Stock with 33's

[MudFrog]

Stock with 33\'s

How much fender trimming would you need to run 33" tires with swaybar disconnects on a stock blazer? It would be flexed quite a bit so I'm just wondering if I'd have to chop the whole fender or if I could get by with just some minor trimming.

89 K5 Silverado
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://mudfrog.coloradok5.com>http://mudfrog.coloradok5.com</A>

 

[Espen88k5]

Re: Stock with 33\'s

I Had BFG's 32 11,5 on my stock 88 last summer. They where not wide enough or tall enough to hit the inner or outer front fenders. I now have a 3" bodylift and 33 12,5 BFG's The tires hit mainly because they are wider. When I go down a steep hill at the same time turning, the front tire hits the back of the front-fender .When I just flex it in a ditch the tire stuffs into the wheel-well opening without hitting anything. I would think you could get away with a 33 11,5 tire without to much trouble stock suspension wise.

Maybe I helped some.

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[mudhog]

Re: Stock with 33\'s

i am running 33x12.5x16 with 8in rims and no lift and have no rubbing i have came close to the rear of the front fender but have not rubbed yet you should be fine with minor trimming

s.smith 77blazer lookin 4 mud

 

[HarryH3]

Re: Stock with 33\'s

It seems to depend a lot on the particular truck. I ran BFG 33x12.50x15's on my '87 K5. They were mounted on the stock aluminum wheels. I 4-wheeled the whee out of that thing without rubbing the tires. Got it pretty well crossed up in the boulders near the top of Chinamans Gulch outside of Buena Vista, Colorado and it still wouldn't rub. A buddy and I also got into some fun baja-style running in the sand washes on the lower part of the same trail.

If you mount 33's on 10-inch wide rims you'll either need to lift the rig or trim the fenders pretty good to keep from rubbing.

<font color=black>HarryH3 - '75 K5</font color=black>
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://ThunderTruck.ColoradoK5.com>http://ThunderTruck.ColoradoK5.com</A>

 

[dyeager535]

Re: Stock with 33\'s

Harry, did you have sway bar disconnects or the bump stops removed, or anything else to allow the suspension to flex more? I tested my 33/10.5R15's out in the garage, with a jack under teh axle at one corner. Had I kept jacking, I would have pulled the rear wheel off the ground before I hit anything. It does seem a lot like individual trucks, but I have a feeling suspension components have a lot to do with some people having no problems and others having problems. FWIW, I have the 3 leaf front springs, and bump stops. I wasn't even close to the bump stops before the suspension stopped compressing and the whole truck went up in the air. I'm sure had I more flex, I would have eventually hit, because I don't think the fenderwells are actually 33" across...if they were, obviously, no 33" tire would hit the fender edges, no matter how much the suspension flexed.. Or so I think



Dorian
My K5 and Chev/Olds tech/links page: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dorianyeager.com/index2.html>http://www.dorianyeager.com/index2.html</A>

 

[HarryH3]

Re: Stock with 33\'s

The super-flexy suspensions weren't all the rage back then. This was 9 or 10 years ago. I didn't know I was supposed to have a trick, custom suspension to go where I was going!

I don't think I had the sway bar disconnected most of the time. I used to unbolt it once a while, but it was such a pain in the @$$ to get the bolts back in that I didn't mess with it often. ORD's quick disconnect makes that chore quite a bit easier...

But then again, I've also driven my bone stock S-10 up trails in Colorado that people swore I could never make it to the top of.

It's made it over places like Pearl Pass, Old Tincup Pass, Black Bear, Imogene Pass, etc. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to be strapped or winched in that little rig. Reading the rocks and placing the tires correctly can make a big difference in how gracefully you get to the top.

I was going to try to go over Redcone in it last summer, but the t-case vacuum switch gave up at the bottom and wouldn't engage the front axle lock any more, so I had to turn back. The switch only failed once in 115K miles or so, so I guess I can't complain too much. $18 and some greasy fingers later it was working fine again.

<font color=black>HarryH3 - '75 K5</font color=black>
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