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Tire question


djeffrey
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Hello everyone. I have a 1991 4x4 with a 3.3 swap and a 5 speed. Currently with some bald 30x9.5 cheapo all terrains

 

I got a good deal on some brand new 33x12.5x15 Bfg KM2s. I have Lego wheels and a 3in Calmani suspension lift with a grassroots centerlink, Pitman arm brace and steering stabilizer.

 

Do you think these tires will fit on my pathy without rubbing on the legos? Do I need some different back spaced wheels to work better? I know an 8 in wheel is ideal and when I get some eventually I want to get the correct dimensions.

 

I am sure I am going to lose most of the power that I gained after my engine swap, gonna be a bummer so I will probably have to research regearing it eventually.

 

Thanks for everyone's input

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I really want to see a pic of your truck man, sounds awesome. you might get some rubbing at full lock, it will be worth it.

I get some rubbing in reverse at full lock with my 31s on Legos on my lifted R50(2000).

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Hello everyone. I have a 1991 4x4 with a 3.3 swap and a 5 speed. Currently with some bald 30x9.5 cheapo all terrains

 

I got a good deal on some brand new 33x12.5x15 Bfg KM2s. I have Lego wheels and a 3in Calmani suspension lift with a grassroots centerlink, Pitman arm brace and steering stabilizer.

 

Do you think these tires will fit on my pathy without rubbing on the legos? Do I need some different back spaced wheels to work better? I know an 8 in wheel is ideal and when I get some eventually I want to get the correct dimensions.

 

I am sure I am going to lose most of the power that I gained after my engine swap, gonna be a bummer so I will probably have to research regearing it eventually.

 

Thanks for everyone's input

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I personally would not mount those tires on Lego's. For a 12.5 tires 10in wheels are the ideal, 8in for 10.5's so for me a 7in Lego is way to narrow.

 

Now I am sure someone will jump in and say "Yes you can!" But even if you "can" I would not.

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Yes they can fit with the proper wheel, but how well will depend on a combination of wheels, lift, trimming, amount of rub your comfortable with, etc.

 

I prefer the 33x10.5's on 8's that I currently run

path02122308js8.jpg

 

But here is a pic of my truck with my Yota's 33x12.5's on 10's

pathyotashoesyb7.jpg

 

Rub aside, I noticed a big difference in power with the added weight of the 12.5's. And keep in mind that my truck is and was lifted 3+3 in both pics. The common rule that most, but not all, subscribe to is 3+3=33 (3in Suspension lift + 3in Body Lift = 33in tires)

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I agree with redpath, you'd want a wider rim for 12.50s. The 12.50 part is what would scare me, a 33x10.50 would be a better choice. I'm running a 3" JGC lift with 275/65r18 on 9.5" wide rims(with 3/4" more backspacing that stock steelies), these measure up at 32.2" tall, 10.5" wide. If you ever throw a tape on a 33x12.50r15, every brand is a little different, but they typically measure somewhere around 31.5x11.75. I had to do some minor trimming on both sides of my front fenders & if I flex the rear, the rear tires will rub the sides of the fenders. I'm about to put on a body lift instead of trimming any more or getting rid of my fender flares. Other than that, I moved the turn stops out just a hair; when I turned full to the left, the tire rubbed the frame, but didn't when I turned to the right. As for fuel economy, I went from 19.5mpg, to averaging 18.2, once I figured in the extra distance traveled for the larger tire rotation. I'm running lightweight aluminum rims & fairly narrow tires to reduce the rotating mass and friction on the road to help with the fuel economy.

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OK cool. Good looking rig BTW. I was thinking they were pretty wide but didn't want to pass up a good deal. I think I will try out 33x10.5 and see if I can shove them in there. Did you regear it?

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I agree with redpath, you'd want a wider rim for 12.50s. The 12.50 part is what would scare me, a 33x10.50 would be a better choice. I'm running a 3" JGC lift with 275/65r18 on 9.5" wide rims(with 3/4" more backspacing that stock steelies), these measure up at 32.2" tall, 10.5" wide. If you ever throw a tape on a 33x12.50r15, every brand is a little different, but they typically measure somewhere around 31.5x11.75. I had to do some minor trimming on both sides of my front fenders & if I flex the rear, the rear tires will rub the sides of the fenders. I'm about to put on a body lift instead of trimming any more or getting rid of my fender flares. Other than that, I moved the turn stops out just a hair; when I turned full to the left, the tire rubbed the frame, but didn't when I turned to the right. As for fuel economy, I went from 19.5mpg, to averaging 18.2, once I figured in the extra distance traveled for the larger tire rotation. I'm running lightweight aluminum rims & fairly narrow tires to reduce the rotating mass and friction on the road to help with the fuel economy.

OK cool. I don't really want to do a body lift if I don't have to because I don't see any other point other than fitting bigger tires. It's not a DD so the loss in fuel economy isn't to bad. Need to get new rims though it sounds like to achieve the back spacing.

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I'm running stock gears, but have an Xterra transmission(stock 3.0 engine), so first is a little different. It takes me a just little longer to get into traffic, but I ran it hard down the interstate & GPS claimed I hit 103, stock speedo said 88.

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OK cool. I don't really want to do a body lift if I don't have to because I don't see any other point other than fitting bigger tires. It's not a DD so the loss in fuel economy isn't to bad. Need to get new rims though it sounds like to achieve the back spacing.

Remember these tires may be upwards of an inch taller than yours, but if I trimmed a little more sheet metal, there would be no rubbing at all. I just set up a photobucket account & will try to post pics soon.

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I will be the one to jump in and say my 33x12.50s fit fine on my legos. No issues. Actually a serious off roader I know says it works better with low tire pressures. I didn't argue, I like the stocky, vintage look of the legos...

IMG_8748_zps447022e9.jpg

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I will be the one to jump in and say my 33x12.50s fit fine on my legos. No issues. Actually a serious off roader I know says it works better with low tire pressures. I didn't argue, I like the stocky, vintage look of the legos...

IMG_8748_zps447022e9.jpg

That looks awesome. Do you have a body lift and suspension? How much trimming did you do?
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If you have fender flares be prepared to lose them. I'm running 31x10.50r15" Radars R5 on Legos. They rub the fender wells and tear off the rear fender flares when bottoming out. The front's rubbed horrendously so I put a wheel spacer on the front....

Edited by R3DN1CK
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If you have fender flares be prepared to lose them. I'm running 31x10.50r15" Radars R5 on Legos. They rub the fender wells and tear off the rear fender flares when bottoming out. The front's rubbed horrendously so I put a wheel spacer on the front....

 

This makes no sense at all...something is wrong here, I've got the exact same setup, 31x10.50 /R15 Cooper AT3 on Legos, and only briefly once in a while with a bit of weight in the rear, like a lot of groceries, and hit a dip or bump in the road, the rear tire will rub for an instant...never hits the flares. This is a bone stock setup for a 90 Pathfinder, maybe you should remove the spacers, that would only widen the front track putting the tire closer to the outside edge of the fender well.

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You can trim the fender flares to fit 33x12.5s. I run 33x12.5 on a 15 x 10 wheel and even with the short steering stops for max steering angle I do not rub at all. The main place for pathfinders to rub big tires is the front pinch seam of the chassis inside the rear of the front wheel wells. I sliced out the pinch seam and shaped it back a bit and then welded the seam shut and coated it with rust protect and then under coat. On top of that I trimmed the edges of my fender flares on the lower sections closer to the bottom of the truck. I think I may have had to trim a tiny bit in the rear too but that was very minimal. I can completely stuff my tires on my rig and have the wheel turned fully and no rubbing at all. 3+3 lift.

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That looks awesome. Do you have a body lift and suspension? How much trimming did you do?

Just suspension lift. Sway-A-Way torsion bars, AC UCA's, and heavy duty springs from 4x4 parts. lots of rubbing during cornering before spacers. After it rubbed a lot on the flares so I trimmed them back and eventually just removed them. During cornering and flex it would still rub especially at the front of the wheel well so trimmed it back with a cutting wheel. No more rubbing now and I didn't really take off much material.

This is about the best shot I can find for how it was trimmed.

IMG_8761_zpsec1ae560.jpg

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33/12.50's are fine on 8's, 7's are too narrow. Yes they fit but it pulls the sidewalls in too far

 

 

I respect your opinion but many others do not agree with you. Yes it balloons your footprint a bit but some consider that an advantage. Like I stated, I have not had a single issue.....

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Narrower rims will cause the tires to stand taller & narrower, wider will do the opposite, shorter & wider. If you go too narrow or too wide, there is a greater chance of spinning the bead off the rim, especially if you air down for off road. 7" legos isn't too horribly small for those tires, still not the absolute best choice. but the stock 6" steelies would be ridiculous.

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You can mount any size tire on any size rim that you can get the tire to go onto, doesn't mean it's the recommended size wheel, when I said you 7's are too narrow, I'm referring to the 7" width as not being a recommended width for a 12.50' wide tire. Most tire manufacturers that sell a 33/12.50/15 tire specify 8-11" wheels.

 

Most of the time and depending on the tire's particular tread design, putting a tire that is too wide for a particular wheel will pull the sidewall's in to much and will effect how the tire wears.

 

I'm sure when a tire manufacturer recommends a wheel width range for their tires it is to make sure the tire performs optimally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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