Tire and Suspension conflict!

Morning everyone.

I recently purchased a 2012 TRD OR SBDC w/ 130k miles. Truck runs great minus some sensitivity to bumps/dips in the road which I believe was being caused by the worn tires (285/75/R16, stock suspension) and bad wheel bearings (which I recently replaced). Ultimately, I want to replace the stock suspension with an OME 3” kit and keep running 285/75/R16s, but, money is giving me some problems! The tires are now worn to the point that they need replacing, so my main question is if anyone would recommend sticking with the 285s on stock suspension and upgrading the suspension down the road (6-12 months hopefully), or go back down to stock 265/70/R16s until I can upgrade the suspension.

thanks for the help!

 

Do you have a any pictures of the truck? I can't imagine 285's fitting with stock suspension so it might have some lift already.

 

If the previous owner already did the work to cut up the wheel wells to fit the 285s without rubbing, I see no issues getting another set of 285s. But if the current 285s are rubbing, I would definitely go down a size for now. Don't forget that with full tread on new tires, any rubbing issues you currently have will only get worse with new tires.

If you decide to go down a size, get 265/75/16 rather than going all the way down to 265/70/16.

 

Here are a few.

 

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Looks like a small spacer lift.

That’s how the 285’s can fit now.

 

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I’m a bit of a lift newb, the black blocks above the coil over and u-bolt I’m assuming are what you are referring to?

 

There is a slight bit of rubbing, nothing too drastic, it doesn’t seem like any cuts were made.

 

Yes, the rear has a block between the axle and leaf springs. Front has one between the shock and the bucket it sits in, that’s why you can see two sets of bolts.

 

Put 265/75/16's on it and don't look back. You'll split the difference in height compared to the tires on there and 265/70/16's. But they will be narrower which will help a lot of things including the ride and fuel mileage. 265/75/16's are a big as you can go with no modifications and look good stock or with a lift. Anything smaller might not look right with a lift.

 

Ok that makes sense. From my understanding, spacer lifts are typically more for show vs performance correct? So long term, I’ll be better off removing those and replacing it with a suspension lift along with the 285s? Intent is to build the truck out to tackle moderate trails over long weekends, while still using it as my daily driver. Thanks for the help!

 

Ok thanks, that’s good advice. I’ll go down to 265s, upgrade the suspension later, and then upgrade to 285s once the 265s are done.

 

That sounds like a good plan, the 265/75/16 should be a good compromise for the time being.

 

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