Leveling Kit And Tire Size

8100HD · February 21, 2008

The rub would have been if I turned the wheel slightly...and they contacted pretty good. That being said the trimming I did was behind the wheelwell liner and then I tied the liner back with zip-ties.

black00chev · February 28, 2008

ok i read this whole thing and im till not sure what i should do, i wanna put 20x8.5" centerlines with 285/50-20 Nitto TGs (or something with a little more sidewall since i like to occasionaly do some off-roading)... im pretty sure they will still fit stock height but im not sure whats the best thing to do to get my truck up about another 1-2" in the front.

Scramble · March 5, 2008

ok i read this whole thing and im till not sure what i should do, i wanna put 20x8.5" centerlines with 285/50-20 Nitto TGs (or something with a little more sidewall since i like to occasionaly do some off-roading)... im pretty sure they will still fit stock height but im not sure whats the best thing to do to get my truck up about another 1-2" in the front.

Lol....I got lost on the 2nd page as well with all the quoting. I'm just gonna look for a 3" lift just so I have more than enough clearance for wheel travel during heavier off roading.

junior08 · January 10, 2009

i have a 2'' ready lift leveling kit and 305/50/20 20x10 kmc rockstar wheels

any problems rubbing with this set up?

andymiller · January 11, 2009

I'm running the 2.5" top gun customz leveling kit which raised the front a true 2.5". It raised the front higher than the rear so I installed a 3" block and removed the 1" stock block.

I'm running a 33x12.50x17 MT Baja Claws with no rubbing at all.

jbeyer75 · January 14, 2009

Hello guys...This may have been answered in previous posts, so sorry in advance if I bring up an old question...

I am thinking of installing a leveling kit on my Sierra 1500 '08. Are they very hard to install? Does it take a while? Do you need to modify anything to install the kit? Does the kit void anytime of warranty on the truck? Any help would be appreciated...

tobias · January 14, 2009

Hello guys...This may have been answered in previous posts, so sorry in advance if I bring up an old question...

I am thinking of installing a leveling kit on my Sierra 1500 '08. Are they very hard to install? Does it take a while? Do you need to modify anything to install the kit? Does the kit void anytime of warranty on the truck? Any help would be appreciated...

Here are the answers to everything leveling kit.

Welcome to the site.

jbeyer75 · January 14, 2009

Hello guys...This may have been answered in previous posts, so sorry in advance if I bring up an old question...

I am thinking of installing a leveling kit on my Sierra 1500 '08. Are they very hard to install? Does it take a while? Do you need to modify anything to install the kit? Does the kit void anytime of warranty on the truck? Any help would be appreciated...

Here are the answers to everything leveling kit.

Welcome to the site.

Thank you, I appreciate it. This is a very useful site...

TroyDairy · January 18, 2009

Hello guys...This may have been answered in previous posts, so sorry in advance if I bring up an old question...

I am thinking of installing a leveling kit on my Sierra 1500 '08. Are they very hard to install? Does it take a while? Do you need to modify anything to install the kit? Does the kit void anytime of warranty on the truck? Any help would be appreciated...

Here are the answers to everything leveling kit.

Welcome to the site.

I have 285/75-16 Firestone Destinations (grt tire) on a 05 exsb 2500HD. BIG rubbing. I trimmed the frt lower valance corners and the frt lower of the inner lf side. The back inners rub when turnnin lock to lock only. This is after 7 turns on the torsion bars. I am not sure of the offset of my rims (used on CList) but they stick out just a little to far(1 inch). I dont quite get it though b/c the level kits dont appear to do anything different then tightening the bars. My friends trucks with the kits ride and drive the same as mine. Am I crazy?

Thank you, I appreciate it. This is a very useful site...

ezskanken · January 29, 2009

I have 285/75/R16's on and have no rubbing issues at all. No leveling kits, or anything. Just stock Ha ha. Waiting for some funds to do a 6" lift with 35's

mdog2010 · July 6, 2009

Just thought I'd throw this out there b/c it's a pet peeve of mine:

When tire size is say 285/70/17, the 285 is NOT the height of the tire. That 285 is the width of the tire in millimeters. The second number is the Aspect Ratio. This means on a 285/70/17, the sidewall will have a width/length of 70% of the treadwidth. This is also called the tire profile. To get the overall height of the tire do these in this order (I'll do the 285/70/17 as an example):

1) Find the Sidewall width by multiplying 285 by .7. Remember the 70 is a percentage.

285 * .7 = 199mm

2) Convert the mm to inches. 10mm = 1 cm/1 inch = 2.54 cm or 1 inch = 25.4 mm

199mm / 25.4mm = 7 inches

3) Since there is a sidewall on the top and bottom of the rim, multiply that number by 2.

7 inches * 2 = 14 inches

4) Since we're working with a 17 inch rim, now add the 14 inches. This will give you a number that is close but not quite there yet.

17 inches + 14 inches = 31 inches

5) A good rule of thumb is to then add 1.5 - 2 inches to the final number to compensate for the tread height. Since many tires have treads that go onto the side of the tire, the "sidewall width/lenght" is cut short.

31 + (1.5/2) = 32.5 or 33 inches

NOTE: This works 99.9% of the time. Depending on tire manufactures, you may be off by about .2 or .3 inches but its not enough to cause major problems. If you are that concerned by the actual height of the tire, look it up on a website like www.4wheelparts.com or www.tirerack.com or whoever sells the tire you want. Also many manufactures like Toyo (www.toyotire.com) have all their tire specs on their website.

PS: Here's the search results on 4WheelParts for the 285/70/17 tire as proof: http://www.4wheelparts.com/TT133X13342X1334215.aspx

Matt_ · July 6, 2009

A quick shortcut to calculate tire diameter is:

(First# x Second# / 1250)+ wheel diameter

So 285/70/17 is

285x70/1250 + 17 = 32.96" tall

Ps: in your above calculation... 199/25.4= 7.83, not 7

04sierra4x4 · July 13, 2009

i got an 04 sierra with a 3 inch body lift and 33/12.5/17, but i would like 35s but dont want to cut the fenders, would a leveling kit be right for me? I dont want to go the 6 inch lift route

OPGMC · July 13, 2009

Hey maxltz what wheels are those. awsome truck too!

Big Meat · December 14, 2011

I have a 2007 NBS with a 2.5" leveling kit. I just put some 305/70/R17 Nitto Terra Grapplers. They do not rub while the truck is sitting still. They do have minimal rubbage while backing up. This is what I did to fix the problem... I popped out those plastic rivets then drilled a small hole at the bottom of the plastic (inline to where the tire rubs). Then I took a zip tie and pulled tension away from the tire. Then I took a heat gun to it and re-molded the plastic. It fixed the problem plus I don't have a chopped up wheel-wale. I hope this helps you guys out!!