Bigger tires or suspension lift?

[anwat]

For what it's worth, I have a 90 with 4" of lift. It did fine with the 33's but when I went to a 35x12.5 Mud Terrain, when fully articulated it will rub even with the fenders trimmed, With a little more trimming, I think the problem will be solved. But 37's would be an issue, for sure. Here's a photo of how much was trimmed (which wasn't quite enough) just to give you a reference. However, I'm running a D44 up front and a 12 bolt in the rear, so that will most likely change how much clearance you'll have in the fender well. With the 35's I was hitting the rear fender lip on the front and the front fender lip on the rear, again, only when it was twisted up and the wheels were turned at the same time, but the swaybar was still connected. You can see the rear fender lip is bent a bit, no need for trimming now, since that fixed the issue. Point being, no way to get 37s under that without some sawzall work.

 

[Wes Harden]

The calculator I used is an Android app called Garage Buddy

 

[sweetk30]

in my sig line below is a good flexing and riding blazer build i did for a guy .

click the I BUILT THIS M1009 below for the build . its got 37" tires and 5inch suspension and 1.5" body lift and some triming on the front . but the axle is 1.5" forward and this requires crossover for it to work .

using push/pull and moving the axle forward = luck and work to get it to function . and if flexing you make the problems worse .

 

[6872xtc]

Thanks for your reply. I'm planning on moving t he axle fwd one inch. I'm not doing cross-over steering at the moment.
Where did you get your bumper from?

My son built the bumper when he was working at a local fab shop. He definitely misses having access to a water jet, press brake and welders.
I kinda do too, but he's, making more $$ now.

 

[6.2Blazer]

37's on a stock suspension will require a lot of trimming for full clearance. My old 35x12.50 tires required minor trimming with a 4" lift, and the 13/38-16 TSL Swampers (which were closer to a 37) require a LOT of trimming for full clearance, again with a 4" lift. If you are limited by overall height I would seriously consider the 2" lift and 35" tires...I understand how taller tires help the most (I run 40's on 4" lift) but some lift does help off-road with approach, departure, and break over angles.

For cross-over steering, isn't there some clearance issues if you have a stock suspension? Maybe there have been some changes but I know in the past there were clearance issues.

 

[Kripplek5]

I have a 91 with one tons, 37" on 10" wide wheels and 4" lift, 456 gears,
Even with moving the front axle forward 1" i will have to do some serious trimming or go to 35's if i want to do rough trails
View attachment 362184

I'm pretty certain I'm doing 35" tires on 16x 8.5 rims. 4.56 gears and the 2" lift

 

[6.2Blazer]

I'm pretty certain I'm doing 35" tires on 16x 8.5 rims. 4.56 gears and the 2" lift

Might want to reconsider the 16" rims as they are not a lot of options out there in tires in the 35+" range for them, and it gets worse every year. 17" rims are way more popular and has basically limitless options in tires. If you decided to go up to 37's in the future there are only a handful of that size for 16" rims out there.

 

[H20 Toie]

I'm pretty certain I'm doing 35" tires on 16x 8.5 rims. 4.56 gears and the 2" lift

i have 16" rims on the suburban with 37" tires. if you are buying new wheels DO NOT go with 16's 17's give you way more selection

 

[TJ1978]

You can get 35’s on a 17” wheel I think and if you can, your tire options open up wider for 17” wheels

I was in a similar pickle with 16.5 wheels and dry rot tires. I had to go up to a 17” wheel just to buy tires. No tires besides swampers in 16.5 and limited options that caught my eye for 16” wheels... Besides if you do decide to go bigger in tire size down the road, you’ll already have the appropriate wheels to accommodate that.

Anywho, food for thought.

 

[Kripplek5]

i have 16" rims on the suburban with 37" tires. if you are buying new wheels DO NOT go with 16's 17's give you way more selection
View attachment 362377

Thank you, appreciate the input. You and @6.2Blazer have given me something to think about. I'll keep looking

 

[Kripplek5]

For what it's worth, I have a 90 with 4" of lift. It did fine with the 33's but when I went to a 35x12.5 Mud Terrain, when fully articulated it will rub even with the fenders trimmed, With a little more trimming, I think the problem will be solved. But 37's would be an issue, for sure. Here's a photo of how much was trimmed (which wasn't quite enough) just to give you a reference. However, I'm running a D44 up front and a 12 bolt in the rear, so that will most likely change how much clearance you'll have in the fender well. With the 35's I was hitting the rear fender lip on the front and the front fender lip on the rear, again, only when it was twisted up and the wheels were turned at the same time, but the swaybar was still connected. You can see the rear fender lip is bent a bit, no need for trimming now, since that fixed the issue. Point being, no way to get 37s under that without some sawzall work. View attachment 362185 View attachment 362186

Great photos thanks. I'm pretty sure 35"tires are the size I want. Now I'm looking at maybe getting 17" rims instead of 16s

 

[Kripplek5]

in my sig line below is a good flexing and riding blazer build i did for a guy .

click the I BUILT THIS M1009 below for the build . its got 37" tires and 5inch suspension and 1.5" body lift and some triming on the front . but the axle is 1.5" forward and this requires crossover for it to work .

using push/pull and moving the axle forward = luck and work to get it to function . and if flexing you make the problems worse .

Should I consider cross-over steering to alleviate the potential problem of moving the axle forward 1" or do you recommend something else? Honestly I have not seen this problem mentioned with a small lift and moving the axle fwd 1". Only saw it mentioned on rigs with 4+ inches of suspension lift and larger tires. I want to avoid as many future headaches as possible and im not to interested in breaking steering components. How much should I worry?

 

[H20 Toie]

Should I consider cross-over steering to alleviate the potential problem of moving the axle forward 1" or do you recommend something else? Honestly I have not seen this problem mentioned with a small lift and moving the axle fwd 1". Only saw it mentioned on rigs with 4+ inches of suspension lift and larger tires. I want to avoid as many future headaches as possible and im not to interested in breaking steering components. How much should I worry?

4" lift and 35" tires are the perfect setup, it doesn't screw up anything, you can still use your stock driveshafts, sway bar, steering, no need to move axle, you will need to trim the inside of the front fender and thats it,
From there you can go as crazy as you want, sure crossover steering is great ( but you lose the swaybar) and serious offroad it works way better than stock,
i have 4 square bodies one has all stock suspension, one has 4" lift with 35" tires, one has 6" lift with 37" tires ( crossover and hydraulic assist) and one with 4" coil overs lift on one tons, crossover, hydraulic assist, 37" tires, arb lockers, for everyday use the one with 4" lift and 35's is the best. cruise on up to Santa Clarita someday and ill give you the comparison

 

[usaf_blazer]

H20 Toie, sounds like a sweet family photo with all these rigs!

 

[sweetk30]

Forgot i had this pic on my phone .

K30 4" lift on 35" tires . Stock location axles . 454 bbc and 4L80 with doubler in it . Tuff country HD front springs .

 

[Kripplek5]

4" lift and 35" tires are the perfect setup, it doesn't screw up anything, you can still use your stock driveshafts, sway bar, steering, no need to move axle, you will need to trim the inside of the front fender and thats it,
From there you can go as crazy as you want, sure crossover steering is great ( but you lose the swaybar) and serious offroad it works way better than stock,
i have 4 square bodies one has all stock suspension, one has 4" lift with 35" tires, one has 6" lift with 37" tires ( crossover and hydraulic assist) and one with 4" coil overs lift on one tons, crossover, hydraulic assist, 37" tires, arb lockers, for everyday use the one with 4" lift and 35's is the best. cruise on up to Santa Clarita someday and ill give you the comparison

You're roughly 2hrs from me, I just drove up to Fresno and back 9+ hrs for a Dana 60 front end. I would definitely like to take a look at your rigs. Is there a weekend or weekday coming up that might be good for you?

 

[Kripplek5]

Forgot i had this pic on my phone .

K30 4" lift on 35" tires . Stock location axles . 454 bbc and 4L80 with doubler in it . Tuff country HD front springs .

View attachment 362857

That K30 is sweet. Is the 4L80 a beefier version of the 700Rr4?

 

[sweetk30]

th400 with overdrive and lockup convertor. even share lots of internals of th400 .

 

[Chevy350Ben]

Forgive my limited experience, but if you are putting 1 ton axles under your truck (I'm assuming D60/14BFF), won't that *require* crossover steering? I don't think I've ever seen a blazer outfitted with a D60 and stock push/pull steering.

I put crossover under mine with the D60, but I didn't know there was an option.

 

[sweetk30]

. . . few people do swap a 60 and keep push / pull . . . heck my k30 is going back ALL stockish suspension for work and DD use .