ok,

i've got my tax return now so I'm going tire shopping soon. I plan on doing a leveling kit. I'm not sure if I'm going to do the Bilstein shocks/strut option or regular leveling kit.

I do some towing of my 4-wheeler and a snowmobile in the winter. I do tow at times around 1.5 to 2 cord of firewood too so the truck gets used for towing.

Would you guys recommend 33" tires of 35" tires for my application.

how big of a difference in looks is it from the 33" to 35"

I'm going with BF Goodrich Mud terrain KM2 tires also. Either 33x12.5 or 35x12.5 on my stock 18" chrome clad wheels.

Thanks

 

I myself am a fan of a taller tire than a wider looking tire, so i say go with the 35x12.50, instead of the 33x12.50. I think the 33's look to wide compared to their height. I would also recomend to go to a 35" to do a 3 inch leveling upfront as well as 1.5" raised block in the rear to keep the level look even when loaded down.

Just my personal opinion

 

Personally, I've had tires between 30" and 38" and if you're not prepared to gear your truck for the tire you're running, you're better off staying conservative, especially with a daily driver. No doubt 35"s look better but they reduce braking ability, use more fuel and what little performance you have will suffer. The 33"s shouldn't be that bad with 3.73s. 4.10s would be better, but if you can afford gears, you'd probably want to go 4.56s and get the 35's.

 

35's no contest!

 

The 3.73s handle 35's just fine.

 

what did you notice performance loss and MPG loss???

 

Going by the display Im using an extra 2-4 liters of gas per 100kms, which seems pretty reasonable. Performance wise, its hard to tell because the truck felt slow when it was stock too. Braking distance is a bit longer but not anything huge.

 

well from my towing with my truck and have 35', theirs no real differents in towing performance...but the mpg loss is big, driveing it hard down to 10mpg and best highway is 16

 

33s with leveling kit if you drive on the street alot, 35s if you offroad alot, i wish i had got bigger tires, (33s). when they wear out I am gonna throw some 36x12.50 swampers on it with some trimming. If they repo it they wont get their moneys worth. J/K. I have trouble with rocks meeting my lower control arms and crossmember. But i live offroad.

 

Well i have 315x75R wild country tires on my 2000 Ford F-150 and had my gears changed to 4.10 and i get a lot better gas milage with those gears. But to make it stock gearing with those tires the gear ratio would be 3.86. and it looks a little better with the bigger tires and they are only 34.86" tall.

 

You might want to visit B F Goodrich's website too. Neither the 33x12.50 or 35x12.50 are recommended for a rim width less than 8.5 inches. Your stock rim is only 7.5" wide. If you can find something in 275-70/18 it should be about 33" and likely fit on the stock rim. In the end it's your money, your choice.

 

why not go in the middle? I have the BFG 305/65/18 which are 33.7" by 12.5"

 

I'll agree with Carnivore here. I have the BFG 305/65/18 and love the way they look on the truck. They are expensive though!!

 

I also have the BFG 305/65/18 with 2" AS Level kit and love it but may go to 35's with some new wheels I am looking at. Not sure if I will clear since I occassionally rub on incline tight turns into parking spots. You can view in my gallery.

 

You guys are saying that with 35" tires you don't notice any loss of power? Even when towing?