305/65/R18 on stock 18x8" rim?

[NY2LA]

You'll ideally want to aim for an offset of +30-35mm. Which with stock wheels is about a 1" or 1.25" spacer. With a more aggressive tire, particularly those with a more squared off or larger side lugs, lean towards +35mm. From a suspension geometry standpoint, scrub radius, +35mm is also more optimal to avoid any pulling in the steering and better cornering traciton.

UCAs may change clearance a bit so let other weigh in on that.

What I'm concerned about is that in a lot of pictures where people seem to have something like that offset, the tire seems to stick out ever so slightly from the fender. Or maybe that's a trick of the eye. Seems like the tire could hit the fender when the suspension from fully compressed.

 

[TeCKis300]

+25 on a wide and aggressive tire may very well have things kissing the fender.

I'm on a 34.5"x12.5" tires, with +35 offset. It indeed will just tuck at full stuff, which is why I'm suggesting that offset. Something else you may need to watch for is obviously KDSS, but also clearance against the body mount which may vary depending on UCA and alignment.

 

[NY2LA]

+25 on a wide and aggressive tire may very well have things kissing the fender.

I'm on a 34.5"x12.5" tires, with +35 offset. It indeed will just tuck at full stuff, which is why I'm suggesting that offset. Something else you may need to watch for is obviously KDSS, but also clearance against the body mount which may vary depending on UCA and alignment.

View attachment 2546200

Wow, talk about tight! But if I get Bora 1 inches, I'd be at 34.6 mm offset, with a little narrower tire than you as well, so I should have another 1/4" or so of breathing room than you have right now. That makes me feel a bit more comfy.

It's hard for me to see if the top of the lugs are touching the liner. With that 34.5" tire, do you get full articulation of the suspension?

Based on other reports here, it seems like a good alignment can clear all the other parts, especially with adjustable UCAs. One thing I sometimes wonder, though, is how long do these razor tight alignments last? Could a good off road pounding cause a few millimeters here and a few millimeters there to shift around and generate a fresh rubbing somewhere, requiring an urgent return to the shop to dial things back in?

 

[radman]

It's hard for me to see if the top of the lugs are touching the liner. With that 34.5" tire, do you get full articulation of the suspension?

I haven’t tried stuffing the fronts at full steering lock, but other than some plastic reshaping, we don’t rub.
Your limiting factor will be the kdss on the driver’s side.
I’ve heard @mcgaskins say that relocating that thing wasn’t worth it.

 

[NY2LA]

I haven’t tried stuffing the fronts at full steering lock, but other than some plastic reshaping, we don’t rub.
Your limiting factor will be the kdss on the driver’s side.
I’ve heard @mcgaskins say that relocating that thing wasn’t worth it.

Oh, I missed your initial response. If you're on 305/70, I'm feeling a lot more at ease now with 305/65!

I don't think the other folks with LC200s on 305/65/18 had to relocate KDSS, so I should be good there.

 

[radman]

Without starting another t


Oh, I missed your initial response. If you're on 305/70, I'm feeling a lot more at ease now with 305/65!

I don't think the other folks with LC200s on 305/65/18 had to relocate KDSS, so I should be good there.

I’ll try to get some new stuffing pics this week

 

[NY2LA]

View attachment 2546222

I’ll try to get some new stuffing pics this week

View attachment 2546222

I’ll try to get some new stuffing pics this week

Those look great. There's just something about the 305s.

 

[Redbull]

Oh, I missed your initial response. If you're on 305/70, I'm feeling a lot more at ease now with 305/65!

I don't think the other folks with LC200s on 305/65/18 had to relocate KDSS, so I should be good there.

Wait wait wait. He has an LX570 so he doesn't have a KDSS bar to slam into. It's way easier getting big tires under an LX than an LC.

You are correct I've seen people do 305/65/18 with spacers and no KDSS relocation.

 

[TeCKis300]

Wow, talk about tight! But if I get Bora 1 inches, I'd be at 34.6 mm offset, with a little narrower tire than you as well, so I should have another 1/4" or so of breathing room than you have right now. That makes me feel a bit more comfy.

It's hard for me to see if the top of the lugs are touching the liner. With that 34.5" tire, do you get full articulation of the suspension?

Based on other reports here, it seems like a good alignment can clear all the other parts, especially with adjustable UCAs. One thing I sometimes wonder, though, is how long do these razor tight alignments last? Could a good off road pounding cause a few millimeters here and a few millimeters there to shift around and generate a fresh rubbing somewhere, requiring an urgent return to the shop to dial things back in?

My tires will just kiss at full stuff, enough that I had to pull the clips, put the liner above the fender tabs, and bend tabs up a tad (10 minute mod). You should be good so long as the offset puts things where there is the most clearance which is what I'm trying to convey. I do believe with too low of an offset and meaty tires, the fender lip may be an issue in dynamic conditions.

 

[NY2LA]

My tires will just kiss at full stuff, enough that I had to pull the clips, put the liner above the fender tabs, and bend tabs up a tad (10 minute mod). You should be good so long as the offset puts things where there is the most clearance which is what I'm trying to convey. I do believe with too low of an offset and meaty tires, the fender lip may be an issue in dynamic conditions.

I'm starting to think I should bring .75", 1", and 1.25" to the shop, so that they can experiment and find what's best, then put the unused spacers up for sale here.

 

[TeCKis300]

With the tire you're going for, pretty sure all of those spacers can be made to work.

I'd recommend the 1" however.

- .75" is a bit less meat and less structure in the spacer for the external studs
- 1.25" is more offset than you need creating less clearance against the body mount as the tire swings. May help or hinder KDSS clearance??

I do wonder if @mcgaskins still recommends against KDSS relocation? IIRC, the primary reason was that it puts the sway bar end link at a harsh angle. There's been developments where others have mounted the end link outside the pocket of the LCA bracket, improving angles and end link durability.

 

[NY2LA]

A little footnote for this discussion. On impulse, I drove out to a "locals" area in southern New Jersey last night and found myself on a narrow, hard dirt trail with scattered rocks and branches. The trail could be described as washboard, but the dirt was so hard-packed that in some places it was almost broken like pavement and very harsh--I'm not quite sure how to explain it. On stretches of the road, I encountered a series of pools, or 10 to 30-foot diameter pits filled with brownish water about 6 inches to 18 deep. I did pass one Wrangler hanging out quietly under some trees and one jacked-up, old pickup truck filled with teenagers coming the other way; but for the most part I was alone in the dark woods. During this experience, I came to two realizations:

#1) When my Blizzaks come off, I am absolutely putting on E load tires. I HATED being on a passenger tire during this drive. Thinking about dealing with tire damage alone in the middle of a strange forest at night was unpleasant.

#2) I definitely want fat tires. I went through a couple pools but chickened out when I came to a bigger one. Alone in the forest at night--wasn't ready to cross. Bigger, fatter tires--maybe.

So I've cemented my choice for the LT305/65/R18, and they are going on next month, once I pick a specific tire in this size. Found a shop in southern Jersey with extensive Land Cruiser and custom vehicle building experience. They felt fine putting the tires on 8 inch wide rims too.

Will report in my build thread on the tires and the Dobinson MRAs and UCAs and try to get pictures for anyone interested.

 

[nwfl4runner]

Honestly I think you’re working too hard to make something work that you just don’t need to make work.

there’s no reason to consider .75” spacers and a 12” tire on an 8” rim with KDSS relocation for what you need. Your butt won’t know the difference between an 11.2/12/12.5 tire unless you’re living off-road and even THEN you’ll be hard pressed. A 33” that clears lock to lock at full bump will serve you far better than a 34” that rubs.

If you enjoy the exercise then by all means carry on. I just worry you’re mixing looks/wants with performance/needs

 

[NY2LA]

Honestly I think you’re working too hard to make something work that you just don’t need to make work.

there’s no reason to consider .75” spacers and a 12” tire on an 8” rim with KDSS relocation for what you need. Your butt won’t know the difference between an 11.2/12/12.5 tire unless you’re living off-road and even THEN you’ll be hard pressed. A 33” that clears lock to lock at full bump will serve you far better than a 34” that rubs.

If you enjoy the exercise then by all means carry on. I just worry you’re mixing looks/wants with performance/needs

Respectfully, a few other members here have made this combo work with only minor rubbing at full lock, without KDSS relocation and without a lot of trouble beyond spacers and fender liner adjustments. I'll be bringing the project to a great shop experienced with doing this kind of work on LCs and having them take care of all the fender work. I no longer worry the fitting will be an issue, based on other members' experiences and the expert hands I'll be in with the mod. However, I'll report on the results in my build thread, and if I have to go down a tire size, I'll let folks know.

 

[nwfl4runner]

Respectfully, a few other members here have made this combo work, without KDSS relocation and without a lot of trouble beyond spacers and fender liner adjustments. I'll be bringing the project to a great shop experienced with doing this kind of work on LCs and having them take care of all the fender work. I no longer worry the fitting will be an issue, based on other members' experiences and the expert hands I'll be in with the mod. However, I'll report on the results in my build thread, and if I have to go down a tire size, I'll let folks know.

hey man more power to you, and I hope it works out!

 

[NY2LA]

Just bringing some closure to this thread. As I posted yesterday in my build thread, I've got the 305/65r18 KO2s mounted on my stock Heritage wheels with 1.25" spacers and Dobinson MRAs (2-2.5" lift) and UCAs, and so far they are beyond awesome. No real offroad testing yet though.

No rubbing at all after heavy fender trimming and front mudflap removal. Special shoutout to @TeCKis300 for helping give me the confidence to do this combo.

 

[MacAllan]

Just bringing some closure to this thread. As I posted yesterday in my build thread, I've got the 305/65r18 KO2s mounted on my stock Heritage wheels with 1.25" spacers, and so far they are beyond awesome. No real offroad testing yet though.

No rubbing at all after heavy fender trimming and front mudflap removal. Special shoutout to @TeCKis300 for helping give me the confidence to do this combo.

Any photos you can share?

 

[TeCKis300]

Just bringing some closure to this thread. As I posted yesterday in my build thread, I've got the 305/65r18 KO2s mounted on my stock Heritage wheels with 1.25" spacers, and so far they are beyond awesome. No real offroad testing yet though.

No rubbing at all after heavy fender trimming and front mudflap removal. Special shoutout to @TeCKis300 for helping give me the confidence to do this combo.

Catching up after some good campfires this past weekend. Excited to hear you've got 305s fitted and looking forward to the pics!

 

[NY2LA]

A little addendum. I was experiencing an occasional clanging sound at low speed in parking lots. I went back to the shop and they found two things: a rub on the steering stops (both sides, occurring at full turn) and rubs on the front inside liners (the ones parallel to the wheel). They removed the liners and added grease to the steering stops. The shop is very experienced with these issues, especially on 100s and earlier, and didn't see any adverse consequences, other than me having to pay more attention to hosing down the areas where the liners were when I wash the vehicle if there's any mud or road salt in there. Subsequent to these fixes, I am aware of no further rubs or issues.

 

[lx200inAR]

I'm having trouble gleaming which liner you are talking about, but from what i understand, everyone who has been fitting 34"+ tires has only had to re-orient (front and top of wheel well) or reshape (rear of wheel well) the plastic liners, not remove them entirely. Seems like that would be a better option to keep from spraying road debris to all the nooks and crannies that are usually covered under your truck. Especially for someone in the NE, where I assume they use some harsher anti-freezing agents in the winter.