You made an excellent purchase. Depending on the rest of your drivetrain (condition, treatment wrt skinny pedal, and other assorted mechanicals) as with everything on the vehicle 35" and 4.10s are w/o a doubt nothing close to lower performance.

The 13% change to 4.10 is a healthy jump relative to 22% for 4.56.

The ~6% change from 33s to 35s (yes I'm oversimplifying at the moment) is an acceptable coverage based on my opinion and direct experience. That is all +100K miles of ownership from stock tires to what I've got now.

The only think I can't speak to is the weight of the 2500 and I'm not a fan of wheel spacers. Take that for its worth.

Everyone's mileage varies and is based on their own direct experience.


You rock. Yes. It's her twin. First time it was just solo time with one. This time I had to bring them both and they loved it. I don't care what they say about you, you're alright.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am happy with the 285's and plan to stick with them. I am more likely to do highway driving than anyplace where 35's would be necessary. Whenever I get the gears and AAL installed I will be much happier with the look and turning the 285's down the road.

I am taking a break from any body work as I think it's going to be easier to just do a body swap instead of fixing the damage this poor cab has endured. Once I get the cash I will replace the front gears and put a LDS out back and a Locker in front.

These trucks sure can eat up some cash but at least it's paid off and I can do the majority of the work in my 25'x25' shop...

 

Hello All,

I have read through this thread and am now much more informed. However, I still have some questions. I have a 99 1500 4x4 with the 5.2. Its a reg cab long bed. Looks to be the 1/2 little brother of romadramowner's truck. I just did all sorts of front end work (steering gear, track bar, steering bar, wheel bearing, ball joints, etc. . .) and ordered up a 2" trail master spring leveling kit for $70. I plan on upgrading the wheels and tires to a 17x8.5 rim, and putting on 285/70/17's on them. The truck is a manual with 3.92 gears. What issues should I be concerned with. From this thread I see some people have rubbing issues with a 33 while others don't, some are worried about track bars, etc. . . Am I alright with stock shocks? do I need to worry about my steering components? I do plan on buying shocks anyway, so what are your suggestions (brand, height, etc). Also, complete side note (I will make new thread if necessary) but my 4 wheel drive binds really bad when I turn right, ideas? I have new u-joints 1 yr ago (part of front end parts list). The truck only has 90k on it. Thanks in advance.

 

This can still be the place to post up since the topic title covers wide breadth of aspects. Up to you though.

Any particular reason on the 17x8.5? Typically its 17x9. I don't think you'll have too much of an issue with the target tire size/ratio. Better than 3.55 for sure. You say you're more like romadramowner, so I think you're good as-is.

The extra 2" from the leveling kit will not require anything extra since you're a stock height truck, unlike a stock ORE. Just get an alignment after install. You'd be fine with the stock shocks on length. If you do upgrade, then there are plenty of recommendations from people. Check the FAQ/DIY section for the poll on shocks.

Lifts > 3" require steering component changes, trackbar length, drop pitman arm.

4wd problem binding: both 4lo and 4hi? Only in right turn? recheck your ujoints as they could still go out in that time.

 

Yes, both 4hi and 4 lo and only to the right. It doesn't clunk at all and appears to me that the u-joints still look good and don't appear to be warn. Also, upon further testing, I noticed that they bind just as bad when in reverse turned to the left. Odd, right? I have done a lot of front end work on the truck, and am glad to hear I won't need to worry about abnormal wear with the 2" front lift. The rims I was looking at (www.tires.com G-FX OR9) are listed as a 17x8.5 5-139.7 and just happened to be the ones I liked, thats the only reason for going with an 8.5" rim. As for the shocks, thanks for the suggestion into looking at the DIY section, I'll do some research. Also, I just remembered something that may play a roll in the 4x4 binding issue. I replaced both upper and lower ball joints at the same time I replaced the u-joints. Now, there is a mild camber issue. Tops of the wheels tip in very slightly. I was told the only way to correct was adjustable ball joints (like $130 ea). Think that might be a related to 4x4 binding? The 4 wheel drive works great in straight lines, no binding, clunks, etc. . . Just a though. Thanks again!