Yes
Are 37's on an 80 to big for an expedition build? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter lumbee1
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
i can see the draw to 37's as mentioned above. But in reality do you really need that tall of a tire in the things you have planned? Like others I have ran the full course of mild to too big and expensive rock crawling, running up to a 43" tire on a very built rig, been there done that, im done. I have always done what is now called overlanding or whatever ya wanna call it. I have found that with a 33" tire and a rear auburn on my 60 its amazing the places I can go , im not out to damage my vehicle and have left it unlocked in the front to save the front end. I have a very capable 8274 that im not afraid to use but rarely do. if a expedition build is your goal, I just don't see the need in that big of a tire and feel the draw backs and expense far out weigh the advantages you might get.
I think 35's cover all the bases. 33's would be best when covering long distances on graded dirt but 35's would throw in some extra capability when/if needed. I went for a "do it all" rig when building mine. Doesn't excel in any category but has handled everything I have put it through, no problem. I did want to mention something that no one has mentioned and may not be of consequence for anyone else but I sometimes see it as a negative. When using my truck for back country travel/camping or "overlanding", the height of the truck makes access to the inside or setting up the RTT...well let me just say I wouldn' want it any higher. I'm 6 ft tall and the height of the tail gate or my storage drawers wouldn't work too well with any more altitude. And climbing around the truck to get the RTT deployed is not exactly easy, in my opinion. I am pretty agile and fit but the years are starting to add up and I can see a future where a tall truck won't be so easy for me. Of course, most of the height is from the 6" lift and not tire choice, but thought I would still bring up truck height issues when utilizing the truck at camp during an "overlanding" trip.
Great thread here.
I have a supersized FJ55 that I am thinking of adding a roof rack.
Mainly for the aux lights and coolness factor but I wondered how hard it will be to use a RTT.
Truck roof is 80" and I'm on 37's.
Will the RTT ladder even reach the ground?? LoL
I have a supersized FJ55 that I am thinking of adding a roof rack.
Mainly for the aux lights and coolness factor but I wondered how hard it will be to use a RTT.
Truck roof is 80" and I'm on 37's.
Will the RTT ladder even reach the ground?? LoL
Bama4door
Supporting Vendor
Almost very RTT manufacturer sells ladder extensions, so not a probelm. I say do it!
I have a LX450 with a 4" lift and run 37x13.50x18 Toyo MTs and they are awesome. While I don't do an incredible amount of rock crawling I wanted the 37s to correct my speedo as it was off running 34.5". I noticed that with the larger diameter the bumps are smoother and it truly rolls over small obstacles smoothly. I currently travel at 70MPH @ 1620RPM and average just south of 20MPG. I should say that I'm running a 4BT backed by a 4L80E with lock up at 50MPH and final gear at 64MPH. May not work for everyone but this is the ideal set up for me. Having owned anemic LCs before and this is everything I always wish they were before. Range is comfortably 400 miles and I usually stop and stretch before I need to fuel. Just went to NC where round trip was 1600 miles and my fuel bill was less than $200. Not a bad vacation as I removed the 2nd and 3rd row seats and slept inside very comfortable. Carried too much gear but had plenty to give away to others. I'll see what I can do if you all want pics? It is my understanding that the Birfs are much more substantial on the 80 and I know I always ran 33s on regular LCs without trouble. Not criticizing other recipes just sharing what works for me, L.
I went from 285s to 315s. Have the 315s on two rigs. 285s are a hell of a lot less complicated as far as fitment, cheaper, and easier.on the drivetrain. You net 1". Unless you rock crawl and drag your rig over lots of obstacles the only reason you need 35s or 37s IMO is because you like the way they look and have money to burn. After moving to 315s I gave up on all the justification... I like the way they look. That's why they are on the truck. 285s drove better were easier to move around and tuck under the truck. I've never felt 285s were undersized for expedition travel. If your worried about getting stuck and are alone a lot. Get a winch. It will do more for you than 1 or 2 inches of tire height. I'm also the type that takes the path of least resistance. I travel on the dirt to get somewhere and not interested in banging on my stuff for the fun of it.
Mud has many rock crawling enthusiasts, I am not one. Upon installation I maxed out each wheel to verify no contact and it appears to work well. The truck is currently having the inter-cooler tubes rerouted as they barely made contact at full lock. I will remind you that this isn't a recomendation it is just what works for the 4BT with 4L80E transmission to maximize speed vs RPM and fuel economy.
lumbee1
Native American
- Thread starter
- #29
Well, that didn't go as planned.
1) went with 315 mud terrains for the compromise of on-road and off-road activity. I don't see myself ever going to 37's even after the kids are away at college and 35's will do everything we want to do with the truck.
2) I got the truck regeared three months ago and LOVE it. Offroad, it's an absolute beast and climbs everywhere with little effort. The on-road performance has been great as well. The regear was expensive but I wish I would have bit the bullet and gone to 315s and 4.88 years ago.
3) I spoke to some dedicated 37" members in the club that converted back to 35". The driveability of 35's over 37's was the biggest motivator for smaller tires. This convinced me to stick with 35's.
4) I watched too many local rigs struggle with KO2's in the mud so I went with Cooper STT Pros. This is a fantastic tire offroad but after some wear, the noise is starting to get to me. I would rather have the ST Maxx. The ST Maxx is an old design that needs to be refreshed but the blend of AT and MT is intriguing.
Go 35s.... they are a happy medium.
37s look cool, but have less uptravel than 35s do since you need less bump stop exstension. I'm 6' tall & find climbing in the back to reach for gear in the rear is a pain. A RTT would be a super pain.
37s look cool, but have less uptravel than 35s do since you need less bump stop exstension. I'm 6' tall & find climbing in the back to reach for gear in the rear is a pain. A RTT would be a super pain.
Go 35s.... they are a happy medium.
37s look cool, but have less uptravel than 35s do since you need less bump stop exstension. I'm 6' tall & find climbing in the back to reach for gear in the rear is a pain. A RTT would be a super pain.
37s look cool, but have less uptravel than 35s do since you need less bump stop exstension. I'm 6' tall & find climbing in the back to reach for gear in the rear is a pain. A RTT would be a super pain.
Well since we are reviving this zombie I'm with @SWCruiser on this one. If I were doing it over again I wouldn't go any bigger than a 285. My bias is due to the fact that I have both. My 97 has 315's and roughly 3 inches of lift. My 94 has 285's and roughley 1 inch of lift. The 94 gets around so much better. It's easy to get used to something like I did when I just drove the 97. However, when you have two of them to compare it really makes you think about what you like and dislike.
What are your thoughts on a 94' with 285's but going for a 2.5" lift? Currently I have the 285's (KO2) but worn out stock springs and OME stock height shocks (not worn out yet). I've been looking at the Dobinson's 2.5" level lift kit for my uses (mostly overland type travel, mixed with medium difficulty 4x4 trails).
I would say a nice compromise is a 295/75/16. They have a nicer volume than a 255.....while not being as cumbersome as a 315. and they land right in between 33 and a 35 @ about 34.3” tall depending on the brand.
I ran everything from 255/85 on up to 38’s and have to say that my hands down favorite was the 295/Toyos for an all around tire. Bonus is you can keep flares and get no rubbing on a ome low lift with spacers or an ome 2.5”
I ran everything from 255/85 on up to 38’s and have to say that my hands down favorite was the 295/Toyos for an all around tire. Bonus is you can keep flares and get no rubbing on a ome low lift with spacers or an ome 2.5”
Funny you should ask.... I have the Dobinsons 2.5'' tapered coils on my rig currently. Before when I had 3'' of lift I swapped tires between my two rigs. The 285's made the truck run out so much better. However, they looked silly underneath that much lift and I just couldn't get over the visual part. I have not yet tried them with the 2.5'' lift but it is on my list since I did the 10% underdrive gears. I wanted to see how the whole combination runs, 10% under on 285's.
Here's what I think will be the case though. I think 2.5'' is going to still look really tall on the 285's. My 94 looks perfect (in my opinion) with the OME stock height and 285's. I'm not sure what it would do if I had all of my armor an other gear added to it.
Zack, you asked @half k cruiser, but if you don't mind another input, my '94 is almost identical to yours. I've got less miles - aprox 278K. On a trip to Canyonlands back in 2004, before my RTT, I realized, on the trail, my stock suspension was inadequate for my fully loaded-for-camping rig with stock Open Country M/Ts on a 2nd set of wagon wheels - this was at top of the Flint Trail, before descending:
On the way down Flint Trail, you can see how hunkered down it is. The tailpipe was banging on the panhard bar when hitting bumps:
When I got back to Oregon I ordered and am still running the 2.5" OME lift springs and shocks. I flirted with stock size Green Diamond Tires (GDT) 265/75 16 - for a while, with the 2.5" lift on my OEM wheels:
The GDT's on road performance was great, especially in the winter, but off road was nothing special - actually problematic because the sidewalls and beads started coming apart. I replaced the worn out Open Country with Toyo M55 255/85 16 which are basically 33" all terrains on the wagon wheels. The off road performance improved, with out sacrificing any on road or winter performance. But with all the armor - bumpers, sliders and skidplate & RTT, plus loaded up for overlanding, the performance and coolant temps were starting to suffer. The rig would haul the weight fine and lift plus tire size were fully compatible - no rubbing at full stuff. Just not satisfied with performance - felt gutless. Stock gearing to this point.
With the dissapointing condition of the 265/75 16 GDTs on my OEM wheels, I got a wild hair and replaced them with 315/75 16, 35" Toyo ATII Extremes which made the gutless worse and temp gauge too:
Well, for looks and off road traction, the 35s were just right for me. I fixed the engine performance by regearing to 5.29s and replacing my fan clutch and radiator to solve engine temp issue. So I've got 2 sets - 33" and 35" - both Toyos. The 35" ATs are probably the best all around for me. No grief while overlanding with the new gears and the traction and flotation is better than the 33" M55s. But, when loaded for overlanding I've heard the rears rub at full stuff. I noticed it on the last Baja trip, actually on the pavement between San Felipe and Gonzaga Bay they have dips in the road called vados. They're for providing a water channel across the road for cloud bursts or heavy rain. Anyway, the road drops maybe 6 - 8 feet, or more, and then returns to it's normal level in about - say, 10 -15 yards. When they sneak up on you, and they do - when you're not expecting it because they're not well marked, you do an - OH $HIT - jamming on the brakes to slow down. It's a full stuff with your suspension dealing with it, not to mention possibly catching some air coming out.
The 33" M55s are better than the 35" ATs as a winter tire, though. It may be the additional siping that I had done plus being a narrower tread pattern. They do much better breaking trail in unplowed snow and are extremely stable on hard packed snow roads like we have here, in rural Eastern Oregon in the winter.
IMHO, I just can't see running 37" on an 80 for overlanding, without serious mods to gears, axles & suspension, which are clearly not necessary, because stock and sizes up to 35" are entirely adequate.
Last edited:
If I may drop in my point of view ,
one thing is the height of suspension , keeping load capacity same or similar .
Other issue is increasing load capacity and eventually height of suspension.
A proper job would be to weight the car when fully loaded and then find the right springs and shocks .
The tyre in not the problem , but the evidence of a train of issues not addressed .
Or solved intierely.
Of course if you set the suspension system ( springs and shock ) for overlanding , unloaded road rides will be more stiff .
I know it's a tough world .
Bye Renago
one thing is the height of suspension , keeping load capacity same or similar .
Other issue is increasing load capacity and eventually height of suspension.
A proper job would be to weight the car when fully loaded and then find the right springs and shocks .
The tyre in not the problem , but the evidence of a train of issues not addressed .
Or solved intierely.
Of course if you set the suspension system ( springs and shock ) for overlanding , unloaded road rides will be more stiff .
I know it's a tough world .
Bye Renago
I run 38's.
They are too much for something that is just used for a DD and a bit of "overlanding" on pavement and gravel roads off the beaten path, but still on beaten paths.
My COG is less than perfect with the roof tent, its on road manors with tall tires, no rear sway bars and airbags are not what a 2.5" lift and 33's would be on every other 80.
But... The diffs are stock 4.11's and with a low revving engine the 38's are better for rpm's on the highway. To me these are about the right size for this particular truck.
I do use it in scenarios where I really am using all that 38's have to offer and don't DD it, I wouldn't/won't go to a smaller tire, but wouldn't necessarily recommend them for a coil sprung overlander/expedition purposed truck. I need to take more pictures of this thing, I've posted the same in other threads, but to show they don't seem ridiculously overkill
They are too much for something that is just used for a DD and a bit of "overlanding" on pavement and gravel roads off the beaten path, but still on beaten paths.
My COG is less than perfect with the roof tent, its on road manors with tall tires, no rear sway bars and airbags are not what a 2.5" lift and 33's would be on every other 80.
But... The diffs are stock 4.11's and with a low revving engine the 38's are better for rpm's on the highway. To me these are about the right size for this particular truck.
I do use it in scenarios where I really am using all that 38's have to offer and don't DD it, I wouldn't/won't go to a smaller tire, but wouldn't necessarily recommend them for a coil sprung overlander/expedition purposed truck. I need to take more pictures of this thing, I've posted the same in other threads, but to show they don't seem ridiculously overkill
ALL friends running on 38 , with stock gears broke down sooner or later .
of course this is not a wish , but genuilly think that 38 are way too tall for general road and off road use .
not to mention the load display of the car on photo .
bye Renago
of course this is not a wish , but genuilly think that 38 are way too tall for general road and off road use .
not to mention the load display of the car on photo .
bye Renago
Yeah, I read that the stock R & P gears were good for the 6BT with 35s, and that, IMHO, would be an excellent engine for overlanding. Although, I would run with the rear anti-sway bar, especially with the RTT. That's an awesome roof rack, is it a Prinsu?
