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I’ve got myself a 2010 G550 and recently I’ve wanted quite badly to give it a bit of a lift. However, I’m terribly unaware of what to do. I’ve seen various kits out there, but I’m not sure if they are everything I’d need. Also, I can’t seem to find any reliable information on what the maximum possible tire size would be for both a.) a given lift height and b.) the stock 18” G550 wheels.
My goal is a 2-4” lift with 33-35” tires, along with some G55/63 fender flares and a pair of VisionX Light Cannons (and maybe a light bar). However, like I said I’m hopelessly unaware of what to do, and was wondering if anyone with experience could help me out.
Yes, search a bit and there are quite a few threads.
2" is easy with spacers, and will allow you to run 35s, stock springs and shocks. You will need wheel spacers to avoid rubbing at full lock. 33s are best with 2" IMHO. I ran this for awhile on stock 18" wheels and it is a nice compromise. 35s just look like massive tires stuffed in there without more lift.
4" is also doable, but you will need to address caster (either by the trialing arm drop brackets, caster adjustable bushings, or revised trailing arms), and really should take a look at longer bodied shocks or at least ones capable of more travel. If not you will beat up the bumpstops on the factory shocks. This is easiest done with springs and spacers. Depending on the truck you may need extended brake lines; though this doesn't seem to be a real necessity as you don't have much articulation (And lose some with the spacers), it is a nice safe bet. Tires are the same story as above, but 35s look good.
More gets incredibly complex. I am 4.5-5" of actual suspension lift right now and it is on the edge of just about everything and has been quite a bit of a journey. 2" is cheap and easy, 4" gets dramatically more expensive. A few of the "4 inch lifts" listed out there don't really get you a full 4" of suspension lift. I have had to do mil spec trailing arm brackets, still add caster adjustable bushings, ORC extended brake and locker lines, and do quite a bit of fenagling. This is on top of the Thor springs, spring spacers (I actually went from 50mm to 40mm to make life a little easier), King external reservoir shocks. Looking back I may have just approached it a bit differently, but the trucks weren't really intended for this much suspension and thus it adds layers of concerns to address. I am currently on 20x10 35s, but will eventually be going to beadlocks and 16" 34.5" tires.
G63 fenders (I have now) definitely are a good idea with spaced wheels.
Hey! Thank you so much for replying my my question. I actually came across your build after I started the thread.
2" is easy with spacers, and will allow you to run 35s, stock springs and shocks. You will need wheel spacers to avoid rubbing at full lock. 33s are best with 2" IMHO. I ran this for awhile on stock 18" wheels and it is a nice compromise.
Are there road legal kits you know of with all the necessary hardware inclusive? I figured on using wheel spacers no matter what I did (as I like the wider stance). Do you know of any 33.6 - 34" tires that would fit on the stock 18" wheels? Are there any other parts I might need?
Hey! Thank you so much for replying my my question. I actually came across your build after I started the thread.
Are there road legal kits you know of with all the necessary hardware inclusive? I figured on using wheel spacers no matter what I did (as I like the wider stance). Do you know of any 33.6 - 34" tires that would fit on the stock 18" wheels? Are there any other parts I might need?
Thank you do much for the help.
P.S. Also...spacers vs new springs?
Road legal is open to interpretation. Technically none of these parts are DOT approved from what is commonly listed, though many coming from Europe are TuV approved. There aren't really any kits, as it depends on what all you want to do and how far you want to go with parts. I believe GWagenAccessories has somewhat of a kit for a 4ish inch lift, but it is just an option to purchase several parts they sell at once.
Lots of tire options, I would hop on tirerack or similar and poke around. The factory 18s will hold a wide variety of tire widths, but will depend on how wide the wheel is (I believe almost all the 18s are 8.5").
Spacers vs springs depends on how much you want to spend and end goal. Springs are the better option, but spacers work just fine for many.
Invictus gave a spot on description of how lifts works on the G. I have a G63 and rolling on large 35s wrapped on 22s. Its actually 35.1"x 13.2" Open Country M/Ts. I still haven't done anything with cater yet. Been trying to get the bushing or anything to see if it would help a little bit, but no luck at all at finding a place to get them at. But its not really that bad to me. Im also running custom Kings and pretty much the same set up as Invictus minus the caster parts. Had the G like this for about 7 months now.
I’ve got myself a 2010 G550 and recently I’ve wanted quite badly to give it a bit of a lift. However, I’m terribly unaware of what to do. I’ve seen various kits out there, but I’m not sure if they are everything I’d need. Also, I can’t seem to find any reliable information on what the maximum possible tire size would be for both a.) a given lift height and b.) the stock 18” G550 wheels.
My goal is a 2-4” lift with 33-35” tires, along with some G55/63 fender flares and a pair of VisionX Light Cannons (and maybe a light bar). However, like I said I’m hopelessly unaware of what to do, and was wondering if anyone with experience could help me out.
Thanks!
Hello,
We're running a 3" lift on 33" tires and 30mm spacers with no rubbing issues. Please check out the link..Thanks!
You can *probably* tuck 35x12.5s on a 2" lift, but may need to significantly space them out/get the offset right. The rubbing is largely at lock; you will likely also get significant rubbing in any form of compression. I ran 33x11ish tires on factory ashtarok 18" wheels and 2" of lift without rubbing. Even after 5" of lift, on the factory 20s with 35s it rubbed until I put wheel spacers on.
Will175's truck looks like 2-3" of lift. Here is what 35x12.5r20s on almost 5" of lift looks like (some better angles for gap/fender fitment compared to what I posted previously)
You can *probably* tuck 35x12.5s on a 2" lift, but may need to significantly space them out/get the offset right. The rubbing is largely at lock; you will likely also get significant rubbing in any form of compression. I ran 33x11ish tires on factory ashtarok 18" wheels and 2" of lift without rubbing. Even after 5" of lift, on the factory 20s with 35s it rubbed until I put wheel spacers on.
Will175's truck looks like 2-3" of lift. Here is what 35x12.5r20s on almost 5" of lift looks like (some better angles for gap/fender fitment compared to what I posted previously)
Hi there Will, love your G! Would you be able to give me a slightly simple version of what lift you have and how? I have a stock g wagon really on 20s but not big tyres. Looking into doing something similar to this?
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