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Those with 40"-44" tires.... ????

TruckNutzDude

TruckNutzDude

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Do you ever wish you had gone with a smaller size tire?

I find myself constantly getting hung up on trees with the tires plus the body of my rig doesn't like being mashed against giant swamper tread (or the trees that just got hung up on my tires :rolleyes: ) I almost wish I had stuck with a 40" or less tire. Then again, I can go just about everywhere I want to with the tires I have now without a second thought.

Just looking for opinions. :thinking:
 
Two schools of thought here.... One is: "bigger is better". I like this one, but it isn't always the most reasonable. And the other is: ever realize that comp buggies and rock racers mostly use 37's, 39's, and 40's??

The best tire size for your truck is what you're comfortable with, both for what it does for your truck, and what it allows you to do. I have 44's and enough gearing to be able to walk faster then it'll crawl. Yea, sure, I'm gonna break....BREAK = UPGRADE. There's alotta weight on the ends of those axles (why I believe comp guys use the smaller sizes). But I also have the ability to climb rocks other folks get hung up on.

It's give and take....all a matter of what you're willing to give and take - that's the best tire size for you.
 
I first got into the 4x4 game 25 years ago. I started out with a 1981 Ford F150. I first went with a 5.5" lift, which was the limit for the twin I beam front axle at the time and ran 35" Star Trailbusters. I then added a 3" body lift, and went to 38" Groundhawgs. Not being satisfied, I swapped to 1 ton axles front and rear, leaf springs up front, 13" of suspension lift and 44" Fun Countrys. It was a "go anywhere" kind of machine, but the driveline geometries made for constant wrenching and repairs. I became a master at replacing u-joints in record time.

Marriage and children brought everything to a halt in 1986.

I am now getting back into things with my 16 year old son. We have a 2001 Jeep XJ that we are putting a 3.5" RE lift on so that we can run 31s. That is plenty of tire and lift for most applications that we will run across.

We are also lifting our 1983 K20 to 6", and running 35" TSLSXs. The 6" lift is about as drastic as I am willing to go, after my experience with the monster lift and tires of long ago.

Of course, "I'll just do this much and then stop" are the famous last words of many a crack addict and 4x4 aficionado. :D
 
I'm quite happy with the size of my rig as it is. I've got 44" TSL's on 12" wide rims stuffed under a flexy 6" suspension. My problem is that I'm not even close to legal in my state and have no trailer... That's bad. This state only allows 2" of lift over stock and that's including tires!!! I'm just getting and idea of who likes what and who regrets it.
 
I run 4" suspension lift, 3" body lift, and 40" Boggers. I have a 454 and 14bFF rear end. D60 will come next year.

I think this is a very good compromise because it helps keep the vehicle as low as possible (and by using body lift instead of more suspension, helps keep center of gravity down), but still run 40" tires.

I can go almost anywhere, and pull out the trucks that tried and failed. For me it's all about survivability and functionality. This is a good "Swiss Army Knife" truck. Do it all.

I would be hesitant about going any bigger tire wise. I like where I am. I may consider other ideas to increase clearance like shaving axles though.
 
The only regret I have about running 39.5's is that I don't have the ideal gearing for them right now so once they get bogged down it's hard to spin 'em.

The only time I think they're "too big" is when I'm too wide, and that just boils down to the fact that they're on full width axles and a full size body.
 
Sounds like the same problem I have... minus the lack of gearing (the 465 fills the gap) I was thinking about an S10 swap but that won't help the tires and wheels much. Those seem to get me into more trouble than anything else on my K5. The body has been butchered and barely resembles a Chevy, let alone a K5. :eek1:
 
42's on 15x8's with 2.75" backspacing. The width of my truck is basically identical to a Blazer on 13/38's on 10" wide wheels. I wheel with 6.2 Blazer often, and if one of us fits through a tight spot, the other rig fits too.

The wheels/tires on my rig do a good job of keeping the body from getting wedged in...maybe because the bed is crushed in several inches on each side. The point being that if I can fit the front tires through a tight set of trees/rocks/whatever, the middle won't get hung up, and the rear will fit though as well...if I had a good picture of my truck taken from either rear corner (facing forwards) you'd have a better idea of what I'm talking bout...Buford is definitely overweight, has a comparitively "skinny" waistline. :D

I very well may never go larger than 42's but I have no intentions of ever stepping back down regarding tire size. If they made a 44" tall 15" wide TSL, I'd run it, but I don't like the idea of going any wider (IE: 18.5" width) than what I have.

Roy
 
I have roughly 8" lift and 40" hawgs... the hawgs are 39" true height.. however I put them on 16.5x12 instead of the recommended 16.5x9.75.... in doing that my tires measure 38.8" per the inspection guys.. they allow 38's max and passed me... so I am happy with it.... however i had plans for 53's on rockwells... as a street driven rig to the pits..... :haha:
had 12" leafs on all corners and 3" body lift.... had to go down with the truck... now driving.. even last night in the woods.. I realize I already am very tall for trails... I just put a winch in my truck and the wireless antennea on the cab... well after coming out of the woods the antennea is in the bed... got brushed right back.... so even if I could go bigger with say 44's... I would be moving the front axle forward and hacking... ALOT.....

but yeah it is all about what your comfortable with... :wink1:
 
depends on the rig and the terrain. Sure some comp rock buggies run 37s... but take the same rig down to your local mud bog comp and its gonna get owned.

j
 
I feel obligated to reply to this thread, because it's title is "Those with 40"-44" tires."

But I really don't have anything productive to say :haha:
 
well i dont have the size yet, but its coming within a couple weeks. im torn between 39.5's and 42's. im leaning toward the 39.5s only because i dont wanna cut my fenders up as much since this is my dd, and plan to keep it that way. it all depends on what ur doing tho i guess.
 
Have 40's, and have been debating whether to replace them with another set the same size or step up to 42's. I'm Ok for gearing either way, and the 42's are the same width...

I wouldn't step down from the 40" size at this point though. My truck is a (somewhat) DD, no trailer, weekend wheeler (when i have time)

I like having the tires out past the body when I'm on the trail. It really helps keep the body off of stuff.

Rene
 
Smaller ya right, maybe for a day or two. Then after a few months they started looking small again :doah:


TruckNutzDude said:
Do you ever wish you had gone with a smaller size tire?

I find myself constantly getting hung up on trees with the tires plus the body of my rig doesn't like being mashed against giant swamper tread (or the trees that just got hung up on my tires :rolleyes: ) I almost wish I had stuck with a 40" or less tire. Then again, I can go just about everywhere I want to with the tires I have now without a second thought.

Just looking for opinions. :thinking:
Click to expand...
 
After having my 40s for about four months and 450 miles... they seem kind of small.

Nearly no one has 40s... let alone anything bigger. I figure if I go to 44s then I'll virtually never get stopped up at an obstacle and have everyone wait on me. The 40s exceeded my expectations but they seem kind of small-ish now. And I don't need to do anything to clear 44s.
 
muddybuddy said:
well i dont have the size yet, but its coming within a couple weeks. im torn between 39.5's and 42's. im leaning toward the 39.5s only because i dont wanna cut my fenders up as much since this is my dd, and plan to keep it that way. it all depends on what ur doing tho i guess.
Click to expand...

One year ago, I had the same dilemma: 39.5's or 42's. Here is a link to the discussion from my club website...several people said go with 39.5's, several people said go to 42's:

http://www.ohio4x4.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1249&sid=6fb8ef421eb1e28c91f81985d32cfdf9

In summary, one year after the decision: I'm glad I went with 42's. If I didnt at the time, I'd likely have them by now anyway...and two sets of "big tires" aren't cheap.
 
I used to want 42's but EVERYONE has 42's these days and they're very narrow looking for such a tall tire. I really like the look of 44's and they perform way better than I had expected. Sometimes I seem to float too much... sometimes I don't. They are starting to seem small'ish now but I'm sure that's just me. If I went any bigger I'd need more lift and some stronger axles since I break too many parts as it is. Maybe I should try a narrower rim to bring the tires in a little bit... H1 rims are looking tempting but a set of 16.5x10 double locks isn't too bad either... or I could go with an internal bead lock and keep my rims (close to the same price as the other choices.) :rolleyes:
 
42s will go on my k5 eventually, I have 39.5s now. 44s are cool... but i couldn't lift a spare by myself... not the kind of situation I like to put myself into. lol! Not that I would ever really wheel alone... but still...

j
 
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