Effects of large tires on front end components in daily driving (1 Viewer)

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Hi everyone! It's been almost 1 year since I've been away, working a lot, but boy do I miss being back. I am getting ready now to get some larger timer on my LX470. I am aiming for 285/75R18. This way I get the 35 inch high tire, without the added weight of a wide 315. I do very mild off roading, dirt trails, maybe some light mud. Definitely NO rock climbing or heavy off roading. Probably wondering why the 35 the? Well, 2 reasons. 1. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the look. And since this is my toy, I feel... why not. 2. There are obstacles on many of the trails we go on, a lot of trees, tree branches that fall in the winter, rocks, so the more room there is between me and the ground, the better, but, the less I lift, the better. My question is, after driving around for a long time on 35's, without heavy off roading, do people experience more breaking of CV joints, wheel bearings, brake rotors and pads, steering arms...
 
Bruh, it's a cruiser...You'll be just fine... Just make sure maintenance is up to par ( no leaky cv boots, wheel bearings etc...)..
 
Bruh, it's a cruiser...You'll be just fine... Just make sure maintenance is up to par ( no leaky cv boots, wheel bearings etc...)..
I know they're awesome trucks. I just keep seeing other posts with people saying they had to replace CV joints, bearings... more often after big tires. I love the look, but I also love how reliable these things are and would hate to mess it up.
 
Lots of tire fitment threads, but I think you will need at least a 1/2" body lift in addition to the 2-3" suspension lift to avoid rubbing. I doubt you can get there with suspension lift alone. And you may need to play with the backspacing.

The 285/75R18 has to be my favorite 35" tire, not a fan of the 315/75R16. I was trying to justify it myself but at the end of the day the 285/75R16 was all I needed for what I do. Sometimes I get small tire complex, especially when wheeling with 80s.
 
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Go with the 295/70/18 discoverer st maxx

Check the link in my signature. I think they're the biggest and best looking tire you can rock without rubbing. Mine are super close, but clear.

Not sure about the extra strain. I can't imagine daily driving with larger tires would come close to messing up the 100 drive train. Likely, CV joints had to be replaced due to lifting and not using a diff drop thus putting a lot of strain on the joints.
 
The CV issues generally come from lifts rather than just tires, but since most people go up when they get bigger tires... you get the idea. If you want to run 35s you'll need some kind of lift, which will at the very least mean adjustments to your torsion bars, which will change the angles of your CVs. If the CVs are original and are happily set in their angle, you'll likely get leaking and/or tearing at the boots unless you install a diff drop to keep the angles close to stock.

SDnative - the 285/75R16 is closer to 33. I have them, and many others do, but I think the OP is going for it and looking at 35s. Maybe it's a typo on your part as you may have 18s.
 
Sorry, I meant 285/75R18 was my favorite 35. I have 285/75R16. I will edit my post.
 
Correct me if I am wrong but I was always under the impression and told that a 285/75 is a 33... thats what I got on my LX with no lift running in N 99% of the time....
 
Correct me if I am wrong but I was always under the impression and told that a 285/75 is a 33... thats what I got on my LX with no lift running in N 99% of the time....
285/76/16 IS a 33" tire, but the OP is asking about the 285/75/18 which is a 34.8" x 11.2" tire. The 295/70/18 referenced (my next tire size) is a 34.3 x 11.6. The biggest issue I found with the 285/75/18 is that very few companies make a tire in that size. cooper makes the ST Maxx in the 295 70 18 which is a fantastic tire in snow and ice which I have to deal with from November to early May. I ran that tire on my Titan and loved it.
 
Toyo AT2 is available as an "xtreme" in 285/75R18. I do agree with the limited availability.
 
CV and rack & pinion durability and longevity are directly related to front suspension height.

Yes larger, heavier tires do impart more load especially to steering components (braking performance too), but keeping your front end height as close to stock will pay huge dividends. The more you deviate from stock/near stock front suspension height the more steering and cv drive system durability and longevity (performance too!) will suffer. This applies to most vehicles but especially the 100/470 platform.

This has been my experience with 11-years and now closing in on 180k of my own miles put to my 100 including running thousands upon thousands of miles of different suspension heights in a wide variety of terrain.
 
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I say it depends on how much heavy offroad use you do. DD hwy miles vs offroad time. There is more stress offroad on the suspension parts with heavy tires.

35s on the street takes away drivability and performance.

You will need way more than just 35s to make it worthwhile in the long run.
 
CV and rack & pinion durability and longevity are directly related to front suspension height.

Yes larger, heavier tires do impart more load especially to steering components (braking performance too), but keeping your front end height as close to stock will pay huge dividends. The more you deviate from stock/near stock front suspension height the more steering and cv drive system durability and longevity (performance too!) will suffer. This applies to most vehicles but especially the 100/470 platform.

This has been my experience with 11-years and now closing in on 180k of my own miles put to my 100 including running thousands upon thousands of miles of different suspension heights in a wide variety of terrain.

That's why I went with a OME lift with Slee diff drop and 275/70/18 tires (33"). This way no abnormal strain and it looks balanced.
 
You can still adjust the suspension to heights that will substantially accelerate CV and steering rack/ends wear (and impart negative steering traits) with any lift regardless of brand. The diff drop helps but still shouldn't eliminate use of a tape measure ;).
 
You can still adjust the suspension to heights that will substantially accelerate CV and steering rack/ends wear (and impart negative steering traits) with any lift regardless of brand. The diff drop helps but still shouldn't eliminate use of a tape measure ;).

I'm not to worried Slee installed mine 20k miles ago
 
285/76/16 IS a 33" tire, but the OP is asking about the 285/75/18 which is a 34.8" x 11.2" tire. The 295/70/18 referenced (my next tire size) is a 34.3 x 11.6. The biggest issue I found with the 285/75/18 is that very few companies make a tire in that size. cooper makes the ST Maxx in the 295 70 18 which is a fantastic tire in snow and ice which I have to deal with from November to early May. I ran that tire on my Titan and loved it.

Good to know!! Never knew that as I always thought a 285/75 (or any tire with the same numbers but different rim size) was the same height no matter what rim size it was made for....
 
I got a ome lift and dif drop. Totally agree with what spressomon said above about the tape measure and lift. I rebuilt my ripped cv boots 20,000 miles ago when I bought the truck. I got under it last week while changing the oil and they are ripped again! I didn't check with a tape measure. Well comes to find out the PO cranked the torsion bars too much I'm sitting at 23" in the front and 22.5" in the rear! I learned the hard way!
 
Lots of tire fitment threads, but I think you will need at least a 1/2" body lift in addition to the 2-3" suspension lift to avoid rubbing. I doubt you can get there with suspension lift alone. And you may need to play with the backspacing.

The 285/75R18 has to be my favorite 35" tire, not a fan of the 315/75R16. I was trying to justify it myself but at the end of the day the 285/75R16 was all I needed for what I do. Sometimes I get small tire complex, especially when wheeling with 80s.
I was hoping not to do any body lift, it's more than I want to modify. I was hoping to do a 2.5 inch lift and use wheels spacers, flatten the inside pinch weld in back of front wheel wells. Any thoughts if that's enough?
 
Lots of tire fitment threads, but I think you will need at least a 1/2" body lift in addition to the 2-3" suspension lift to avoid rubbing. I doubt you can get there with suspension lift alone. And you may need to play with the backspacing.

The 285/75R18 has to be my favorite 35" tire, not a fan of the 315/75R16. I was trying to justify it myself but at the end of the day the 285/75R16 was all I needed for what I do. Sometimes I get small tire complex, especially when wheeling with 80s.
I love that tire size as well, my favorite 35" tire. I am hoping I don't find obstacles. If I do, then I may end up staying with 33 or 295/70r18 as Ramathorn15 did.
 
Go with the 295/70/18 discoverer st maxx

Check the link in my signature. I think they're the biggest and best looking tire you can rock without rubbing. Mine are super close, but clear.

Not sure about the extra strain. I can't imagine daily driving with larger tires would come close to messing up the 100 drive train. Likely, CV joints had to be replaced due to lifting and not using a diff drop thus putting a lot of strain on the joints.
I actually loved your thread and truck. Do your tires rub at all in any scenario, at full turn while under compression? Do you feel a power loss or gas milage change? I'm assuming your CV joints and other components are fine.
 

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