03 w/ BFG All-Terrain T/A KO 265/70/17 + Daystar 1-inch "budget boost"
BFG All-Terrain T/A KO 265/70/17. In this size there are two variations offered by BFG:
1. "8-ply" black wall, load range 'D' that is NOT rated for severe snow.
2. "10-ply" white lettering, load range 'E' that IS rated for severe snow.
My tires are the latter because I will be doing some serious cross-country towing and may periodically venture onto snow-covered roads.
I also installed the Daystar 1-inch leveling kit (a.k.a. budget boost), which is part # KT09117BK.
The 1st picture below is with the tires installed, lift NOT installed, and PSI set at 78.0. I did not get any rubbing, even at full lock, which surprised me as this is a fairly common discussion point in these forums.
The following 5 pictures are taken after the lift has been installed. I had planned on taking good before/after pics from the same location with measuring devices so you could make an accurate comparison but it poured rain the day I installed the lift so that plan ended up going down the drain.
These last 2 pictures are of the alignment specs after the tires and lift were installed. I made sure I drove on some bumpy roads (about 8 miles total) to get everything to settle before getting the alignment.
Anyway, I hope that my post is able to offer up some assistance to anybody thinking about larger tires or a mild lift.
For what it is worth, for my daily driver I like everything to look stock-ish. By that I mean my truck is now what I think it should have been from the factory. The steep rake is gone, the ride is a bit firmer (because I keep near-max pressure in my tires plus they have stiffer sidewalls than the stocker Michelins), the handling is better and I can drive over small obstacles easier. I am meticulous about all my automobiles and I think my truck looks pretty good for just having turned 100,000. Thanks for cheking her out!