Higher Ground Clearance Question

[morf13]

I am a novice to accessorizing trucks,i have always kept mine stock.I want to get better ground clearance on my new Tundra.Not necessarily the roof of the truck being higher,but instead,the undercarriage of the truck being higher off the ground.I go off road sometimes,and want the ground clearance for 4 wheeling purposes.Would a bodylift or suspension lift be better?Also, i guess a taller tire would help raise it up,but need to know what type of tire size i can add without rubbing,or adding wheel flares.Its a 2008 Toyota Tundra 4x4 doublecab,w?TRD pkg. I want to keep the TRD rims,and add the tallest tire on that rim that will mount to it,and still not rub or cause problems.The TRD tires& rims are "unique 18-in. alloy wheels with P275/65R18 BFGoodrich® tires"(thats how toyota describes them)I hate those Bf tires and may replace them w/ toyos or michelins,not sure yet.Please give me some ideas,thanks

[gkeas]

Originally Posted by morf13

I am a novice to accessorizing trucks,i have always kept mine stock.I want to get better ground clearance on my new Tundra.Not necessarily the roof of the truck being higher,but instead,the undercarriage of the truck being higher off the ground.I go off road sometimes,and want the ground clearance for 4 wheeling purposes.Would a bodylift or suspension lift be better?Also, i guess a taller tire would help raise it up,but need to know what type of tire size i can add without rubbing,or adding wheel flares.Its a 2008 Toyota Tundra 4x4 doublecab,w?TRD pkg. I want to keep the TRD rims,and add the tallest tire on that rim that will mount to it,and still not rub or cause problems.The TRD tires& rims are "unique 18-in. alloy wheels with P275/65R18 BFGoodrich® tires"(thats how toyota describes them)I hate those Bf tires and may replace them w/ toyos or michelins,not sure yet.Please give me some ideas,thanks

Body lift wont raise the chassis. Lift kit raises everything, except the axle/differentials. Bigger tires are the only thing that will raise the axle/diff. Lift allows bigger tires. Tallest lift currently available (as far as I know) is a 6" As far as tires go, you can get 35's on easily under the 6", and some 37". Problem is, 37 are all going to be too wide to fit on your stock rims correctly. There are some options at 35. Hope this helps.

[morf13]

Thanks have to decide what i will do

[rockstate45]

Gkeas hit the nail on the head.

I'm running BFG AT KOs on my Tundra and they've been really good thus far now that I got them balanced.

Like Gkeas said, the only way to really raise ground clearance is to add taller tires. You can get better approach/break over/departure angles with a suspension lift and better approach/departure (not break over) angles with a body lift. Don't do body lift if you really want to keep your truck stable at any speeds, especially highway.

-rockstate

[morf13]

Yeah,i really didnt want to get into anything as big as a 6" lift ,i really just want to fit a bit taller tire without changing the rims or doing a 6" lift. By the way,is a leveling lift to level out the frontend different then the bodylift??

[gkeas]

Originally Posted by morf13

Yeah,i really didnt want to get into anything as big as a 6" lift ,i really just want to fit a bit taller tire without changing the rims or doing a 6" lift. By the way,is a leveling lift to level out the frontend different then the bodylift??

Yes a "leveling lift" is a suspension lift, a body lift actually puts spacers between the frame and the body of the vehicle.

[azmatsci]

Plan to put a 3" front and 1" rear lift kit on mine sometime for the same reason

[morf13]

So do you think a leveling lift 3" front/1" rear would be enough for me to get a taller tire on?

[TUNDRA786]

the 3" and 1" should let you put on some 35" tires. You will have to bend or cut the skid plate in the front though.

Use the search function on this fourm. it will help you look up a lot of helpful threads that go into much more detail.

[TUNDRA786]

Heres a thread to check out
Finally Lifted it Today, Truxxx!!!

[kt001]

I put a 3" front and 1" leveling/suspension lift on my truck to make it a more practical off road vehicle. I have the BFG AT 305/65/18s on stock rims. There are probably 35s that would fit, but you should try them on BEFORE buying. It seemed to me that I couldn't go any wider or taller and still be able to take the truck off road. With the wheel turned at 45 degrees, there's not a lot of additional clearence in the front and back of the wheel well. There is very little clearance with the upper control arm with this tire width. You would not be able to use tire chains with my set up. These tires are about 1.5 inches taller than the stock Rugged Trails, so you get another 3/4 inch in differential height. But the front bumper is higher off the ground by about 3-4 inches. It doesn't look substantially different than a stock truck, but it does make a practical difference.

[morf13]

Thanks guys some good advice