Afternoon guys/gals,

I'd like to create a definitive resource for people looking to run 35's. There is a lot of information about in but you have to dig in multiple build threads and there is still a lot of information missing. Also, there are SO many variables that are not specifically discussed: amount of caster on UCA's, wheel specs, bumpstop drops, etc. I am currently on the fence about running a 295 vs. 315 but I hope this resource will serve others in the future regardless of my personal decision. I hope to update this thread as more information is found or is made available.

To get this out of the way early, running a 35" tire has its own set of pros and cons, like any modification you make to your vehicle.

PROS
- increased ground clearance
- wider tire for increased flotation in deep snow and deep mud conditions
- more tire sidewall ratio, usually allows for a more "cushioned" ride
- increased tire width means increased protection of the rim due to the wider tire (assuming rim width stays constant)
- lets be honest... they look badass
- easier rollover on trail obstacles due to increased tire diameter

CONS
- regearing becomes a consideration, but not required
- more wear & tear on components due to increased tire weight (rotational mass)
- reduced driving performance due to increased tire weight (braking and acceleration)
- reduced fuel economy
- trimming and/or additional prep required: trimming, bumpstop adjustments, potentially axle relocation, specific wheel offsets required

Current Research:

**PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE 1ST HAND EXPERIENCE WITH THIS TIRE SIZE, FEEL FREE TO COMMENT. INCLUDE YOUR PARTICULAR SPECS BELOW**

Tire Size:
Tire Make/Model:
Wheels: diameter x width - offset/backspacing
Bodylift: Yes/No (if yes, what size?)
Approx. Suspension lift setting over stock: (do not include bodylift)
Aftermarket UCA's:
Caster correction: (if running aftermarket UCA's, how much caster?)
Bumpers: Stock or Aftermarket
Trimming: Where specifically did you trim to make the tires fit?
Bumpstop drop? (if yes, how much)
Notes: To avoid any/all assumptions, leave a note about your setup. Does it still rub at full compression? Where? Any issues? Anything you would do differently? Biggest pain-point with running 35's on the 4th Gen? Are your links extended to push the axle further rearwards?

Wheels:

Everyone running 35's is either running aftermarket wheels or OEM wheels with wheel spacers. This leads me to believe the need for a larger negative offset to keep the wide (~12-12.5") tires off of the upper control arm and also out of the body mount and firewall.

I'd like to get deeper into wheel specs to document and find the "sweet spot" for running 35's on these rigs. My initial research says 3.5-4" BS (rim width dependant) or around -25mm to -35mm offset.


Trimming:

This is where a ton of variables come into play. Most running 35's are running aftermarket bumpers, so let's just assume if you're running factory bumpers and 35's you will be required to trim the plastic to make them work.

Bodymount chop: required.

Stock Fenders:

Front:
Looking for info... not sure if a 35" tire rubs the bottom of the flare at full compression and/or if the pinchweld area of the fender needs to be cut rearwards with a 35.

Rear:
It looks like people w/o bodylifts have to trim the rear bumper valence on the factory bumper for sure.

Stolen from @LTDSC Build Thread:


Aftermarket fiberglass front fenders:
No trimming required.

Bumpstops: I have read that with 35's and no bodylift, the rear bumpstop drop is a requirement to keep the tire out of the upper fender. Anyone running no bodylift, 35's, and factory bumpstop location?

Suspension: Despite what a lot of people think, lift height doesn't actually have anything to do with tire clearance. It will help on the daily as you drive around town, but if you offroad, your tire needs to fit at full lock and full compression. The best way to "fit" a tire properly is to actually remove the front coilover and test fit the tire at full compression, trimming everything that is needed as you cycle the movement of the arms and turn lock to lock. Still, interested to s ee what feedback comes here.

Aftermarket UCA's: This is a topic not normally touched on. From experience, I know that the caster setting plays a significant role in how well a large tire will fit. The ability to push the tire forward and away from the firewall has huge benefits in terms of clearance. This may mean more trimming of the front OEM bumper, but aftermarket bumpers should be fine.

What are the big-tire guys running for UCA caster settings?

Members running 35's:
@dapitbull
@LTDSC
@the_josh
@BlackWorksInc
@Rushingman
@t-man
@CruzadoBlanco

Tire Size & Make: LT35/12.5R17 Toyo Open Country RT
Wheels: Fuel D564 "Beast" 17x9 with -12 Offset
Bodylift: 1.5"
Approx. Suspension lift setting over stock: 3" over stock. Overland Warehouse 2.5" Radflo Shocks front and rear with 700lbs springs on the front.
Aftermarket UCA's: Originally using SPC UCAs, Recently Switched to Camburg Kinetik Uniball UCAs
Caster correction: Currently at 6~6.1°
Bumpers: Front ShrockWorks Bumper, Rear is stock for the moment
Trimming: Bottom edge of the front fenders and hammered the pinch welds about 10~12" from the bottom of the body with a body mount chop as well.
Bumpstop drop?: Not sure on the bumpstop drop in the rear, It's whatever came with the OLW lift I have installed (I think it's a 2~3" block), might need to extend it some more. Front has Wheelers Off-Road "Super Bump" Bump Stops
Notes: Still rubs the fenders on some compression/angles, the rear do stuff a bit and chew up the factory mudflaps (that will be solved whenever I move to an aftermarket bumper). After installing the Camburg UCAs I think I'm actually rubbing the tires on the frame lock to lock in turns now (I think it's because the Camburg's didn't need nearly as much adjusting to get 5.5~6° of Caster and kept SAI much closer to stock than the SPCs which I had a hell of a time getting to 5.5°)



The install/tweaking for the 35's starts here on my build thread if you want to look through it:
Zombie Truck 2.0 MPAV Build!

Awesome, thanks for the detailed post. I will update original thread.

Curious where exactly are you still rubbing on the fenders? Front or rear fenders? (or both) and front, top, or rear of the fender? Thx!!

On the front when I'm very compressed/articulated they rub on the back of the wheel opening along the outer fender flare (the clip-on portion). I noticed this when I took the vehicle for a few short runs over moguls and smelled burning plastic/rubber. Turns out that the tires were just touch the outer fender flare enough to rub it and melt it slightly, this is probably because I'm running wide tires and wheels. Extended fenders or trimming the fender well opening would fix that most likely; but as I said it really only happens if I'm "Bajaing" it or really stuffing the front tires so it's not a super big concern to me right now.

The rears rub along the back of the wheel opening as well, at the bottom edge of the fender well where the factory mudflaps are when compressed. They did this on full compression when I had 33's also. As I said a rear aftermarket bumper would solve that easily (or if I just trimmed the fender in the back there), I could also extend the Radflo bump-stop drop as well.

Post Note-

When I had the SPCs basically maxed out, the tires would sometimes rub on the chopped body mount/hammered pinch weld still on almost lock to lock turns under compression. I haven't noticed that with the Camburgs installed. I don't think the SPCs were ever meant to push the Caster into the 5~6°range like I was doing and run 35's, I think it messed with the SAI (Steering Angle Inclination) enough to create that oddly specific rub under specific conditions.

Good thread idea!
@A10MileHusker @CruzadoBlanco @Rushingman @t-man
care to weigh in?

Also, I've found this thread to be a good read:
35s on a 4Runner - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum
Too bad some of the pictures need relinked.

Suspension: Despite what a lot of people think, lift height doesn't actually have anything to do with tire clearance. It will help on the daily as you drive around town, but if you offroad, your tire needs to fit at full lock and full compression. The best way to "fit" a tire properly is to actually remove the front coilover and test fit the tire at full compression, trimming everything that is needed as you cycle the movement of the arms and turn lock to lock. Still, interested to s ee what feedback comes here.Best comment ever!! I trimmed the obvious, took a marker and my oscillating tool with me and found a ditch to flex out. Once I heard rubbing I would get out, mark where, back up and trim, repeat as necessary. Pinch weld areais a MUST! They stick out so far you need to flatten them for sure!

I've been running my 35's for 2 years now. They are worlds above 33's in my experience! Specs:
Tire Size: 315/70/17
Tire Make/Model:Hankook Dynapro MT
Wheels: diameter x width - offset/backspacingThis part is tricky on my setup. I have Tundra Rock Warrior rims. They come 17x7.5 +30 but I needed wheel adapters to run the tundra 5 lug rims. The adaptor is 2" thick, so with the wheel offset and my adapter spacer it comes out to using a 1.25" wheel spacer on your stock 4runner rims.
Bodylift: Yes/No (if yes, what size?)2.5"
Approx. Suspension lift setting over stock: (do not include bodylift)assume 4" front, 2" rear
Aftermarket UCA's: SPC Light Racing
Caster correction: (if running aftermarket UCA's, how much caster?)4.5*
Bumpers: Stock or Aftermarketstock
Trimming: Where specifically did you trim to make the tires fit? Rear of both wheel wells. Extensively on front. Liners, flatten pinch weld, hammer it back 1" or more, cut fender flare, Hammer more! Front of stock bumper, then I trimmed it more to what I wanted for more clearance of obstacles. Rear bumper was easy, cut it back 2 inches.
Bumpstop drop? (if yes, how much)no, because of my body lift size it isn't required
Notes: To avoid any/all assumptions, leave a note about your setup. Does it still rub at full compression? I do not rub anymore, but it took several trimming sessions and tacoma coils on the front with my Bilsteins set at 2.5.Where? Any issues? I would highly suggest if you are going to run 35's that you first get a good brand shock/coilover setup. Bilsteins just plain aren't valved right for that weight unless you are only going for the mall crawler status, even then I bet the rears wouldn't last you to long.Anything you would do differently? Yes, I would never buy Bilsteins again! Never! I would go Fox, King, Radflo, Icon, or something custom even. I would also recommend 650# or 700# coils in the front, 225# coils in the rear. Biggest pain-point with running 35's on the 4th Gen? If you don't have a body lift you will have to drop the bumpstops for sure. There just isn't enough room in the fender openings to stuff that big of a tire otherwise. I literally have maybe 1/2" of clearance from tire to inner fenders when the tire is stuffed, front and rear.
35's push the boundaries of the stock differentials. I would suggest installing solid spacers asap to get rid of the crush sleeves. The crush sleeves allow to much play and your pinion will fall out of proper alignment with the ring gear and destroy it. This is easy if you are regearing especially.Are your links extended to push the axle further rearwards? No but I would like to extend my rear links about 1". While on the subject, there's a guy on Instagram (The Skid Kid: https://www.instagram.com/tha.skid.kid/?hl=en ) that doesn't have a build thread. He recently upgraded to 37's, but he had issue's with his rear tires hitting the door on full compression. Him and I talked quite a bit and we came to the conclusion the only way to cure this without a body lift is to extend the stock control arms by 1". This would be fairly easy, disconnect arm, cut in half, find a preferably .250" DOM tube that the stock bar will fit inside tightly, then weld it on both ends. Also, drilling several 1/2" holes up and down the DOM to fill with weld will drastically help strength too. Or you could just make a new arm out of DOM and joints of your choice 1" longer.

IF you want to run 35's with very minimal trimming/cutting/etc you would need 5-6" of lift. You could do this with a drop bracket kit or with a combination of suspension and body lift as I did. Drop bracket is easier and will get you tires much further from the body mount, keep stock suspension geometry, and allow more lift if wanted. To fit 35's with less lift prepare to cut, a lot! You can tub the firewall in the front and relocate the body mount and only have like 3" of lift, push the rear axle back to keep it out of the doors and trim the rear bumper cover like crazy. You would also need to lower the bumpstops.

I'd like to get deeper into wheel specs to document and find the "sweet spot" for running 35's on these rigs. My initial research says 3.5-4" BS (rim width dependant) or around -25mm to -35mm offset.
You will need either rims or wheel spacers a minimum of 1.25" wider. I still rub slightly on the frame at full lock, but just barely and it isn't hurting anything. Wider rims will require more backspacing though as you are allowing the tire to become wider. My rim is only 7.5" wide, a 9" wide rim will make that 12.5" tire sit much wider! The negative offset depends on rim width highly! Here is a cool tool to show you what different sizes and offsets do. Makes life much easier for me! Online Wheel and Tyre Fitment Calculator. Offset, Tyre Stretch and Speedo Error | Will They Fit As you can see, it really depends on rim width.

Damn, and you forgot me??!

Haha, I knew you would see the thread, but I just edited my post for you!

I'll let it slide....This time! Bwahahahaha!

@t-man pointed out, unless you're going for "mall crawler" status with 35's; you need to invest in suspension.

You need to consider that just the 35's and wheels alone are a huge amount of unsprung weight (I think my tire/wheel combo is in the 100lbs range per wheel/tire). If you plan on doing any real off-roading (or hell probably just driving in general) you need to invest in suspension upgrades or you will wear out components and/or break them.

I replaced a factory Bilestein on a Tundra a while back that had a 6~8" (I forget which) drop-bracket lift that reused the factory suspension. The vehicle didn't look like it saw much off-pavement driving so my guess is they hit a curb and/or a large pothole. They had 35's on that if I remember right and the shock was just done. The impact shoved the bottom shaft (with the mounting point for the LCA) right into the tube and blew the fluid/gas charge out, the mount was only held in the shock by the bent tube. After I pulled the shock out you could jiggle and wiggle the bottom shock mount and almost pull it out.



You might be able to get away with not upgrading your suspension much (i.e. using 5100's or just spacers) with 33's if you don't wheel hard. But when you go this big the amount of unsprung weight and suspension stress will cause problems if you don't upgrade/reinforce accordingly.

I do hear that after a while the spindles take a beating as well and you should consider reinforcing them.

Oooohhh good point!! My combo comes in at 108lbs a piece! Stock was 36lbs... So much more weight!
Spindles....Yes, I would HIGHLY recommend spindle gussets! For $60 it is a necessity and something I hope to do real soon. I just replaced my driver side spindle because it was bent, don't know when it happened either. I also hear that the gusset kit to retain the sway bar is more heavy duty, so even if you ditch the sway bars it may be beneficial to get the one made to retain them and just leave them off.
After what I have been through, I wouldn't run any regular shock on 35's. IE: Bilsteins, stock with spacers including fj or tacoma units, etc. I would go to a rebuildable unit with heavier springs to save yourself some carnage, like me!

Are you wanting us to weigh in on what we had to do to fit 35s? trimming wise suspension?

Yes, there is a guideline paragraph on the first post asking for specs and comments from 35'ers if you want to share your experience.

Anyone wanting more pics feel free to check my thread.

Some of the most important things, many of which have been discussed already, are suspension and braking to handle the increased unsprung weight. Along with cutting the front and rear fenders to clear the tires.

I don't know if its been pointed out but *bump stops*. Very important for keeping your tires from destroying your fenders or vice versa. I running the metaltech LT in the rear and the 3" extension is perfect for the 35s.

Another thing is adding a body lift, while not required as Sam's shows it really helps with clearing the tires at full bump in the front with stock fenders. You don't have to go big, usually a 1"-1.25" is enough to make your life not a living hell when clearancing the tires.

Lastly aftermarket UCAs are mandatory. One for the increased strength, and then the added caster. When setting the alignment for the larger tires having more caster the better. If you can get 4 degrees the less hammering on tje fire wall you will need.

Personally I find the 35s very much worth the trouble to getting them to fit *correctly*. For anyone that actually wheels their runners the extra diameter makes a world of difference.

Opps I broke your rules. I guess I gotta go add specs to my post now