Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16" rims, 33" tall tires, and no or low lift

[AJMBLAZER]

Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16\" rims, 33\" tall tires, and no or low lift

Hopefully my POS IFS Blazer will be selling tomorrow and I can get this K5 I've got my eye on./forums/images/icons/smile.gif Also got a line on a couple of sets of 3/4 ton axles. Money will be short for a while, so I'm hoping to fit some 33" tires on it with no or very little lift (like the ORD 1" zero rates). I'm looking at some 16x8 steel rims with 4.5-4.75" of backspacing with 285/75R16 (33x11.25R16) or 305/70R16 (33x12R16) in a Radial Mud Terrain design. Something like the Cooper STT, Dick Cepek MT, etc.

I know from the whole 33's on stock K5's debacle of last week/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif, that it has to do with the stock springs, but also lots of backspacing and narrower rims. Would I be able to fit a narrow 33" tall tire on a 8" rim with 4.5" or so of backspacing without too much rubbing or trimming?

 

[tomseviltwin]

Re: Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16\" rims, 33\" tall tires, and no or low lift

For what it's worth, my 3/4 ton suburban is sitting on 285/75/16 BFGmt (old style) and my rims are 10 inches wide and have a slightly positve backspace so the have same width mounted as a typical 8 inch rim. The tires just barely rub in certain conditions while turning and under flex and compression. This is on stock springs. Bigger tires are in the works later after I get my lift in, but these work good for me now.

tom

 

[wayne]

Re: Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16\" rims, 33\" tall tires, and no or low lift

If your springs are not sagged to bad you should be fine.

 

[mudhog]

Re: Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16\" rims, 33\" tall tires, and no or low lift

the key to making 33's and no lift work is to have no backspaceing or a positive offset /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Re: Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16\" rims, 33\" tall tires, and no or low lift

Thanks guys. The 89 I want seems to have had a really easy life (so far). 145,000 mostly highway miles, and I don't think it even has a trailer hitch on it./forums/images/icons/smile.gif The springs should be fine. I guess I'll just try it out and see what happens./forums/images/icons/cool.gif

I can always throw in a 1" ORD zero rate lift, maybe the 1" body lift, and possibly trim the fenders some. Maybe trim the fenders first, depends on how much it rubs, if it rubs.

 

[loudnowlouder]

Re: Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16\" rims, 33\" tall tires, and no or low lift

honestly the problem i had with rubbing that made me trim the fenders was related to the width of the tires..
the wider they are, the more likely the outer edge will touch the tip of the fender when turning, i have ok flex with the 35s and 4 inches of lift, but they hit real bad after i had them mounted since they're so wide....
my opinion is that if you run a little narrower tires you should be fine.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Re: Will this work, 3/4 ton axles, 16\" rims, 33\" tall tires, and no or low lift

I think you could probably get away with it especially if you don't mind doing a little fender trimming. The narrow tires and wheels will definitely help out.

If money is tight and you can't afford a lift, keep in mind that if you have to add a 1" body lift and and zero rate add-a-leaf it would probably cost as much in time and money as a complete lift kit. $70 for the 1" body lift plus new body bushings (it's 13 years old and has 145,000 miles!), $40 pair for zero rates plus probably new u-bolts at $30-$40 pair and you have the cost of a complete 2.5" lift kit.