6" suspension lift HELP.

UnderDawg · January 9, 2004

Here is my problem. I own a 2001 GMC extended cab Z71. I installed 285/75/16 Pro-Comp mudders on the factory rims about 3 months ago. Well, now I want to install a 6" lift. But I can't justify getting rid of the tires with only 3,500 miles on them. Does anyone here have a lifted truck with near factory sized tires? Maybe photos would help me make up my mind? Would the tires look incredibly small?

chvythndr · January 9, 2004

Sorry buddy, w/ a 6" suspension lift, you're going to look funny running those tires. 6" will allow for 35" tires.

bfrd22 · January 9, 2004

Your honestly only talking 2" of tire here. 1" in lift hieght.

If you have money to burn change em.

Don't forget that with 35's you'll want to look a gear ratio change also.

Personally some of us have to go a bit at a time.

I'll have 5" of total lift soon. on a 94, 2" susp, 3" body.

Gonna run my 265/75/16 32" Baja AT's I installed 2 weeks ago.

Did I want 285's sure. but the extra $50.00 per tire for a lousy inch of rubber, 1/2 of clearance. and with the Auburn I would have needed another tire for a spare!

And it will look just fine.

If you want an idea how your truck will look jack it up and put 4 frame stands underneath or blocking.

1BADHD · January 9, 2004

2001 2500HS w/6" Rancho and 16x10's with 285/75/16.

bfrd22 · January 9, 2004

Nothing wrong with that, Looks great

1BADHD · January 9, 2004

That what it looked the day after my lift got installed. I agree 35's are a better choice. That is what I have now. But....dont waste money to go get new ones if the 33's are still new. They will be fine for a while.

tmf6902 · January 9, 2004

I dunno, in my opinion I think it looks a little silly...not bad....silly......kinda like those pants girls wear that hang right below then knee....capri pants???/ They look silly too....like they shrunk in the wash

01BlackZ71 · January 9, 2004

Why would you lift a truck 5 inches and keep the stock tire size? I just don't understand the point behind it. Sorry if it pisses you off....but really? Why?

bfrd22 · January 9, 2004

Why would you lift a truck 5 inches and keep the stock tire size? I just don't understand the point behind it. Sorry if it pisses you off....but really? Why?

No worries.

It's a temp thing till I burn out my tires.

I hadn't planed on doing the lift, and economics at the time prevented it.

How ever I ended up getting the lifts as a gifts. The keys and 2" spacers from my Bro, and My wife got me the body lift with front and rear brackets.

So I'm running the 32's an It will work for now and look OK but not awsome. Plus will still give enough power to the rear to play in the mud and trails.

Then bigger tires, mean a gear ratio change. Or more broken parts. (You can see I don't need any more broken parts).

So nutshell, lift cause I can, and It will more 4X4 ish (Hate the fact it looks like a 2 wd).

and pure economics at this time.

GrandDragon · January 9, 2004

It will probably look a bit goofy but don't worry about it I ran 31s on my Z till I had enough cash to get my 35s, but theres no reason to go into debt over a set of tires

Mule · January 11, 2004

I have 7-8 inches of lift and 305/70R16's which are about 1 inch taller than 285's. Look at the picture from the link below when I had 295/75R16's (same height). Now, the 4-door Yukon came from the factory 1.5 inches lower than pickups, and I think they still do. The tires look a little small in the back, but that has 8 inches of lift. I wanted more space above the wheels for a "pre-runner" look instead of putting the largest tire I could in the wheel openings. I like the look of the grey truck posted.

Or - A lot of people talk about raising thier truck by adjusting the torsion bars. If you put on a 6 inch lift, you can LOWER the front by adjusting the torsion bars the other way. 5 inches of lift with 285's would look fine. When you put on bigger tires, crank the bars back up. Or get a 4 inch lift. What do you want your end result to be? If 6 inches, don't buy the 4 inch lift, but it may work fine if you dont want to lift it very high.

If you get 35 inch tires, other things will need to be done - gears, correct speedo, new wheels. More money.

In the end, it is an opinion issue on the look. Your truck, your opinion. Page through some of the truck magazines to see what different lifts with different tires look like.

GrandDragon · January 11, 2004

35s really aren't that much of a hassle. I'm running 35 inch buckshots on factory rims and with the same gear ratio and the only problem I have is that my speedometer is 5 mph off, but thats not really that hard of a problem to cope with.

Mule · January 11, 2004

GrandDragon,

I guess I meant to say, with 35's other things MAY need to be done (personal preference).

As a follow up to my previous post, I would get a 6 inch lift, set the front with the torsion bars at around 5 inches and not put in the add-a-leaf in the rear (just the block). Then when you get the bigger tires, put the add-a-leaf in, and crank the bars to 6 inches. Most 6 inch lift kits are really 5-7 inches and have some flexibility in setting them up.

I did this exact thing when I bought my lift kit. I had just bought 285's and didn't want to buy tires again. So, a 4.5 to 5 inch lift was great, and a year later, I moved it up to 6 inches when I got bigger tires.

robz71 · January 13, 2004

It should look fine for a while until its time for you to buy new tires. I have 305/70-16 which I think are about the same height as 285's but wider and I think that it looks just fine. Plus you dont have to worry about rubbing while offroad.

sonicr1 · February 25, 2004

Just thought I would add my $.02... 305's aren't an inch taller than 285's... by the numbers anyway... unless the tire manufacturer only advertises these dimensions and they don't actually meet them (which, I heard, does happen).

285/75/16= 32.83x11.22x16

295/75/16= 33.42x11.61x16

305/70/16= 32.81x12.00x16