35 X 12.50 R18 Tires On Stock 08 Z71 Rims?

kenny08z714x4 · February 3, 2009

I am fixing to put the 7.5 " rough country lift on my 08 silverado z71 4x4.

I was wondering if i can fit 35x12.50 r18 tires on my stock z71 rims.

Anyone have expirience with the rough country lift?

Thanks

Kenny

BuckFeverZ · February 3, 2009

Should be fine running those tires since the 18's are 8" wide.

kenny08z714x4 · February 3, 2009

Should be fine running those tires since the 18's are 8" wide.

o thanks i didnt know they were 8 in wide i thought they were 7 thanks for the help!

blackout07 · February 3, 2009

I am fixing to put the 7.5 " rough country lift on my 08 silverado z71 4x4.

I was wondering if i can fit 35x12.50 r18 tires on my stock z71 rims.

Anyone have expirience with the rough country lift?

Thanks

Kenny

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143532

Almost exactly what you are looking for. I have only read about one install, and RC did not get a good review. I can tell you from first hand experience that their 3" kit was junk when it first hit the market.

J-man67 · February 3, 2009

Yes, that new 7.5 kit isn't the greatest. It comes with ABS plastic CV spacers and the diff is not dropped the full 7.5. That alone tells me to STAY AWAY!

Also, although the 18's will be fine with those tires, the backspacing might not work with the kit. They say only factory 20's will work. That means your tire will rub the new knuckles by the upper ball joint. Sounds like you will need new wheels with the proper backspacing.

kenny08z714x4 · February 4, 2009

Yes, that new 7.5 kit isn't the greatest. It comes with ABS plastic CV spacers and the diff is not dropped the full 7.5. That alone tells me to STAY AWAY!

Also, although the 18's will be fine with those tires, the backspacing might not work with the kit. They say only factory 20's will work. That means your tire will rub the new knuckles by the upper ball joint. Sounds like you will need new wheels with the proper backspacing.

The Kit says 18 in or larger wheels required so im thinking mine will work and where are you seeing taht it isnt the full 7.5" drop. And the plastic cv spacers?

J-man67 · February 4, 2009

Yes, that new 7.5 kit isn't the greatest. It comes with ABS plastic CV spacers and the diff is not dropped the full 7.5. That alone tells me to STAY AWAY!

Also, although the 18's will be fine with those tires, the backspacing might not work with the kit. They say only factory 20's will work. That means your tire will rub the new knuckles by the upper ball joint. Sounds like you will need new wheels with the proper backspacing.

The Kit says 18 in or larger wheels required so im thinking mine will work and where are you seeing taht it isnt the full 7.5" drop. And the plastic cv spacers?

I know it says that, but they have to have the correct backspacing. Stock wheels do not have the correct backspacing for these lifts. I would have my stock wheels if they fit. Check out the link Blackout07 posted. The guy "Lifted_GMC" has this lift and isn't too happy with it b/c of those reasons. Read that thread.

kenny08z714x4 · February 4, 2009

Yes, that new 7.5 kit isn't the greatest. It comes with ABS plastic CV spacers and the diff is not dropped the full 7.5. That alone tells me to STAY AWAY!

Also, although the 18's will be fine with those tires, the backspacing might not work with the kit. They say only factory 20's will work. That means your tire will rub the new knuckles by the upper ball joint. Sounds like you will need new wheels with the proper backspacing.

The Kit says 18 in or larger wheels required so im thinking mine will work and where are you seeing taht it isnt the full 7.5" drop. And the plastic cv spacers?

I know it says that, but they have to have the correct backspacing. Stock wheels do not have the correct backspacing for these lifts. I would have my stock wheels if they fit. Check out the link Blackout07 posted. The guy "Lifted_GMC" has this lift and isn't too happy with it b/c of those reasons. Read that thread.

Thanks for the input what kit does allow for factory backspacing there is a truck like mine rolling around in the town i live in and he has a 6in 35's and stock rims.....

97SierraGMC · February 4, 2009

IMO i would go with a fabtech lift... MUCH better than the one your looking at..

silverbullet2005 · February 4, 2009

Personally I would stay away from Rough Country, I installed their 3" kit and it was complete junk and their customer service is horrible as well. With all the problems I had during the installation of the 3" kit I could tell that RC doesn't spend much time on the R&D of their lift kits so I'd stay away from them and go with a well known and quality proven kit such as BDS or Fabtech. I removed the 3" RC kit and installed a 6" BDS High Clearance kit and absolutely love it!!!

As far as running stock wheels goes, you could run stock wheels if your going to run smaller tires or tires that aren't wide. The factory rims backspacing comes into play because most stock rims are between 7-8" wide and putting a 35x12.50 tire on the rim causes the tires side wall to balloon out. witht the stock backspacing and larger tires you will run into more rubbing issues so that's why aftermarket wheels with more backspacing is recommended so that the tires won't rub. I run the stock wheels in the winter but they still have the stock tires on them so backspacing isn't an issue.

kenny08z714x4 · February 4, 2009

Personally I would stay away from Rough Country, I installed their 3" kit and it was complete junk and their customer service is horrible as well. With all the problems I had during the installation of the 3" kit I could tell that RC doesn't spend much time on the R&D of their lift kits so I'd stay away from them and go with a well known and quality proven kit such as BDS or Fabtech. I removed the 3" RC kit and installed a 6" BDS High Clearance kit and absolutely love it!!!

As far as running stock wheels goes, you could run stock wheels if your going to run smaller tires or tires that aren't wide. The factory rims backspacing comes into play because most stock rims are between 7-8" wide and putting a 35x12.50 tire on the rim causes the tires side wall to balloon out. witht the stock backspacing and larger tires you will run into more rubbing issues so that's why aftermarket wheels with more backspacing is recommended so that the tires won't rub. I run the stock wheels in the winter but they still have the stock tires on them so backspacing isn't an issue.

Thanks for all the info! i think im gonna go with the bds high clearance also. do u think i could get away with running the stock rim on a 35x 12.50 for a while until i could afford rims or would they rub too bad? Love your truckk!

04CCSO · February 4, 2009

In my opinion if the wheels are 8" wide the widest tires I would run is 10-10.5. Think about it, if the tread is 12.5" wide and the wheels are only 8" You have 2.25" on each side of the wheel. That will cause the tire to wear in the center only as well as rubbing and safety issues.

2000DV4.8 · February 4, 2009

In my opinion if the wheels are 8" wide the widest tires I would run is 10-10.5. Think about it, if the tread is 12.5" wide and the wheels are only 8" You have 2.25" on each side of the wheel. That will cause the tire to wear in the center only as well as rubbing and safety issues.

It depends on the manufacturer, but most list an 8" wide wheel as a viable option for a 12.5" wide tire.

04CCSO · February 4, 2009

In my opinion if the wheels are 8" wide the widest tires I would run is 10-10.5. Think about it, if the tread is 12.5" wide and the wheels are only 8" You have 2.25" on each side of the wheel. That will cause the tire to wear in the center only as well as rubbing and safety issues.

It depends on the manufacturer, but most list an 8" wide wheel as a viable option for a 12.5" wide tire.

Maybe so but 8" is the bare minimum. Not recomended IMO.

J-man67 · February 5, 2009

Personally I would stay away from Rough Country, I installed their 3" kit and it was complete junk and their customer service is horrible as well. With all the problems I had during the installation of the 3" kit I could tell that RC doesn't spend much time on the R&D of their lift kits so I'd stay away from them and go with a well known and quality proven kit such as BDS or Fabtech. I removed the 3" RC kit and installed a 6" BDS High Clearance kit and absolutely love it!!!

As far as running stock wheels goes, you could run stock wheels if your going to run smaller tires or tires that aren't wide. The factory rims backspacing comes into play because most stock rims are between 7-8" wide and putting a 35x12.50 tire on the rim causes the tires side wall to balloon out. witht the stock backspacing and larger tires you will run into more rubbing issues so that's why aftermarket wheels with more backspacing is recommended so that the tires won't rub. I run the stock wheels in the winter but they still have the stock tires on them so backspacing isn't an issue.

Thanks for all the info! i think im gonna go with the bds high clearance also. do u think i could get away with running the stock rim on a 35x 12.50 for a while until i could afford rims or would they rub too bad? Love your truckk!

The BDS is a great kit! The tires will rub the knuckle if you put a 12.5 on the stock 18". Good luck!!