Wheel offsets, tires, lift kits, help!

[aking244]

Guys (and Gals),
I am based in Santiago, Chile and I have an 01' D SLT , 4x4 with the 4.7 L engine. I frequently have to travel up to the mountains and the desert in the north to see my customers at the mines and am bringing down a bunch of stuff from the States in order to give the D a little more height and air before I tear it apart. I am relatively clear on most things but have a question with regards the required offset on the wheels.
I am bringing down;
Rancho 3" susp. lift
Procomp 3" body lift
Interco Thornbird 31x11.5x15 tires
K&N Intake kit
MagnaFlow Cat Back exhaust

My dilema is the wheels. I am looking at the 15x8 Eagle 589's but I want to make sure the offset of 3.25 is going to work with the lift kit and the tires. I am also a little worried about the fact that Rancho says I need to use 16" wheels for the lift kit. The problem is getting decent 16" tires down here. Rancho hasnt answered my questions yet and I've spent some hours going over the popsts on the forum to no avail!
I have to make sure everything works as I cant send it back!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Tony

[HemiDak]

Procomp 3" body lift

Go with the Performance Accessories bodylift. I didn't even know Procomp made bodylifts. Performance Accessores has been #1 since the start of bodylifts, and their kits are better than anyone else's.

Interco Thornbird 31x11.5x15 tires

You can fit those tires without any lift. I'd suggest going to a 33x12.5 instead. 31's will look VERY small with that lift combo.

My dilema is the wheels. I am looking at the 15x8 Eagle 589's but I want to make sure the offset of 3.25 is going to work with the lift kit and the tires. I am also a little worried about the fact that Rancho says I need to use 16" wheels for the lift kit.

Those wheels will work. You can't use the stock 15x8's or 16x8's if you have 33x12.5 tires. You can, however, use different 15x8 rims since the lower backspacing will clear the suspension components (upper balljoint specifically).

[aking244]

Thanks YellowKota!

1. My mistake. The body lift kit is the performance not the Procomp.
2. Interco has a Thornbird 33x12.5x15 tire but they say it has to go on a 15x10 wheel and seems rather excessive.
3. They have a Thornbird 33x11.5x15, this would probably look O.K. Any thoughts?
4. Do you think these tires would go on with only the suspension lift or do I need both?

Thanks again for your help.

[Rob454]

Im running 33x12.5x15 on 15x8 rim. a 10 inch wide rim will make the tire stretch out so the tread will be wider and the shoulder more squared off but a 8 inch rim will work just fine also

Rob

[HemiDak]

Like Rob said, a 12.5" tire is fine on an 8" rim. My current rims are 8", as were my last ones (stockers). I actually prefer an 8" rim and recommend it over a 10", because it creates less problems, and holds the bead better.

33x12.5 or less will fit alright with either 3" lift. You probably will have some rubbing though. Having both will most likely prevent all rubbing. Most people go with the 3" bodylift for cost, and run 33's just fine. I just have a bodylift, but have done a lot of trimming since I offroad and airdown very low.

[nigolbipples]

You should just run the body lift and then tighten your torsion bars a few cranks, then you won't have a problem with the 33's. I am running a 3" suspension lift and I cranked up the torsion bars a few turns and my 33x11.50x18 fit just perfectly with no rubbing. Also remember that the Thornbirds run a little smaller then what they say. So the 33x12.50x15 is actually only 32.3 inches in diameter and 9.8 inches in tread width...so you should be able to easily run those with just a body lift.

[aking244]

You should just run the body lift and then tighten your torsion bars a few cranks, then you won't have a problem with the 33's. I am running a 3" suspension lift and I cranked up the torsion bars a few turns and my 33x11.50x18 fit just perfectly with no rubbing. Also remember that the Thornbirds run a little smaller then what they say. So the 33x12.50x15 is actually only 32.3 inches in diameter and 9.8 inches in tread width...so you should be able to easily run those with just a body lift.


Thanks! Are you using 15x8 wheels? Rancho just e-mailed me and said that their suspension lift can not be used with 15" wheels. Would this apply only to OEM wheels and not aftermarket with a different backspacing?

[HemiDak]

This just applies to OEM 15" rims. I believe 16's will work.

[nigolbipples]

This just applies to OEM 15" rims. I believe 16's will work.

The 16" OEM wheels will not work...I found that out the hard way!! You can use aftermarket 15" wheels, just make sure that the offset is greater then 3". You need to make sure you keep the tire and wheel away from your upper balljoint.

[lilguido1]

The 16" OEM wheels will not work...I found that out the hard way!! You can use aftermarket 15" wheels, just make sure that the offset is greater then 3". You need to make sure you keep the tire and wheel away from your upper balljoint.

he, he, he...that's why I went w/18's!