I was planning to go with 285/75/R16 but I wasnt sure if it would rub or not. The best price I found them here in canada is 225$CAD a tire. At that price I want to make sure they will fit well.

Here is a picture that I found here a while ago, I think its running 32x11.50x15, I would like my truck to look like that:

Here is actual pictures of my truck with everything installed:

I would appreciate alot your help and advices. I am planning to purchase my new tires next week.

Also I have a 1997 SOHC Eddie Bauer AWD. Will I need to regear? or my gas mileage shouldnt be too bad? I am doing around 15-16 miles per gallon right now.

thanks for your help
Pat

 

['97 V8]

you dont need to regear. Buy your tires online, it'll be cheaper. Also you cant align the rear...its a solid axle, nothing to adjust. Pretty much the guy is lying to you.

The at bf goodrich is pretty good. Not to great in mud though. Do you wheel a lot or is it mostly going to be a street truck. If its wheeled a lot go with the MT's, if not then with the AT's.

 

[Texplorer]

It may just be me but it certainly doesnt look like you have a 3" body lift.

 

[PSItuning.ca]

Hi,
I do mostly highway milleage. Its more important for me to be good on snow/ice.
I only do trails once a time and when I go hunting/fishing.
Nothing hardcore and no rock climbing, just need something good overall in any season/terrains.
I would like something that also looks good with my rig, so it has a good 4x4 look.
We often have freezing rain here in Ottawa, I heard the Mud Terrain were good in snow, but not in ice. Is that true?

What would you suggest about the size?

 

[PSItuning.ca]

It may just be me but it certainly doesnt look like you have a 3" body lift.

Maybe because I am already running 31". Fills up the gap more.

 

['97 V8]

Go with the All terrains then. Let me do some research into the tire and i'll get back to you. I have class in a couple of minutes.
,
Well with a 3" bl, tt ,shackles, add a leaf, you should be able to put on 33's.

 

[Texplorer]

Id go with the AT, Im running the exact same setup minus the AAL and Im running 33" MT's. But with all the road driving you do the BFG AT's or the Pro Comp AT's will be good for you.

 

[Rolla91]

PSItuning.ca:
I have a 3" PA body lift, 2" TT, 3" shackles, and some very small flare trimming and I have 33X12.50R15 Aurora RT02 "mud grips" tires. The flare trimming probably wasn't completely necessary but i wanted to be sure it didn't rub ever.
I also have 4:10 gears now, factory with the 3:73s I was unhappy because I no longer had enough power to easily pull my boat on the highway. Also, thanks for the compliment.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

If you don't mind trimming and the occasional rub, you can run a 285/75 16, but you will probably suffer some on acceleration.

You can easily run a 265/75 16 with what you have now and probably wouldn't have to trim. I am running them with my 4" suspension lift and have plenty of clearance and they don't look too terribly small. I didn't go 285's because I have to tow quite a bit and I didn't want to risk running out of power.

 

[PSItuning.ca]

PSItuning.ca:
I have a 3" PA body lift, 2" TT, 3" shackles, and some very small flare trimming and I have 33X12.50R15 Aurora RT02 "mud grips" tires. The flare trimming probably wasn't completely necessary but i wanted to be sure it didn't rub ever.
I also have 4:10 gears now, factory with the 3:73s I was unhappy because I no longer had enough power to easily pull my boat on the highway. Also, thanks for the compliment.

If you were able to put 33x12.50R15 with very minor trimming on your EB. I should be able to fit 285/75/R16, thats only 33x11.50R16 so it shouldnt require any trimming since its not as wide.


Anyone else running 285/75/R16?

 

[PSItuning.ca]

Its probably the camera angle, cause I have it all installed
But also I am not on stock tires, I am running on 31", so thats probably why there is less gap.

Your truck look great with the 285/75R16. I just hope it wil clear my sidesteps ok.

 

[PSItuning.ca]

Here is more pics including the mods and better shots of the wheel gaps:

Front body lift block:

Middle body lift block:

Rear body lift block:

Warrior Shackles & Add a leaf kit:

Front wheel gap: (also did TT)

Rear wheel gap:

My actual tires are 255/70R16

Does it look better now with all the mods I have? I plan buying my new tires next week. I still dont know if I should go with the 285

Please give me some advices, I may order them online from www.tiretrends.com located in BC. Comes to 1055$CAD including shipping and GST. I need to make sure they will fit.

By the way all the oil, is a rust treatment I had done last week by Krown. With the salty roads we have here in Canada, we need that otherwise rust will win.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

With your running boards/ flares 285's may rub. It looks like it would be close to me. If you don't want to trim, probably stick with 265's. If you don't mind trimming, go 285, but you may want gears then.

BTW- good work on the body lift, looks nice. The rear gap guards look good.

 

[Rolla91]

I doubt 285s would rub much at all if any. my eddie bauer has never rubbed with current set up.

 

[PSItuning.ca]

thanks for the feedbacks.
Seem like I should go with the 285.
We basically have the same mods Rolla, and the same truck so it should fit.
The 285/75R16 are only 32.8x11.2
You are running 33"x12.5 and had very minor trimming which you said might not even been necessary. I feel like the 285 should fit nicely without trimming.

Also I heard alot about regear. What ratio do I have right now? 97 Eddie Bauer AWD with SOHC 4.0L engine. I have no idea. And how much better is it to regear other than fuel economy?

 

[MountaineerGreen]

You probably have 3.73's. You can check your gear ratio with by checking the code on the sticker on your door. There is a sticky somewhere that will tell you what codes mean what.

If you have 3.73's stock, you are going from a 29 inch tire to a 33, raising your effective gear ratio. 4.10 gears will get you close to your factory gearing with the tires.

Here is a calculator that will help.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~zerosin/gearcalc.html

Edit: the reason to regear is to relieve strain on your transmission and motor. The 4R44 or 5R55 trans is famous for problems, adding the strain of having to pull bigger tires will only cause problems. Besides that, too large of tires will be sluggish around town and burn alot of gas.

 

[PSItuning.ca]

Ok i just checked on my door jam.
It says axel L42.

I checked the codes from the list:
43 Open 3.08
41 Open 3.27
42 Open 4.10
46 Open 3.73
45 Open 3.55
D4 Limited Slip 3.73
D2 Limited Slip 4.10
L73 Limited Slip 3.73

Would that mean I have that? 42 Open 4.10
Not sure why it says L at the front of it.
And if its so, that should be good with my 33 right? no need to regear?

 

[MountaineerGreen]

If youve got 4.10s, Id say you are in good shape. Get some lunchbox lockers and youll be able to go anywhere.

 

[PSItuning.ca]

Yes I just checked again, I got the L from the other column.
For Axle it says 42 right under it.

So I got: 42 - Conventional - 3200 lb. Capacity - 4.10 Ratio

Good to hear, it sound likes a pain to change gears.
I think I got auto lockers right now.
What are the lunchbox? never heard of it. Could you give me more details, I pay upgrade as well.

I also just changed both of my front wheel bearing with ABS sensors, these thing cost a fortune.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

I'm no expert on lockers, Ive only heard them talked about. I would recommend a search and see what you can find. I wish I could help you more, but I have no experience with this stuff. Be sure to post some pics with those new tires.