PART 8: LONG TERM CHECK-IN/REPORT

It has been a few days over 2 years since I put the 34x9.5s on, and almost 3 years since I have been running 34"s period (34x9.5s and 34x12.5s). And over the years I have been able to draw some conclusions about running 34s.

In all reality it seems 34"s are about as big as you want to go with stock 4.62 gearing on a truck that is still a daily driver. As far as running them "stock" with no aftermarket lift its possible if you do a torsion bar crank, but a 1"+ body lift is highly recommended (especially if you wheel the vehicle). To be honest 33"s are probably your best bet if you don't want stay 100 percent stock.

Power/MPG/Strain wise the 34"s again are just about the limit. My KM145 5spd has dealt with the bigger tires very well, and so has the 2.6 (thank god). I am still averaging 16/17mpg with most city driving and a little highway mixed in there. Again the big key is staying off the highway when possible. The truck prefers the 45mph-55mph band, when you hit 65mph+ is when you can tell the truck is really having to try to spin the tires at those speeds (especially in the 75mph+ range). You can get up to 75mph+ in the truck, its true. But its not advisable.

Overall I will never go back to anything smaller than 34s. If anything with 4.88s getting swapped some time in the future I am looking at moving up to the 35"-36" range. So far so good, ready to put a couple more years behind me.