2003 Tahoe LT - wheels/tires questions - help

[Jman27]

Hello everyone,

Although I've visited this forum before, I've never posted. But I do see how this community gives great advice! I have a few questions regarding my 2003 Tahoe LT.

I'm in the market for some new wheels and tires. Currently, my Tahoe is stock. It has 16" wheels with 265/70r16 tires. I wanted to give my truck that "beefier" tire look without necessarily getting a lift. I've looked at some tires and I like the BFG KO2's as well as the Falken Wildpeak ATW3's. A few tire shops have recommended I stick with the original tire size of 265/70. For the wheels, I want a simple look in all black. I was considering the Mickey Thompson Classic III all black in a 17x9 (-12 offset). Below are my questions for you all:

If I go with the Wildpeak, the specs recommend nothing bigger than a 8.5" wide. The wheels I'm eyeing are 9". Will that make a big difference? Will it stretch out the tire slightly more and affect how it's supposed to run? I hear that Falkons are slightly smaller in size. With no suspension adjustments, should I run a slightly bigger Falkon tire that is suited for a 9" wide wheel and if so, would I be ok with no trimming?

Another question I had is the wheel size itself. Currently I have 16". Should I even go with the 17" wheels? Is it all looks at this point or is there a benefit of going to 17"s? Or perhaps the benefit is sticking to the 16's?

Lastly, I'm not completely opposed to a lift/level. I just don't know enough about them. My truck is a daily driver and I don't offroad at all. I simply like the beefier tire look. Ideally I'd love to fit a 33" tire on my Tahoe with a bit of offset (sticking out like an inch or inch and a half at most). Should I consider a lift? A level? If I do a level, any recommendations? How much wear and tear should I expect on my suspension and will my ride quality be bad? I don't need a huge lift...just enough to fit 33" would be ideal. I wish BDS made a 3" lift for my 2wd, but it looks like they start at 4.5" and it's for a 4wd.

Any suggestions, opinions or follow up questions are welcome! Thanks everyone and I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

A number of folks here have NBS trucks, and they will chime in with their opinions and experiences.

Regarding wheel/tire combinations that will fit your truck without rubbing, no 2 trucks and their suspensions are exactly alike, due to a number of factors including accumulated wear on the suspension components and different wheel widths and offsets, so there is no guarantee that what fits with no rubbing on one truck will automatically fit with no rubbing on your truck. Other folks' experiences can guide you in one direction or another, but the final test will be when you mount the wheel/tire combination on your own truck.

To assist you in getting a good idea on whether or not specific alternate wheel/tire combinations 'may' fit your truck with no rubbing, I recommend that you use the wheel/tire comparison app at the URL listed below. You can use this app starting with your existing wheel/tire combination as a benchmark, assuming that there are currently no rubbing issues with it, and measure the actual critical fender and suspension component clearances as directed by this app. Then, you can enter alternate wheel/tire combinations, and this app will give you the projected changes in these critical fender and suspension component clearances.

https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

I used this app for determining whether on not I could use my current alternate wheel/tire combination, and it accurately projected the changes in critical clearances. Again, the use of this app in not an absolute guarantee that an alternate wheel/tire combination will fit without rubbing, but it provides a much better assessment, or projection, than simply an educated guess on your part, or a statement from others that it worked on a truck other than yours.