Tire advice

[UNT8MDGT]

Hey guys i just picked up a 1980 GMC 3/4ton long box and it needs a full resto. Im planning to run a 6" rough country lift and a 2" inch body lift.
The truck will see some towing duties,mudding and some HWY.
I want to run about a 38x??? any suggestion on what tire i should run?
smaller budget as well so something that will be affordable and that will last.
Thanks in advance guys

[83chev350]

well with 4'' susp and 3 body 35s with room so id say 38s no problem bigger u might have to cut wheel wells and use flairs

[Burt4x4]

38 will be pushing the limits of your frontend but doable. With towing and some Hwy use I would get a radial like Swamper SSR, good in the mud and good wear for a Swamper too..

[Zane M]

I have no technical advice, but it seems 38s and budget are mutually exclusive terms.

[Altec]

Your best bet would be like humvee take-offs. They are 12-ply radials. Wear like iron, and are some of the best all-terrain tires you can get in the ply range. And the extra plys really bump up the load rating, and the strong walls make sure they don't "walk" going down the road.

They are 37-12.5-16.5. They measure a true 36" tire. I'd do that, with a shackle flip in the real with 4" lift springs (Roughly 8" of lift total), and a 52" conversion in the front with 4" lift springs (Also roughly 8").

But you really don't need that much lift. I run 35" tires with 4" of lift. 6" will be fine with that.

like Burt said, large tires, and 10-Bolt/Dana 44's don't hold up well with large tires. Even 35" tires can bust them if you get bound up right. 38" tires is asking for trouble.

[TheWhiteElephant]

Originally Posted by Altec

Your best bet would be like humvee take-offs. They are 12-ply radials. Wear like iron, and are some of the best all-terrain tires you can get in the ply range. And the extra plys really bump up the load rating, and the strong walls make sure they don't "walk" going down the road.

They are 37-12.5-16.5. They measure a true 36" tire. I'd do that, with a shackle flip in the real with 4" lift springs (Roughly 8" of lift total), and a 52" conversion in the front with 4" lift springs (Also roughly 8").

But you really don't need that much lift. I run 35" tires with 4" of lift. 6" will be fine with that.

like Burt said, large tires, and 10-Bolt/Dana 44's don't hold up well with large tires. Even 35" tires can bust them if you get bound up right. 38" tires is asking for trouble.

Yeah, I was gonna say towing with 38s? The sidewalls on those bigger tires are really soft. I had a 2 inch thorn puncture the sidewall of my 36" radial super swamper and I was really amazed that it went in so easily. Just the weight and rotating mass of those big tires alone would really be taxing the front 1/2 ton axle. I'd imagine the truck would get pretty squirrely with all that sidewall, too.

[1985-GMC]

With that much lift you will need to put cross-over steering onto the list of things you will need.

Your best bet is to stick with a 4 inch lift if you want to do any towing, and I recommend 37" hummer tires also.

[rcflyer1234]

Id say Pit Bull Maddog Radials would be good. Their aggressive but not too aggressive. They also have a 10 ply rating




http://www.pitbulltires.com/maddog_radials.php

[67chevy77]

I run 40s with 9 inches and my buddy was running 40s with 8 inches and we both cleared them fine. So you shouldnt have problems fitting 38s.

[Mxracer202]

I really like the wrangler MTR's they look good and perform great, im not to sure how spendy they are though

[1985-GMC]

I have 40" gumbo monster mudders (about 38") with 4" suspension and 3" body but im about to remove the pos body lift, just the front fenders are trimmed a little.

Edit: This is on by blazer btw.

[dammitmitchell]

I ran 38's i downgraded to 36.5's.
The 38's with 4.56 gears were allright but i just destroyed way too much crap with them.

i went down to 36's for overall driveability and well i just got tired of climbing up there.

I origionally had 38/ 15.50 r15's from mickey thompson. wear patterns were great and road noise was manageable.

I Now swear by my procomp's! (x mud terrains)the road noise is minimal and the sidewalls are harder. ive had an entire bed of chopped mesquite and barley any sidewall bursting.
To me the procomps also have better channeling cut into them for mud and anythin sloshy. The mickey thompsons had better cold grip in the snow (still soft under pricking of a nail) and were more capable on sharp rocks.


if you want to see clearances issues check my build thread. i destroyed my front fenders with the 36.5s on a mud run. (i flexed they got stuck and curled my fenders in)
the 38's were worse. with a sky jacker 8in lift and a wedge block in there i couldnt articulate nearly as much as i wanted to due to tire rubbing. couldnt turn well either due to fender rubbing.

if you plan on running a10 in lift you will be ok.
BUT an important thing to remeber is CROSSOVER STEERING. You hit a bump with these tires you will know and it will be hard to manage.

[dammitmitchell]

p.s. any tire above a 35 is hell on a corp 10 bolt. you need to be running a 14bolt or more especially towing. i shattered my first corp 10 within two weeks of doing the lift. ring gear just could not handle the torque.

[USSkoval]

Since you are on a budget and you plan to use your truck as a truck, skip the crappy body lift and go with a good 35 inch radial MT type tire.