The time has come. Tire part.

[KE7WOX]

Yes, the time has finally come for my TB to not be the lowest one here.
Lift wise, I'll probably go with the BDS kit (I will open a thread on the suspension forum to ask for some tips).
Tire wise

I'm still undecided on the ways to proceed

If I go the spacers route and ~31.5 tires, probably 255/75/17 or 265/70/17.
Does anyone know if Sears will work on a vehicle with spacers? or which other big company will do? I know Discount won't.



The other thing, will the 31.5s" fit without a lift? the lift is happening for sure, but I might do the lift with a week or two of difference from the tires. But I'd like to be able to at least drive in the city in the meantime.

At this point I have the Wrangler SilentArmor on my top list, followed by the Terra Grappler, Dueler Revo 2, Hankook Dynapro ATM and the BFG A/T, Load Range D or E. Does anyone have opinions on those? I don't do a lot of mud driving, mostly semi-desertic zones and rocky, dry roads.

Spacers, is it more recommended to get the wheel and hubcentric ones?

[Philberto]

Dude...



Search. Each and every one of these topics has been covered exhaustively either here or on the OS.

I will offer up, however, that big brand tires will work on spacers, you can still drive on stock tires with lift, just looks goofy, the speedo difference isn't that great, and 31.5 only requires minor wheel well liner trimming, no metal cutting.

Sorry if I come off as harsh, but these kinds of questions are the ones we joke about people asking, since the answers are already here.

[Trail X]

Do some searching and reading and try to answer some of your questions... then whittle them away until you have a few more detailed pictures. People are a little more willing to help if there aren't 20 questions.

[KE7WOX]

Well I know about stock tires + lift, but I was thinking about the other way around, 31.5 tires without the lift.

Now, when you say minor trimming, what do you mean by that?

[Philberto]

you see the plastic liner for your wheel well?
Shorten it in front and back by 2 inches approximately and you're good. Assuming, of course, a lift and spacers.

[bgwolfpack]

you see the plastic liner for your wheel well?
Shorten it in front and back by 2 inches approximately and you're good. Assuming, of course, a lift and spacers.

Isn't there a thread somewhere that explains all of this?

[KE7WOX]

So that would be the same trimming that AlekG did for his 33" tires?

http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=15551

[The Roadie]

http://jd.offroadtb.com/

Every tire is slightly different than it's "nominal" size. You have to experiment, drive, and trim. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Minor trimming, to me, meant ripping out my wheel well liners. Medium trimming is getting the jig saw on the fender metal.

[MrSmithsTB]

you just need to be willing to make the cuts. 31.5" tires with or without lift may require some trimming. If you use your stock wheels, all of the trimming will be the inner plastic liners. Nobody sees them anyway, so it really doesn't matter. Using an excuse like not wanting to cut is just a cop out for using smaller tires. Taking away a few inches front and rear should be more than enough. As Roadie says, the only way to tell is to test. But do yourself a favor; Lift first, spacers and tires second, cutting third, recovery equipment fourth, and under armor fifth.

[Mooseknuckle]

Just IM me and i will answer anything you need. Reading is a great way to learn but for some people it will confuse you and like me I couldnt make up my mind with some things. I asked for some direction and I got the same response and I understand why, these poor guys have had the same questions over and over asked. I on the other hand have not had those questions asked to me and I just went through it. So ask away..

[KE7WOX]

Well, I went with the SilentArmors, LT265/70/17E blackwall , but I couldn't find them in stock here, so the guy at Ponderosa Tire called whoever supplies him the tires and secured 4 of them at a warehouse in California, and they should be here on Tuesday. They had C's (and possibly P-metric) in stock here, but no E's, $12.50/each for shipping, not bad. Definitely the best choice for the SA's. The manager at Ponderosa said they work on the spacers depending on their thickness(my thoughts, oh shit, these are thick spacers), but when I mentioned they were 1.5" he said oh! actual bolt-on spacers, yeah we'll work with that. So I solved that. I was afraid I was going to have to find a small tire shop in the Phoenix area, as there are almost no choices here

The findings:
-Sears (at least the one here) won't work on a vehicle with spacers, they guy there said something to the effect of it's not a good idea
-Didn't even stop by Discount, as we know their policies
-Sams said the spacers were ok, but according to the tire guy, the SA's were out of stock in that size, and they could only get me the P-metric in 3-5 days, so no, I don't want any more P-metric tires.

[The Roadie]

My experience with small, independent tire shops has been almost 100% positive for years of needing to repair trail plugs. One year in the Sierra Nevadas, I had to head down into Bishop every couple of days to get my trail plugs turned into proper internal patches. For an independent shop to stay alive, like an independent bookstore in the presence of the big chains, they HAVE to be providing good service to the locals for repeat business, so that's why I trust them.

And they usually let you watch more closely and answer questions instead of having a waiting room out of sight.

[KE7WOX]

Yeah, for me it's just kind of a new experience I guess, coming from Mexico and Panama, where there are no large tire chains, and places like Sears and Walmart don't have tire centers. And back in Panama my dad would just have someone at work all in advance and say he was showing up to get a tire plugged or needed some sort of service and they would find the way to open a slot for him (yeah, having connections works).

Sounds like this place has good service, they had quite a few people waiting there or looking for tires. Sounds like I found the place to go if I puncture a tire. Also found a place if that happens to you :p

[Harry Moto]

I went to the local Discount Tire on Main St. in Mesa AZ and told the fellow what I wanted. 255-75x17 Silent Armor. We were friends until I told him the wheels would be on pre-installed adaptors; he said Discount Tire policy yadda yadda NO. So, it's verified again, don't bother with Discount tire. I've got some leads from recommended installers from the Tire Rack site, cost when done should be about the same.

I'm pulling the trigger in the next week or three, will report back when I make something happen. Where you can go, and where all you can't go in this area.

[mikepeters1983]

I went to the local Discount Tire on Main St. in Mesa AZ and told the fellow what I wanted. 255-75x17 Silent Armor. We were friends until I told him the wheels would be on pre-installed adaptors; he said Discount Tire policy yadda yadda NO. So, it's verified again, don't bother with Discount tire. I've got some leads from recommended installers from the Tire Rack site, cost when done should be about the same.

I'm pulling the trigger in the next week or three, will report back when I make something happen. Where you can go, and where all you can't go in this area.

Wal-mart will do it. Thats where I got mine done on the Yeti when I first go to AZ, down in Sierra Vista, AZ. So thats one place.

[KE7WOX]

I went to the local Discount Tire on Main St. in Mesa AZ and told the fellow what I wanted. 255-75x17 Silent Armor. We were friends until I told him the wheels would be on pre-installed adaptors; he said Discount Tire policy yadda yadda NO. So, it's verified again, don't bother with Discount tire. I've got some leads from recommended installers from the Tire Rack site, cost when done should be about the same.

I'm pulling the trigger in the next week or three, will report back when I make something happen. Where you can go, and where all you can't go in this area.

Yeah, for Discount it's like the nationwide policy. Supposedly Costco won't do anything other than stock size. But the small tire shop gained my business by selling me exactly what I wanted and how I wanted. And then I recommended them to my friend, who bought 4 MT/Rs for his Toyota from them.

[Blackout]

What was your grand total?

[KE7WOX]

Can't tell you right now, I'll look at the invoice later and tell you, but tires were ~$265 a piece

[Stoked]

Lift first, spacers and tires second, cutting third, recovery equipment fourth, and under armor fifth.

I disagree, recovery equipment first. You're gonna get the itch if you find youself facing a section that normally couldnt be tackled while stock. Damn Murphy

[fishsticks]

Lift first, spacers and tires second, cutting third, recovery equipment fourth, and under armor fifth.

I disagree, recovery equipment first. You're gonna get the itch if you find youself facing a section that normally couldnt be tackled while stock. Damn Murphy

At least get a strap or two and a HiLift/Liftmate.