18" Wheels: A few (hopefully easy) tire and lift questions (search yields too many results) (1 Viewer)

[ebod]

Hi,

A tire and/or lift related search yields too many hits, so I'm adding to the clutter. My 2004 100 series has 18" wheels and it's time for new tires. I have a few questions:

I'm currently running 275/65/18 (Bridgestone Revos) on the stock suspension (with torsion bars adjusted for level-ish stance). Could I go up to 275/70/18's without a lift? What is a typical size that's a bit bigger than what I've got?

If I splurge and get a lift (from Slee), does the 1.5" lift make a noticeable difference or should I do 2.5" or nothing? For people who live in dense cities and have done lifts, does the 1.5" or 2.5" lift and the associated bigger tires eliminate a lot of underground parking?

I've been happy with my Revos (lighter than BFGs which makes for better on-road driving), but I like an aggressive-looking tread pattern. From the pictures on tirerack.com, it looks like the current Revos have a less aggressive pattern. Has anyone else noticed this? If I go with BFG KO's will I notice the extra weight when I'm driving around town?

Have the BFGs always had the treads on the sidewalls (I'm sure I'm not describing it right)? I like aggressive treads on the tire surface, but with a smooth sidewall and it seems that BFGs used to be like this, but now they're more aggressive on the sidewall too. Any tire recommendations other than BFGs that might fit my (bad) description?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on any of the above questions.

 

[atnolan94]

I like BFG KO2s had them on multiple cars.

On the 100 it doesn’t matter if you’re lifted or not, the suspension travel is unchanged and if it fits lifted it fits stock. Many people run 275/70r18 no issues. You’ll be fine.

 

[Cola]

Tons of discussion on this but ill give you a quick answer. I have 16s and ran 285/75/16 with no lift and no problem. They are nearly the same size. number one is the 16 and number 2 is the 275/70/18.

I now have a 2.5 inch lift and it looks great. KO2s are great as well. Didnt run anything but stock tires for a few miles when i bought the truck. I honestly didnt notice a huge difference.

As for lift. The only difference between the slee 1.5 or 2.5 is the rear springs. Everything else is the same. With 1.5 you might get away not needing the front diff drop and you're putting less preload on your sway bars. But if you want to do the 2.5 "right" do the diff drop and extended swaybar links.

Opinion: Do the 2.5 inch lift. It turns into a 1.5 inch lift when you load up the back for a weekend out of town

 

[knewstance]

I run 275/70/18 with no lift at the moment (it's sitting on the work bench begging to be installed). No issues with this tire size without a lift though.

 

[Manhattan]

275/70/18s seem to have been made just for our 100s. They really are a great size - they work with no lift, look great with 2.5" of lift, fill out the wheel wells nicely and they fit in the spare well.

I live in Atlanta and have the parking deck issue. With 2.5" and 275/70/18 BFG KO2s, I'm fine in any deck 6'8" or higher.

The "which brand" thing probably has as many threads here as any topic. I'll add a vote for the KO2s. I just had the tires rotated this week. The guy at Discount Tire - remember, the guy who wants to sell me another set of tires - said "They look great. I'd start paying attention in 10,000 or 12,000 miles." I have 51,000 miles on them currently. Yeah - start paying attention at 60,000 miles. I'm only doing a 4-tire rotation. The spare hasn't moved.

I worked my way up to the current height. But stock suspension with a .75" TB twist looked great too... once I ditched the minivan running boards, the fender "garnishes" and got some tires...