Hey guys. My name is Matt and I've been lurking around the site now for a few months now trying to decide how big of a lift I could put on my 05. I've seen everything from 2 to 15+ and I think it would suit me best to fall somewhere in the middle of that. I like the look of a 37" or 38" tire, but would be open to as big as 40" if I could do it in my price range. Mixing a suspension lift and body lift is alright with me, I don't mind if my frame shows a little. I've also read that you can use a leveling kit as well...? I don't do any extreme off-roading or anything, but once every month or so I find a mud hole I just can't resist. I have about 5-6k to spend on this and I had a few questions for you experts out there.

1. If you had 5-6k to spend on lift/tires/rims, what would you get?
2. If I don't go offroad very much, will my stock axels and gears be ok with a 37" or 38" tire?
3. What are the pros/cons of a bigger/smaller rim other than personal preference?
4. Are all 37"+ tires going to be $400 or more?
5. Can you put a suspension lift, body lift, and leveling kit on at the same time?
6. If you could have done something different in your build, what would it be? ex. Gone bigger the first time...

I know I have a lot of questions as "The new guy", but I am really looking forward to your feedback!

 

I'm no suspension expert, I only have a level kit but if you are talking about going with 37+ tires you better include regearing as well.

 

okay so i just recently lifted my '06 lariat so ill try to help as much as possible. i spent a totall of $5800 and got 8in. of lift with 37in tires on 17in rims. You will want to regear asap to save gas mileage(im getting 9mpg as of now with no regear) and to save your tranny. that will run a good 2k if your 4wd, im looking at yukon 4.88 gears from poly performance and install quote from 4wheelparts is 1k. if your truck is going to be a street queen then size of rim is all personal preferance, but if you offroad i say the more tire you got the better(also cheaper). i paid $1600 totall for my 4 37in bfg km2's so yes they are expensive. yes you can do a suspension/leveling kit/body kit on at the same time, im running a fabtech 6in with bilstein front shocks and an AS 2in level. some will argue that your cv's will wear out faster but as far as i know they only wear out if your in 4wd. if i could do something different it would be to install the kit myself and not pay the $700 for a ****ty install and allignment.
hope this helps!