To do or not to do??? Staggered....

Logan Lanfear · January 25, 2018

19 hours ago, CMoore711 said:

From my experience your front to back tire diameter difference of .1” (31.9” to 32”) shouldn’t cause any problems with the transfer case. Usually if you get closer to wheel tire combos that are .30”-.50”+ difference front to back then you’ll start to see problems with traction control systems acting up thinking there’s wheel spin due to the varied wheel rotation speed from the different diameters. But your .1” difference shouldn’t be a problem, the closer in tire diameter front to back the better, same diameter being best.

FWIW I had a staggered wheel tire set up on my previous TBSS that was AWD all the time and in 100K+ miles never had any transfer case issues and although I was not able to properly rotate my tires I would average 70K miles on my rears and 45K miles on my fronts. That was mostly highway miles, driving more city than highway will reduce that tire life without ability to rotate.

The guys in the thread posting comments about “jacking up the rear” and “popular look back in the day” are thoroughly confusing tire width versus tire diameter. It is very possible and quite common to install a wider rear tire offering more traction for RWD applications without changing the tire diameter or vehicle height at all from front to rear.

My only question would by why install a staggered summer tire set up on the same size 20” x 8.5” rims front/rear? You’re going to end up with significant tire bulge in the rear and a more square tire sidewall in the front. If it were me I’d pick a different style rim that offered a staggered width to match the tire, you’re 275/305 tires should be on a 20” x 8.5”/9” front and 20” x 10”/11” rear.

AWD systems are different than the 4WD systems in these trucks. My recommendation would definitely not put it in 4WD when you have different tire sizes. It might not break right away but it will add stress to the system. OP, why do you put it in 4wd during the rain anyway?

2010LTZ4x4 · January 25, 2018

27 minutes ago, Logan Lanfear said:

AWD systems are different than the 4WD systems in these trucks. My recommendation would definitely not put it in 4WD when you have different tire sizes. It might not break right away but it will add stress to the system. OP, why do you put it in 4wd during the rain anyway?

My mistake when writing the Op. When it's raining I select "auto 4wd" for the added traction from a stop when raining. I'm a 0-60 kind of driver and prefer the get up and go when the roads are wet. But I did mention in my last post I will be going with all 4 the same tires now after posting this topic and getting some great opinions and info.

Erion109 · January 30, 2018

Gonna need some pics. I give it a thumbs up!

Ret Grunt · January 31, 2018

Big in the back, Small in the front!!! It's not a woman, but hey... that's the set up for performance cars. In fact my Vette has 19 rears 18 fronts. You gotta do what makes you feel good, life is too short to sweat the small stuff. If you don't like it, you can always change it back.... I say Go For It!

bndawgs · January 31, 2018

Would using hub centric spacers for the rear cause any issues? would give you the look you want, but allow you to rotate tires

2010LTZ4x4 · January 31, 2018

25 minutes ago, bndawgs said:

Would using hub centric spacers for the rear cause any issues? would give you the look you want, but allow you to rotate tires

I wasn't looking to have tires stick out past the fender. Just wider tire out back to fill the wheel well more with the same diameter all around.

I think keeping 4 tires all the same works out better in the long run. So I ended up ordering 295 50 20. Thats a little wider than the stock 275's and allows me enough clearance up front to turn.

Spurshot · February 2, 2018

Off the topic, down a bunny hole, but Ed Roth was brought into the thread via Rat Fink....I have a friend that worked for Roth back in the day. He's still a bit odd guy...my friend.