A lot of mixed feedback for lifts/35 inch tires

[Ghost1941]

Greetings,

 

I'm new here and this is my first post. Just recently started a new career and finally have some cash flow.

 

I'm looking at investing some money into my truck. The tires needed to be replaced (old tires had premature wear and I received a large amount of cash back from Discount Tire) and I wanted to go bigger.

 

Truck:

2001 Chevy Silverado extended cab with the 5.3L V8.

 

Tires:

I just got a hell of a discount on these tires (couldn't pass it up):

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tires/goodyear/product/submitProductSize.do?r=MIDINT%7Cpc%7C48083&pc=31930

 

Wheels:

Also got 4 MB wheels 17x9 (can't find them on their website).

 

Questions:

Now, my predicament is trying to figure out how to get these suckers to work on my truck. I'm fairly mechanically inclined and I have been able to conduct all of my own maintenance as it comes along. However, this is pretty foreign to me.

 

From my research, there are "a few" (yeah right...) options... one being there is a local shop that uses these suspension lift kits:

http://bds-suspension.com/product?ma=5&mo=1&ty=9&yr=1999-2006

 

Good, the bad, the ugly? Opinions please. They quoted me at $3,000 ish OTD.

 

 

 

1) My friend runs a mechanic shop and has all of the necessary equipment/tools to do the lift; only trucks are not his normal focus.

 

2) Is this a viable option? Is it viable for him and I to do this with little experience in lifts?

 

3) If so, what lift? Company/type/brand, whatever. I'd love to hear some opinions.

 

4) Is a 6 inch suspension lift my only option with this wheel/tire combo?

 

5) What else - in addition to the lift needs to be changed for this wheel/tire combo to function? I have read talk of replacing the gears to a

 

 

Side note:

Recommended future upgrades.

 

In the mean time... I'm going to continue reading through the forums here.

 

Thank you in advance!

[kstruckcountry]

The link for the tires isn't working for me. What are they?

 

What about the wheels? Offset? Some lifts (the BDS I think) use a different knuckle that your wheels may not work with. I think Rancho and FTS may use the factory knuckle. Someone can chime in on that.

 

Future stuff would be lower gears, tune, possibly aftermarket front driveshaft. There's a lot that depends on what you end up doing.

 

 

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[Ghost1941]

The link for the tires isn't working for me. What are they? What about the wheels? Offset? Some lifts (the BDS I think) use a different knuckle that your wheels may not work with. I think Rancho and FTS may use the factory knuckle. Someone can chime in on that. Future stuff would be lower gears, tune, possibly aftermarket front driveshaft. There's a lot that depends on what you end up doing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac

315/70-17

Let me find out for sure on the wheels.

[Ghost1941]

Backspacing is 5.140 in

Offset is +10.00 mm

[Danthaman69]

You will need gears. A lot ppl say 4.56 gears. Do you do a lot of highway driving or city driving?

[cliobogger]

First off welcome and congratulations. Now, on to business. I've run those tires on my last two trucks (including the one i have now), they are amazing. Second, you can NOT get better than bds for an out of the box lift kit. They have the best warranty on the market and their parts are second to none. You will WANT to re-gear, you wont need to re-gear. I would highly recommend it. At LEAST 4.10 gears but I would go with 4.56s. Front and back obviously. Thats going to run you about 1500-2000 parts and labor alone. The lift will run about 3000 installed usually, give or take 500 (or if you go with all the options, close to 4k). For 35 inch tires, i would go with a 6 inch or bigger (most run 6-7 inches). If you go with a 4-4.5 inch lift...you will wish you went with the 6-7 inch. They are the same price, both will fudge up your MPG the same, so go big or go home. These are all just one mans opinions from life lessons. Take what you will, leave the rest, but trust me on the bigger lift part.

[Ghost1941]

You will need gears. A lot ppl say 4.56 gears. Do you do a lot of highway driving or city driving?

 

A good combination of both. I'd say about 50/50 during the week. Every other weekend or so I spend two hours on the highway to get north to the cabin.

 

 

First off welcome and congratulations. Now, on to business. I've run those tires on my last two trucks (including the one i have now), they are amazing. Second, you can NOT get better than bds for an out of the box lift kit. They have the best warranty on the market and their parts are second to none. You will WANT to re-gear, you wont need to re-gear. I would highly recommend it. At LEAST 4.10 gears but I would go with 4.56s. Front and back obviously. Thats going to run you about 1500-2000 parts and labor alone. The lift will run about 3000 installed usually, give or take 500 (or if you go with all the options, close to 4k). For 35 inch tires, i would go with a 6 inch or bigger (most run 6-7 inches). If you go with a 4-4.5 inch lift...you will wish you went with the 6-7 inch. They are the same price, both will fudge up your MPG the same, so go big or go home. These are all just one mans opinions from life lessons. Take what you will, leave the rest, but trust me on the bigger lift part.

 

Thank you for the greeting. Your statement about BDS is what I'm pretty much finding everywhere.

 

Good info on the gear change. I didn't want to have to dump all of the money right at once.

 

What kind of gas mileage loss did you experience?

 

Like I said in the first post, my buddy is my mechanic and he's suggesting 285 75r16's of the same tire but with a leveling kit and different front shocks. He said in the long term it will cause less wear and tear, I'll still get the deal on the tires (a far better one actually), and the bigger tires will fit. Oh - and it doesn't come with the $3000-$5000 price tag.

[Danthaman69]

A good combination of both. I'd say about 50/50 during the week. Every other weekend or so I spend two hours on the highway to get north to the cabin.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the greeting. Your statement about BDS is what I'm pretty much finding everywhere.

 

Good info on the gear change. I didn't want to have to dump all of the money right at once.

 

What kind of gas mileage loss did you experience?

 

Like I said in the first post, my buddy is my mechanic and he's suggesting 285 75r16's of the same tire but with a leveling kit and different front shocks. He said in the long term it will cause less wear and tear, I'll still get the deal on the tires (a far better one actually), and the bigger tires will fit. Oh - and it doesn't come with the $3000-$5000 price tag.

I do alot of highway driving. I will be doing gears when I get home next week. Not sure if I'm going to 4.56 or 4.30. Not much difference really. I just don't want my rpms too high. I suggest to go with 4.56 gears

[Jon A]

Does anybody make 4.30's for the 9.5"? All I've seen skip from 4.11 to 4.56.

[kstruckcountry]

Actually a quality lift causes less wear than a level. Flat angles with a good lift kit.

 

 

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