35's worth it

Hey guys,
Hate to be that guy coming in and out of the forums asking the same questions over and over. but I am wondering if going to 35's is worth it. The truck is not a daily driver (I have another one for that) its used mainly for hunting/fishing/4x4 (it does see on-road & highway use though) It has a 5" tough country, with Eibach coil overs, and SPC upper control arms, 1.25" wheel spacers. I was wondering if 35's would be able to happen on this truck and what needs to be done. Body lift to help clear fender/fender wells? Re-gearing seems like a must as well. Has anyone tried this/gone this route and has any recommendations. I would also not be opposed to going with new fiber glass front fenders. But if there's too much rub on frame and such, might not be worth it. If I am better off to just do a body lift with gearing and leave the 33's and have extra room in the wheel well for articulation I am open to that discussion as well.
Thanks guys!

 

I've hunted and fished all my life. Never had or needed a vehicle to have 35" tires to accomplish either one. It would be cool though. For this truck? I tow trailers with side by sides and boat trailers and what not. 35" tires would ruin that experience. Not to mention the power sapping weight and cost to regear. The size and power of these trucks makes a 33" more of the optimal size, but hey, you do you. Many mods are in your future if you choose to go 35". Much wheel well massaging and cutting, additional lift perhaps, definitely regear. Some here already run 35" tires, maybe they will chime in.

 

These trucks look absolutely fantastic on 35's but only you can determine if it's worth it. If you already have a 5" "lift" then fitting 35's might be a lot easier. I think if you do go that route, re-gearing is a necessity. @Brown Bear might have some advice.

 

I have a ram 3500 cummins for towing and long distance so I am not too worried about any of that.
I do like a nice lookin truck, but functionality/practicality is key for this truck.
Looking for people that have done it, for off road, and if its worth it and which routes they took

 

I think you'll be a little hard pressed to find very many first gens running 35's successfully with no issue. I am keeping my truck on 33's for functionality/ practicality but I don't have the same front end as you.

@AL_TUNDY has 35s on their long travel setup and they mention in their thread that aired down 35's seems to put a heavy strain on their stock steering rack. https://www.tundras.com/threads/the...al-tundy-1st-gen-long-travel-4x4.55094/page-3

 

Perfect, thankyou. Maybe i'll just stick with a plan for a small body lift to give more movement in the wheel well for the 33's, and some new gears to better match that tyre size.

 

One compromise might be something like 285/75/17's. Those look really good.

This picture might help put things in perspective. @toyotech2016 has more pictures in that thread if you search for him.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/lets-see-your-first-gen-photo-thread.21/page-39#post-1429602

 

Dang that looks awesome!!

 

Kenda Klever 35x10.5x17 - benefit of 35s with less rolling resistance

35x11.5x17 - Nitto and Toyo

Some alternative options to the traditional 35x12.5 / 315/70

 

just do it and throw 4.88 gears in it but do not do a body lift just cut

 

I have only 3” lift in front and 1 in the rear and have 35/12.5/17s with 2in spacers and no rubbing. Would recommend. For the kind of off roading i do you need at least 35s. I had no need to regear but that would be nice.

 

well you can post this kinda information with out showing me pictures before i go chopping the entire pinchweld out

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/alee891s-phantom-gray-build-on-35s.71769/#post-1846505

 

Second that, pictures would be awesome.

 

If OP has a 5" lift he should be able to fit a skinny 35 no problem. No need to body lift and probably no need to cut. 35s fit on the RCD 6" lift easily. I didn't catch what wheels he is working with, if the wheels are 8" wide or less then a 12.5 tire might bulge a lot, the skinny 35 or even the 34x10.5 would be fine.

As far as gearing goes, I would prepare for the expense but try without it first. If you don't like the feel, then get 4.88 gears (or 5.29 if you want more oomph).

One other question, does he have the full spindle version of that lift. Or the scary adapter version? If its the adapter version I might swap that lift out instead of buying big tires.

 

I would recommend re-gear be factored into budget as a top priority. Even 285s on these first gens bogs them down. I re-geared to 4.88 after 35s and it brought the v8 feel back to life.

I cannot speak to a 5" lift, but I have ~2.75" lift in front. After tubbing (cutting back firewall) I still have slight frame rub at full lock. I also have 1.5" spidertrax wheel spacers coupled with 16x8 FJ80 wheels, for reference. You may be able to avoid cutting with the tuff country lift. Personnally I'd just take ~2" off your fenders with an angle grinder, instead of going full glass up front.

 

The lift should rid him of rubbing on the fenders or pinch weld if he goes skinny. Hitting frame just depends on backspacing, it should be avoidable with 3.5" of backspace but depends on what tire he runs.

If he adds fiberglass fenders and a body lift this truck will look a little awkward in my opinion.

 

By the way, my neighbor has the 6" RCD lift on his tundra and runs 33s, it looks a bit off. Like a tall dog with little feet. It has a huge gap between tires and fenders.

 

I'm at 3" backspacing and was pretty shocked that I still rub ever so slightly at full lock. Not like it's a problematic rub, more so just an annoyance that pisses me off The fat ass Toyo MTs don't really help my situation, tho.

 

I love having 35s on my truck. I never drove it with out 4.88s. So no idea how much power loss there will be with out regearing. Power and acceleration feel about the same as it did stock. I do have the rcd 6 inch lift, wheels have 4 inch backspacing and 1 inch spacer. I did have to take off the front mud flaps and trim the bottom corners of the front bumper. Other then that there is no rubbing and the truck drives like a dream. As for the off road ability I don't know if there will be a huge difference between 33s and 35s. But if you go the route of the 35s and regearing your best off road advantage would be if you put some type of locker or lsd in will you have it apart to regear.

 

Awesome answers ! Thanks guys.
Looks (and sounds like) my main problem right now is back spacing to be able to fit the bigger tyres.
I wouldn't be upset putting on fiber glass fenders. The ones now have some ripples to them
Yes the 5" came with the new heavier spindle. And with the new upper control arms I seem to be able to flex more and stuff the wheel right into the top of the fender now, hitting it. which is why I was thinking a body lift.
I just priced out 4.88 gears on nitro gears with full e-lockers front and rear (just for fun to know how much). I like how they have the kit put together. Makes it easy for a guy like me. I don't have the time, want, or the need to run around pricing every little piece out independently.
I would ideally like 35x 12.5's. I feel as thought it would help alot in the snow. And when going through ditches/rocks

Thanks for all the input guys

 

35s kinda suck to fit unless you go up pretty high with a drop bracket lift or go wider/forward with the front wheels like I did.
I don't know that I'd have any less fun with a slightly more narrow 33" tall tire.

 

Where I've found significant gain in 35s vs 33s is when airing down on a trail. The increased footprint size, coupled with generally more tire, almost acts as a secondary suspension, and the increased footprint benefits traction for obvious reasons.

To my first comment tho, you won't feel the benefits if under-geared. Even when I had 295s, my truck lacked serious power in 4Lo on inclines (offroad) that I felt should have been easily doable. Regearing reinforces the ability to go slow and low over terrain. Unless you're one of those dudes that just mashes the go-fast pedal to get over objects, and is familiar with breaking things. Then I can't help ya there.

 

What's the change in contact patch surface area between a 35 and 33 when airing down on a trail?

 

Installed 35s. Really didn't like the way the truck handled so i went to 33s

 

Your truck looks dope man I love it! I want to do something similar to mine. It looks like you got the K02's on there, what else did you do to it? What kind of lift did you put on it? Did you trim or cut the bumper? Love it hahahaa.

 

No they are not. Get 17 inch wheels and 37’s. Then it's worth it.

 

I have 35" Open Country R/T on my Rig. Love the stance and the look.

Not my DD. In fact I just went over the 51,000 mile point.

(the guy who who parked next to me, says I'm crazy for putting 35's on my Rig. I think he Nutz!)



O.S.T.

 

Made my own suspension with gen2 raptor coilovers and camburg extended axles. I cut the lower part of the bumper off and trimmed the factor flares. To clear the tires before the suspension when I just had a leveling kit I had to cut and tub the lower foot or so of the firewall because it would run into the tire easily. I think it still would have been necessary with my suspension build but I did push the hub forward when I built the lower arms to help with that issue.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/2006-tundra-long-travel-prerunner-double-cab.49353/

 

A little off topic, but maybe on topic, the RCD "6in lift" isn't a 6" lift. It's a 4" lift with an option for 2 more inches of lift in the front to level the pickup. For the rear, you get 4" blocks and that's it. You don't get 6" blocks if you want to go with the 6" lift option.