hi folks,

i want to upgrade my 2001 screw 4x4 with 35x12.5x17 tires
and wheels.

i am concerned about what the new tire meat will do
to my handling. i expect i'll have to get a lift kit for this,
i am assuming a 4" lift would work.

today, i am quite pleased with the stock suspension's handling
at 80-100mph, if i swap in taller tires and the lift kit,
will i be shooting my high speed handling in the head?

comments/suggestions anyone?

thanks in advance, jackc...

 

Without regearing you will be operating very low in the power band, ... lower engine rpm's. The truck will feel very doggy of the line.

Also breaking ability will be reduced because the rotors will have fewer revolutions to stop the truck in the distance you are used to now.

...but the truck will look cool.

 

Anytime you lift a truck you will loose handling ability no matter what because you are raising you center of gravity. Are you planning on going with aftermark rims? If you are you might consider LESS backspacing than stock which would make the tires stick out a little bit more, but also make it a heck of a lot more stable.

 

Less backspacing than factory is not a good idea. That will put more stress on the bearings, brakes, steering, etc than there should be. You'll get to look forward to replacing bearing assemblies about once a year at $200 a side. You don't want to keep the stock wheels with the tires you're looking at. They're too narrow. You'll need a minimum of an 8" wheel up to a maximum of a 10" wheel. The narrower stock tires will cause accelerated wear on the tires and will void the warranty on the tires because of "misapplication".


One other question though, why the hell you gotta drive at 80-100mph? Last time I saw the speed limit in CA isn't that high. With 35s I wouldn't go that fast simply because unless you have upgraded brakes you won't be able to stop real fast. I know with my 35s I can't stop for crap.

 

let me start by thanking you guys for this great feedback.

sagittarius, good reality check! while i do want a great looking
truck, i dont want to make any changes for looks that degrade
the trucks performance, you have excellent points. your comment alone has me back pedalling.

ssr, i had thought to use the aftermarket rims to offset the
height increase, but hadnt considered the bearing burning
issue.

powerstroke, dont get me wrong, i dont make a habit of flying that fast, but out here on long straight freeways, 80 is common, and a burst to 90 or even 100 on occasion happens. out on
I5, 80 is the slowest speed folks travel.

note too that this is my daily commute vehicle so i dont want to
ruin its street behaviour for its offroad performance, but i do
like to play in the dirt.

i was shocked the stock suspension handled that speed so well, but i expected that raising would subvert this to some degree.

despite the great look of the 35's, i am questioning the move...

thanks again, jackc...

 

Most aftermarket wheels are a 4.5" backspacing which is pretty close to stock (around 4.7" I believe). That won't be too bad, but I wouldn't go with a lower backspacing than that. You will be able to still drive that fast with a suspension lift and 35s, but without any brake upgrades, you just always have to remember that its gonna take you longer to stop and that you sit up higher for when you turn or gotta make a sudden movement. Its not gonna be real bad, but just keep it in mind when you're driving. I've been running 35s with a 3" body lift for about a year and the handling isn't too bad, but my truck can't really even go 90 very easily with the stock gears. Also FYI if you wanna go with something a little smaller you'll still have some steering problems. The steering on the 97-03 sucks. Ford uses the cheesy little idler arm which goes out constantly. Bigger tires of any kind accelerate the wear. With about 1.5 yrs on my truck with the 35s and a year previous to that with 33s on it my idler arm is shot. Its not real hard to change, but just something to keep in mind. Its just a sucky setup.

 

35s look awsome but... there are a few drawbacks. They mess up your speedometer to read slower than you are actually driving and I think you need atleast a 6" lift to make room for them. I have 35s and the only problem I have is that when im doing 80mph on the freeway, my speedometer reads about 60mph.

 

On a 2001 the computer can be reflashed by either the dealer or by a chip/microtuner to reset the tire size. This will fix the speedometer issues. Didn't I just say that in my last post that I've been running 35s for over a year with only a 3" body lift???? On a 2wd you'll need 6" of lift, but on a 4x4 all you need is 3".

 

Wisdom,
Listen to Powerstroke, what he says is pretty much how it is. I have a 2001 4x4 Screw with 4"suspension lift and 35s and no rubbing, no problems, and with a pretty stiff shock the truck will still turn relatively flat. The power will change on the low end, but I drove the truck for a year and a half with the 3.55s and the 5.4l had plenty of power to tow a 5k lb boat over the 8 east pass (sea level to about 6k back to sea level) to the river at 70mph, now with the 4.10s it is great and no probs as a daily driver(since my M got stolen anyway, ***** ******a that stole it is now rotting in the Pen, where he belongs).
If you want to see it with 33s and 35s look in my gallery below.
regarding the 100 mile an hour stuff: If you want to drive at those speeds, get an appropriate vehicle, and respect the lives of the other persons on the road that you are risking, because in that truck, if it things go bad and you hit someone, well, you don't want to live with that hanging over you, do you?
Down off my soapbox now.
Peace.