Wheels/Tires or Lift First?

R

Romanred62

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So here's the deal. I'm tired of the bone stock look and I'm ready to change that. I'm also ready to hit up some trails with my cousin in his lifted '07 FJC. Saturday 9/7 marks 6 months of owning my 4Runner.

From all the research I've done on here I've decided I would like to get the Icon Stage 2 with LR UCAs. (Hopefully I can find it under $2k)

As for wheels/tires. I'm leaning towards 18x9 -12 offset XD Addict wrapped with either 275/70/18, 275/65/18, or 295/65/18 Goodyear Duratrac. [MENTION=78318]RiDE[/MENTION] 's Zombie Crusher has inspired me to do these. I love the look.

My question is with only $2k to spend for now which should I do first? Will it benefit me to install the lift so I have less issues with adding wheels/tires? Or will I run in to the same issues putting on wider tires either way?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Have your cousin take you on some mild trails and wheel it stock first to get a feel for it. Make sure you have some recovery gear and know where your recovery points are first though because if you're running the oem wheels/tires you might get stuck. If you have to do one thing at a time, start with the lift because you'll need it to fit larger tires without rubbing. And honestly, if you want to take it off road and tackle a wider variety of trails, reconsider your wheel/tire size choices.
 
Most people who wheel their 5th gens a lot go with 285/70/17. There are exceptions, but unless you want to do more modifications (Harper runs 34s, but he had to go with aftermarket bumpstops on the rear wheels) those are a good size.

285/70/17 gives you more tread width and higher sidewall than either of your choices. This means that when you're aired down you have a larger contact patch which can make the difference between getting enough traction and having to get pulled out. A larger contact patch also means you're spinning your tires less and not tearing up the trails.
 
Intruder said:
Most people who wheel their 5th gens a lot go with 285/70/17. There are exceptions, but unless you want to do more modifications (Harper runs 34s, but he had to go with aftermarket bumpstops on the rear wheels) those are a good size.

285/70/17 gives you more tread width and higher sidewall than either of your choices. This means that when you're aired down you have a larger contact patch which can make the difference between getting enough traction and having to get pulled out. A larger contact patch also means you're spinning your tires less and not tearing up the trails.
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Ok I will definitely keep this in mind now. Now will I notice less rubbing with a lift?
 
If you want to get 285/70/17, then you will need a lift first. My 285 Duratracs would have not fit if I didn't have my lift installed first.
 
I needed a 3" lift and the body mount chop to eliminate rubbing on my 5th gen TE. You can see in my signature what I run for my specifics. Every situation is a bit different and there are a variety of different solutions. Find a pic of a 5th gen you like and imitate that then go from there. I know on my rig I had "remold" some of the rear portion of the right front fender well using a heat gun. That's not a solution I have seen anyone else use but it worked for me when it became an issue after a day of fairly heavy trail runs.

Oh and Ditto on the 285/70/17 comment Intruder made above.
 
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