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Old Aug 4, 2011 | 02:45 PM
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What size tires?

I have a friend that just lifted his 2006 SCAB 4WD with a 3" front and a 3" rear lift.

Kinda funny, he and I are always tweakin our trucks and surprise each other when we get together to see if we notice the changes. He didn't tell me that he lifted it.

I know because his wife just called me to ask what size tires he should get cause they look small now. She and her parents want to surprise him and give him the $$ for the tires. Kewl family.

He has stock 17" rims now.

Does anyone know what a good over sized tire would be with that setup? Nitto Grapplers 305's maybe?
 
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Old Aug 4, 2011 | 03:15 PM
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Jimmy, The stock wheel is 7.5" or 8" wide which will limit how wide he can go. Something around a 295/75/17 would be a nice fit. A little narrow and just a touch shorter, the 285/75/17 would also be a good choice.
He could run a 305 but he's likely to get some strange wear depending upon inflation pressures. 305/70/17 would be about right.

If he's on aftermarket wheels, say a 17x9" then he could run a 315/70/17 without a hitch.
 
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Old Aug 4, 2011 | 05:20 PM
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UPDATE:

My buddy just called me and told me he installed a lift. Guess it's no longer a surprise.

3" front and 1" back.

He also told me that he couldn't afford tires right now cause he wanted 35"s and new wheels too and he's lookin at $2,000+ for that.

So, for now, he's gonna keep his tires.

BTW... his current AT tires are only 2 months old.
 
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Old Aug 4, 2011 | 07:45 PM
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$2k for tires and wheels? There are tire/wheel packages on Ebay for less than $1500 in the size he'll need.
 
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Old Aug 4, 2011 | 08:10 PM
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Yea. He wants something nice. He's a huge ebay user and gets crazy deals all the time
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 04:48 AM
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Hope he re-gears or he'll need the $2000 (plus) for a new tranny.
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 05:17 AM
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Will a tune work as a "re-gear"?
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 05:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Justjimmy
Will a tune work as a "re-gear"?
Nope.
Only way to re-gear is to actually change the gears. You can run 35"s with a 3.73 but it puts undue stress on the drivetrain. Whereas a 4.10 or 4.56 would be more well suited to that tire size.
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 05:57 AM
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How does he drive it? Is he hard on it, tow alot, etc? I have 34+" Nittos with 3.55's on my truck. Is it a bit of a slug? Sure. Am I hard on it? No, and I don't tow much. Would I benefit from a re-gear? Yes, but I don't have the money or desire to do that. I am considering some tunes from 5 Star for my X3 I had for the 6.0 diesel.

I have had many trucks with oversized tires and lifted and have yet to fry a tranny. If you are WOT most of the time I'm sure it will kill the tranny but I am relatively easy on my truck, maybe because I'm older and need it for daily transportation. I don't plan on going any taller tire-wise, I have 295/70-18s (34.4 x 11.4") and I might even drop to a 275/70 (33.2ish) when these wear out unless I do a 4" SL or 3" BL then I would stick with the same size. BUT- with gas prices the way they are, I am hesitant to do either and I can drive anywhere from 40-100+ miles a day to the jobsite depending where I am working, so that has become the most important factor for me. Just my .02
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 06:40 AM
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Tim - you hit the nail on the head: you don't drive it hard and you don't tow/haul.

34s and a 3.55 are right at 'my comfort limit'.

35s and 3.73? I'm 'okay', but skeptical. But...if you don't drive it hard and you don't tow/haul the tranny will probably live.

Anything over 35s (or under a 3.73 with 35s) and IMHO you should re-gear (as well as get custom tunes).

Just my $.000000000000000000001. hehe
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 06:48 AM
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Just to throw this out there, I had an 86 Blazer with 11" lift and 39.5 Swampers, stock drivetrain 305 V8 700R4 etc. I was in my early 20's so I was a little harder on stuff back then and never had any issues for the 4+ yrs I had it. Would I do that now? Probably not, lol. I'm not into being broke down on the side of the road anymore Sorry if i went and
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 07:10 AM
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On a similar path, I plan on putting a 3" front and 1" rear lift on my truck pretty soon. Also plan on getting Nitto 305 55 20s on my stock FX wheels. I have 3.55 gears. I tow 20% of the time a 8,000 toy hauler.

Will I be OK with this combination?
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 07:26 AM
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I would not do that to my truck, but it's not my truck.

What size tire came stock?

If it was 30" (and you have a 3.73) you are going from a 3.73 to a 3.39.

New effective gear ratio = old diameter/new diameter x gear ratio
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 07:43 AM
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8k that trans will be doing alot of searching on any kind of hills. Go on Tirerack and compare overall diameter for your stock tires and the 305s. I towed a trailer with 1.5-2 ton of stone a few weekends ago, it handled the flats fine but it downshifted into 4th on some longer grades. The trailer was only a 1 ton and it swayed a little, but it had one tire lower psi than the other. Its my lazy father-in-laws trailer and I guess he doesn't bother to check that kind of stuff. I didn't notice it was that low until I dumped the backhoe bucket full of stone on it, and I dang-sure wasn't shoveling any back off!
Something else to throw out there, with the 3/1" lift, you might be squatting pretty good with 8k on the back. 3" ( front leveling kit I assume? ) from what I read is alot of stress on the front end. Also I have Airlift airbags on the rear of mine in lieu of a block or AAL so there was no squatting when I towed that trailer
 
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Old Aug 5, 2011 | 07:43 AM
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A 305/55-20 according to Nittos website is only a 33.1ish OD so it might not be all that bad. My stock 275/65-18s were 32.2" tall. It will be better than what my truck towed with the 34's. BUT overall width will also affect your towing, weight (unsprung), etc...
 
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