Hi everyone,
I have a stock '98 Short bed Flareside that I plan to lower 2'' and 4'' can anyone tell me what the largest tires I can run on a 20'' rim? Someone suggested 275-45-20 but I'd like a little more blackwall if possible. 285-50-20 won't go?

P.S. I used the Lightning forum instead of "wheels and tires" because it was suggested to me that the Lightning herd might help as my truck is the same basic configuration.

Thanks!

 

Your wheels will be/are 20 x ?Wide...

A 275/40 20 is very close to the stock Lightning 295/45 18

Here is a tire size calculator you can use for finding out what the differences are between sizes...

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

 

Would prefer 9'' wide wheels if I'm going to go 285 wide tires. Isn't 285's on the standard 8.5'' 20'' wheels pushing it a little? I have not bought wheels/tires yet going to lower it first. I searched and found pictures of a 04 F150 dropped with 285-50-20 but who knows how that compares to mine. He could also have rubbing issues. It did have the look I wanted. Thanks for calculator.

 

i would run a 275/40-20 or a 295/40-20 both will fit a 9.5 wide wheel the 275's will also fit the 9 inch wide rim, and with the 275's you probably will only be about a half percent off on your final drive ratio and speedometer

also to note bmw X5's top model uses 275/40-20 on the front wheels and it weighs more than your truck

 

No problem on the calculator, I use it quite a bit :-)

Stock L wheels are 9.5 Wide
I'm currently running 20x9.5 wide in the front and 20x11.5 wide in the rear with a Roush suspension that gave me about a 2/4 drop. I don't have any clearance issues and run a 275/40 in the front and a 315/35 in the back.

Pitstain is correct the BMW X5 4.0i runs a 275/40 and 315/35 Michelin Diamaris and so does the Porsche Cayanne S & Turbo... Those profiles are both smoother riding than one would think...

The big kicker here is the cost of going to a rear wider than a 10 you'll be spending a large amount of money for 3 piece wheels.

Good Luck!

 

my set of 3 piece ze forged were a little under $3,800
but sooo worth it.....315's in the back and they are lighter than stock wheels to boot

 

Pitstain,
Those look good! How wide did you go in the back?
(That's about what my D-Forged 3 piece wheels cost as well.)

 

You will likely have rubbing issues with any larger tires. Lightnings have bigger steering stops to keep the wider wheels off of the front anti-sway. So unless you use Lightning lower control arms, I predict rubbing.

That being said, it's no big deal. I have DJM arms that do not have steering stops at all. The front tires will rub on full lock turns. I have rubbed the paint completely off of the front anti-sway. It won't hurt the tires. It only rubs at full lock, which you never see at speed.