Minimal lift you have run with 35s? (1 Viewer)

[wb1948]

This is not a thread asking how much lift I need to run 35s or anything redundant like that. I have done my research, and now I am curious as to what the minimal amount of lift people have been getting away with running 35s(moderate off-roading). Logically, it seems that a truck that can fit 33s stock, SHOULD be able to fit 35s with 2.5-3" of lift, especially with wheel wells like the LC. I know there are many factors that contribute to whether or not you can "run" 35s, because it all depends on what you want to do in your truck, and it is not a matter of simply fitting. I would appreciate insite from anyone who is willing to respond, but moderate 4x4ers in particular.

Once again, I have searched, and am just looking for some information on what smaller lifts have worked for people to run 35s.

 

[Critter]

This should help some.

http://www.sleeoffroad.com/technical/tz_35.htm

 

[bjowett]

Run a tire on the skinny side, drop the bump stops 1 - 2" and you should be good to go w/ a 35".

 

[wb1948]

Run a tire on the skinny side, drop the bump stops 1 - 2" and you should be good to go w/ a 35".

Thats not really what I am asking. I am surveying to see what people have used and how it worked for them.

I would consider the performance the guys at slee demand to be considerably different from what most require, although I may be wrong. Hopefully I will find out.

 

[Critter]

So what your looking for is not the amount of lift nessecary to make 35"s useful but the minimal amount of lift require to clear them? Your question seems confusing since you are (but aren't) asking how much lift people with 35"s are running.

Correct me if I am wrong...

 

[bjowett]

How much lift, then? I run well loaded J springs up front and the HD 863 in the rear. All loaded up I probably have 2 - 2.5" of lift tops.... I run a skinny 36" Swamper and run hard trails w/o issues.

 

[MTNRAT]

I had J springs and 1" spacers and ran the Rubicon with no rubbing issues.
Cheers,
Sean

 

[NorCalDoug]

What do you consider moderate 4x4? What about gearing? Thinking about stayin with the stock 4.10?

 

[fzj]

I ran my 91 with no lift and 35 inch goodyear mtrs mounted on the factory wheels. I ran this setup offroad, and it rarley rubbed(it rubbed alittle bit on the back against the frame on the inside under hard articulation) I even ran the rti ramp, with no probs(except the before mentioned) so in answer to your question the biggest factor in my opinion is what wheels you will be running, and exactly what tire, I would not recomend a swamper ssr, or any other true 35 inch tire, cause ya might have probs without the lift, so let us know what tire your thinking about running and the wheel width and backspacing that you would use, hope this helps!!

 

[e9999]

this is an interesting question to me as well. Namely is there a consensus that one could run 35s without a lift at all with a stock rig if one does not do severe articulation stuff?
any more feedback?
and yes I know, the gearing would be an issue...
E

 

[NorCalDoug]

On a stock rig -- no lift at all -- I think it would be a VERY tight fit. There would likely be rubbing on the front flare when turning. There probably would be rubbing inside the wheel well on speed bumps -- I'm not trying to exaggerate...

The largest tire I would attempt on a stock rig would be 295/75 R16, but even that would be big for a stock 80.

 

[Clutchee]

Lift

On my wifes we are running med duty front & rear OME, with 315 (35's). The one thing we ran into was when we added the 315's & 1" spacer at droop or hard bumps we were stripping the shock bolts, answer was to put the Jspring shocks up front & since then we have not looked back. The rear we still run the standard 2.5 lift shock. Answer is 2.5 OME lift & your in but may want to add the shocks on the front for J springs. J springs are another option but one that we have not tried.

 

[MoJ]

Here's a link to a long discussion about 295 & 315 tires. A few claims that it doesn't rub. A few that it does. At least one person has done it with only adding 10mm spaces.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=11502&highlight=meats

 

[fzj]

ok, I want to say this again, because I feel that there is way too much attention on the tires, and still not much on the wheel, the wheel size, and backspacing is just as important if not more important to the overall fit of a tire than the tire itself!!!!!!!!!! If you run a 35 inch tire on a ten inch rim with factory backspacing with no lift on an 80 series, you probably won't make it out of the driveway without ripping something off, but on the other hand that same tire on a stock wheel, will likely not rub at all, depending on actual tire size etc. For some reason I always end up getting a good deal on some tires, so I have thrown big tires on most of my stock rigs for short amounts of time just until the lift kits get thrown on, and to my surprise, most of the tires did not rub, or only rubbed slightly, below is a picture of my 97 4-runner with 305's on it stock!!

 

[wb1948]

Stock wheels, we need as many constants as possible with a thread like this. The tire I am looking at is the 315 mt/r. I also looked at running the skinny 35x10.5 ssr, but decided it did not look right. Has anyone every tried bending the fender wells where rubbing occurs? Or is this not possible?

 

[MoJ]

ok, For some reason I always end up getting a good deal on some tires, so I have thrown big tires on most of my stock rigs for short amounts of time just until the lift kits get thrown on, and to my surprise, most of the tires did not rub, or only rubbed slightly, below is a picture of my 97 4-runner with 305's on it stock!!

I've ran 305's BFG A/T on stock height/wheels for about 10k miles now. No problem on or off road. Wheeled them multiple times on different terrains. I've tried different test articulation scenarios and have yet to get them to rub. However, IIRC, C-Dan mentioned he expereinced a slight rub with 305's on his rig.

Keep in mind - when thinking about a tire fully stuffed in the wheel well, If you've only done shocks/coils for a lift and nothing else (bump stop mods etc.) the lift won't make any difference ---- it's still the same wheel well.

*All else equal, with a fully stuffed tire, the space inside the wheel well does not change no matter how much you lift it.


PS - what's with the 4-runner filth? %$#@^

 

[landtank]

The real critical thing in my mind is to be sure you properly match the spring rate to the weight of the vehicle. As you drive over an obstical and the axle begins to twist, the spring on the high side now begins to support more of the weight of the truck. A stiffer spring will be better at handling the extra load and keeping the tire out of the wheel well. So a stock truck might not have rubbing issues with a particular wheel/tire combination while one with winches,bumpers, roof rack, sliders, ect will. So there are a lot of variables to consider when choosing a tire. The safest choice is a stock size tire or maybe a 285/75R16. After that it's bolt them up and deal with the issues if they arrise. I've been running 315s for 3 years now. Initially I had the the medium lift from OME. They rubbed once when driving down a back road and the front end came off the ground. When the truck landed the tired rubbed against a bolt on the inner wheel well just inside the outer edge. I then replaced the springs for the heavy set and haven't had any more issues. I've offroaded it a few times but nothing extreme and they work fine for me.

 

[ginericLC]

I think the wheels are the key. I'm running Js 3.5" with no spacers and just the factory bumpstops. I'm running 35" BFG MTs (small 35s) and I'm not even close to rubbing. I'm running 15x8 wheels with 3.25" backspacing. I've been looking more and more at the Military Michelines. Which are about 36.5" They run a little narrow so that should help but I still think I'm going to custom wheels with 3.5" or less backspacing. I really like the wider track.

 

[fzj]

315's with the only lift being two 10mm trim packers on each side in the front

 

[fzj]

and just for fun, here it is after the lift!