37" BFG ATs

[Blind1]

Damn, is Swoop back? I haven't seen that many quotes in long, long time....

 

[Maxx2893]

You could try going into a race shop and talking to the builders and tire guys there...they have friends and connections who can get you BFGs for a good price without the brick and mortar price tag. But if not, like the others said there are the store bought ones.

It might work with anyone but BFG, they don't even give tires to racers.

 

[Westside Offroad Group]

JB, I wonder if that is the trend for that brand of fender? Or were you the exception?

TMX said a while back that they were only carrying Boatecs because after fitting both GW and Boatec fenders, the boatecs were much higher quality overall

 

[BAJASVT]

Eh, the flare isn't that bad, and if you really want to make it look "pretty" you could run a piece of plastic or rubber, attached to the flare to hide the little gap. My truck is not here to win any beauty contests and function > form in my book. Plus, once you mount these tires, you will love the look. Bigg50 was even taken back by how good they look on these trucks in person. You gotta put some skin in the game to play.

VG - Thanks for all the help.

Someone in this thread mentioned that wheel offset plays a big role in fitting 37" tires. I don't think that has anything to do with the need to hammer the pinch weld, but I feel that it may have a lot to do with modifying the fender and flare. You are running Methods, correct? What wheels are/were GBrown1867 and Bigg50 running? It seems that so far, everyone with the 37" BFG AT tires has Methods.

Method:
17x8.5
Offset = 0mm
Backspace = 4.75"

OEM:
17x8.5
Offset = 34m (1.34")
Backspace = 6.09"

With the same tires, that will make a truck with Methods 2.68" wider than a truck with OEM wheels and the Methods will protrude laterally out of the wheel well by 1.34" more per side than OEM wheels. You said that you trimmed about 1/2" - 1" off the inside lip of the flare. It's going to be close, but my calculations seem to indicate that a 37" BFG on OEM wheels will clear the flare on full tuck by just over 1/4" per side without trimming the flare. I'm not yet sure about the fender. What do you think?

Thanks again for your help!

---------- Post added at 09:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:39 PM ----------

Also, I'd have to do the trig to figure out by how much, but the additional width gained from the Methods also increases the suspension travel at the tire/wheel. So technically, a truck with OEM wheels will not tuck as high into the wheel wells on full compression and therefore lessen the chance to impact the anything.

I'm not trying to be argumentative either. I'm really just trying to figure out for myself and others what exactly needs to be done to fit 37's with and without OEM wheels. I'm starting to think (and hope) that a truck with OEM wheels and 37" BFGs can just hammer the pinch weld and call it good even for hard wheeling... maybe some minor trimming to the rear lower fender/flare/liner like in the photos that Raptizzle shared earlier in this thread.

I sent you a PM with my email address, could you please email me the full res photos that you posted?

 

[pirate air]

I don't think you will ever figure an exact formula for what will work to fit a 37 inch tire on a stock fender Raptor. There are good guidelines to get you started already out there. Truck to truck, its always going to be a little different. The alignment alone can change the amount of rub a truck has. A truck with 5 degrees of positive caster will rub in the back less than a truck with 3 degrees of positive caster even though the set ups are the exact same. Negative Camber can relieve top rub but my feeling is the amount you need to help tuck isn't worth the tire wear. Age and miles of the truck can change the amount of rub. As the truck gets older/more miles, the rubber bushings that the upper and lower control arms pivot on deteriorate and become soft and more prone to flex. During a hard impact a truck with higher age/mileage bushings will most likely rub where a brand new truck won't. Aftermarket control arms with solid pivots are going to flex very little compared to rubber bushing stock arms, changing how much a truck rubs. Upper adjustable control arms change the track width which factors rub.

My point; Alignment, age/miles, aftermarket suspension parts, the adjustment of those parts, shock brand, wheel spec, tire selection, how you drive, or a bent knuckle you don't even know about (yet), all factor into tire rub. And let's not forget, not every Raptor is exactly the same. The tolerances between chassis's, fenders, suspension components are going to be different. These are cookie cutter built trucks, not atomic clocks. There is no exact formula because the variables are ever changing. What I get from this thread, are people are a little gun shy on going 37s without knowing exactly what needs to be done to make them work. I can understand that, but the reality is, it all depends. This is how you go about it, get a tire like the bfg AT 37 that isn't really 37 inches, follow the trimming guidelines: cut and hammer the pinch weld flat, cut the flare and fender in the back corner, screw the rear of your fender liner down against the newly clearance'd firewall, go get an alignment and have them add some caster, preferably around 4.5 degrees. Drive the **** out of it and see where or if it rubs and continue to trim accordingly. If you continue to rub like crazy after you've trimmed as much as possible, save up for aftermarket glass. At this point what have you lost? You still have a bad ass looking truck rolling 37s that happens to scratch itself occasionally.

 

[Bigg50]

If you read Bigg50 build thread, and I happen to wheel with him up here in NorCal, he hit a nice bump, tucked the tires and shoved his fender up, cracking it. By trimming the "hidden piece of the fender, you remove that tire to fender contact point. Again, if you do NOT plan on offroading, you don't need to go that extreme, I plan on getting really dirty this spring/summer/fall.

If you have aftermarket wheels this is a must IMO. I believe you can get away with it if you have stock off set wheels. This is because the tires will tuck inside of the fender and not cause damage. E63 has this setup and I'd confirm with him first. Although, he runs 3.0's and the keep the suspension from bottoming out way better than the stock shocks.

Eh, the flare isn't that bad, and if you really want to make it look "pretty" you could run a piece of plastic or rubber, attached to the flare to hide the little gap. My truck is not here to win any beauty contests and function > form in my book. Plus, once you mount these tires, you will love the look. Bigg50 was even taken back by how good they look on these trucks in person. You gotta put some skin in the game to play.

Damn right they look good. These tires really look good in a 37!

Responded in quote.

 

[BAJASVT]

I've gotta go to mid-perch anyways. I might just remove the coilovers from the truck and reinstall them without the coil springs. This will allow me to cycle the suspension to full compression and see where the tires contact. Which side seems more prone to hitting, so I know which one to try this with?

 

[vanilla_gorilla]

Bigg50 is right, I don't think you need to trim the fender or flare if you keep stock rims, we did more so because of the aftermarket rims and the offset, but regardless, that pinch weld has to go if you plan to wheel, something will break when that tire makes contact with that pinch weld. I'll send those full size pics over, Baja...

---------- Post added at 09:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 PM ----------

I've gotta go to mid-perch anyways. I might just remove the coilovers from the truck and reinstall them without the coil springs. This will allow me to cycle the suspension to full compression and see where the tires contact. Which side seems more prone to hitting, so I know which one to try this with?

Mid perch is a must, i'm almost thinking of going top or getting those progressive springs to lift the nose just a bit more. With the extra side wall of the 37s, the ride is like stock again, nice and plush, so i think top perch and 37s will be perfect. We'll see....but i'll do the top perch soon...just to give it a try.

 

[Ramrodthrusterpuppy]

I'm hoping I can run 37" BFG on the OEM wheels without trimming the flare.

I haven't read all the responses but, you can. I am, and have without issue. As long as you raise to mid or upper perch and don't do any hardcore off roading (i.e jumps, extreme articulation), you'll be fine.

I, like you, have no desire to trim, hammer or cut body/trim parts to make the tires fit and work well in (most) driving situations. But the combination of the OEM offset (+34) and undersized "37s" (BFG is roughly 36 ish" tall) is the ideal combo.

Here's a crappy iphone pic shortly after I fitted the 37s.

 

[BAJASVT]

Thanks, Ramrod. That's the first Raptor I've seen with the RWL out.