About to pull the trigger

I've had my truck for about a year and a half now, and my tires are finally reaching that point where they need to be replaced. Perfect time to lift. I have my setup narrowed down pretty well. I am just down to deciding between 35" Tires and 37" tires. Here is where I am at:

Wheels:
Fuel Assault 20x10 -18mm offset (4.75" backspace)
(Possible alternate if major MPG improvement - Fuel Assault 20x9 0mm offset)

If I decide on 35's
Lift: Zone 4" w/ 3"coil & Bilsteins @ 2.1
Tires: Cooper ST MAXX 35x12.5

If I decide on 37's
Lift: Zone 6" w/ 5" coil & Billsteins @2.1
Tires: Not sure - Need to find a tire that would help MPG/HWY driving

What are your thoughts? I drive a lot, including trips back and forth from FL to NY about 2-3 times per year, so the 35's would be more economical, but the 37's would be awesome! I have put 31K miles on my truck in 18 months. Right now i get 13.5MPG city and 17.5MPG Highway. My truck is also a pavement queen, once and a while she gets to see the beach. Anyone have any accurate mpg numbers for 35's vs 37's? Also any suggestions for a 37" tire? Or a better recommendation for the 35"tire?

Thanks for the help. Cant wait to get this on order and installed!!!!!

What gear ratio do you have ?
I'm assuming your truck is a 2013 ? Not sure if they offered 8 speed xsmn then but do you have the 6 or 8 speed xsmn ? Lots of talk on here about MPG with tires and lift and a lot of biased #s too , so be carful on what you believe . Lol !
As far as wheel & tire combo (especially with a pavement queen ) GO WITH A LIGHT WEIGHT COMBO ! Just a couple pounds make a difference in mpgs , different tire and wheel combos sometimes weigh 15+ lbs diff than other combinations of tire and wheels ! Keep this in mind when deciding on your tire and wheel combo = aluminum wheel weighs more than steel belt and rubber sidewall ; therefore , an 18" or 17" wheel with your 35 or 37" tire will be a lighter combo than with any 20 " wheel...

R.L.K. said:

What gear ratio do you have ?
I'm assuming your truck is a 2013 ? Not sure if they offered 8 speed xsmn then but do you have the 6 or 8 speed xsmn ? Lots of talk on here about MPG with tires and lift and a lot of biased #s too , so be carful on what you believe . Lol !
As far as wheel & tire combo (especially with a pavement queen ) GO WITH A LIGHT WEIGHT COMBO ! Just a couple pounds make a difference in mpgs , different tire and wheel combos sometimes weigh 15+ lbs diff than other combinations of tire and wheels ! Keep this in mind when deciding on your tire and wheel combo = aluminum wheel weighs more than steel belt and rubber sidewall ; therefore , an 18" or 17" wheel with your 35 or 37" tire will be a lighter combo than with any 20 " wheel...

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I have a 2013 w/ 6 speed and 3.92 lsd. I have seen a lot of threads with MPG talk, and yes sometimes the numbers seem biased. MPG can also vary a lot with terrain (flat road vs hills) and driving style too so I know its a hard thing to predict.

I have been looking at the tire weights, and treaddepot.com shows the cooper ST MAXX tires weighing in at 69lbs which is pretty light. They also identify the weight of the assault rims as 51 lbs. They are showing that the 20x9 and 20x10 rims weigh the same. The 18" combo is showing rims @ 47lbs and ST MAXX @ 63LBS. How much difference does 10lbs make; Noticeable difference or in the noise?

If it's a pavement princess, go with an AT, especially if the only off-roading the truck sees is the beach. AT's will help some with mileage as they are typically lighter than a same size MT but how much really, I don't know??????? If you are driving that much, I'd say go 4" and 35's but it really depends on what you can live with. Any lift and larger tires is going to kill you MPG's, but day to day livability could sway you either way. Do you ever go into parking decks, stuff like that?

I'm going to agree with the above, driving like that, you might as well just throw MPG's out the window of concern when thinking about a 6 inch lift.

I still don't understand people who can afford a lift but not the decrease in MPG's.

But a 4 inch lift and 35's might be better if your are concerned and going to be driving long distances form time to time. Personally I think there is a different set of concerns for guys who just drive around town, and guys who are driving one state over on a regular basis or more. And distance, you're going to want to lean more into comfort/handling compromises and less into the cool factor, IMO.

Hell if I wasn't doing what I'm doing I'd have a 6 inch lift and 37's.

6.7CumminsDrvr said:

If it's a pavement princess, go with an AT, especially if the only off-roading the truck sees is the beach. AT's will help some with mileage as they are typically lighter than a same size MT but how much really, I don't know??????? If you are driving that much, I'd say go 4" and 35's but it really depends on what you can live with. Any lift and larger tires is going to kill you MPG's, but day to day livability could sway you either way. Do you ever go into parking decks, stuff like that?

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Agreed, A/T's are an absolute must. Not only for MPG, but comfort when highway driving I'm sure I will thank myself for going with an A/T. I like the cooper S/T MAXX because they are an AT tire, that has a semi aggressive look. The other Tire I like is the Toyo Open Country R/T. Also an A/T tire, with a 45K mileage warranty, but heavier and more expensive than the cooper.

BoldAdventure said:

I'm going to agree with the above, driving like that, you might as well just throw MPG's out the window of concern when thinking about a 6 inch lift.

I still don't understand people who can afford a lift but not the decrease in MPG's.

But a 4 inch lift and 35's might be better if your are concerned and going to be driving long distances form time to time. Personally I think there is a different set of concerns for guys who just drive around town, and guys who are driving one state over on a regular basis or more. And distance, you're going to want to lean more into comfort/handling compromises and less into the cool factor, IMO.

Hell if I wasn't doing what I'm doing I'd have a 6 inch lift and 37's.

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Its not so much of being able to afford a lift, and not being able to afford gas, MPG is just one of the many factors that weigh into the overall decision. I think your right about comfort/handing, I dont think i considered that enough when i was thinking of the 37" option. Running a 37 might make the 2500+ mile trip i make 2-3 times per year unbearable.

Can i get some input on the 20x10 vs the 20x9 rims? If I am running the same size tire on them, the 20x10 will stick out further than the 20x9 right? Or is the offset difference (20x10 -18mm vs 20x9 0mm) going to negate that?

I have been doing more research this morning on wheel offsets, and I think i have confused myself more than I already was! I am trying to iron out the 20x10 -18mm 4.75" backspace rim VS 20x9 0mm 5" backspace. If offset identifies offset from centerline, why does a 20x9 with 0 offset have a backspace of 5"? wouldnt 0 offset imply backspace should be 4.5 (Half of 9")?

I want to be sure that I will not have any rubbing with a 35x12.5 tire, and I definitely do not want to do any cutting/trimming of the fenders. Assuming I go with the 4" Lift, Will I have any clearance issues with the 20x10 -18mm 4.75 BS rim? Out of curiosity, would I clear that setup with only Bils @ 2.1 or 2.8?

TheDonVon said:

I have been doing more research this morning on wheel offsets, and I think i have confused myself more than I already was! I am trying to iron out the 20x10 -18mm 4.75" backspace rim VS 20x9 0mm 5" backspace. If offset identifies offset from centerline, why does a 20x9 with 0 offset have a backspace of 5"? wouldnt 0 offset imply backspace should be 4.5 (Half of 9")?

I want to be sure that I will not have any rubbing with a 35x12.5 tire, and I definitely do not want to do any cutting/trimming of the fenders. Assuming I go with the 4" Lift, Will I have any clearance issues with the 20x10 -18mm 4.75 BS rim? Out of curiosity, would I clear that setup with only Bils @ 2.1 or 2.8?

Click to expand...

Resurrecting...
I'm confused now too...(planning on getting a 2.5 leveling kit). Now figuring out going with 20x10 -18 offset or 20x9 +1 offset with 35x12.50 tires.