Hi all

[RICHIET]

I found this site thru trailvoy and it seems to be exactly what I was looking for, a place with real world experience, ideas , and people that enjoy what they're doing. I have a stock 05' tb ext that I got 2 years ago when my honda's tranny went for the third time, my first and last japanese car. I've had K5's and S10's in the past and I needed something with room to help ferry a Boy Scout troop back and forth with and didn't want (or afford) a Suburban or Tahoe and the EXT fit the bill perfectly. The main problem is the low ground clearance. I do beach driving during the fall fishing run and feel like i'm driving a sand plow. I need some time to explore the threads before asking specifics, but I'm looking at a minimum 2" lift (leaning towards bds) larger tires, and need to sort out the whole wheel spacer issues. I think the max width on the stock 17x7 rims is255 and I might go with wider rims and if so are there aftermarket rims with enough offset so spacers aren't needed, etc. Lots of questions and looks like a lot of answers here.

[Trail X]

Lots of questions - we'll give you a bit of time to do some reading before straight-up handing out the answers.

Glad you found the site, looking forward to tracking your progress!

Where are you located?

[navigator]

welcome aboard!
Technically you can run up to a 265 on the stock rims. Some guys have run 285's even though they are technically too wide with no noted wear issues.

I have a rough country 2inch lift(got a deal used) with Z71 springs that I love. Most of my offroading is beach driving as well. Before I got the lift I could feel myself bottoming out going over ruts but I rarely have that problem now.

If I were in the market for a new lift now I would get one from MarkMC(board member/vendor). It is about 3 inches front and I think 2 in the rear. You can also get the wheel spacers from him as well. That would let you run a 265/75/16 with little to no trimming or a 285/75/16 with a good amount of trimming. From the sound of it that would likely be all you would need.

here is a link to a chart that gives you a good idea of lift etc needed for the appropriate tire size.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2290&p=38841#p38841

Right now I'm running the 2 inch lift with 255/70/16. I ran those tires with no lift but it would bottom out. I plan to get spacers and 265/75/16 the next time I need tires.

If you aren't in a rush you can many times find what you need cheap/used in the classifieds here or on trailvoy.

Also if you get spacers/adapters that convert to the 6X5.5 standard chevy bolt pattern, keep your eye on craigslist. Since I have no extra money I seem to find deals on there for silverado, tahoe and toyota rims with used 265/75/16 reasonable all the time.

[RICHIET]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'm just north of NYC. My beach driving is on Long Island in the fall. I fish and hunt up in the Catskills and have some old logging roads on my friends property. I'm not in a rush for the modifications. I figure to have most of it done by next fall. This year I'll just keep using my sons' S10 pickup for the beach.

[bartonmd]

Welcome!

[bgwolfpack]

Welcome RICHIE.

[NC_IslandRunner]

Welcome!

[tzdevill]

welcome!

[Saxis]

I might go with wider rims and if so are there aftermarket rims with enough offset so spacers aren't needed, etc.

Welcome!

Very slim options for wheels in our bolt pattern, especially with the correct offset/backspace. I did about a year's worth of searching before I settled on the American Racing Fuel (can see those in my build thread, link in signature). AR also has the Trench model, which Fishsticks was/is running. They are 17x8 with nearly perfect offset/backspace (same as stock wheels with 1.5" spacers) for larger tires to clear the ball joint.

[Flying Monkey]

Welcome to the site. I recently did my lift as well. You can click my build thread link in my sig to see my specs. I went to a 16x8 Crager Soft 8 wheel with changing my bolt pattern with my wheel spacer to a more common 6x5.5. There is alot of info on here to do anything you want to your TB.

[djthumper]

Welcome!

[v7guy]

welcome aboard, navigator laid out the basics.

[RICHIET]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and the advice. I think for starters I'm goin' to concentrate on the lift first. From the threads I've read so far, I'm still leaning to bds, especially since it seems they can be shimmed for an extra .5" or so if needed down the line. Still got many threads to go before making a final decision. Thanks again.

[HARDTRAILZ]

Howdy. Hope you can ffind what you are looking for.

[v7guy]

if you haven't considered a markmc lift you should take a look at that too. I don't think you could go wrong with bds or mark.

[navigator]

if you haven't considered a markmc lift you should take a look at that too. I don't think you could go wrong with bds or mark.

I needed some lift at the time so I found a cheap used RC 2 inch lift and I like it but my truck doesn't really look lifted, you don't really notice it that much. I think I would have liked Mark's new lift much better.

I don't bottom out on ruts at the beach nearly as much with 2 inches of lift vs no lift but I still hit some. I think with Mark's new lift I would rarely ever bottom out. I did get the top shim from Mark that I plan to install but haven't yet.

If you want, buy Mark's new lift if it is too much lift I will mail you my 2 inch RC lift even swap

[RICHIET]

Well... throw in a set of 31.5" BFG mud T/A's and we'll talk.