265 or 285???

[97 2DR]

Hey fellas, I'm looking into some new tires for my 2 door and I'm not sure if I should keep 265 or go up to 285/75 on stockers.

My dilemma is the tahoe has 165k on it all original parts, and 3.42 g80 rear and stock tranny still in it.

I don't care that the gas mileage may drop I'm just curious as to what that up size will do to the tranny and rear end. My old truck had 3.73 so it wasn't a big deal.

Can you guys give me some of your knowledge on this matter.

 

[SunlitComet]

No body has complained about broken a drivetrain yet over it to my knowledge.

 

[Donnie Yukonie]

I say go with the 285s Fill up those wheel wells

 

[97 2DR]

I was waiting for you two fellas to comment and yall are the only comments.

I feel like im playing a game of chance with this truck cause I have heard horror stories about the 96-99 trannys going by 140k and im at 165 on orignial drivetrain and I believe original plugs too. Those bisshheess are getting changed soon.

 

[BigDaddy13440]

218K on my original tranny, had 285's (33's) since 118K, till I put 275/55/20's (32") on it at 213K..... will soon be putting 275/65/20's (34.1") on it....

 

[SunlitComet]

I think mine was oem to and it went out on me at about 20k miles ago. It did have it sunshell replaced and an "attempted but failed shift kit install" a number of years ago. The shift kit snafu is what killed it sooner then rather then later. Other then those two items everything else inside was still the original tranny build. So it has performed for about 230k. Maintenance and owner care go a long way in determine life expectancy of part tho.

 

[1999hoe]

No issues with mine on 285s

 

[peelerba]

had 33s and 35s on a 97 4 door and currently have 33s on a 97 2dr. your only issue will be a little frame rubbage without adjusting the BS if you max the steering L/R. 33s should fit no prob without trimming anything

 

[qukon 95]

i just got cooper ht 265/75/16 tires

 

[KPOD]

I'm also on the 3.42 gears, and I'm thinking about 305/65R18, or 33x12.5R18s. The previous owner cranked the torsion bars, I'll get exact measurements at lunch and post a pic with how much clearance I currently have. My question is, does tire offset (backspacing) impact how far the wheel will stick out past the wheel well? I've heard in order to run 33s or 35s with only the torsion bar cranked, I'd want a 4.75 offset. I really want to run as 12-12.5" wide tire. Any comments about that?

 

[SunlitComet]

yes. re-gear.

 

[KPOD]

yes. re-gear.

Even if I'm running 33s? I figure once I get my trans rebuilt with all upgraded parts, I'd get a BB tune and that would re-program my shift points and help the overall wear on my drivetrain due to lack of gearing.

 

[SunlitComet]

tune will bring on more power likely if you choose and stresses more. typically the suv was equipped with a 3.42 or 3.73 gear and the tire diameter was 30.2". so you see re-gearing would be good if you had a 3.42 and drove 33 with those. less stress for the tranny, quicker launch and less heat build-up in the diffy.

 

[milehighaz]

Late reply, but FWIW, I have 285's and 4.56's. The ratio REALLY made a difference with power turning bigger tires. Going 295's next month.