OME Lift and new tires: doing it right

[John7M7]

Hi guys,

I've been digging a lot of information on the forum over the last two weeks, we just bought a 2000 4Runner Limited and the project is to use it as an off road / overlanding truck.

I'll open a "build thread" soon. I put some money together and I am now ready to start the mods.

There is a lot of information here and on some other forums about lift and tires, and I was pretty sure I found the right combo. But after talking to two mechanics today, I have doubts, and they advised me to ask you guys for advice.

---

I don't want to do rock crawling, and want to keep a moderate lift. I will be buying the heavy duty lift kit from OME, after many research I think it represents the best value for us.
It is a 2.5" lift, as you know.

As far as tires go, I'm going with the BF Goodrich KO2. The question is... what exact size should I get?

I was thinking about getting 32", nothing bigger. But the mechanics seem to think that it would be too big, even after the lift. They say it will clear the wheel well but will rub.
I currently have 265/70/16 tires.

My questions are:

- Is that true?

- If yes, should I consider some 1.25" spacers such as these: Toyota Wheel Spacers:Â*1.25 and 1.5 inch Wheel Spacers for Toyotas
The mechanics say it will be counterproductive and I should stay away from that. The guys at the 4x4 shop in my neighborhood say this is the way to go and will only gives more stability, etc.

- What would you do, and what exact size of tires would you run? I want no rubbing.

- Bonus question: should I re gear after doing these mods? From my understanding the difference wouldn't be much and wouldn't require re gearing with 32" tires, but once again.. what do I know?


I hope you will be able to help. I did a lot of research on the forum and while many thread mention the OME lift kit, tires, etc I did not found exactly the answer to my question, and I'd rather not make a mistake in my build, since I'm (obviously) no mechanic.

Thank you very much,
John

 

[A.Wilson013]

I don't have time to reply to all of this right now, but I will say that it's completely possible to clear 32" tires with 2.5" of lift. You may need to do some hammering of a pinch weld, or perhaps trim the front bumper a bit, but nothing major (if anything at all).

Spacers will help keep you from rubbing the frame, but I doubt that will be an issue for you.

Do you like the look/function of a skinny tire? If so, and you plan to run stock 16" wheels, I think the 235/85R16 would be as close to 32 as you could get.

As an example:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/203293-235-85-vs-265-75-daily-driver.html

 

[John7M7]

Thanks!

As far as skinny tires go, I guess the look is ok, I don't really picture the difference with wider tires, in a side by side picture. I'll need to Google it.

For the function, my understanding is that they give you a better mpg but the ride is less comfortable.
This is not my DD, but I want to keep a comfortable ride for the long journeys.

How does a skinny tire performs off-road? I would imagine that it's not that good since there is less surface to give you grip.

I don't really understand why I would go this way.. I don't say that in a bad way, I just really would like to understand what would drive you to go for skinny tires over something else.
It's pretty confusing to me.

EDIT: I checked and I really don't like the look of the skinny tires, I won't go that way. I would still want to understand what drives such choice as said above. Always good to learn when you're a newbie!

 

[A.Wilson013]

EDIT: I checked and I really don't like the look of the skinny tires, I won't go that way. I would still want to understand what drives such choice as said above. Always good to learn when you're a newbie!

Here's a good read on the subject:
Expeditions West: Tire Selection for Expedition Travel

My advice to you: keep your truck as light as possible. I made the mistake of completely over building mine and now, at over 6000lbs when loaded for a trip, it's an absolute pig, especially once I get into the hills, or face a stiff headwind.

If I were to do it again my 4Runner would look very, very similar to [MENTION=74071]Brilliant[/MENTION]'s set up.

 

[nobb]

I did an OME lift, medium duty rears (3" lift in the rear) as I didn't want too much rake relative to the front. I did consider adding an additional spacer to the front, but I'm glad I suck with the standard 2.5" lift coils as any more lift and I think I would've started having issues trying to zero out my camber.

 

[Brilliant]

Why skinny: less contact patch, lower float, easier to get in fender, loss rolling resistance perhaps. Skinny t33 are plenty wide for our rig from an appearance perspective.

 

[Kyngfish]

32s

I thought 32s were pretty much no problem even at most stock heights? 265/75/16?

 

[99problems]

I thought 32s were pretty much no problem even at most stock heights? 265/75/16?

I ran 265/75/16 on stock everything with no problems. Personally, I noticed that the slight increase in size coincided with exactly the right amount of correction that the factory speedo needed, and now the speedo reads exactly 70 when doing 70 as measured against my GPS. My mistake was buying an E rated tire when I didn't really need it; confidence inspiring but heavy. Now that I have a 2" lift on it the 265/75/16 looks on the small side of right, but I keep it because of the speedo correction factor.

I have a set of 265/70/17 from a 5th Gen which mathematically should have a smaller diameter than a 265/75/16... but the online calculators swear they're identical. :wtf:

 

[JayRolla]

OP. 32s run on stock suspension. Sometimes needs very little bumper trim.

With the lift you could run 285/75r16 (33s) without much issue. The 1.25" spacer would help them clear your stock upper control arms. You will need to trim the front bumper lower valence.

 

[mckennar]

I did exactly this - 881s up front with 265/75/16 K02s. Zero rub, and the trimming done by the PO when it had 285/75/16 Cooper ATPs at stock height was entirely too much for these. I've replaced both inner fender liners that the previous owner cut to fit the 285s with intact, un-cut liners from my parts car. No rub.

Spacers in my sig were for the old tires, and I keep them around in case I have to put a spare on the front, as I have the 231mm TBU and the spare doesn't clear it.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

As Mr. Wilson said- spacers will help not rub the frame, but that won't likely be an issue. Spacers will actually make rubbing WORSE- as far as bumper valence and firewall. This is because adding spacers increase scrub radius- meaning your tire will move front-to-back in your wheel openings more with spacers.
I put 285/75R16 KM2's on factory 5 star wheels on my runner without a lift, and only had to trim the valence. Added spacers, and rubbing was too bad to even run on the street- without pounding the pinch and trimming more valence. With a lift, they cleared fine.
I didn't see you mention what wheels you will be running- this makes a big difference as well.
I am running 315/70r17 KO2's now, and although I don't love how wide they are, I do love the tires. I think I should have stayed with a 285[/70r17]. I want to lower it down from a 3" to a 2" lift, regardless of tire.

 

[John7M7]

Thanks, it looks like I should stay away from spacers and that 32s" will work just fine with the OME kit.

I'll be using the factory 16" wheels.

As far as tires go, do you recommend a specific size for 32s"?
265/80 or 285/75?

 

[JayRolla]

Thanks, it looks like I should stay away from spacers and that 32s" will work just fine with the OME kit.

I'll be using the factory 16" wheels.

As far as tires go, do you recommend a specific size for 32s"?
265/80 or 285/75?

265/75/r16 are 32"
285/75r16 are 33"

You can run the 32's without any spacers and no lift.

You can run the 33's with spacer and lift. LIke Tyler said above with the lift and spacers it cleared fine. He had rub issues on stock suspension and spacers.

I ran spacers on 3" lift and it cleared everything on 33"s up front.

 

[John7M7]

Thank you Jay, my tire size chart was showing the 285/75r16 as 32" tires, I appreciate the correction.

I'm probably gonna go with 265/75R16 or 275/70R16.

In one case I gain an inch of diameter and no width, on the other I gain a little diameter and a little width, and the revs/mile are closer to the current one of my stock tire.

What would you do? And would it be "enough" to give me a good off road performance and comfy ride?
I guess both will work just fine with the 2" light and no spacers at least.

I'm also looking at 285/70R16, which is also interesting but I'm a little concerned by the rubbing thing.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Thank you Jay, my tire size chart was showing the 285/75r16 as 32" tires, I appreciate the correction.

I'm probably gonna go with 265/75R16 or 275/70R16.

In one case I gain an inch of diameter and no width, on the other I gain a little diameter and a little width, and the revs/mile are closer to the current one of my stock tire.

What would you do? And would it be "enough" to give me a good off road performance and comfy ride?
I guess both will work just fine with the 2" light and no spacers at least.

I'm also looking at 285/70R16, which is also interesting but I'm a little concerned by the rubbing thing.

Metric sizes are measured like this-
265/75R16
265 means the tread width is 265mm across
75 refers to the sidewall height, which is the percentage of the tread width. As such, 265 x .75= 198.75mm "tall" sidewall(from wheel lip to tread surface. For overall tire height calculations, you multiply x 2, and add wheel diameter).
People commonly refer to 265's being "32's", 285's being "33's", and 315's being "35's", but the aspect ratio(the 75 in the example above) and wheel size both impact the height, while the "265" only refers to the tread width.
I say that, because above, you said-
"I'm probably gonna go with 265/75R16 or 275/70R16.

In one case I gain an inch of diameter and no width, on the other I gain a little diameter and a little width, and the revs/mile are closer to the current one of my stock tire."
265 x .75= 198.75mm 198.75mm x 2= 397.5mm= 15.65"
15.65" + 16" wheel = 31.65" overall height. 265mm = 10.43"
Thus, a 265/75r16 SHOULD be 31.65" tall, and 10.43" wide.
Likewise, the 275/70r16 SHOULD be 31.16" tall and 10.83" wide.
So, they shouldn't be an inch different in height from one another. Height is basically 1/2" different, and the width is less than 1/4" different.
I would chose the 265/75R16 over the 275/70R16- hands down.
My buddy runs 265/75R16 Goodyear Duratrac on factory 5 star wheels and a 2" lift. He didn't rub without spacers, and also doesn't rub with 1.25" spacers [emoji1360]

 

[John7M7]

Thank you for your detailed answer.

My message wasn't clear enough, and for both the sizes I mentioned, I forgot to write that my referential was my current tires: 265/70R16.

I'm leaning toward the 265/75R16 and your message reinforces that choice.

At the same time, I looked at 265/80R16, but it does not seem to exist in the real World
Couldn't find many of them for sale.


As far as 265/75R16 goes, I think it won't fit in the spare tire's location under the truck, the current tire is already touching the hitch receiver.

I'm looking at the Dick Cepek Extreme Country right now. I read many reviews. Seems to be a good balance of off road capabilities with a comfy and quiet ride on the streets. I like the extra abilities of a mud tire.

Would it be "good" to go with the Extreme Country in 265/75R16? What I mean is, does it make sense and would it offer a satisfying level of performance (combination of this kind of tires + this size)?

 

[reelamin]

I ran 265/75/16 on stock everything with no problems. Personally, I noticed that the slight increase in size coincided with exactly the right amount of correction that the factory speedo needed, and now the speedo reads exactly 70 when doing 70 as measured against my GPS. My mistake was buying an E rated tire when I didn't really need it; confidence inspiring but heavy. Now that I have a 2" lift on it the 265/75/16 looks on the small side of right, but I keep it because of the speedo correction factor.

I have a set of 265/70/17 from a 5th Gen which mathematically should have a smaller diameter than a 265/75/16... but the online calculators swear they're identical. :wtf:

Exactly what he said about the 265/75/16. Worn out suspension (256k original) and I have no issues....well until I try to put snow chains on.

 

[reelamin]

Thank you for your detailed answer.

My message wasn't clear enough, and for both the sizes I mentioned, I forgot to write that my referential was my current tires: 265/70R16.

I'm leaning toward the 265/75R16 and your message reinforces that choice.

At the same time, I looked at 265/80R16, but it does not seem to exist in the real World
Couldn't find many of them for sale.


As far as 265/75R16 goes, I think it won't fit in the spare tire's location under the truck, the current tire is already touching the hitch receiver.

I'm looking at the Dick Cepek Extreme Country right now. I read many reviews. Seems to be a good balance of off road capabilities with a comfy and quiet ride on the streets. I like the extra abilities of a mud tire.

Would it be "good" to go with the Extreme Country in 265/75R16? What I mean is, does it make sense and would it offer a satisfying level of performance (combination of this kind of tires + this size)?

A wore out 265 will fit!...its a spare!

 

[reelamin]

I'm in the same process right now....just ordered some spacers and a 1" body lift....I HAVE to fit snow chains but don't want a crazy suspension.

I drive it 5-8 hrs one way to fish or hunt for a day....not fighting some crazy beast after no sleep for 48hrs.

 

[John7M7]

I don't want a crazy suspension neither, but I don't like body lift like many here, and the 2" OME kit allows me to carry heavy loads, which I will do at some point.