here the scenario,

my neighbor has an 02' chevy avalanche. he and i both were looking to get 285/70/17/'s (BFG AT KO) and he knows lots of connections to find the best price. found that at dunn tire, 800 bucks would get all 4 installed (i assume with balancing) and filled with nitrogen!? i wasnt aware of nitrogen being used to fill tires but he said it was a great thing.

anyways he was unable to fit the 285's on his truck without having to put a lift on, so he kept his 265's. he told me to seriously consider whether i'd really want to "risk" putting on 285's on my truck. i have a 2wd 97 F150 with a 3" suspension lift, but he said i might have to extend my upper/lower control arms and do a bunch of crazy expensive stuff to make the tires fit (possibly, and he may have said some other parts i forgot)

Wandell has already given me the thumbs up with the knowledge i've told him through these posts, but know i'm nervous to order these things, and come to find out 3-4 weeks later they wont fit!

my wheel wells look alot bigger than the avalanche's, therefore accomidating for the increased tire size, but that may be because i'm running 255/75/16's currently; basically i'm all kinds of confused!!

another thing, my neighbor gave me the price for an alignment, i didnt think you needed an alignment done after new big tires, am i wrong?

sorry for the long post, just dont want problems in the end, and i know i shouldn't be worried cause wandell has answered me before, but my neighbor is makin me nervous!

thanks for the help guys,
John

 

If Wandell says they will fit, I would just go ahead and order the tires.... The man knows his stuff....

 

First of all, you can't extend upper and lower control arms. You can BUY new upper and lower control arms, but they have nothing to do with tire fitment. His Avalanche has tiny wheelwells compared to your F-150, so what fits his truck has no bearing on what fits yours. Sorry I can't remember but what type of 3 inch lift did you go with? What wheels are you running?

 

i would still get the alignment if it were me. paying the extra 70 or 80 bucks is cheaper than coming back in a few months to replace one or two tires because of the alignment being out.

 

I can't believe 285s wouldn't fit the avi, I know that they'll fit a regular truck no problem and even suburbans (which share the multi link rear end with the avi). Weird, but from what I see even 315s will fit a stock 150 without major issues.

 

I've got 285/60R18 on my Expy. My suspension is bone-stock...These are street tires but there's a ton of room to spare.

If Wandell says they'll fit then you'll be fine.,

 

hey everybody thanks for the replies...

his wheel wells are definitely smaller than mine are so i will go ahead and order them based on the knowledge of the folks like you who have my truck and know whats going on.

for wandell,

i have a 3 inch trailmaster suspension lift. i have michelin LTX M/S 255/75/16.
the wheels are the stock 97 2wd "buzz cut" rim, i think maybe thats what they're called.

thanks again for your assistence and experience everybody!
sincerely,
John