3" lift 33" Tire - does it work?

I'm going with Ironman stage 2 lift kit with the standard nitro shocks for a 3" lift.

The question I have is which tire? - since some tires are slightly less than 33" and some slightly more.

Examples: (2) sizes of Nitto Ridge Grapplers with different heights: (I'm keeping my 16" TRD wheels)
- LT 285/75R16 Height = 32.83"
- LT 295/75R16 Height = 33.39"

.56" difference in height, but they are both advertised as 33" tires.

Is there someone who can respond from their experience on 33" tires with a 3" lift?

Other considerations: I'm going to go with extended break lines just to avoid possible issues - I also have a question for the forum ?is there a preferred break line?

What else am I missing?

Thanks in advance!

 

Skinnies are what you seek.

 

You likely don’t want or won’t actually receive a 3” lift. There’s only about 3” of down travel from the factory. Shoot for 2”. The bigger the tire the more chance of rubbing. It’s up to your preferences. You don’t need extended break lines because you are not changing the max down travel (aka droop) of your suspension. You will not be extending them any more than a stock truck sending it.

 

If you plan on taking it off road, My suggestion is to not go with a three inch lift.

The CV axel angle can lead to broken CV joints much more readily. Many here have recommended not going over the two inch mark for this reason.

I had a three inch lift initially, with 285/75 r16s. I rubbed the cab mounts on full turn when hitting deep bumps or during articulation off road and also the front of the lower control arm. Before purchasing rims, I used spacers to alleviate the LCA rub and did a cab mount chop to make it functional off road. A 295 tire is even wider and can exacerbate the above issues.

Also, the stock upper control arm does not accommodate a 3 inch lift, so that’s an additional cost.

To not go down the rabbit hole of making a functional truck with wide 33s, stick with a 2 inch lift and some 255/85 ‘skinny’ 33s IMHO

 

I want to go from a 285/70/17 to a skinny tire, but on a 17x9 wheel my options are limited.

 

Did you get rid of your stock wheels? I’m still running mine.

 

33” fits fine on my stock 89

 

You don’t say

 

Curious about your reasons?

 

You don't need extended brake lines.

You'd benefit more from upgraded upper control arms.

 

Yep

 

I read the skinny tire thread- the wheels are turning now.

 

If you already cut up your truck to fit 285’s why go to 255’s? I think the only really well tested advantage of 255’s is that they fit without modification. I take all the other claims (better in snow, etc) with a grain of salt. If already cut up my truck to fit 285’s and I wanted a change I might try a skinny 35 rather than a skinny 33. You are maybe half way to fitting them.

 

Depends on alignment, wheel backspacing etc. probably need a CMC and might want to consider UCA to help with alignment corrections.

 

In all honesty I’ll probably go 285/75/17
SKOL!

 

This^ Definitely look into UCAS- I like the JBA’s, been running them for 55k miles, lube them up at every oil change

 

I have the Ironman Foam Cell lift and honestly it is only about 2.25" in the front and the leaf pack adds about 2.5" in the rear depending on what rate you opt for. I'm running 33.2" tires have haven't had to cut or chop anything. The stage 2 UCA moves that spindle forward enough to clear the 33" tires off the cab mount. The issue you will run into is backspacing and rubbing on the UCA. I have a limited so I'm running 275/70R18 and with the stock 18" wheels, I barely rubbed the UCA at full lock. Put in a 6mm spacer and it is perfect with no rubbing at all. I don't drive with the spacer on...I just put them on when I get to the trail and remember not to turn full lock on the road. That being said, I don't know what the back spacing is on the stock TRD 16" wheels but with a 285 or 295 wide tire, you may need a 1/2" spacer which would require longer wheel studs.

As for the brake lines, stick with stock. You don't need to extend them at all. What you will encounter is the mounting bracket for the e-brake cable will need to be modified with the lift. I just used a piece of 10ga steel with a couple holes drilled in it to keep the bracket in the stock location.

 

Get some 33x10.5x17 Kenda Rts. They are a true 33, and work great in all conditions. I ran those for a couple months with 0 offset/8.5 wide wheels, and just barely rubbed on the body mount at full flex.

 

Another vote for skinny 33's. 255/85/16 or 255/80/17