All right. I've read through alot of posts hear so far and know that it isn't easy to find the right lifts for 1st gen Dakotas. I want to lift my 96 4X4 318 X-cab high enough for a set of BFG 315/75R16 T/As. Can anyone give me an idea on what I will need as far as Proper Wheel backspace, trimming of the wheel well and Suspension/body lifts? I don't wan't to go overboard, just high enough for the tires. But I guess I'll have to go pretty high to get them on anyway. I would rather do as much of the lift with a good brand suspension as possible.
The tire is listed as 12.2" wide and 34.6" tall on a 8-10" rim width here: http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/asset...rain_ta_kd.pdf

 

That seems like quite a large tire for a Dakota. Measure your wheel well openings to check the clearance, especially for turning and bumps in the road.
Dodge didn't get smart until 97 to really allow a wide variety of wheels. Bolt up the rim in the front and rear to see if you have enough clearance everywhere. Check it with the suspension loaded up and unloaded, and while turning left and right.
Then try it all with a tire on the wheel.
You will definately need some lift. I would check with a local 4WD shop and ask them about options. Many aftermarket companies sell body lifts. Good Luck.

 

Large is the idea. I'll never understand those guys that go smaller. Thanks for the info. I'm going to talk with some guys next week hopefully. I was hoping someone had some personal experience with large tires though. I've seen that there is a 4" suspension and a 2" body lift available for my needs. I just wasn't sure what tire size that brings me in range of.

I noticed you have a 360. Nice man! Do you think I can bolt one of those up to my auto? I was thinking about doing that if I ever burnt my 318 up.

 

Yea. go big or go home. Give it some time and someone who has tried bigger tires should respond.
I said what I said, just from experience with trying to fit aftermarket wheels on vehicles.

A 360 will fit just like your 318 does
Anything you wanna know about the swap, I should be able to tell you. All you need is the motor, a 360 flexplate because the motor is externally balenced. Depending on what year flexplate you went with you may have to get a new torque converter or find a 93-95 dodge ram 360 flexplate to match your converter bolt pattern. It changed in 96. But anyway, good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

Well, I guess no one knows anything I can use. But maybe someone knows this: Someone told me that the larger tires would tear up the axles on my dakota because they were not designed for such a large tire. Is this true? and if so, why would it tear it up?

 

HAHA!! it has been done. I wish I had something to take a picture with for you all but a description will have to do. I had a 4" suspension and a 2" body lift installed and slapped the BFG 315/75R 16s on it. Had bad rubbing in the wheel well at first, so took a grinder and made them a little bigger. doesn't look too bad on the wheel well, and tires look great on the truck! I still get a little rubbing when I hit a good bump though. Any ideas other than cutting the wheel wells back further? I don't want to get too crazy with the grinder. I was wondering if there is anyway to raise it a little more?