Biggest tire that'll fit under 4x4 2500HD chevy?

[jlbf0786]

Theres a guy buying the 22" rims/tires off my 04 silverado 4x4 2500hd
Im taking his 16" stock 8 lug set.. + cash, of course..

My question is:

Whats the biggest tire(s) that'll fit under a 2004 silverado 2500HD 4x4 without a lift???

I was going to get 285/75R/16 BFGoodrich All Terrains
but I think I can go 1 size bigger.. ?? is it possible to fit a 33" tire under the fenders without major rubbage?


Any feedback and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RatLabGuy]

A 285-75/R16 basically IS a 33" tire.

 

[Hurdt299]

A 285-75/R16 basically IS a 33" tire.

X2. It is basically a 33x11.00. If you go up to a 305, in most tires it is just a little bit shorter (less than 1/2 inch) and is about 12.50 wide. You definitely won't fit a 35 unless you do some major trimming and turn the torsion bars up. You're probably going to need to turn the torsion bars up for 285s.

 

[Baker]

my cousin has that same truck and he tightened up the torsion bar keys a little and he is running a 315 tire with very minimum rub at full turn

 

[Ben West]

i am running 285/75/16s and had to turn up the torsion bars and trim the inner fenders along with the plastic under the front bumper. still rubs when i turn it all the way, they look good under there though.

that is on a 2001 model.

 

[GCncsuHD]

315/75R16s fit EASILY on stock backspacing wheels when cranked to level, 285s is pretty much it without leveling.

315/75R17 on H2 wheels, crank to level, no trimming but the bumper was lifted 2" to delete black spacer between grille/bumper, no rubbing whatsoever. The bumper wasn't raised to gain clearance, but was a beneficial byproduct. You would gain the same by slightly trimming the plastic valence on the Chevy bumper.

35x12.50x17 on H2 wheels, same setup, these were noticeable truer to size than the 315s and slightly rubbed the inner fender when bumped hard on a tight turn, but not enough to make me trim.

Another option is 295/75R16, it is slightly wider and noticeably taller than a 285/75R16, taller than a 305, but not quite as much as a 315.

295/70R17 this was cranked a little higher and had 1" blocks in the rear.

All tires shown on my truck were 17" but their counterparts can be found in 16" sizes, just bumping the aspect ratio up by 5.

i am running 285/75/16s and had to turn up the torsion bars and trim the inner fenders along with the plastic under the front bumper. still rubs when i turn it all the way, they look good under there though.
that is on a 2001 model.

Are you on stock wheels? The backspacing of the stock wheels makes the world of difference in tire clearance. Also is your 2500 a HD or not? HDs are 2" taller than a standard 2500, although I have never seen even a 1500 that had issues with rubbing on 285s with stock wheels.

 

[Ben West]

yep it is an hd, they arent factory wheels though. what backspacing are you using and do you buy new wheels everytime you get tires ?

 

[GCncsuHD]

yep it is an hd, they arent factory wheels though. what backspacing are you using and do you buy new wheels everytime you get tires ?

Backspacing is what hurts you, my brother and I had identical 2001 2500HDs. Both of us leveled them to the same height, but I had 285s on stock wheels with no rubbing at all, he had 285s on 16x8s with 4.5" backspacing that rubbed the back of the fender and the plastic valence. I went up to 315s on those stock wheels on that truck as well with no rubbing anywhere but trimming 1/4" off that plastic valence on the bumper. Wheel backspacing makes all the difference.

The stock 16x6.5" wheels have roughly 5" of backspacing, the Hummer H2 wheels in all of my pictures of my 03 GMC are 17x8.5 with 5.5" of backspacing. Other options are the 07.5+ 17" GM wheels that are 17x7.5 with about 5.5" backspacing, or the Dodge 17x8 wheels with about 6" of backspacing (these will not rub the fenders or bumper, but may get slight rubbing on the frame)

You need between 5" and 6" of backspacing on no more than an 8.5" wide set of wheels to keep from rubbing with anything larger than a 33" on these trucks.

Na, those were only two different sets of wheels in those pictures I posted, all were H2 stock takeoff wheels. The silver wheels I eventually painted black, and then I bought a chrome set that came with the 315s still mounted on them.

I wish I could find the pictures, I actually drove it around for a couple weeks on the chrome H2s and 315s with the front stock height and the rear lowered 3" with no rubbing before raising it back up.