I have a set of five 38 x 12.5 15" super swampers . I am buying a new set of 15 x 10 36 bolt bead locks from a local off road shop but they have 39 x 15 super swampers on them but they are slightly used. I think one even has a plug in it but they have good tread. I can get the wheels for $900 by themselves. Im doing the sas and I will be running the dana 60 up front and dana 70 in rear. I havnt researched to know how much lift. Anyways question I need to know is which tire would you run based on the set up I have told you. This is on a 89' FS Bronco if that helps. Thanks for your help.
Please help me decide which tire to run
- Thread starter n2spd
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Broncobill78
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Gosh man, I honestly think it's too early to call that ball. A straight axle swap is a big job and each & every one is a custon deal. I really think you're going to need to wait until you actually have the thing sitting tall & running the gear you plan to get before you can really see what the best tire is going to be for what you wind up with. If you have the coin handy then I'd say grab them and test fit both sets when you're finished. It's really NOT like putting in a regular lift kit and just how you go about fabbing your suspension is going to have everything to do with just how high the body sits and where the fenderwells settle. It's just too far removed from the standard equations for anything other then seeing how it sits when you're done. Grab the rubber now if you can otherwise maybe see if they'll hold them for a deposit until you finish the swap but you *really* need to get those axles under the truck before you're going to have a good idea what will fit it best.
Just my opinion, I've only done one sas (that was enough for me) but I've helped 3 other guys do them and with 4 under my belt I sure wouldn't start buying rubber until I had everything under the truck and ready to roll. there are just too many variables at this point, but again if your pockets are deep enough or if you're pretty sure you can unload whichever set doesn't suit you then I'd grab them now to have both on hand when you're ready to bolt on some sneakers.
I guess I should have mentioned it was the width I was concerned about. Thanks for the info. I would like some 49 inch tires and 20 inch poison spider bead locks but im trying to work on a budget. I was thinking if I built it big enough to run at least 44's then I could run the 38"s while saving for the 44's since I already have the 38's. I was just wondering which ones would work better my 12.5 38's or the 15 38's that are already mounted on the rims. I was actually hoping to hear run the ones I have. Thanks for your help.
Broncobill78
New member
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Broncobill78
New member
Well, I gotta be honest & say that I think 49's are just too big for such a short wheelbase truck. You'll be a big tall rectangle driving down the road. I've never run anything more than 38's on one ane I know good & well just how tippy *those* made it. I put that particular truck on it's side 4x. I just wouldn't do it with a street truck. You really need to know what you're doing & how to do it when you get up that tall and doing it on a budget does not usually equate with doing it safely.
If you're running mostly mud, the 12.5" tire may be better than the 15" wide ones. I have 38x12.50x15 TSL SS's on my 78 Bronco and love'em, but they're the limit for the half-ton axles. When I did the SAS on my 84 Bronco, I got about 4-5" of lift using the stock F-350 springs. I'm running 36x12.50x16.5 GYR RT-II's on re-centered H1 rims on the Dana 60 front and Sterling 10.25" rear. I've had a set of 18x40x15 Ground hawgs on an old 79 Blaxer before, mounted on 15x15" wheels. Those were way too heavy even for me to work with when changing a flat. They also rode horribly on the road. If you already have aset of tires, just run them until you can find some 44's or 49's or 54's or whatever size you want in the end. I just prefer the 36-38" tire size for relative cheapness, JSM84
Thanks guys. Ill keep the 12.5's and just buy the bead locks but I have a bigger prob now. Three times now I had a doner truck lined up and all three fell through. There must be somone just sitting around buying up all the used dana 60's
Broncobill78
New member
That one's a toss-up that really depsnds on the trails you run and the HP you've got handy. The 15's will give you a better wheel-track which isn't a bad thing when you've got such a short wheelbase truck up so high in the air *and* if you've got the juice to turn them fast enuf you'll get some good flotation from the footprint going thru the mud. This will invariably lead into the arguement of whether it's better to try & float across the mud or dig down thru it and it memory serves me Cain & Able were the first ones to argue about this and it has YET to be resolved.
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