Looking good! Nice write-up <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Thanks. The whole goal is to answer the question, "What are the biggest tires I can run stock? And what good would it do me if I put a lift on to help clear those tires?"

So you get a good idea of what your getting yourself into running them stock, and to help make the decision if you want to put a body lift on etc.

PART 6B: 34x9.5-15LT TSLs on the Truck.

Last part of the write up is putting the 34x9.5-15LT TSLs on the truck. 2 brand new in the rear, and 2 used in the front. The tires are mounted on the stock LS Alloy 15x6 rims (just painted black), with the stock backspacing (no spacers etc). So far there is only minimal rubbing at full flex, no rubbing at all on the street/normal driving/full turn.

The power gain and MPG increase over the 34x12.5s is VERY evident. The truck actually feels lighter when you drive it, you can't feel the truck having to spin the tires like it did with the 12.5s. 5th gear has gained A LOT of use now, and I actually have to keep an eye on my speedometer to make sure I am not speeding (before I had to keep an eye on it to make sure I wasn't going too slow). So far MPG increases look to be 2-3mpg highway, which is great to say the least.

You loose the aggressive wide stance, but you gain back power, MPG, and reduced drive train wear. So I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too. The 34x9.5s run very smooth compared to the 34x12.5s, very little vibration at all at highway speeds. But I will say they do tend to wander just a tiny bit, unlike the 34x12.5s.

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PART 7: FINAL THOUGHTS

So can you run used 34x12.5-15LT TSLs on a stock Gen 1 Montero/Raider? Yes you can. You will have some rubbing issues, a good bit of power loss, poor MPG, but it is doable. 34" is really the biggest tire you can run that has any substantial amount of tread on it. I don't think it would be wise to try to run 34"s the are brand new on the truck though. You will tear the tires up very quickly.

With a 1" Torsion Bar crank (still essentially stock) you will reduce the rubbing by a large percentage making a great improvement. After seeing how easy a torsion bar crank is I wonder why I ran them without it for so long. So I would say if you want to save yourself a lot of rubbing in the front do the t-bar crank the same day you put the 34"s on.

But if your planning on running brand new 34"s you need to put on a body lift for sure. A 1" body lift at the very minimum, but I would highly suggest the 2" lift. Your rubbing issues are eliminated in the back now also, and you have enough room to flex them also. For $115 shipped for the basic SWB lift, the investment is well worth it if you want to run 34"s... or 33"s really for that matter.

In the end its a decision of what width 34 do you want to run? The narrow 9.5s, middle of the road 10.5s, or the wide 12.5s. While I wasn't able to get my hands on some 34x10.5 LTBs to comment on them, I was able to run the 12.5s and the 9.5s the two extremes of that list.

If your sticking these tires on a daily driver than I highly advise putting the 34x9.5s or 34x10.5s on some alloys and running them like that. You will see a lot better power, less drive train wear, and better MPG. And those are 2 options that you can run on the 15x6 alloys without buying new rims.

If you have the $$$ you could run the 34x12.5s on alloys. Mark put on his 33x12.5s mounted on 15x10 alloys and said he didn't notice that much of a power loss from running his 32x11.5s on 15x6 steelies. So my guess is, if you put the 34x12.5s on alloys, you might see more power loss than the 34x9.5s/10.5s but it won't be as bad as running 33x12.5s on steel rims (or 34x12.5s).

If I had the $$$ to buy 4 new tires instead of grabbing the used set of 34x9.5s, and supplementing them with 2 new 34x9.5s I would have gone with the 34x10.5 LTBs. In my mind that is your best case scenario. You don't loose too much of the width, but you still get better performance than the 12.5s. In a world with more $$$ you could just run the 34x9.5s as your DD tires, and the 34x12.5s are off-road tires. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

(Mark's gold Raider with 33x12.5 on 15x10, and mine with 34x9.5 on 15x6. You can see the difference in the wide stance, vs narrow)



Tires Tested Specs Sheet

34x12.5-15LT TSLs - 15x8 Steel Street Locks w/ 3.75" Backspacing

34x9.5-15LT TSLs - 15x6 Stock LS Aluminum w/ 4.375" Backspacing

That makes it look even more like a Land Rover! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> Looks really good though! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> Great write up! So what mpg are you getting?

Haven't run through an entire tank yet, but I am looking at a 2-3 MPG increase. So I am going from 12-13mpg (City) to about 14-15mpg (city). I will have exact numbers this weekend when I fill back up. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Numbers are in, looking at a 2mpg increase coming to 14-15mpg. Looking like it will be worth it to run the skinny tires on alloys. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Good job Eli. Loved the way your truck looked when I saw it at the weekend <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

what 2" suspension lift are you talking about?

It'll be different from yours, as yours is coil sprung and his is leaf sprung. If you want lift, get GenII coils and turns the torsion bars to level it. That will net you around 2" of lift.

Mine is leaf spring rear. And i know the half-ass tbar crank rear/shackle or block rear "suspension" lift, i didnt know if he had found a legitimate suspension lift.

if HD torsion bars are what you would consider legit, than that is the best you are going to get. Although there are no lift kits, its not like you need one. 35s fit with 2-4" lift. I'll be running 4" lift and 38.5" boggers in a month or so. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />