looking for narrow and tall tire options in 18"

[ARC-]

I have the 97x with 18" wheels. I plan on getting the narrowest, tall tire I can find, 205/85-18 through 235/85-18 or add tall 33". No wider than 9 inches. I have found a few military tires in the sizes i like too.
I might fit a 17 inch wheel, but my rotors and calipers are about an inch from the wheel. I wanted to upgrade to the SS front rotors asap, so the 18 inch wheels might stay or do they require the 20" wheels on the SS?
Any suggestions are welcome.

05 97x 5.3 v8 AWD
Cold Air, cats back and Z71 springs

[ErikSS]

You can run 17" wheels with SS brakes. I suggest 17" wheels for anyone who wants to offroad. You will find more tire options at lower cost than with 18" wheels.

What would cause you to want tires no wider than 9" wide?

[ARC-]

I really like the expedition look. It's lighter and more efficient on mpg, braking, suspension. I also prefer the tires within the fenders. I do not need anything wider.

[ARC-]

Well, I am open to lightweight 17" wheel skinny / tall tire combo then. Any tire gurus out there?

[navigator]

seems like there was some good discussion on expedition portal about tall/skinny tires. I remember the jist of the discussion was that skinny was better if it allowed you to run a taller tire. So running a tall skinny 35" tire was better than running a fat 33" tire. I think the exception was running in deep sand where you want a wider footprint.

here is a link where wide vs skinny was discussed here, but not a lot of mention of the actual tire sizes.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2774&hilit=skinny&start=40

About the closest tall/skinny I remember here was 255/85/16 which I think Battlemode ran. I've thought about running that size next time but there aren't as many options in that size and I figure it makes sense to run one that is more readily available should I have an issue.

[Trail X]

You'll be hard pressed to find anything good skinnier than 255 (10") for a good off-road tire. The classic one that a few of us have ran is the 255/75/17 BFG KM (think they also make that size in KM2 tread).

I don't think this site carries all tires, but it's a pretty good place to start. It's got one of the best tire searching algorithms I've seen, especially if you're looking for some odd skinny or tall combinations:
http://www.ntwonline.com/All-Tires.html

[navigator]

James, that is a nice filter they have on their tire search.

[JCrayton99]

Cooper had word that they were going to come out with a 255-80-17 eventually. Not sure about any actual products. I run Maxxis Bighorns in 255-85-16 and absolutely love them.

[ARC-]

Is it true I will need to add spacers to get the taller tires on? Or, if the wheel tire combo is narrow enough, I could install some form of 33" tire without spacers, with the right offset to the outside and away from the upper ball joint? Does anyone know the exact offset or how to calculate the offset that allows a 225/80 or 33" narrow tire to not be near the UBJoint?

[Trail X]

It is true that you need to space the tire away from the knuckle if you go beyond a 30.5" tire.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=26

As it says in the sticky, Generally you'll need a rim with less than 5" of backspacing. If its a super narrow tire, like 225, you may be able to get away with 5.5" of backspacing, but that's difficult to be sure.

[ARC-]

Installed a 1.5" spacer and 275/70-18

[corwin]

Installed a 1.5" spacer and 275/70-18

How was it so far Tony? We will be working on buddy's 2005 97x AWD soon right after we finished installing the new shocks, nerf bars and LED lights on the current truck project. Cleared everything on 275/70-18?

[ARC-]

Still needs more clearance. I might be hollowing out the front fenders. It still runs on top.

[corwin]

Would appreciate the solution you came up with.

[ARC-]

Not completed, but whats done is here or will be soon...

https://www.facebook.com/saab97x/

[G Armstrong]

I am looking into possibility of fitting a 235 80 17 (~31.9 inch diameter) or 234 75 17 (~30.9 inch diameter) on my 2006 TB. Looking at 235's in an effort to avoid wheel spacers and still get some additional clearance. Here is a link to a tire size comparison site the gives quite a bit of information
that might help you. https://tiresize.com/calculator/
I'll be following to see what you learn.

[ARC-]

I did 33" because they go over large potholes and rocks smoother.

[TBYODA]

I am looking into possibility of fitting a 235 80 17 (~31.9 inch diameter) or 234 75 17 (~30.9 inch diameter) on my 2006 TB. Looking at 235's in an effort to avoid wheel spacers and still get some additional clearance. Here is a link to a tire size comparison site the gives quite a bit of information
that might help you. https://tiresize.com/calculator/
I'll be following to see what you learn.

Even with those two different tires they won’t fit with out spacers or adapters, you need them to clear the upper ball joint. max tire is 30.6”.

[ARC-]

I have 1.5" spacer oem 18" wheels and 275/70-18 on it now.
Images available at the link below
[url]https://www.facebook.com/saab97x/[url]

[maybe2fast]

255 70 R18 off of a Wrangler with 1.5 spacers here.