Stuffing 35” tires

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MissahPapaJ

MissahPapaJ

Joined
Oct 26, 2024
Threads
15
Messages
290
Location
California
What’s the minimum lift it’ll take to safely run 35” or close to 35s also is it necessary to get both adjustable rear arms for the rear diff? Also any opinions on what brands to go with to achieve this goal. Looking to do some mild wheeling and would like to not scrape or rub. I’ve been looking into Dobinsons and aren’t really sure what to get anyone have any input / ideas / advice.
 
I have 35s with a 2" Ironman lift. I did some minor flare trimming and replaced the inner fender bolts with button heads, which you can see in my build thread. I am going to raise my bump stops, when I get around to it, because they still hit.
 
COS80 said:
I have 35s with a 2" Ironman lift. I did some minor flare trimming and replaced the inner fender bolts with button heads, which you can see in my build thread. I am going to raise my bump stops, when I get around to it, because they still hit.
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That reminds me...I need to replace mine with button heads also because I was hitting those bolts as well. 35" Tires with a 2 - 2.5" lift...
 
MissahPapaJ said:
What’s the minimum lift it’ll take to safely run 35” or close to 35s also is it necessary to get both adjustable rear arms for the rear diff? Also any opinions on what brands to go with to achieve this goal. Looking to do some mild wheeling and would like to not scrape or rub. I’ve been looking into Dobinsons and aren’t really sure what to get anyone have any input / ideas / advice.
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You don't need any lift to safely run 35" tires and you definitely don't need adjustable rear control arms. It's the bumpstop extension and possibly some minor fender flare trimming that will make them fit on a stock rim w/o rubbing. It's usually just one small portion of the rear flare that needs to be trimmed and it's easy to do w/ a Dremel and won't really be noticeable.

With that said, I assume you're adding larger tires for off-roading and/or for appearance, so you'll probably want a lift for those reasons. A 2" lift like the very popular ones from OME or other manufactures is nicely balanced w/ 35s and doesn't require new control arms. You won't need new rear UCAs until ~3" or higher to prevent driveline vibrations, and rear LCAs aren't needed at any reasonable height. The reason people tend to replace the LCAs is for increased resistance to bending during rock strikes and not for tire fit.
 
Seems we are going down the same road lol.

The 80 I just picked up supposedly has a a 3" lift, of what brand I have no idea. The springs have no paint and the shocks are painted over.
Personally I'd like to redo it all, but the springs aren't broken or sagged out, and if the shocks all feel good I'll probably just rerun them for now.
The 33's were toast, so I just ordered up some cheap 315/75's. I'm keeping the factory 16's (sandblasted and painted)

I'm a fan of the littlest lift needed. If I redo everything, I'd like to stay around the 2" mark. As the truck currently sits, everything is factory, I don't think it has castor correction bushings either.
 
So along these lines - what is the largest tire that will fit stick suspension with no rubbing in a 17” +0 offset wheel? I have 33’s and feel like there is lots of room, from this thread seems 35’s will for sure rub without a lift. Are 33’s the sweet spot, or will 34’s fit no rub?
 
cts said:
You don't need any lift to safely run 35" tires and you definitely don't need adjustable rear control arms. It's the bumpstop extension and possibly some minor fender flare trimming that will make them fit on a stock rim w/o rubbing. It's usually just one small portion of the rear flare that needs to be trimmed and it's easy to do w/ a Dremel and won't really be noticeable.

With that said, I assume you're adding larger tires for off-roading and/or for appearance, so you'll probably want a lift for those reasons. A 2" lift like the very popular ones from OME or other manufactures is nicely balanced w/ 35s and doesn't require new control arms. You won't need new rear UCAs until ~3" or higher to prevent driveline vibrations, and rear LCAs aren't needed at any reasonable height. The reason people tend to replace the LCAs is for increased resistance to bending during rock strikes and not for tire fit.
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Ya I didn’t pick up a 80 to be a mall crawler and LARP off road. I plan on hammering this whip and some camping with the family and hunting trips. It’s mostly gonna live its life driving to and from off road adventure not really gonna drive it other than to shake it down and keep the juices flowing. I would like to keep the ride as low as possible while stuffing 35”s and not rubbing is my goal.
 
77pantera said:
Seems we are going down the same road lol.

The 80 I just picked up supposedly has a a 3" lift, of what brand I have no idea. The springs have no paint and the shocks are painted over.
Personally I'd like to redo it all, but the springs aren't broken or sagged out, and if the shocks all feel good I'll probably just rerun them for now.
The 33's were toast, so I just ordered up some cheap 315/75's. I'm keeping the factory 16's (sandblasted and painted)

I'm a fan of the littlest lift needed. If I redo everything, I'd like to stay around the 2" mark. As the truck currently sits, everything is factory, I don't think it has castor correction bushings either.
Click to expand...
Wonder if it has a Eibach 3” lift that kit is insanely cheap, almost too cheap to trust 😂 but it has me wondering if it’s worth a try. Kinda looked at the ICON but it said max 33’s but that’s also prob to keep the angry emails to a minimum. Also ICON gives me harbor freight vibes.
 
mudgudgeon said:
Sticking with a standard wheel offset/backspace will reduce likelihood of rubbing.
If you go with an offset wheel, you increase the scrub radius which means more chance of rubbing
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Gotta get some -offset rims the stock 0 offset kinda makes a look a little funny maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with some 315/75 on stock rims but I kinda want to open up tire options with 17” rims cause the tire options are far more extensive.
 
1.75" lift and 35s here, very slight rub at full stuff when turning works good.
 
mudgudgeon said:
Depends how "stock" you keep it.

I have 305/70r16s on my 80. It was stock height until fairly recently.
I had zero rubbing with no changes to the suspension whatsoever.

For 35"s and stock height, you would possibly need to modify dumpsters.
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I think that’s basically a wide 33, right ?
My 285 33’s work great stock and I mean stock- putting new OEM shocks on this weekend I got from another MUD member with 50 miles on them. I was fairly sure that 35’s would rub, just wasn’t sure about 34’s.
 
If you're getting new rims, -6 would be the ideal offset with a ~35x12.5" tire when it comes to tire fit. 0 offset (stock) is fine but will rub if you ever go to 37s. -12 works well but will require a little more trimming on the fender flares. Going any wider (more negative offset) requires more trimming, more bumpstop, or removing the flares.

ICON makes nice products, but they have a fairly limited range for the 80. Their 3" lift is fine for 35's. The biggest issues with that kit are that springs will sag quite a bit under load (heavy bumpers, drawers, etc) and their rebuildable shocks tend to need to be rebuilt well before you'd need to replace a regular non-rebuildable shock..
 
MissahPapaJ said:
Wonder if it has a Eibach 3” lift that kit is insanely cheap, almost too cheap to trust 😂 but it has me wondering if it’s worth a try. Kinda looked at the ICON but it said max 33’s but that’s also prob to keep the angry emails to a minimum. Also ICON gives me harbor freight vibes.
Click to expand...
No idea, from the rust on the springs and shocks, it looks pretty old to be honest.
If I do a full refresh I'd probably go Dobinson, OME or Ironman. From what I've gathered they all offer quality entry level kits. I don't need rebuildable Kings or anything fancy.
Please correct me Mud, but at a basic bitch 2" lift, we don't need to worry about much, castor might not be perfect but we're far from aftermarket arms, castor plate territory, or even offset bushings. Maybe bump stops at worst?
 
MissahPapaJ said:
Ya I didn’t pick up a 80 to be a mall crawler and LARP off road.
Click to expand...
In that case, zero lift...

2033090_A.eps_High.jpg
 
77pantera said:
No idea, from the rust on the springs and shocks, it looks pretty old to be honest.
If I do a full refresh I'd probably go Dobinson, OME or Ironman. From what I've gathered they all offer quality entry level kits. I don't need rebuildable Kings or anything fancy.
Please correct me Mud, but at a basic bitch 2" lift, we don't need to worry about much, castor might not be perfect but we're far from aftermarket arms, castor plate territory, or even offset bushings. Maybe bump stops at worst?
Click to expand...
castor correction makes a big difference if you like to drive it on the street. it's about 5 degrees off with a 2" lift. are there people that skip it? sure.
 
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