How much lift to clear 33s?

Hello all, I’m sure this topic has been covered in great detail but being a newb am having trouble finding the info I need. Once I’ve worked out all her small issues, and know she’s dead-ass reliable, I’d like to fit 33’s under Phyllis. I’ve read mixed stories of they’ll fit with arch trimming and no lift, 2 inch lift + trimming with no rubbing, etc. I’m not doing any crazy off roading yet, but hope to visit some of the parks in my area. Could I fit the 33s without a lift and run it mostly in the road and add the lift kit in a couple months? Or should I just wait until I can do it all at once? Thanks for any advice you can give.

255/85/16 are 33” diameter and we run them on standard suspension without issue. A 255 tyre is equivalent of a 10 inch wide tyre.

Now the actual width of the tyre and the offset of the wheel rim will decide on the effect on steering lock. We adjust the steering lock bolt so that the tyre just rubs the radius arms.

HTH


Brendan

leeds said:

255/85/16 are 33” diameter and we run them on standard suspension without issue. A 255 tyre is equivalent of a 10 inch wide tyre.

Now the actual width of the tyre and the offset of the wheel rim will decide on the effect on steering lock. We adjust the steering lock bolt so that the tyre just rubs the radius arms.

HTH


Brendan

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What wheels do you run them on?

BFG M/T 255/85/16 on Hutchinson bead lockers and Zu rims.

Brendan

I also run BFG M/T 255/85/16 but on boost alloys. No lift, works well and properly fills the arches.

4XPhyllis said:

Hello all, I’m sure this topic has been covered in great detail but being a newb am having trouble finding the info I need. Once I’ve worked out all her small issues, and know she’s dead-ass reliable, I’d like to fit 33’s under Phyllis. I’ve read mixed stories of they’ll fit with arch trimming and no lift, 2 inch lift + trimming with no rubbing, etc. I’m not doing any crazy off roading yet, but hope to visit some of the parks in my area. Could I fit the 33s without a lift and run it mostly in the road and add the lift kit in a couple months? Or should I just wait until I can do it all at once? Thanks for any advice you can give.

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In most cases 33” tyres will fit with no mods.

But it does depend on how saggy the suspension is and how saggy the wheel spats/arches are. And there have been quite a few different spring rates over the years.

It also depends on what type of 33” tyre. There are quite a lot. Narrower ones will generally fit more easily, while wide ones are more likely to rub. If going wide you may need deeper offset rims and/or wheel spacers. But you will run the risk of the tyres sticking out of the stock arches. Which in the UK is illegal.

These are some 33.11.50’s but they measure nearly 34” tall. And have big lugs making them quite wide. The Land Rover has a mild lift too.

The arches are a little saggy and the tyres do rub them. Not enough to really cause an issue. But enough to know that it happens.





Same tyres on another Land Rover. This one has stock spec shocks and springs. But they are Decarbon shocks and it’s always ridden a little higher than other stock 90’s. Its also a V8 so the front sits higher than some diesels as the engine is lighter. The spats are more rigid and rubbed more. Too much to be used as the blue one above with these tyres. You’d have run the risk of snagging the spat I think. Mild off road and on road use was fine.



These are 8.25 x 16 (the next size up from a 7.50 x 16). They are very similar to a 255/85R16.

They are much narrower and you can run narrower rims and/or with ones with less offset. They rub less and will mostly be fine with stock ride height. This 90 does have a mild lift in the photo. By way of some lift packers (first pics of this 90 it has different springs to this shot).



As long as you either have another vehicle or another set of tyres. I’d say get some bigger tyres and try them. Worst case you’ll need to add a lift afterwards.

Thanks for the advice guys. Very helpful!

So, I’m pretty sure I’ve Phyllis’ fuel delivery issues worked out. I didn’t want to spend any money on other mods prior to making sure she’s running right. So I’m about ready to pull the trigger on the 33’s. I’ve got 15x10” plain black steelies, and am planning a 33x12.5” tyre. Not worried about them sticking out past the arches as here in the US it’s not an issue. My question is gearing. Phyllis is a 2.5P and normally I take off in 2nd gear because it’s geared so low. Should I think about changing the ring and pinion or will I be ok with the stock axle ratios? I realize that acceleration will drop a bit as well as MPG. I’m not trying to build a race horse or a show pony, I want to build a Mule.

4XPhyllis said:

So, I’m pretty sure I’ve Phyllis’ fuel delivery issues worked out. I didn’t want to spend any money on other mods prior to making sure she’s running right. So I’m about ready to pull the trigger on the 33’s. I’ve got 15x10” plain black steelies, and am planning a 33x12.5” tyre. Not worried about them sticking out past the arches as here in the US it’s not an issue. My question is gearing. Phyllis is a 2.5P and normally I take off in 2nd gear because it’s geared so low. Should I think about changing the ring and pinion or will I be ok with the stock axle ratios? I realize that acceleration will drop a bit as well as MPG. I’m not trying to build a race horse or a show pony, I want to build a Mule.

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The 2.5P is quite a nice engine and if you don't mind spending a few pennies (or $$) they can perform quite ok for what they are, but they will never be fast.

I would think it will pull 33's ok, but you will notice an impact to highway performance. Your low 1st crawl speed will be a bit quicker too, but still acceptable. And unless you are mudding you should still have enough power. An easy upgrade would be to look for a p38 Range Rover or Discovery 2 and simply retro fit the Rover V8. While it isn't a HP monster still and won't perform as well as a Chevy SBC, it is still a nice engine with more than enough performance for a 90. The swap is also easy and the V8 weighs less and is likely to be more frugal too.

If you do want to re-gear 4.10:1 is probably the next step. But you may find you'll want an OverDrive for highway speeds.