Those of you with 35s, please check in here!

[dkyleb]

So I've decided to go bigger with my setup, the 275s just aren't cutting it for me. I've debated just stepping up to a true 33x12.5, or going to a full 315/70r17 and just can't quite decide.

Was it really worth it? Or should one just stick with 285s? I'm fine with cutting, chopping, bashing, etc. I just want to know if there is a real pay off in the end. Do you regret going with 35s?

 

[jay22]

I don't have 35s. For what its worth I have 285/75/17(33s) and think its perfect for my runner. If I was able to offroad more often, I would regear and go with 35s but it isn't necessary for what I use it for. Hope this helps.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

So starting from about here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/84725-zombie-truck-2-0-mpav-build-9.html [Page 9 Linked]

Is where I started the process of getting the 4Runner ready for 35's. I like them much better than my 33's, but they have not been an easy thing to deal with. Admittedly if Toyo offered their Open Country RT's in 34" I might have gone that route rather than the 35's I have now. But I still need to figure out a more permanent storage solution for the spare tire (particularly since I haven't figured out what rear bumper I want...), a method of lifting the vehicle to change said tires (factory jack barely worked with the 33's now with the 35's I'll most likely need a hi-lift), caster NEEDS to be set at minimum of about 5 degrees (I'm rocking 5.5 at the moment, thought about 6, but I'd have to play with the upper balljoints to bring camber back within acceptable limits), and a few other things I am still in the process of tweaking.

But over all I have been very happy with the 35's, last off-roading trip my friend in his FJ (with the same 2.5" Radflo Coilover set-up I have but on 33's) had to be a bit more careful to not get hung-up on some spots; while I had very little issue with it. In fact he was complaining that I made everything look to easy with the 35's. lol

 

[HOJeepster]

I 2nd the choice of 285/75/17's. Plenty tall and nice and narrow.

 

[dkyleb]

So starting from about here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/84725-zombie-truck-2-0-mpav-build-9.html [Page 9 Linked]

Is where I started the process of getting the 4Runner ready for 35's. I like them much better than my 33's, but they have not been an easy thing to deal with. Admittedly if Toyo offered their Open Country RT's in 34" I might have gone that route rather than the 35's I have now.

But over all I have been very happy with the 35's, last off-roading trip my friend in his FJ (with the same 2.5" Radflo Coilover set-up I have but on 33's) had to be a bit more careful to not get hung-up on some spots; while I had very little issue with it. In fact he was complaining that I made everything look to easy with the 35's. lol

Thanks for posting this. I've scrolled through your build thread a few times!

So this is kind of the vibe that I'm getting. It takes a bit of work. But I'm just trying to make sure it's worth it. I have the resources to do everything myself. I plan on taking about 1.5" off the fenders, and going full T-Man on the front bumper. I will also be redoing my body mount chop, and making new fender liners. I want to fully clear these things if I do it. I actually wheel my rig. I will be setting up bumps and straps so I can go full lock-to-lock, flexed all the way out.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Thanks for posting this. I've scrolled through your build thread a few times!

So this is kind of the vibe that I'm getting. It takes a bit of work. But I'm just trying to make sure it's worth it. I have the resources to do everything myself. I plan on taking about 1.5" off the fenders, and going full T-Man on the front bumper. I will also be redoing my body mount chop, and making new fender liners. I want to fully clear these things if I do it. I actually wheel my rig. I will be setting up bumps and straps so I can go full lock-to-lock, flexed all the way out.

That's the best way to go, I am liking the new bumpstops I put up front when I did my LCA's; though I haven't gotten a chance to really flex them yet. The rears I still need to adjust the bump stops on, but it's not as critical. With the 1.5" BL and playing with the bump stops a bit I think you'll be okay with the fenders, but trimming them wouldn't hurt (it's on my To-Do list honestly)

The body mount chop will help, but like I said you'll need to make sure your suspension up front can handle being pushed at or past 5 degrees, that will help a lot with lock to lock clearance and so on.

I 2nd the choice of 285/75/17's. Plenty tall and nice and narrow.

I don't disagree with that, I think for the majority of people 33's are the best "big tire" choice all around. There's a lot more benefit to having the 35's though, my clearance when aired down is much better than it was with the 33's (it's not as straight a comparison as it looks on paper, i.e. 1" difference in height) and squish I get from having such taller side walls (went from LT285/70R17 to LT35x12.5R17) makes for a much better ride and grip off-road.

Going 35's or even 34's is a huge commitment and it's not an easy thing to do right. You can slap on a BL and a Spacer kit and fit 35's if you really wanted to, but making the vehicle perform well with them is a whole other ball game; but realistically the same is true of the 33's.

 

[t-man]

Do it! You'll never regret it, never think "man I could have made it over that easily with my 33's" or some such nonsense. Sure, 33's worked, but there is such a huge difference in what I've been capable of with 35's it's retarded! I didn't even regear, although I would enjoy the extra low end power gain, it isn't really an issue with the V8 for me.
In my opinion, and without looking at your build thread again to remember your shock setup: I think that with the heavier tires a good shock/spring combo is a must! Bilsteins are 100% NOT up to the task and you will destroy them in short order. Can't comment on OME as I just don't know, but if funds are available an upgrade to coilovers will really help. You can get by of course, but I know when I can I will upgrade happily.
I've wanted to go up to 37's for a while now, but I'm going to wait until I can put some 1 tons under Gertrude's fat ass and then go with 40's. :50cal: arty: :madgrin:

 

[BlackWorksInc]

I 2nd the choice of 285/75/17's. Plenty tall and nice and narrow.

Do it! You'll never regret it, never think "man I could have made it over that easily with my 33's" or some such nonsense. Sure, 33's worked, but there is such a huge difference in what I've been capable of with 35's it's retarded! I didn't even regear, although I would enjoy the extra low end power gain, it isn't really an issue with the V8 for me.
In my opinion, and without looking at your build thread again to remember your shock setup: I think that with the heavier tires a good shock/spring combo is a must! Bilsteins are 100% NOT up to the task and you will destroy them in short order. Can't comment on OME as I just don't know, but if funds are available an upgrade to coilovers will really help. You can get by of course, but I know when I can I will upgrade happily.
I've wanted to go up to 37's for a while now, but I'm going to wait until I can put some 1 tons under Gertrude's fat ass and then go with 40's. :50cal: arty: :madgrin:

Usable 37's will not happen unless you SAS or do a workable 6" Bracket lift, at that point you're fighting the entire design of the vehicle to make them work. Lofty goal though!

 

[t-man]

Usable 37's will not happen unless you SAS or do a workable 6" Bracket lift, at that point you're fighting the entire design of the vehicle to make them work. Lofty goal though!

Ya I was going to tub inner fender, move body mount back and 5*+ caster for front, cut rear links in half, sleeve them with heavier tube making them 1" longer and your all set.
Except stock cv's will not handle the tires, and if you go with expensive upgraded strong cv's then you worry about the clamshell...
Analysis: my foot is to heavy, my wheeling to rough for stock components to ever handle 37's. So... Sas it will be! Lol, someday...

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[dkyleb]

That's the best way to go, I am liking the new bumpstops I put up front when I did my LCA's; though I haven't gotten a chance to really flex them yet. The rears I still need to adjust the bump stops on, but it's not as critical. With the 1.5" BL and playing with the bump stops a bit I think you'll be okay with the fenders, but trimming them wouldn't hurt (it's on my To-Do list honestly)

The body mount chop will help, but like I said you'll need to make sure your suspension up front can handle being pushed at or past 5 degrees, that will help a lot with lock to lock clearance and so on.



I don't disagree with that, I think for the majority of people 33's are the best "big tire" choice all around. There's a lot more benefit to having the 35's though, my clearance when aired down is much better than it was with the 33's (it's not as straight a comparison as it looks on paper, i.e. 1" difference in height) and squish I get from having such taller side walls (went from LT285/70R17 to LT35x12.5R17) makes for a much better ride and grip off-road.

Going 35's or even 34's is a huge commitment and it's not an easy thing to do right. You can slap on a BL and a Spacer kit and fit 35's if you really wanted to, but making the vehicle perform well with them is a whole other ball game; but realistically the same is true of the 33's.

Ya I was going to tub inner fender, move body mount back and 5*+ caster for front, cut rear links in half, sleeve them with heavier tube making them 1" longer and your all set.
Except stock cv's will not handle the tires, and if you go with expensive upgraded strong cv's then you worry about the clamshell...
Analysis: my foot is to heavy, my wheeling to rough for stock components to ever handle 37's. So... Sas it will be! Lol, someday...

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

Yeah, realistically I think 35s are about the maximum weight our suspension can handle and still be able to wheel. T-Man do you have spindle gussets? Thinking I'll probably grab a set and do them when I need to do bearings.

 

[t-man]

Yeah, realistically I think 35s are about the maximum weight our suspension can handle and still be able to wheel. T-Man do you have spindle gussets? Thinking I'll probably grab a set and do them when I need to do bearings.

No gussets, I need them. I don't know how the hell I haven't broken something major yet...
Something I noticed. I bumped my castor up to 4.5-5* last week and now my tires hit the frame much more at full lock. Not sure about angles and all that, but anyone else have that happen??

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Yeah, realistically I think 35s are about the maximum weight our suspension can handle and still be able to wheel. T-Man do you have spindle gussets? Thinking I'll probably grab a set and do them when I need to do bearings.

It's not so much that the suspension can't handle it, but rather you're fighting constraints in physical design such as the wheel opening size, axle position, ect.

Even with 35's you're fighting a lot of the vehicle to get them to work, wheel wells barely accommodate them (hence the need for body lift and adjusting bump stops), you really need heavy duty suspension, UCA, ect. to get that 5+ degrees of caster to bring the wheel away from the body mount and the firewall. Even then you'll have scrubbing on compression when you turn unless you've hammered pinch welds, trimmed, and pushed Caster north of 5 degrees.

As for the rear axle, you can only move it around so much in the wheel well openings, even then you need to limit up travel some or it will just stuff into the wheel well badly. You can't really trim the rear fender area too much as the rear doors are part of that and so you're limited in how much you can trim from the body.

Honestly a good suspension can easily overcome the weight of the 35's, it rather it's the rest of the vehicle that is the tricky part.

 

[Nyc-Runner]

I'm running 305/70/17s - 34's and couldn't be happier! I planned on running 315's or 35's but I came across a killer deal on tires that I couldn't pass up. 35's definitely make it easier to over come obstacles off road, you just roll over things so much easier! At the same time it takes that much more to get them going being bigger and heavier so in turn puts more stress on certain components. That's where momentum is your friend and I find is always one of the best ways to wheel rather then hammering on your rig and then you start snapping and breaking stuff. So your real pay off is going to be off road and the fact that they look Bad ass. Mine are also still very well manor end on road so no complaints there. Actually My MTR's with the Kevlar reinforced sidewall stiffened up my ride on road from me last tires which I actually like a lot more, makes it feel more like a truck.

So the answer is yes they are worth it! But it all depends on your needs and uses for your rig.