So Ive decided that my next tire will be a 255/85/16 Geolander MT

My question is will they fit on only a 1" inch front lift and 2-2.5 inch rear lift during "heavy" wheeling?

Ive read on multiple threads that they will fit on stock suspension however those guys were not running the LC shocks as I am and from what ive seen did not wheel that much (Maybe a dirt road or two). And all those threads were at least 10 years old at this point.

Does anyone have experience with 255/85s with LC shocks and minimal lift?

I realize I will have to do some cutting and BFH on the pinch welds and stuff but im trying to avoid ripping my rear bumper off at full stuff with the LC shocks or possibly having the fender cut into my tires up front. (The front swaybar stays on when I wheel)

My current measurements are 21" up front (Center hub to bottom of limited flare)
and 22" rear (center hub to limited flare)

Stuff your wheels as much as possible then take a 2x4 and check your clearances with the 4 inch side against the tire tread. A 2x4 is 1.5 inches thick. 255/85R16 tires are 1.5 inches taller than 265/75R16 tires. Which means they are less than 1 inch increase in tire radius.

What wheels/spacers are you running?

I run a 255/80/17 which is the same size and I flattened the pinch welds and only get rubbing at the most extreme of front flex situations. Nothing bad though.

With a stock bumper you will probably have to trim the front flare that is attached the the bumper. I did when I was running a shorter 255/75/17, but I have also been running 1.25" spacers with my OEM 5th gen wheels.

I installed a tall lift before I went to the 255s (true 33" tires), so this is all speculation on what you might get with such a mild lift. I had to do some significant trimming front and rear to not rub, but I have spidertrax wheel spacers and I remove the anti-sway bars when offroad, and both of those make the rubbing worse.

Expect some rubbing at full articulation and steering angles in the front for sure. The rear may also rub, and will certainly rub on articulation if you have wheel spacers. For a mall crawler, a BFH and some minor sawing might do the trick.

If you want to go on dirt roads that will cause your axles to articulate, you will probably need to spend some serious time with an angle grinder, or even install longer bump stops. After you've done all that, put it in 4wd, and reverse and forward while the wheel is turned. The wheel moves due to the axle driving the wheel, causing more rubbing and more trimming.

So that trick actually helped out a lot. Made it super easy to visualize where it would rub

Im currently running no spacers on the stock wheels. Though I am going to go to add some once I do the tundra brake upgrade for these tires

The front rubbing seems to be the biggest issue and from Badlucks 2x4 trick I used it doesn't seem to be too much rubbing. Nothing a BFH and some trimming cant do just like you said. How are your rears with rubbing? im just concerned since I have the LC shocks about ripping off my rear bumper

No rubbing the back but I have a 4xinnovstions rear bumper and extended bumpstops. I've also ran the LC shocks and now have King shocks in the back. No rubbing issues with either.

I did a writeup in my build thread on how I clearances the front pinch welds. Like you said it really isn't that bad.

It works pretty good as long as you are going to be using the same wheel. Can even work in a pinch if you know what the offset difference is in inches so you can off set the board edge to mimic where the edge of the new tire/wheel combo will be. Glad it helped bud

Running 255/85r16 maxxis bighorns with 1.5" wheel spacers. Rubs pretty good with stock UCA's and no pinchweld mod at full lock. Fine for daily driving. With the pinch weld banged in it's totally fine and when aired down I have clearance

I would definitely recommend a 1inch body lift, It will give you enough clearance to not rub even when hitting whoops at stock suspension hight. I ran my 255/85 Bighorns without the body lift for a while with a 2in suspension lift and is was rubbing when off-roading at speed, I also wouldn't recommend wheel spacers because they are definitely not necessary.

One other thing I will mention is that the suspension will compress a solid inch more than full stuff due to the bump stop compressing, if you hit something hard.

Where are the pictures?????????

Where are the pictures?????????

This is my favorite size and I WISH they made 255/85/16 in an AT. In the next year or two when this no longer becomes my daily, I’m just going to say F it and buy the MTs.

Following

The tires should be coming this Saturday or Sunday so will have photos by then. Im currently doing the tundra brake upgrade for these tires as they are 10lbs heavier than my current tires. Next week is a wheeling trip (part of the reason why I bought them now) and I will return then with pics of them stuffed as hard as I can as well as up on 2 wheels.