I will be needing new tires in about a year and was wanting to go to maybe 37's but have heard people on here say that the IFS can't handle anything over 35" (IFS = Independent Front Suspension for those that did not know what that meant, every1 is a newbie at some time). My question is WHY can't the front end handle tires over 35"? What parts on the front end break and under what conditions do they break? Will it break when driving down the highway or when you are doing some serious off-roading?

 

It is more weight on the end of your control arms. Go under your truck and look at all the parts of your suspension and look how small everything is. Also, go to a off road shop and try to even lift a 37" with a wheel on it and imagine that mounted to you truck. It can be done but it will wear stuff out faster like ball joints, tie road ends, rack n pinion.

 

Im running 36s on mine but if I had the funds I would still do 38s. But thats because even if I did wear out BJs or hub bearings i could replace it all myself and cost little to nothing being most after market parts have lifetime warranties anyway.

 

think of rotating weight. its way harder to turn a tire in 37" than a 33 ".
bigger tire = more weight which is harder to turn the rotating weight.
if going that big i would recommend re-gearing to a 4.56 to help prevent strain on the IFS.

like weedahoe stated also a heavier tire will produce more strain on the ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings and so on.
if you are mechanically inclined and are able to replace most things on your own you shouldnt mind replcing them since you wont be paying labor over a period of time (cosistantly bringing your vehicle in for repair)

 

I have 35's right now and when I lifted my truck a couple years ago, even with the 35's my wife said (and this is one reason why I love her) "I think you need bigger tires." I know people say never go over 35" but damit I want bigger. Just needed to know what kind of issue I could expect with the 37s.

 

^^^ She is definitely a keeper

 

I'm with you on wanting bigger tires. I have had mine lifted on 35's for about 3 months now and just finishing up some small mods. My next big mod will be new gears (4.56's) and replacing the LSD with an auburn in the next couple of months. Most likely next spring the truck will be going up 3 more inches with a body lift and new 37" tires. I have already replace the wheel bearings and seals all the way around. I also replaced a lot of the front end when i did the suspension lift 3 months ago so i should be good for a while.

 

Just out of curiosity, Did you all know you were going to lift the truck when you purchased it? IMO, if I knew I was going to lift it bigger than 4" I would probably got a 2500 or 3500 long bed. That way you have all the beef when it comes to the extra weight. Luckdt.. Your truck looks badass as it sits, the proportions look good with the tire to lift size. Id say leave it.

 

I had the hopes of being able to lift when I got it but at the same time the extra $$$ to go to a 2500 made me stick with a 1500. I also never tow/haul anything more than a 18' boat so I didn't need the 2500. Plus when buying the 1500 I didn't know anything about the IFS and the limits it has so it wasn't factored into my buying procedure. Knowing what I know now, I would have gotten a MEGA cab since I now have to fit a carseat in the back and there is so little room that my passenger front seat has to be pulled all the way forward.

 

I had no plan on lifting mine i actually was going to make it go fast and super charge it. The wife liked big trucks and offered to pay for the rims and tires out of her deployment money and then we used the joint account to buy the lift. At the time i didn't know the limits of the IFS, i just happen to have picked out 35" tires. Thanks for the comments, who knows i may leave it as is and just put the gears in to improve the stop light go power.