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I carefully looked at your gl and there is i huge difference
between mine and yours. So I went online and messed with different sizes and I am stunned to find a 3” inch lift by switching to a taller tire in an 18”. Nearly whopping 4” with 20”
Do you mind talking a picture of one of the front tires up close when in normal ride hight just so I can see how much clearance there is with your 20”?
there is a significant difference between 275/65r20 (what you input), versus 275/55r20 (what they have installed. The difference between these two tires is 2 inches.
The factory 20 size is 275/50r20, which would be inline with your factory 18s. They went up a size with the 275/55r20.
You cant just keep 265, but increase 265/xxR18, as you will get the effect that you are seeing of a high Height difference.
If if you are confused by this, goto discounttire and put in your vehicle, it will give you your plus one sizes that will work for you. You can then expand past this once you figure out the effect and open up a whole new potential of tire options.
I carefully looked at your gl and there is i huge difference
between mine and yours. So I went online and messed with different sizes and I am stunned to find a 3” inch lift by switching to a taller tire in an 18”. Nearly whopping 4” with 20”
Do you mind talking a picture of one of the front tires up close when in normal ride hight just so I can see how much clearance there is with your 20”?
Hold on there, cowboy. The lift is half the diameter difference. So what you think is 3.6" is actually 1.8". The other 1.8" is reduced clearance to the fender.
If you want to explore what's possible: Deflate the suspension on your GL. Then feel around inside the fender to find the clearance. Do the steering angle at full lock both directions, both sides. Once you have an estimate of how much wider and taller you can go, find the width and aspect ratio that fits, on an 18" rim. If you want off-road, you'd be unnecessarily messing yourself up going to taller wheels: You want as much sidewall as you can get.
I wouldn't go messing with the diameter unless you don't care about your speedometer and odometer. The transmission will be a little confused because it will see a constant higher load; you might want to reprogram the transmission to adapt to the new drive ratio. It would be great if you could adjust the odometer ratio, but something tells me DOT (and MB) wouldn't like that very much.
Thanks. The front guard is a Black Horse Off-Road product, but it is for an ML - not the GL. I could not find a GL guard with the profile i wanted (and in black, one-piece welded design), so i got the ML version and hoped it would work. The profile is perfect, but the attachment points are different. I ended up buying a chrome guard designed for the GL and just used the mounting hardware from that kit. It mounts to the front subframe and then has brackets that go through the lower grilel and attach to the aluminum bumper support behind the grille.
I've been thinking about the Yakima roof basket, but this looks pretty good at less than half the price. I'll have to stop in Cabelas and have a look. I already have a Thule Evolution roof top box, but that wont work for transporting the spare... i have 2 different Yakima racks, one of which is configured specifically for kayaks. Also have a rear hitch-mount Yakima 5-bike carrier.
Fantastic info. I'd like to have a brush guard maybe someday. I'd love to have the off-road package - even found the parts from a wrecked truck - but the cost of conversion appeared prohibitive. Truth is, that is a pretty capable vehicle and is basically only limited by steep slopes. I did an off-road clinic and the guys running it were impressed by what I was able to do - and I was running true street tires.
The Cabela's, etc., basket rack is a perfect fit. Note you can get the pieces from Ebay for cheaper, and they're the same product. The main thing it really needs is weep holes and maybe wet the insides of the tubes with anti-rust paint. Pour some in one end and let it run out the other. Or don't leave it sitting out in the rain.
Hold on there, cowboy. The lift is half the diameter difference. So what you think is 3.6" is actually 1.8". The other 1.8" is reduced clearance to the fender.
If you want to explore what's possible: Deflate the suspension on your GL. Then feel around inside the fender to find the clearance. Do the steering angle at full lock both directions, both sides. Once you have an estimate of how much wider and taller you can go, find the width and aspect ratio that fits, on an 18" rim. If you want off-road, you'd be unnecessarily messing yourself up going to taller wheels: You want as much sidewall as you can get.
I wouldn't go messing with the diameter unless you don't care about your speedometer and odometer. The transmission will be a little confused because it will see a constant higher load; you might want to reprogram the transmission to adapt to the new drive ratio. It would be great if you could adjust the odometer ratio, but something tells me DOT (and MB) wouldn't like that very much.
KWStan is livin the dream.
I do agree that I’d be loosing clearance to the fender but my main reason is to gain as much ground clearance as possible. I wouldnt want to see the clerance in deflated mode as I am not hoping to ever deflate - one of the reasons I was looking for a permanent lock.
As for messing with speedometer and other things I dont care and besides I always have one of my Passports in the car to know the correct speed.
As for the tranny I’d like to be carefull not to mess with it. Besides the engine and transmission, I dont care whatever else breaks or gets thrown off
I carefully looked at your gl and there is i huge difference
between mine and yours. So I went online and messed with different sizes and I am stunned to find a 3” inch lift by switching to a taller tire in an 18”. Nearly whopping 4” with 20”
Do you mind talking a picture of one of the front tires up close when in normal ride hight just so I can see how much clearance there is with your 20”?
Here is a different pic (pre-brush guard, but same 20" tires/wheels) with it in the normal/lowered position. Hopefully you can zoom in enough to get what you're looking for. If you need a real close-up I'll take a current pic and post it.
I do agree that I’d be loosing clearance to the fender but my main reason is to gain as much ground clearance as possible. I wouldnt want to see the clerance in deflated mode as I am not hoping to ever deflate - one of the reasons I was looking for a permanent lock.
As for messing with speedometer and other things I dont care and besides I always have one of my Passports in the car to know the correct speed.
As for the tranny I’d like to be carefull not to mess with it. Besides the engine and transmission, I dont care whatever else breaks or gets thrown off
LOL The point of deflating the suspension is to check the clearance, not to leave it permanently like that!
Just know that if you change your wheel diameter by 10%, your speedo and odo will be off by 10%.
Resetting the transmission learning is a nothingburger. I'm not saying it would have to be done; just know that the transmission might be confused by the sudden increase in drag.
So, there's only 8/10 of an inch difference between all 3 sizes... My only reason for jumping up to a slightly bigger tire was to give me a greater choice of tires. I only raised the car by less than 1/4 inch overall with the move from OE 18's to the up-sized 20's. Honestly, with these vehicles in the raised position, you have really good ground clearance. I think if you go any bigger than what I have (31.9" diameter) you are likely to see some rubbing.
If I were to go back to the 18's, with the stated goal of having an off-road capable GL, I would get some reasonably aggressive (but still good on the street) all terrain tires in 265/65-18. These are slightly taller than OE 18's, but right in the sweet spot for overall tire diameter - and there are alot of choices in that size.
As you guys compare diameters and relate that to ground clearance, the increase in ground clearance is even less than KW is referencing. The clearance increase is HALF the diameter. So in the example above, there is less than a half of an inch increase from the smallest to biggest diameter tire.
Ok so I am really confused now. I have never had a truck or SUV before and have no clue in regards to lifting/ground clearance?!?! So by having a taller sidewall it wont be much taller?
Ok so I am really confused now. I have never had a truck or SUV before and have no clue in regards to lifting/ground clearance?!?! So by having a taller sidewall it wont be much taller?
He went up in aspect ratio from 50 to 55. You plugged in 65, which confused everything.
Full-on lifting has all kinds of problems, which the guys on this forum don't really want to think about. It's busy enough working within the stock parameters.
We already talked about the change in final drive ratio and how it screws up the speedometer. That is also working in the wrong direction for off-road: You want a higher final drive ratio, not lower. That's what "4 Low" does. Those scrapers you see in our vibrant communities have terrible 0-60 times because they put 24" wheels on. The cops like it because it slows the cars down.
The axle joints going to the wheels don't like to be constantly bent. Lifted trucks will do all kinds of things to straighten those joints back out.
This isn't a project I'd put my worst enemy on.
Go to an off-road shop in your area and ask them what would be involved.
Nice! Does yours have the Off Road package?
Mine does and I have 5 x Goodyear Wranglers in the original dimension - I was looking at one up in diameter but it would have rubbed in Sport mode (Lowers the car 2").
Max
I'm also running 275/55/20 with a 1" drop, which leaves a little over an inch left for the auto drop for freeway speeds, and I've never rubbed...
Good resuscitation of a great thread - my wranglers are nearing end of life in thee next 10k so next time it’s oversize off-road tires! We should clean this up and sticky it. Just throwin these back out there for everyone’s SA.
I have not given up on this project and I did experiment with the ML320 CDI.
Last year, I did do a lift kit. I went with the below russian lift kit and I went from 245/45/19 stock tires to 255/60/19 regular all season continentals. I was more than happy with the overall gain considering its not a proper coil/spring kit. I gained nearly 2.5” in lift.
As for the GL, now I am looking at getting an x166 this summer and will do a full blown lift mods. Hopefully I can find a great shop anywhere in the states that will take on the project.
I'm on the cusp of buying a set of five more wheels - they're as low as $75 each now - and buying a set of Hankook ATM so I can have fresh tread tires for off road adventures.
In anticipation of global challenges, I also opted to purchase a few more accessories: just a basic 2" x 30' recovery strap put this in the hitch receiver and you have a rear recovery point. Note the holes can also be drilled on the other axis so if you have to lift vertically it doesn't put weird strain on the loop for going in reverse - the hitch hangs down, and this keeps the open receiver from digging in to the dirt behind you
i like that hitch recovery receiver. Where did you get it?
Got 'em all on Amazon. Warehouse Deals. That one is made by Champion.
Note that with a step drill you can easily cut additional holes in the 2" box. On Amazon there is one that is solid (!) with crossed holes, and I said the heck with that. The crossed holes are a good idea, but the solid 2x2 is stupid.
I moved my hitch hauler in toward the bumper so it is almost touching this way; it's much more secure not sticking way out the back, and I think it would make the recovery point more secure if it were as close in as possible. It seems to me avoiding the leverage is a good idea.
I really need to figure out recovery points for the front. It would suck to only be able to be rescued back the way I came.
02-13-2019, 03:15 AM
just a basic 2" x 30' recovery strap
put this in the hitch receiver and you have a rear recovery point. Note the holes can also be drilled on the other axis so if you have to lift vertically it doesn't put weird strain on the loop
for going in reverse - the hitch hangs down, and this keeps the open receiver from digging in to the dirt behind you
