Mornin Folks,

Newer member here looking for some advice. Got a steal on an 07 quad cab with only 47xxx miles on it. So far I've added a leer 180 cap and some fender flares due to having to patch the rust on the wheel wells, also added some 16x8 Vision D-window rims. I'm looking to get rid of the bounce in the front end so I'm going to be ordering the Monroe quick strut for the front as well as the Monroe load adjusting shocks for the rear since I pull a trailer quite a bit. Also looking at the Supreme Suspensions 2.5" level kit for the front. I'm currently running 245/75/16 Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar with one odd ball in the front due to only having 3 of the other tires laying around. I'm thinking of switching to a 265/75/16 General Grabber AT2.

My question is what kind of wear will this cause on all the other suspension parts? Should I not do the level kit and should I stick with smaller tires? I'm open to other tires too, I like the mud terrain look on the truck but for $250 per tire for the ones I have I don't like it that much. I would like something that can help fill out the wheel well more since the offset on the rims is different than stock.

Thanks!
Gunnar

 

It will cause premature wear on all front suspension components. How fast that happens depends on your driving habits. There is tons of information on spacers in this section. Search around.

 

Can't go wrong with a Red & Black Dakota, welcome aboard.

The bigger the leveling kit, the more wear on the front end, but
aftermarket parts are available when the time comes, and a better choice than OEM parts. If you don't level it, a 265/70/16 tire would be a little bigger than you have now, and will fit fine.

 

How quickly of a wear down are we talking?

Found the tire size thread and after reading it I may go with 285/75/16s to fit. With my rims having a -12mm offset how will effect any tire rubbing?

 

Well, you've seen the thread so you know you're in for serious trimming with 285/75/16s. I think the lower offset makes the trimming even more serious. You may be cutting your flares up front, and a nice amount of the front bumper fascia. The wheel well liner may be an issue too. Not sure what will be necessary in the back.

Don't get caught up in the 'I want the biggest tire possible' mindset.
Sometimes that's not the best idea, just an opinion here.

 

32" x 9.50" is as big as you can go without rubbing (actual tire dimension not tire size, tire dimensions vary by manufacturer) you'll have about 1/2" of clearance at the back of the fender. Adding a leveling kit wont allow you to go any bigger but will make it look alot better and give you more ground clearance.
As far as wear goes the leveling will cause cv's to wear out quicker, how fast they go out kinda depends on the condition they are in now, your drivehabits,weight of your tires ect. They could out last the truck or they could break tomorrow.

The larger tires tho will wear out your tierods ball joints rack and pinion cv's wheel bearings ect.

Best plan is to wait for things to break then replace them with upgraded parts with good warrantys.

As far as cheap good mud grips go check out treadwright guarddogs i've had my dak in mud 3/4 of the way up the wheel (not a rut) with water over the top of the fenders for around a 1/4 mile they pull great was able to keep 10-15 mph np. They are heavy tho

 

I have 285/75/r16's on my dakota with a 2 inch lift and the same pocket style flares, however I am still on the stock 16x7 wheels. I had to cut out a fairly sizeable portion of the fender liner and a large chunk of the flare at the rear as well, but I still get some rub on the frame or sway bar at full lock.

With your much larger offset you will likely avoid the frame/sway bar problem, but will wind up having to trim significantly more bumper and flare to get it to clear.