Topic: 33s, or 35s?

[kyle_22r]

i'm just about to dive head first into the suspension on ol' yeller, now, the final dilemma here...take it easy and run 33s, or get some 35s instaed.

im not much of an extreme 4x4 guy with this thing, in fact i'm pretty happy with the 31s i have in terms of performance.  but i need some lift to clear my marlin hysteer , and i have a set of 3" front and 2" rear downey springs, so i think i'm going that route.

if i had a shortbed truck i'd definitely pick the 33s, but my pickup is a longbed so i have to deal with the issue of breakover angle and departure angle(being that i've got that long overhang and don't really want to touch it just yet).  figure 35s could give me a little bit of an edge.

as far as fitting goes, my 31" LTBs look like they're almost as big as a 32 or 33" radial bfg or something.  i figure i'll want to redrill the perches on the front axle a bit to the rear to move it forward a little, as well as cut the lower valance off.  it looks like they'll fit ok, but am i going to have any trouble stuffing a set of 35s on there with those springs, and possibly a longer shackle setup?

[toybuilt]

I would say go with the 35's. When I did my frist (4") lift on my 83 toy longbed  I was wandering the samething, I went with the 35's and couldn't of been happier of the way it looked. It drove fine and on off road it was great with the 35's.

[kyle_22r [OP]]

i'm guessing i'll try these downey springs out and put a 2" longer than stock shackle on

now, to just save up for a set of tires

[KWP]

 IMO I would go with the 35's. I think you would be happier going that rout instead of getting 33's and regretting it later, also you'll love the downey's they flex good and have a pretty good ride on the highway.

[kyle_22r [OP]]

sweet, i bought them online from another retailer, mainly because they have a mil-wrap on both the front and rear packs.  figure if i ever get tired with the fronts i could make a decent pack out of the rears.

[WHITE_TRASH]

I wouldnt mess around with using front springs at all.  Id use the rear lift springs and mix them into your front lift pack.  Then use the leftovers from the front lift pack to build up your rear pack.  I was running 35's on the 81 with no rubbage on a 10" wheel with no issues. 

[Jase]

I would also go with 35's.  I just recently went to 33's from 35's and really didn't seem that much different for daily driving and that is why I held out with 33's for so long.

[KDC]

Hey Kyle22r, if you don't mind me asking, what retailer did you get the Downey springs?
Thanks.

[Rocksurfer]

If you are questioning what to go with, you'll never be happy unless you try both. So go big, yes you will lose power with the 35's  but once you get the 33's and relize that you wish you had gone bigger it's too late. Now if you get the 35's you may wish you would have gone with the 33's but at least you went for more than what you ended up wanting or needing. You know how it goes, most of our projects are neverending and once you get those 33's you'll be looking for more, just like when you first got those 31's and said you were happy with those, now look you're headed up already so just jump ahead 2 spaces instead of 1.

[blackdiamond]

I have been extremely happy with my 33 inch BFG MTs, I have played on some difficult trails and not had any real clearance issues.  I like 35's as well, but with my 4.88 gears and the fact that I drive it on the highway all the time I didn't want the power loss.  Also, without cutting the firewall or moving the front axle forward, my 33's are already rubbing heavily at full flex.

     I will put in my 4 cents.

[kyle_22r [OP]]

after a big fit of frustration(my thorley header had a flange leak) it pissed me off so much that i just went out and bought a '91 toy 4x4 in september for a dd.

no worries about 4.88s being able to cope with 35s, i've got 4.38s and 31" swampers and my engine can really rip(built 20/22).

[reklund5]

Neither.  Go for the 42's 

Having run both, I'd say go for the 35's.  It'll save you from putting on the 33s and wishing you'd bought the 35's.


Ryan
...the guy who bought 37's and now wishes he'd bought 40's...

[kyle_22r [OP]]

Hey Kyle22r, if you don't mind me asking, what retailer did you get the Downey springs?
Thanks.

i think it was truckperformance.com, i think they just ship them from downey since it took me close to a month to get my front set.

[blackdiamond]

no worries about 4.88s being able to cope with 35s, i've got 4.38s and 31" swampers and my engine can really rip(built 20/22).

Sometimes I miss the obvious, but how does 4.38 gears with 31" tires compare at all to 4.88 gears with 35" tires?

My truck has 4.88 gears and 33" tires and it is about the same as stock gearing (speedo is almost dead on) but the added weight makes a difference.

I would agree that 4.88 gears and 35" tires would work, but performance wouldn't be very exciting.

[IronClad]

4.88's and 35's will be just fine..  i ran 37's on 4.37 gears when i had toyota axles  and a mildly build 22re and could rip up hills in 3rd/4th gear no problem.  my buddy hans (waswheelsoverhondas on here)  ran 40" iroks with 4.56 gears in his 14b/44 and it felt better than stock !   get the 35s.. hell run them on 4.37s and see if you wana change the gears.. you might not want to  they make alot of difference  especially if yer motor has some poop to it

[kyle_22r [OP]]

@65mph, 31s/4.38s will turn 2622RPM in 5th gear, while 35s/4.88s will have the engine at 2588.  less than 100RPM difference, however with my engine set up the way it is, i use 4th gear a lot more than with a 22R head as my engine's powerband comes in slightly higher and goes up farther.  engine's actually quieter and gets better mileage when i drop a gear.