hey guys,

I was looking at a package deal that includes 4 Mickey Thompson Baja Claw Radials With MT Classic lock rims.

I want to get the 315/75R 16's. Are those similar to 35's?

How is the tread wear on the MT's?

On Mickey Thompson'd site, it says I will need a 4" lift, do you think I could get away with the 3" front, 2" rear Rancho complete suspension lift without rub? The description says: "You’ll have the room to ditch those stock donuts, too, in favor of a set of asphalt-gnarling knobby treads up to 35” in tire size."

Thanks,
Mike

 

Well I love this topic.

I had a pair of those tires and I constantly rave about them. I could tell you the tread is V shaped and I never could hydroplane (sp?) them. I tried sooo hard but my little ford ranger never floated on them. All I got was a buzzing sound and two rooster tails of water behind the truck. Very cool feature. After a year of driving I had little to no wear on the tires. Now keep in mind the ranger was alot lighter than the ram. I think they would not last you as long as a less agressive tread pattern but my tires tend to dry rot before the tread is gone anyhow. I would have them on my Ram now but being in the military overseas I cant get them shipped out to me. Anyway the traction is awesome. They are loud on the road and until they wear in they are a tad rough when you slow to a stop. The lugs will round out after some driving and this will go away. I guess looking back I can tell you buy these tires if you will use your truck off road. But dont buy them if you just want them to look cool. ( not that thats bad but... ) They will annoy you alittle on the highway everyday and they drop your MPG down a tad. It seems to be a give and take in the tire world. Awesome traction comes at a price of road noise and more rolling resistance.



I know its a ford but here is more pictures of my body lift and tires... http://www.ronbarthelt.com/Ranger1.html

Oh yes. The general thought in this forum (correct me if I am wrong) is about 5 inches of total lift for 35's not to rub. This will depend on your wheel rim offset also.

 

any ideas about the 2-3 lift with a three inch body lift? I don't really want to spend $1500 on a 5 inch suspension lift.

 

Hmmm

I read a post a few months ago about a guy who got in an accident and the body lift shifted as caused havoc with everything. I did it on my ranger and it screws up the bumper height. You can use some brackets to get it looking right but it will be non-functional. My vote would be for you to save the money and do the suspension lift to keep your truck functional. If your strapped on cash and do a body lift make sure you check on a shifter extension and a extension for your steering linkage. If you look back a few months in these pages you will see alot of threads on this topic.

good luck

 

Ok thanks for the advice. I'm still a year away from getting my licence, I'm just pricing everything to know what I need to make when it comes time. I figure I'll have $13000 to spend by next december so I'm not in bad shape.

 

Body lifts aren't the best way to do things, but I have one. I think your a whole lot better off if you get a name brand body lift. Those people that do it with crapy bolts and hockey pucks or 2x4's are pretty dumb unless its a piece of crap off roader they just beat the crap out of. But a minor accident with a good body lift shouldn;t cause to much trouble. But I can see the hockey pucks or 2x4's breaking easily

 

I purchased a used 97 xt cab with a body lift. I have only had the truck since July, and i have noticed a few "problems" that were encountered, or will be encountered with them. tranny lines breaking, re-routing ground cables, poor steering angles, etc. I have always shyed away from body lifts, but since this truck is mostly my family rig and daily commuter, it seems alright. I personally would have done the larger suspension lift correctly so I didnt have to " 'wheel on eggshells". I really dont have a strong feeling about hard wheeling with the body lift. Just my opinion, just depends on your truck needs though, I guess...

 

When I lifted the ranger with the body lift I was lucky that all the wires and cables had some play in it. 3 inches was easy. But my steering had some play in it. The steering extension caused some play. I could turn the wheel an inch and the wheels would not move. It was an older truck that was well out so I didnt mind the side effects. There is just no way I would do this to my 2000 dodge until it was on its last legs. I didnt like the way the body lift screwed up the front and rear bumpers. I could never find a good bracket for the rear bumper that would allow use of a trailer ball on the rear bumper. The front bumper would shift on the brackets that came with the kit every time I hit something. When I mean hit something I mean lightly tapped the bumper on a object such as another car while pushing it or pulling too close to a wall by a store and tapping it. Anyhow I will not do a body lift on the truck till its very well used and worn out. At that point any side effects just wont matter and it might just fix something. Also doing a body lift is a good excuse for changing out all the body bushings. If my rambling has coufused anyone let me just say....

Dont do a bodylift on a new ram.

If you must do a bodylift wait until your truck is so beat up and worn out that doing a body lift is the last of your problems.

Just my thoughts.