1/2 or 3/4 Ton?

[cdh]

I cannot make a decision. Your imput would be greatly appreciated.

I have an 89 K5 with 32X11.50's on stock 15X7 rims and a 2" Tuff Country lift on the way. I know that as soon as the lift goes on, my tires an wheels are going to look a little funny. That being said, I am probably going to buy new wheels and 33X12.50 tires. Since I am going to spend the money on new wheels and tires, why not get 8 lug and 3/4 ton axles and call it good?

It sees reasonable, but the problem I am having is that 3/4 ton axles might be overkill for what I do with my truck. I do take my truck offroad for hunting, camping, etc., but I don't beat the s#%t out of it or do any rockcrawling. As an alternative I was thinking of upgrading my 10 bolts.

What do you think, buy 6 lug wheels and upgrade by 10 bolts, or buy 8 lug wheels and 3/4 ton axles?

Thanks

 

[Muddytazz]

If it were me, and I just did this a month ago, I'd swap to 3/4ton just for peace of mind. I pretty much do the same thing, camping, fishing, hunting, light to moderate trail driving, and I just wanted the extra peace of mind /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

 

[bigyellowjimmy]

Youn could go with a 6 lug 14SF in the rear and leave your front alone. This should be plenty strong for 33's with light wheeling. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

 

[rjfguitar]

Why do you think 2" lift would look funny with your current combo? I say it will look better than it does now with a 2" lift. Heck, some people run 6" with 33's...I did and now I have 10" with 35's. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

The question is if you will ever want to go bigger....You may just want 33's for now but one day you might want 38's or something. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif If you know for sure that you will never go bigger than a 35" tire with a mild tread or a 33" with an aggressive tread than I would say keep the 1/2 ton axles. They are lighter and 10B's can handle a fair amount of wheeling as long big HP isn't pushing them with aggressive tires.

I say put the 2" on and see how it looks, this will buy you some more time before you buy tires and wheels to decide if a 3/4 ton swap is for you. ALso what is your current gear ratio?

 

[kennyw]

What gears do you have in your current axles? If you need to regear anyway, 3/4 ton axles are a cheap cost effective way to do so. Plus they give you bigger brakes. I put a 10 bolt/14 semi floater 3/4 ton axle set in my '79 K10 so that I could increase the load capacity and longevity but I'm only running 33" tires and didnt want to kill my ground clearance. Plus that gave me 4.10 gears which was a better choice than the stock 3.73's out of my 1/2 ton axles.

 

[cdh]

I have 15x7 rims, which are a little narrow for my taste. I was thinking that with the truck lifted the tires are going to look really narrow.

My 10 bolts have 3.73's.

Thanks for your imput.

 

[rjfguitar]

[ QUOTE ]
I have 15x7 rims, which are a little narrow for my taste. I was thinking that with the truck lifted the tires are going to look really narrow.

My 10 bolts have 3.73's.

[/ QUOTE ]
I see, you are unhappy about the rims.... /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif I don't blame you...the stockers are pretty plain and narrow.

Well you have the lowest gears you can get for 1/2 axles so they are a decent set to work with. Part of the reason some guys switch to 3/4 is because they have a god awfull ratio like 3.08's stock and it is plain cheaper just to swap in 3/4 stuff with 4.10's or 4.56's. That is part of the reason why I converted, I had 3.08's.

How nice of rims are you wanting? I would say if you want nice rims than I would go with the 3/4 stuff especially if you tow trailers on occasions.