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How large of tires can i go with stock suspension?

28K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  chithead 
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#1 ·
1999 dodge ram 1500 sport 4x4
Im pretty sure i have 265-75 r16s right now, not possitive tho.
I was wondering what is the largest tire i could go with, without lifting the truck. The reason i ask is because i do plan on doing a 5" lift in the future with 35s BUT id like to be able to play around iin the mud a little before the lift and plan on buying some better tires for that. Id just like to avoid wasting money on a set of tires that will end up being a little to small for the truck once i lift it.

Pretty much, what is the largest tire i could go with, without lifting my truck? could i fit 35s alright?
 
#2 ·
If you try and stuff 35's in your stock truck, I doubt very much that you'll be able to turn it without rubbing the hell out of the control arms & fenders..........When I first installed a 3" bodylift on my truck (1999) I had 295's mounted on the stock wheels and even then at full lock, the control arms got rubbed on by the tires.
 
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#7 ·
I had a 2003 2wd ram before this one that I did a leveling kit and a 3 in body lift and I cleared 35s no problem. I have a buddy of mine that has a 2003 4wd that he did a leveling kit on and he clears 35s, im assuming the 4wd's are a lil taller tho...
 
#8 ·
35x12.50s fit with no lift and no tire rub on my '09 Ram 1500 Laramie.


I realize yours is a 1999 Ram 1500 (2nd generation), but I bring this up to emphasize the point that correct backspacing, and/or offset is going to be needed to be able to fit your maximum tire size as well. If you have the wrong wheel backspacing you may only fit 33s, whereas you could fit a bigger tire (possibly even a 35) with a wheel that has the correct backspacing. The closest you can get to stock wheel backspacing is probably going to be best. On my truck the stock wheel has 5.75" backspacing and my aftermarket wheels have 5.71" of backspacing. And with these wheels I have 2mm of clearance between the inside of the tire and the a-arm, while also having 2mm of clearance between the outer edge of the tire and the inner fender liner at the back of the front fender when the tire is turned. So its a close fit, but if it clears by 2mm it might as well clear by a mile, because it doesn't rub. And I can still run the same 35" tires after I lift the truck.
 
#11 ·
Save your money for a lift kit so that you're not burning through tires and just do it right the first time. The tires you have on it now are good, right? Save up and see if you can't just buy the lift and the tires that you really want all at the same time. It would look a lot better than trying to fit big tires on a truck that needs a lift.
 
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