[awesomebase]

OK, well, I've kind of come to the conclusion that the difference in price for tires to have a 33" size with an "E" load range than to get them with an "E" load range from a place that I trust to install them correctly is more than enough to get the lift that the latter tires would require (since they would be 34").
I'm just not sure which route to go and would like to hear some opinions. I can go with Bilsteins on all 4 wheels and get 1" or 1.5" blocks for the rear and lift the front 2.5" or so, or I can get a 3" lift kit with the spacers on the stock shocks/springs. There is only about $100 price difference between the two... any suggestions on which is better? Would the Bilsteins with the "E" rated tire constitute too stiff a ride? Are the stock shocks/springs good enough? Is using a 3" spacer up front going to cause me more damage to the truck later on?

 

[Barney_Fife]

wow. i wish this had been discussed before...oh wait...... theres a search thingy that will show all the threads on this. you are going to get a ton of this is better, dont do this, spacers are cheap, spacers suck, 5100s are the only way to go....blah blah blah. bottom line, spacers have been used alot. they are fine. 5100s are great. they are fine. lift blocks are fine. all about what u want to do. no, i wouldnt do a spacer type lift for hardcore off roading.... but for on road use and light off roading its perfectly fine and very economical.

 

[awesomebase]

Well, look I did a ton of searching on this and the real issue is everyone has a different set of circumstances. For me, I'm not going to be off-roading much at all, so doing something like a nice set of Camburgs or Icons (as nice as that would be) would be really over-kill.
I will most likely be towing within the next year or so, so I'm more inclined to get "E" rate tires. I just don't want to kill my ride. There are 33" "E" rated tires, but they cost a boat-load and may be a little too wide for the wheels I bought considering their +50 offset (305s). So, I figure I would stick with 275 tires and get them in a 34" size and just get a little lift in the front and back. I just want it to be simple, safe and durable. My only hiccup came when I saw that doing the Bilsteins all around would only be a little more than doing the spacers. So, I was just wondering if people that did the spacers regret not going with the Bilsteins or vice versa and why. I would like to hear their experience. Unfortunately, like you said, there is a LOT of info and the only thing that I saw that was a concern to me was the claim that the spacers may cause problems down the road. I don't know if there is even 1% of truth to that or not, but I'm still trying to find out...

 

[Barney_Fife]

well anytime something is modified from factory chances are something down the road will wear faster. anything.

that said, i have 33.1 inch tires, toyo open country load range E 10 ply tires on mine...the ride is fine..little stiffer but nothing bad. i have a 3'' strut spacer up front and 1.5 inch blocks in the rear now and i love it.

 

[MaylonTRD]

So like 07DCwhiteSR5 said people are going to reccomend whatever they have. For instance, I would say that i have the 5100's and think they are great, but I never had a spacer lift to compare it to....

 

[MacCTD]

I have 5100s and E rated tires, the ride is firm but not much different than stock, it helps to keep the tire presure down when you do not need the capacity.
The 5100s are an improvement over the stock shocks and they provide a lift.

 

[bilztrd]

07dcwhite..., do you do any towing, How heavy?, Distances etc?
Any one who comments please add towing info, we could possibly put it to rest.